Heartstrings Are There To Be Tugged:
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jackson asked me sceptically as he stood in the doorway to my bedroom with his arms crossed over his chest and I looked at him over my shoulder with a small smile as I tilted my head to the side.
"What do you think?" I asked him curiously with a bright smile as I held a colour swatch up to the wall and he gave me a pointed look as he raised an eyebrow at me without answering. "Jack, I need to do something to keep me distracted. And I need to not want to cry whenever I walk into this room. I need a change."
"You think painting that wall is going to help you?"
"I don't know. But it's better than just sitting around thinking about them." I replied sadly as I dropped my hand down to my side with a small frown and he sighed heavily as he nodded in understanding. "Okay, so, Riviera Paradise or Vineyard Shadow?"
"You mean purple or blue?" he asked me teasingly with a smirk on his lips as he pushed himself off the doorframe and I smiled at him sarcastically as I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance.
"Riviera Paradise or Vineyard Shadow, you heathen?"
"Whatever you think is best."
"I don't know! That's why I'm asking you!"
"Sophie, I'm a dude! I don't know anything about any colours. This is something you need Lydia for." Jack retorted pointedly as he walked forward a few steps with a slightly confused frown and I groaned in annoyance as I dropped the colour swatches onto the vanity desk.
"You are useless." I told him in a mixture of exasperation and amusement as I walked over to my bed and sat with my legs crossed as Jackson shrugged easily with a smirk on his lips. "I've missed you."
"Yeah, I've missed you too."
"When are you going back?" I asked him tentatively as I absently picked at the quilt cover and avoided his eyes so that he wouldn't see the sadness in their depths.
"Whenever I think you can get by without me. So, never?" he half stated half asked mockingly as he sat down on the edge of the bed and I scoffed at him as I quirked an eyebrow at him incredulously. "But, um, seriously, my Alpha told me to take as long as I need."
"I guess you're stuck here then, because I'm always going to need you."
"Soph, you know I'm going to have to leave eventually."
"I could keep you locked in my basement. Haven't you seen Silence of the Lambs?"
"This house doesn't have a basement." Jackson countered quickly with a sceptical quirk of his eyebrow and I rolled my eyes at him in amusement as I fought the smile on my lips. "You really need a better plan if you're going to go through with it. And you probably shouldn't give me a warning. You'd want to catch me by surprise."
"You're giving me advice on how to kidnap you, or wolf-nap you?" I asked him in nearly undisguised glee as I struggled to contain my laugh and Jackson groaned out loud as he covered his face with both his hands.
"'Wolf-nap'? Really?" a familiar voice asked in amusement from the doorway to my bedroom and I turned my head around to look at them with a smile on my lips.
"Yes, it's a technical term. Hi, Isaac."
"Hey. Can I talk to you for a minute? Alone?" Isaac asked me politely with a slightly sharp edge in his voice as he glanced over at Jackson at the end and I raised an eyebrow at him as I nodded my head in agreement.
"Whatever. I'll go do something." Jack stated in annoyance as he stalked towards the door and purposely bumped his shoulder against Isaac's as he past him on the way out. I stifled a smile as the curly haired teen glared at Jackson's retreating back and then he turned back to me with an expression of disbelief.
"He's jealous that I've upgraded you to best friend number 2 while he's been gone." I informed him nonchalantly with a shrug of my shoulders as he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed and he raised an eyebrow at me doubtfully as I tilted my head thoughtfully. "Well, that and he's an asshole."
"I believe that." Isaac said under his breath as he rolled his steely blue eyes and shifted so that he was sitting cross legged across from me on the bed. "Okay, I don't know how to tell you this so I'm just going to spit it out."
"Oh, my god! Isaac, are you pregnant?"
"Shut up! You – "
"I'll even help you raise the baby. But I get to choose the name, because I don't trust your taste. Except in best friends."
"Can you even hear the words coming out of your mouth?" he asked me seriously as he raised both his eyebrow at me with a disbelieving expression and I furrowed my eyebrows as I went back over my words mentally.
"…No."
"Well, you need to start."
"Yeah…Anyway, what were you going to say?" I asked him with a slightly incredulous frown as I tilted my head to the side and he sighed heavily as he reached forward to grab my hands with a completely serious expression. Panic surged through me as I frowned at him because it was obvious that something wasn't right and I didn't know if I could handle any more bad news.
"I'm leaving town. With Chris." Isaac informed me sadly as he squeezed my hands and my lips parted slightly with tears burning my eyes as I gently pulled my hands from his.
"What?" I asked in a whisper as I blinked away the tears with a soft sniffle and he nodded his head slowly as he carefully took my hands in his again.
"I'm sorry, Sophie. Chris has lost his entire family in this town, and so have I. We need a fresh start. Maybe France will be exactly what we both need."
"France? You don't speak French."
"Yeah, they'll all probably hate me over there." He admitted drily with a half-smile on his lips as he nodded in agreement and I let out a watery chuckle as a few stray tears leaked down my cheeks. My chest was aching as I searched Isaac's face for something I didn't even know and I cleared my throat gently as I slowly nodded in head in understanding. It was true. Chris and Isaac had both lost nearly everyone they cared for in Beacon Hills. This place was cursed. They needed to get the hell out of this place before they were the one who fell victim to the curse.
