Chapter 3: Ice Pick Part 1

Hola, my silent, wonderful readers! Here lies another chapter and don't be afraid to tell me what you think because I wrote, and re-wrote this chapter like a 1,000 times no joke.

Needless to say, I ended up grounded. Stiles had come up with a decent cover story, but nothing could really justify the fact we damn near broke into the police station and a person of interest was now missing. In my defense, I had nothing to do with that last bit. I blame Miguel and his perfect Orbit gum teeth.

Unfortunately, Matt was taking advantage of my current state of being grounded by taking our car for the night. Now here I was stuck walking to the gas station because I didn't have enough money for pizza, but I had more than enough for donuts and Peace Tea. Plus it was only a skip and hop from my house.

I slowly roamed the aisles as I bobbed my head to the music I'd plugged in my ears for the walk up here. They really should make more flavors of donuts rather than powered and chocolate. C'mon donut manufactures, the world is your playground.

I sighed sadly as I decided on a bag of mini powdered donuts. Just as I reached for the bag, the lights went out. I took out both earphones and turned off my music and realized I was the only one in the store. "Seriously?" I whispered to myself. I really hope they just forgot to pay the light bill.

I walked to the entrance of the store to see someone standing outside and looking around just as dazed and confused as I was. I stepped outside and realized it was Allison. "Allison!" I called out as I began to walk over.

"Charlie, hey," she said nervously, still glancing around. "Any idea what's going on?"

I shook my head silently and turned my back to her. "I was just in there grabbing some stuff and then it went all 30 Days of Night on me," I frowned.

"Yeah, I was pumping gas and this guy starts staring at m-" she began, but was suddenly cut off. I whipped around to see Allison being shoved in an SUV with a bag over her head. I gaped silently and dropped the bag of forgotten donuts on the ground. I fumbled through my pockets to find my phone to call Scott only to be stopped when someone snatched my phone away.

"No," was all they said before tossing it into the road behind them. "You saw nothing," he declared, shoving something in my hand. It took me a minute to realize it was Chris Argent as he walked away and drove away in Allison's car. The two vehicles skidded away and my phone was left in pieces in the middle of the road. I saw that he had shoved two $100 bills in my hand.

"Okay, just what the fuck was that?"

"Hey, Stiles," I greeted as I walked up to his locker. He looked away from where he was stuffing his books from his last class into his locker and glared at me. "What's your deal?"

He ignored me and straightened his back and attempted to shut his locker, but was unsuccessful due to the plethora of loose papers and binders that were unorganized inside. I lifted an eyebrow and gave him a pointed look. He huffed and began stuffing it all back into his locker before attempting to shut again, but once again he was losing the battle. I softly shoved him aside and began moving his junk around to make it semi-presentable. Clearly, he wasn't talking to me, but I know he's going to cave.

It's me were talking about.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him rock back and forth on his feet as the internal struggle became real. A few moments later I shut his locker with a soft click and sent a smirk at the taller boy. "Ugh, okay. Fine, you win, Daehler."

I nodded once. "That's what I thought. Now what's your deal?" I asked again as we headed to the gym for P.E. if anything I should be giving him the silent treatment.

"You tell me. You're the one who's been ignoring me," he accused. I frowned before remembering that my phone had been run over. Not once, but twice.

"I dropped my phone in the tub," I lied smoothly. Stiles had stopped in the hall completely to eye me from head to toe. "What?"

"You still take baths?"

"I don't tell you how to live your life," I snapped back in a way too defensive tone.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, brushing it off. "You can make it up to me though."

"How?"

"I have an idea," he began. I struggled to keep the apprehensive look off of my face. "Don't give me that look." Well, I tried.

"Sorry," I said, putting on my poker face. P-p-p-poker face. Shit, now Lady Gaga is gonna be stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

"You know Boyd, right?"

"Yeah, he's in my Geometry class. Quiet kid, has his own lunch table."

Stiles nodded quickly as we rounded the corner. "Yeah, that's him. I convinced him to let me, you, Scott, Allison, and Lydia to borrow the keys to the ice-skating rink."

"For what?"

"So we can all get in our bathing suits and slip and slide all over the place," he deadpanned. "What do mean for what? We're going ice-skating."

"Pass," I sighed, ignoring his sarcastic jab. The idea of ice skating sounded fun. A nice distraction from all the commotion lately. "I don't wanna fifth wheel."

"But I need you in case I strike out."

"When," I corrected.

"What?"

"When you strike out."

"C'mon, Daehler," he groaned, throwing his head back. "You ditch me to take a bath and now this."

"Look, just do what the movies say and be yourself and all that crap."

"Have you—have you met me, Charlie? This is Lydia. The Lydia Martin we're talking about."

"Then refer to your ten year plan, okay? You'll be fine," I assured. He let out a long, dramatic sigh and rolled his eyes up at the ceiling. "Fine, but now you really owe me."

"Put it on my tab, Stilinksi."

I finished tying my gym shoes and stood up from the bench in the girl's locker room. As much as I hated gym class, physical activity was nice (painful) way to somewhat clear my head from the shit this town threw at us. Walking out to the court, I craned my neck along with the rest of the class to stare at the rock wall that we were all required to climb today.

Eh, I guess it's better than climbing a rope. How are you supposed to get any leverage on that thing anyways?

"Hey," Allison said, coming up behind me. I offered a smile in response. "So, about last night..."

Oh god, this sounds like the beginning of a morning-after conversation.

"You didn't tell anyone did you?" She asked, pointedly looking at Stiles who was not so subtly staring at Lydia. "I don't want anyone to know that my training is starting," she added in a low whisper. I lifted an eyebrow thoughtfully when I realized she had no idea what happen after she was taken.

"Even if I wanted to, I can't."

Allison frowned and started shaking her head. "What are you..."

"Your dad paid me two hundred bucks to not say anything and then ran over my phone—twice," I added grudgingly.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry."

"It's cool, I guess. It's not really your fault," I shrugged. "Now I can I buy a new phone."

"Right," she agreed with a chuckle. "Oh, did Stiles invite you out to go ice skating with us? Lydia's coming over after school so we can get ready if you wanna join us."

I shook my head no and opened my mouth to explain but was loudly interrupted.

"Argent, McCall! You guys are up!" Coach Finstock yelled out. I walked over with Allison as she began fiddling with the straps to harness herself in.

"I'm gonna sit that one out. I don't wanna third wheel or anything," I said. I glanced over at Scott who was unsuccessfully trying to strap himself in. I softly patted his hands away and began tightening the correct straps.

"You'll still come over though, right?" Allison asked lowly. I keep forgetting these two are supposed to be keeping a low profile ever since the "break up." I thought the two kids were doing a decent job, until they looked at each other because that's when the eye sex commenced. "Lydia's been a little…off ever since they found her in the woods."

I couldn't wrap my head around why that was my problem. I looked past Allison to see Stiles staring at the two of us. Seeing him instantly reminded me why their problems were my problems. Besides, some quiet time with girls could be what I needed to regain a bit of my sanity.

I finished up Scott's harness and tugged at the rope to make sure it was in place. "Promise no spontaneous kidnappings or destruction of phones?"

"What?" Scott asked, eyeing me suspiciously. Crap, I forgot we kept him in the dark.

"Inside joke," Allison piped up, brushing it off with a chuckle. I nodded for reassurance.

"Daehler!"

God, he's becoming worse than Harris.

"Do you have an inside voice, coach?" I asked with an annoyed look on my face.

"Get over here!" I'll take that as a no.

I sighed loudly and left from my spot in-between the love birds. "Since you're so handy with those harnesses, you're in charge for making sure those are on correctly for each student."

"Do I have to climb the wall?"

"Depends."

"On?"

"If someone gets injured."

"Deal?"

Ugh, forever gagging at the sickeningly sweet pair that is known as Scallison. I spotted Stiles laughing at my pain so to speak and glared at him. I paused my glaring when I heard the cord descending and looked up to see Scott falling.

Does a werewolf who can bounce back quicker than any human ever really count as an injury?