"I'm going to miss you." I told him truthfully with a sad smile as I squeezed his hand gently and there was a sense of peace that came with the realisation that maybe Isaac would survive. He was leaving, and I would miss him, but he would be safer away from here.
"I'm going to miss you too. You know I love you, right? You're my best friend. I've never really had anyone I could count on, but I know that I could rely on you to be there for me." he said softly with tears in his steely blue eyes as he placed a hand on my knee and squeezed it gently as I tried not to cry.
"Always." I murmured honestly as I wiped the tears from under my eyes with my thumb and Isaac groaned out loud in amusement as he threw his head back with a small laugh.
"Please don't quote Harry Potter, you giant nerd!"
"Shut up. I'm the whole package. Smart, sexy, funny, nerdy, and kinda slutty."
"Come here." He uttered quietly as he shifted on the bed so that he was lying down with his head on my pillow and I laid down next to him with my head resting on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm comfortably around my waist.
"I love you, Isaac." I told him genuinely as I leaned up to press a small kiss to the side of his throat and he tightened his hold on my waist as I shifted onto my side with my eyes closed. It was nice lying with Isaac one last time before he left. We had been living together for a while and I had gotten used to sharing my room with him. The scariest thing about distance was that you didn't know whether they'll miss you or they'll forget about, but I knew I would never forget him.
"Sophie, I definitely love this colour! Riviera Paradise, right?" Lydia asked me brightly as she stepped into my room the following day and I looked over my shoulder at her as she studied the half painted wall I was standing in front of.
"You've been talking to Jackson, haven't you?" I asked her knowingly as I quirked an eyebrow at her with an amusement smirk on my lips and she immediately looked guilt as she shrugged her shoulders helplessly. "He's worried about me, isn't he?"
"We're all worried about you." she corrected me firmly as she flounced over to sit on the edge of my bed and I sighed heavily as I looked down at the paint roller in my hand with a sad frown on my lips.
"I'm fine. Really." I insisted with a slight hint of annoyance in my voice as I set the roller down in the paint tray and she raised an eyebrow at me with doubt written all over her face as I sighed in defeat. "Okay, so I'm not fine, but I'm getting there. I just need to stay busy. If I'm busy than I don't have time to miss them any more than I already do."
"Don't think that's healthy, Soph."
"Maybe not, but it's what keeping me from falling apart at the moment." I told her truthfully with a sad smile on my lips as I walked over to the bed and she matched my sorrowful smile as I sat down next to her on the edge of the bed. "I know that it can't last, but for now? It's what I need, Lyds."
"What are you going to need next?" she asked me curiously in a soft voice as she intertwined our fingers together in her lap and I let out a watery chuckle as I shook my head slightly with a small smile.
"I have no idea."
"Well, I'm here for you. No matter what it is."
"And I appreciate that. But at the moment, I'm more worried about how you're dealing with everything. I'm not the only one who lost someone." I reminded her gently as I gave her hand a small squeeze and she cleared her throat subtly as she looked away from me with a hardened expression. "Lydia. I'm your best friend and you are mine. I know when you're hurting. And there isn't a doubt in my mind, you're hurting now."
"I feel guilty." She admitted in an almost inaudible whisper as she turned her head away from me but I could see the shame written plainly on her pretty face and I immediately shook my head at her as tears sprung to my eyes.
"None of this is your fault, Lydia." I told her firmly in a hard voice as I reached up to cup her cheek but she jerked away from me as though my skin was on fire and I used both hands to cradle her face in my hands. Her pretty green eyes glistened with unshed tears as I shuffled closer to her so that my knee knocked into hers and I brushed away one of the stray tears that fell down her cheek as I stifled my own tears. "None of this is your fault, Lydia. None of it."
"I should have made the message clearer! I should have tried harder. If I did, Allison would still be alive."
"No. You're wrong. It doesn't matter. We got your message, Lydia, and we ignored it. We would have ignored it even if you had written that in huge block letters that Allison would die. We never would've have left you there. We all love you that much."
"She's dead because of me." she whispered softly with tears streaming down her cheeks as her lips trembled and I shook my head at her in sympathy as I wrapped my arm around her shaking body. "Allison's dead because of me."
"No! No, she's dead because she fought bravely. She's dead because she's a hero. Allison Argent lived by a code and she died by a code. Nous protegeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se proteger eux-memes."
"We protect those who cannot protect themselves."
"Sorry to say, honey, but you definitely qualify."
"Thank you, that means a lot." Lydia replied drily as she rolled her green eyes at me with a soft scoff escaping her lips and I pulled back from her as I tucked a strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear.
"What I'm saying, is that this was not your fault." I said compassionately as I offered her a small smile and she smiled back at me weakly as she nodded her head in understanding but I wasn't sure whether or not I really got through to her. "Hey, no amount of guilt can change the past. I know that guilt isn't always a rational thing, it's a weight that will crush you whether you deserve it or not, but I'm telling you honestly, Lydia, none of what happened was your fault."
"I love you, Soph." she murmured honestly with a small smile on her lips as she squeezed my hand and I chuckled slightly as I nodded in agreement with a barely there smile playing on my lips.
"I love you too, Lyds."