"McCall, I don't know why, but your pain gives me a special kind of joy."

How did Coach Finstock even get this job?

Erica and Stiles were up next. I fumbled around with the harness before strapping them in securely. As I handed the safety cords to the next pair that was up, I wondered when would I ever need rock climbing skills in real life.

I'm sure the spider from the other night would disagree.

"Hey, Stiles," I said grinning. "What's up?" I asked cheekily, gesturing to the wall he was about to climb.

"Zero out ten. Try again, Daehler."

Screw you, everyone loves a good pun.

I picked at my nails when Erica and Stiles began climbing the wall. Personally, the most I knew about Erica was that her last name is Reyes and she's epileptic. Other than that, we never really exchanged words unless it was about classwork she missed if she were in the hospital.

I heard Stiles land next to me, but only looked up when I heard Erica's labored breathing.

"Erica?" I called out. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied shakily. I bit my lip to suppress the nerves that were surely coming. Ignoring the comments coming from behind me, I went over to take the safety line.

"Erica, just come down. I've got you," I stated. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I had her. I blame my noodle arms. But eventually she trusted my noodle arms and began to ease herself down until her feet were planted on the ground.

I was about to change back into my school clothes when all the girls began filing out of the locker room. Not wanting to be flattened like a pancake, I brought up the rear. I peered over Coach Finstock's shoulder to see what all the commotion was about. I gaped silently when I saw Erica seizing.

"How'd you know?"

"I just felt it," Scott responded, holding Erica's hand as she convulsed.

"Daehler! Call an ambulance. No one was supposed to get injured," he added in a low voice.

"It's not my fault she got moxie and decided to come back out without any supervision," I defended as I patted down my person to look for my cell phone. Right, it's still in pieces. "You didn't even know she was epileptic."

Coach Finstock blinked in thought before asking, "The hell is a moxie?"

"Seriously, how did you even get a job here?"

Needless to say, that landed me in detention during lunch.

After inflating basketballs for detention, I had 20 minutes to spare and decided to stop by the hospital to drop off Erica's school clothes. Going from sweaty gym clothes to a scratchy hospital gown and back to said sweaty clothes isn't ideal for anyone.

"Hey, Brenda," I greeted, walking up to the first nurse's station I saw. Brenda smiled, but quickly dropped her smile when she saw it was me. "It's Mrs. Howard to you, Charlotte."

"Right, sorry," I chuckled, already knowing what she wanted to be called by me. "Can you tell me where Erica Reyes' room is?"

She eyed me slowly and glanced down at a piece of paper. "2nd floor, room 212."

"Cool, thanks."

"And stay away from the ice machine!" She yelled after me. Yeah, there's a reason she hates me and I can guarantee you that that incident with ice machine had nothing to do with me. But Brenda thinks the opposite.

And she's totally right.

I made my way toward the elevator but then decided to take the stairs. Less people and there's no corny music.

Slinging Erica's bag over my shoulder, I threw the door open and began walking up the first set of stairs but stopped to glance up when I heard another person coming down.

Miguel?

We had a silent stare off until we both opened our mouths. "What are you doing here?" We asked at the same time.

"Well?" He asked impatiently after a short pause.

"I asked first." Bullshit.

He rolled his eyes and closed the gap between us and flared his nostrils. "Why do you smell like Erica?"

I eyed him silently with narrowed, suspicious eyes before answering. "How do you know Erica?" He simply lifted an eyebrow in response. The two of us kept eye contact as he made his way down the stairs and out the door.

First Isaac and now Erica. My guess is that he's hanging around at our school and sniffing students out. Creepy, but this is Derek we're talking about. He wouldn't be hanging out around a high school for fun.

No one would.

After I got back to school (late, thanks to Miguel), I left the office with my tardy slip when I spotted Jackson rounding the corner. Knowing this would probably be my only chance, I picked up my walking pace to catch up with him.

"Hey," I greeted as I came up behind him. I halted in my tracks as Jackson jumped and spun around at the sound of my voice. "What do you want, Marley?"

"It's Charl-"

"Again," he huffed. "What do you want?"

Great, he was in one of those moods. Not much different from his usual mood, he was just a bit more cranky. Like a toddler. Pretty similar to Derek, if I'm being honest.

Crossing my arms, I decided to cut the bullshit, "You recall making a sex tape with my brother's camera, right?"

"It wasn't a sex tape," he defended with a low voice.

"And my name isn't, Marley," I shot back.

He sighed and check to see of the hall was still empty. "What's your point?"

"Fix it."

"And if I don't?" He asked rhetorically.

I stood up straighter in false confidence because the next line out of my mouth was going to be a complete lie. "I know, Jackson."

"What do you know, Marley? You're just here to fight your brother's battles."

"I know a lot more than you think I do," I claimed. I don't know shit. I know that. You know that. Jackson? Notorious for knowing nothing at all. "Pay for the lens," I declared, walking away.

"Wait!" He called out, grabbing me by my upper arm and pulling me closer to him. "How much did Derek tell you?"

Okay, maybe Jackson does know something.

Pulling myself out of his grasp, I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "You know what? It doesn't even matter, just send me a bill," he concluded. Jackson started walking away, but turned around to add one more comment. "And tell McCall that Isaac isn't our problem, it's Derek's."

"Wait—I—or just keep walking. That's fine too."

I'm more confused now than I am in Geometry, and I haven't even been there yet.

Allison, Lydia, and I were in Allison's room studying. Or in my case, staring at the same page reading the same paragraph over and over again. I was having trouble concentrating because I was pretty sure the Derek had given Erica the bite. It was confirmed he had also bitten Isaac, and possibly Jackson too? I mean, Jackson was acting like someone stole his puppy and kicked it around. My theory was that Derek was making reinforcements in the form of troubled teens. I guess it explains him sniffing around the school. But why? Because he's an alpha? Because he can?

Lydia brought me out of my thoughts when she asked a question about the homework I was positive she already finished. "You can cut the act Lydia, it's just us," I mumbled, chewing at the end of my pencil. She opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off when Mr. Argent walked in the room.

Oh, god.

I shoved my Geometry book in face to give the illusion that I was somehow studying harder.

Ha, as if I'm intrigued by shapes with numbers all over them.

I ignored Allison and her dad's back and forth banter until he suggested that Allison should keep an eye on the both on Lydia and I. I almost scoffed, but began scribbling in my notebook to keep the illusion. I glanced over at Lydia who was listening to music, or seemingly so. Who the hell knows?

After Mr. Argent left, I put the book down and shut it.

"Daddy's little girl?" Lydia asked in an expectant tone.

"Not tonight," Allison responded with a smirk. She disappeared out the window until she came back into view when she landed gracefully on the ground.

"I'm gonna take the stairs," Lydia quipped. She looked at me expectantly and pointed to the window. In response, I shook my head silently and walked over to pack my things. Lydia shut the window silently and grabbed her bag. I followed her out of Allison's room and down the stairs. Hopefully, we wouldn't run into Mr. Argent, because the last thing I needed was another confrontation with him.

"I'll see you guys later," I said whenever Lydia hopped in Allison's car.

"You're walking home?" Allison asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I assured. Plus, what would I see that I hadn't seen before? I think I would rather face the dark rather than a sure to be awkward ride home. We weren't that close. "I'll text you when I'm home," I assured before Allison could object.

"Great," Lydia called out from the passenger seat. "Call me whenever you're ready for your makeover."

"I never asked for one."

"I know," she stated, eyeing me from head to toe. I pursed my lips to keep the offended look off of my face and glanced over at Allison who was sending me an apologetic smile. "Have fun," I urged. I stood back from Allison's car and began to head down the street while they drove off in the opposite direction.

Even though I was grounded, I decided to take my precious time to get home. Dad wasn't there anyway. Thank god for the night shift. And it wasn't like Matt was going to rat me out. I was out doing normal teenager things for once. Plus, he still owed me for the Jackass thing.

I kicked a few rocks as I went along the road. Normally I would listen to my music to drown out the sounds of the night, but my phone was currently indisposed thanks to Mr. Argent and his flair for dramatics.

I heard some rustling in the woods and quickly crossed the road to…more woods. I could take a short cut through the woods, but everyone's been sort of finicky lately because of that thing that killed Isaac's dad.

I heard more rustling, but this time closer to me. I stopped in my tracks to make sure I wasn't just making up the sounds in my head.

"Hasn't anyone told you not to walk around alone?" A voice announced from far beside me. I jumped with a start to see the silhouette of a tall, curly headed boy. "You're smarter than that. You know it's dangerous out here day or night."

I squinted in thought until I finally figured out who it was. "Isaac?" Instead of answering, he merely walked out of the shadow of the woods and walked toward the streetlight. My mind was reeling with questions before I concluded to one. "Where've you been?"

Isaac looked away from me and took in his surroundings. "Around," he shrugged. I guess that's an acceptable answer when you're a suspect for you father's murder. "Let me walk you home," he insisted, looking back down at me.

"Promise you'll keep your cool and not kill me?" I asked in a lighter tone.

"I'll try."

"Wow, it's really that easy, huh?" I nodded silently and stuffed my hands in the pockets of my leather jacket. We stepped off and began heading in the direction of my house.

"So, you decided to skip out on ice-skating tonight?" Isaac asked after a few minutes of silence.

I furrowed my eyebrows and looked over at him. I should be pissed he disappeared and reappeared just as suddenly. Yet, I'm looking up at his stupidly boyish face and decided I wasn't angry with him. How could I be? "You were spying on me?"

A guilty look came across his face, but it instantaneously disappeared and was replaced with a smirk. "Maybe."

"Cut the crap, Lahey," I shot back. "You're still the kid that wet the bed at sleepovers." I heard him scoff when he skidded to a stop. Okay, maybe I was a little pissed off.

"That was one time and you swore you would never mention it again."

"Sorry."

No, I'm not.

It's been a few days since I had seen or spoken to Isaac and the fact he went incognito without telling anyone was a pretty crappy thing for him to do. And here he was getting mad at me. He's just lucky that I have a huge soft spot for him.

He easily caught up with me and matched my pace. "Me too." I lifted an eyebrow to tell him to continue. "It wasn't really my choice to disappear like that, but you know the deal with the whole I-killed-my dad thing."

"Yeah, but you didn't."

"I know, but Derek says I should lay low until the police figure that out."

"From one ex-fugitive to the next," I murmured under my breath. I heard Isaac chuckle as my house came into view.

"So, when were you planning on telling me about your new werewolfdom?"

"I guess whenever I got a grip. I didn't know you were so caught up or else I would've mentioned it sooner," he shrugged. "How long have you known about this stuff anyways?"

"Long enough."

"Clearly, since you're walking around alone at night."

"I'm a big girl, Isaac," I sighed, walking into my driveway. Weak? Sure. Out of shape? You betcha. Determined to make everyone around me think I'm stronger that I appear? Damn near impossible. "I can protect myself."

"Didn't really look that way at the police station." After a beat of silence, I decided to ask him the question I'd been dying to know.

"Why'd you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Take the bite?" I clarified. Isaac looked thoughtful for a brief moment before a spacey yet concentrated look came across his face.

"What?"

"Matt. There's something up with your brother," he frowned. "Like he's having a panic attack or something."

With Isaac's last words, I fumbled to get my keys out my pocket and into the bolt lock on the front door. I swung the door open once it was unlocked and headed straight up the stairs with Isaac right on my heels. "Matt!" I called out as calm as I could under the circumstances. I knocked on his door and waited for response. When no answer came, I turned to Isaac who simply nodded. I opened the door and went to Matt's bed where he sitting up and sweating bullets. It was clear that he was having trouble breathing so I went to his dresser where he kept his inhaler. I shot my head toward Isaac. "Can you get me a towel, please?"

Shaking the inhaler thoroughly, I sped back over to his bed side and sat on my knees as Isaac returned with a small dry towel. "Okay, Matty. Remember just take a puff every 5 seconds and deep breaths in-between. Ready?" Matt nodded quickly and silently before taking the inhaler and popping the cover off. I held his free hand and used the towel to blot the sweat off his face and neck. "Okay, deep breaths. 1, 2, 3, 4, puff, 6, 7, 8, 9, puff, 11, 12, 13, 14, puff," I finished. Matt had calmed down a considerable amount and was now attempting to regulate his breathing.

"Better?" I asked once his breathing became more shallow and even. He nodded once again before answering. "Much."

"Good," I said with a somewhat relieved expression. I let go of his hand and stood up to toss the now damp towel in his hamper. "I'm probably just gonna stay up for a while so don't worry about checking up on me," he stated, turning on his T.V. I noticed his hands were shaking whenever he hid them under his comforter. Isaac moved from in front of his television and sent me a what-the-hell expression. I bit my lip and shrugged.

"Uh, okay. Your inhaler is on your nightstand if you start fee-"

"I got it," he snapped, flipping through the channels. I blinked and silently left the room with Isaac trailing behind me. We made it to my room where I began rummaging through my drawers for something to wear to bed.

"Well…" Isaac began. "Some things never change, huh?"

"You're telling me," I sighed before taking a pair of shorts and a lacrosse shirt that could be anyone's at this point. "I'll be back," I announced, walking to my door to go change in the hall bathroom.

I began biting the inside of my cheek as I tossed my clothes in the hamper. It had been a while since Matt had an asthma attack. Funnily enough, he only had them at night or in the wee hours of the morning. I always thought they took a lot out of him just for an asthma attack. Scott was usually fine after he had one (before his entry into werewolfdom), but Matt's were...different.

Turning out the light, I left the bathroom and back to my bedroom where Isaac was flipping through my school notebooks.

"I kinda miss school," he chuckled, tossing my notes aside.

"Even Harris?"

"Especially Harris," he clarified. With a frown, I walked over to my bed and slid under the covers and leaned against the headboard while Isaac sat on the edge facing me.

"Didn't realize you were in love with Harris," I quipped, letting out a yawn. After a beat of silence. "I kinda get it though."

"What?"

"What?"

That managed to land a short laugh from the both of us. The silence that came after it was entirely too long.

"I should probably head back to Derek's..."

"You never answered my question," I reminded. "Why'd you take the bite?" Isaac looked away to stare at the carpet in thought.

My carpet isn't that interesting, man.

After another moment of silence, his eyes glanced toward the window and I could feel the tension growing in the room. "Just forget I asked, I didn't mean to—"

"No, no, it's fine," he insisted, rubbing the palm of his hand on his jeans. "I guess you could say it started with my dad."

As Isaac told his story, I leaned in to listen by placing my elbows comfortably on my knees. I felt my eyes beginning to sting when he explained the abuse he was receiving from his father.

Even though it had nothing to do with me, I still felt guilty for not saying anything.

"Jackson knew," he said after a beat of silence.

"Do you resent him for it?"

"Why should I? It wasn't his problem, you know?"

"What if I told you that maybe I kinda had the idea that he was hitting you?" I asked slowly.

"What I told you that maybe I kinda had the idea that I knew that you knew?" I frowned in response. "You're smart, Charlie. I knew it'd be a matter of time before you figured it out."

"And you don't hate me?"

"Last time I checked, no."

I let out a short, polite laugh and brought my attention to my comforter. "I kinda hate me," I admitted lowly. Isaac checked my clock on my nightstand and stood up to remove his shoes and coat. "Your dad is working late tonight, right?" I nodded silently and watched as he climbed into my bed and made himself comfortable. "Shouldn't you head back to Derek's?

"I would, but there's a legal curfew." What a lame excuse. But hey, I get to sleep with something that's not a bottle of Listerine. "Plus he'll be fine."

"Does he even sleep?"

Isaac mused silently before answering slowly. "I have no idea." A small chuckle left my lips as I let out another yawn.

"By the way," he began softly. "I could never hate you."

Aaaaand that's the end of Ice Pick part 1! It's actually one of my least favorite episodes, but so much was going on that I decided to just chop it half. So, tell me what you guys think in the review box, please c: