Thanks to everyone for reading. This one is shorter – I know I'm sorry! And it took longer to update! Sorry again.

Summary: Veda's parents are hiding something; she is sure of that. After dragging her all over the country, like their on the run, they settle down in Beacon Hills where apparently everyone has a secret. She is tired of the lies and excuses and is determined to find the truth. As always, it is easier said than done. IsaacXOC

Teen Wolf – Reinventing Your Exit
Chapter 6 :: Protégé Moi

Veda spun the dial on the locker, she was tired, exhausted actually. She hadn't gotten a good night sleep for the past three nights; first the night Isaac came over, then the night with the Kanima and yesterday she finished unpacking her room, moved the furniture and asked Dr. Deaton if she could spend extra time with Luna into the early morning hours. She had brought her parents so they could bond with the German shepherd as well. She suffered a few nightmares about the Kanima and she was less than pleased. Her mind was constantly spinning with the new information about her friends. She wanted to talk to Isaac about the night at the pool but she hadn't had time to call or text him. She shook her thoughts of the attractive boy. 'Did I just think of Isaac as attractive?' Well, now that she thought about it – he really was. She loved his curly hair and his blue eyes. His smile was her favorite and she loved when he lau- she quickly closed her locker and hit her head gently into the metal in front of her; stopping her thoughts.

Taking a deep breath she turned around to head to class only to bump into someone. "Oh, I'm sorry." She mumbled and looked up at the body in front of her. 'Think of the devil and he shall appear.' Veda thought to herself as she smiled at the boy. "Hey Isaac." Suddenly, her smiled faded as a light bulb went off in her head. "Oh good lord, what are you doing here? People can see you." She worried as she looked around the hallway. He smiled at her. "It's okay. Jackson apparently changed his story about the night my father was killed and so I'm a free man." Veda blinked twice. "Isaac, you wouldn't have anything to do with Jackson changing his story would you?" She asked.

He frowned. "You're not mad are you? It will be easier for us to hang out now." He pointed out. She rolled her eyes and smiled. "No, I'm not mad. Just be careful. I don't know what methods you used to get him to change his mind and you don't need to tell me – but just don't do anything that will bite you in the ass." Rolling his eyes, he took her books from her. "I'll be fine. Let me walk you to your first class." He stated. "Oh, what a gentleman you are. By the way nice jacket; I'm digging the leather – it looks badass on you." It was the truth she really liked it on him – sure if was a different style but he pulled it off well. The two of them made small talk and Veda noticed the stares she was getting. After all, the boy was on the run from the cops for being a 'murderer'. She ignored the looks and was happy to see Isaac unfazed by the attention as well.

Isaac gave her the books her carried for her and gave her a quick hug before she stepped into her first period class. "I'll see you in Chemistry." He stated. Walking in the room she looked around and noticed her normal seat next to Erica was open but so was the one behind Danny. Sighing, she made up her mind to go sit by the boys; she could probably deal with Jackson's attitude more than the brown eyed girl. Her gray eyes looked over to Erica as she made her way to the seat near Danny and Erica was looking at her. The blonde looked at the empty seat Veda usually sat in and then back at the girl.

The strawberry brunette haired teenager got the hint and changed her direction over to her normal spot. Erica's brown eyes watched her the whole time, and continued to stare after Veda sunk into the seat. The two girls said nothing – just looked at each other. The teacher started class with a foreign history film about Korea; it was during this time that Erica leaned toward Veda. "Listen, Derek told me that you seemed pretty concerned when the Kanima knocked me out the other night. Thanks for that. You're really nice Veda and I don't want you involved with all this."

Veda looked at her and whispered back. "I'm already involved. There is no point in turning back now." Erica's eyes flashed yellow like Isaac's did the other night. "Just stay away from Isaac, we have business to take care of and Derek can't have you in the way." Veda rolled her eyes. "Derek can shove it. You can't tell me who I can hang around or not. I am old enough to make my own decisions and right now I'm choosing to stick around. Is all this stuff scary? Yeah it is but I want to be there for my friends. I want to be there for you too Erica, but with your wishes I will stay from you and Derek at least." Veda turned her attention back to the video. "Just… just stay out of the way and everything will be fine." Erica stated and moved back into a straight position in her seat.

'Why do I care so much about these friends? I never cared like this before; especially not this fast.' She frowned, her eyebrows sinking in thought. 'Could it be that I'm really that desperate for friends? Desperate enough to stick around the crazy? I've gone so long without real friends could I really want this? This life; the supernatural; the scary… it just seems so natural to me. Even though it freaks me out it brings a strange comfort.' She sighed out loud and rested her chin on her arms giving little-to-no attention to class – too many thoughts in her head.

After class Veda met up with Stiles in the hallway. The boy ran over to her, skidding to a stop. Veda actually braced herself thinking the boy would suddenly crash into her. "Did you hear? Isaac's back in school and he is all evil looking in leather." Stiles blurted out. "Derek wears leather. They must be plotting – we need to be careful around him. Actually we should just avoid them all." She frowned and blinked twice. "Good morning Stiles, it's nice to see you too." She turned on her heal and began to walk away. "Veda, wait!" Stiles called after her and took a few extra-large steps to catch up with her. "What did I do?" Stiles asked. "Okay I'm sorry. I should have said 'hi' first but I needed to get that out." Veda sighed and turned to Stiles, stopping in the middle of the hallway. "Stiles, I adore you to death but I am really getting tired of everyone hating each other. I like people from both sides so please don't bad mouth them in front of me. Have your opinion, that's fine with me. I actually told Isaac I liked the leather jacket." She looked at his shocked look before she continued. "Let's just skip over this conversation and go to class. Tell me about…" She lowered her voice as she began walking again. "the Kanima. Did you find anything on it?" She asked.

"I already told Scott, I only found one thing and it's a were-jaguar." He stated and Veda raised a brow. "You're joking right?" She asked. "Nope; it's from South America and goes after murders." Veda frowned. "That doesn't sound all right. Are you sure that's all you could find?" She was testing to see if just maybe he was keeping something from her. "Yes, I'm sure. What do you think I'm lying?" He asked. "Well you never know." She answered. He was flabbergasted for a moment. "You're kidding right? I mean you're part of the team – you get to share my pain of being an ordinary human in this whole thing." They stepped into the classroom still whispering. "Allison is human you know?" Veda reminded him. "Doesn't count – she can do all that fancy stuff with a bow. And she's got hunter blood in her." Stiles stated. Veda took her seat and shook her head. "Whatever you say Stiles." He gently glared at her. "I'm serious; I'm not really good for anything except googling things." She smiled at him. "Cheer up Stiles, don't cut yourself so short. I'm sure you've helped the 'team' out plenty of times with your googly knowledge." The teacher walked into the room. "Good morning class. Time for a pop quiz." Groans echoed across the room.

When it was finally time for chemistry class Veda met up with Allison and Lydia at Lydia's locker. "I don't know what happened." Lydia stated. Veda obviously joining the middle of the conversation made a questioning motion with her head. "Tell you later." Allison whispered quickly. "Hey Lydia I have to stop by my locker, I'll meet you in class." Allison spoke louder. Lydia shrugged her shoulders and continued to class with Veda. The two girls were quiet – not really knowing what to say to each other. It was a little nerve-wreaking and when they reached class Veda almost sprinted to her seat to avoid any more awkward. It wasn't that she didn't like Lydia, she did. She just had no idea what to say to the strawberry blonde. She noticed Erica and Isaac walk in together and frowned. 'I hope I still have my lab partner.' She thought to herself. She noticed the two werewolves were looking at Lydia; weird. Scott and Stiles walked in the same time through the other door for the room and looked at Erica and Isaac and then to Lydia. Suddenly it was like a race as to who got to the red head first. Scott and Stiles taking a seat on both sides of her; Erica and Isaac took the seat right behind them. Veda frowned and looked back at the chemistry instruments on her desk. Maybe Allison will pair with her. The brown haired girl walked in and took the open seat next to Veda giving a weird look to Scott who nudged his head back to the two werewolves. Yup, she was definitely missing something here. "So Allison what's up with Lydia?" She asked. The brunette girl looked back at her. "Apparently she had a little break down in her last class. She wrote weird things on the chalkboard."

"Einstein one said two things are infinite." Mr. Harris started talking in the back of the room as he slowly walked to the front. Everyone in the class became quiet and watched him. "The universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. I, myself, have encountered infinite stupidity." He placed a hand on Stiles shoulder.

Veda felt bad for Stiles, it seemed like Mr. Harris had a personal vendetta against the boy and she wondered why. Then again Mr. Harris was just a mean teacher she thought as she remembered her first day in his class. She would stick up for Stiles but this teacher handed out detention like it was candy. She also hoped that with Mr. Harris harassing Stiles all this time wasn't the reason the brown eyed boy thought he was only good for googling. Mr. Harris paired the classroom up for the rotational lab experiment. She noticed a lot of hostility between her two groups of friends and was starting to get a little worried; Scott seemed to be worried about Isaac or Erica sitting near Lydia. Luckily for her she could get to the bottom of this easily since Isaac was her partner first. He slid into the seat next to her and gave a smile. "Hey there, Sunshine."

She smiled back. "Sunshine?" She questioned. "I thought it suit you." He whispered as he leaned in closer. She shook her head and smiled more, if possible. "So Stud," she decided to use her own nickname for him as well. "want to tell me what's going on here?" His smile disappeared. "I don't think you'll be too happy." He stated. She grabbed the first ingredient and measured out the powder. "So do you think it will be better to keep it from me?" She asked not in a mean way. She was being honest – if he thought she shouldn't know then maybe she shouldn't. "Considering it has to do with what attacked you the other night at the pool – no I think it's smarter to tell you." He had measured out the liquid needed and poured it into the beaker. She looked at him and frowned. "You didn't call me." He sounded annoyed and upset. "I'm sorry, I forgot my phone. I would have called you. Really I would have." She stated and placed her hand over his. "I know."

Veda noticed something interesting from the corner of her eye. Erica's hand was traveling up Scott's thigh and he didn't look thrilled. "Isaac, what's going on?" She asked and he followed her gaze. "We think it could be possible that the Kanima is Lydia." He stated and her eyes snapped to his. "Why do you think that?" Her gray eyes were wide in surprise. "Well," he leaned in closer. "we know it's not Stiles, Scott, Allison, you or us. We tested Jackson last night so we are going down the line." She blinked twice. "What do you mean you tested Jackson?" She started to mix the first few ingredients together. "Everyone knows a snake can't be poisoned by its own venom." Isaac stated causing the girl to freeze. "You poisoned him?" She couldn't believe they did that. "We had to make sure. We need to find out who it is. It was the safest way." The blue eyed boy stated.

Mr. Harris rang the bell and Isaac whispered in her ear. "Stay safe." His breath ghosted over her neck causing her to blush and he moved to the next station. She blinked twice. 'Why am I blushing?' Another girl took a spot next to her and she got back to the experiment. She tried to pay attention to her next two partners but she was too busy trying to watch what was going on between all her friends. Thankfully, the last partner seemed to be okay doing most of the work and they got the right end result. A small crystal sat at the bottom of the glass. "… you can eat it." Mr. Harris stated. Veda refused her part of the small cube; she didn't trust herself that much.

"Lydia!" Scott jumped from his seat; the whole class now looking at him. The strawberry blonde started at him for a moment, crystal in her hand. "What?" She questioned. "Nothing." He muttered after looking around the room and sat back down. Veda noticed all her friends watching the strawberry blonde and it hit her. 'The poison.' She frowned as Lydia bit the crystal. Nothing happened. So that meant Lydia was the Kanima, right? The gray eyed girl looked over to Scott and Stiles. The normal human boy looking defeated while was Scott looking out the window. Veda looked out as well and her heart dropped as she noticed the very familiar black Camaro and the man standing outside of it. 'Well shit.'

After class was crazy, Stiles, Allison and Scott ran out leaving her behind. She gathered her things quickly and raced after the two werewolves. "Isaac, Erica hold up!" She zigzagged between people in the hallway. "Hey! Wait!" She called out again and the two stopped in the hallway. Taking a deep breath she looked at them. "So what does this mean for Lydia?" She asked. Erica raised a brow and let out a small laugh. "Like we are going to tell you? You're just going to run to Scott and tell." Erica spun around and continued down the hallway.

Isaac looked at her and grabbed her wrist to have her look at him. "Just stay away from Lydia for now." He stated and let her go before following Erica. The gray eyed girl frowned at his back and sighed. Lydia walked pass her and she decided to join the redhead against Isaac's wishes. She needed to at least act normal right? "Hey Lydia, want to walk together?" She asked. "Only if you want to join me to see the counselor." The girl responded. Veda's hone vibrated – indicating a new text message. 'Stay with Lydia – Stiles.' The girl sighed, she wasn't going to join the redhead but now it looks like she is needed to.

Allison had met up with her in the office as Lydia was at her appointment. "We need to keep Lydia safe from Derek." Veda looked at her. "Do you think he is going to hurt her?" Allison locked her brown eyes with Veda's gray ones. "Worse. He is going to kill her."

Veda couldn't believe that this whole Kanima thing was getting to be this crazy. It was decided that they were going to have a 'study group' at Scott's house; well that's what Lydia would think. For some reason unknown to Veda, Jackson was joining them as well. Before school was released she met her friends in the library only to head back out, Stiles dragging Lydia by her arm. Once in the hallway the red-haired teenager shrugged him off. "If we're doing a study group, why didn't we just stay in the library?" Stiles thought quickly. "Because we're meeting up with somebody else." Lydia continued to walk. "Well, why don't they just meet us at the library?" Stiles cringed for a moment. "Oh that would have been a great idea. Too late." Lydia stopped. "Wait, hold on-" Jackson cut her off by grabbing her arm. "Lydia, shut up and walk."

The four teenagers piled into Stiles Jeep, Veda deciding to follow in her own car. She watched Lydia turn around to look out the back window and she wondered momentarily if it was weird for her to sit next to Jackson – after all Veda knew by now that they had broken up not too long ago. It made her also wonder why Jackson even cared about Lydia's safety – after all he seemed like a total jerk.

The drive to Scott's house wasn't long – about a good ten minutes from the school. Veda pulled her SUV behind Stiles' Jeep and parked. She looked at the house as her friends piled out of the vehicle in front of her. Now that she thought about it she never been to any of her friends' houses. She only told her parents that. They walked into the house and Stiles immediately closed the door and locked all three locks on the green door, getting a weird look from Lydia. The boy looked between Jackson and the redhead before looking at Veda. "Uh… there's been a few break-ins around the neighborhood." He stated and Lydia didn't even pretend that she believed that. There was a pregnant pause before Stiles grabbed a chair and threw it against the door as well. "And a murder." He added as Lydia gave him an unamused looked. 'Not smooth, Stiles.' Veda thought to herself.

Jackson let out an annoyed sigh. "Yeah, it was bad." Stiles just kept talking. Veda shook her head. "Where is the kitchen, I'm going to pour some drinks for everyone." Look at her, not her house and still acting like a host. Stiles pointed her in the direction and she could have sworn she her Jackson ask Lydia to follow him upstairs. 'Hope they don't plan on having make-up sex here.' She thought to herself.

Veda entered the kitchen and smiled. It was nice and neat – much like she thought it would be. She blinked twice and realized she had no idea where anything was in this kitchen. She shrugged her shoulders and started looking through the cabinets. It took her a few moments to find some glasses, she knew that she really shouldn't been looking for drinks – no one was going to actually want them. That's when it clicked she was finding busy work. She didn't want to think about Lydia being the Kanima or that Derek planned on killing her. It wasn't that she was upset about everything it was just moving very fast. She had been her for over a week and her world was spinning in circles, rapidly. She couldn't keep herself balanced. She pulled a glass out for herself and filled it with water. Setting it down on the counter she stared at it.

A hand came up and wrapped around her mouth to muffle her scream. "Shh, it's just me." The voice whispered and she instantly calmed down. He let her go and she spun around to face him. "Isaac, what are you doing?" She asked as she grabbed the front of his jacket. He smirked at her and pulled her in for a hug. "Keeping you safe." He replied. She gave him a confused look. "I am safe." She whispered. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. She closed her eyes at the feel and blushed. He leaned down and pressed their foreheads together and she opened her eyes to look at his. Another confused look from her was the response as he picked her up quickly and walked her across the room to the broom closet where he placed her down. "No matter what you hear I need you to stay here." He smiled at her and closed the door before locking her in.

She tried to rattle the door handle but it didn't work. "Isaac let me out." She stated. She pressed her ear against the door but couldn't hear him. She did hear a slam in the other room, followed by a shatter. "Isaac! Isaac let me out!" She hit the door twice before sliding down to the floor. Someone better let her out like now. There was a lot of growling – so maybe Scott was finally here. Another bang was heard from other room and she heard feet scampering into the kitchen. "Veda?"

She stood quickly. "Stiles! Isaac locked me in the closet! Let me out." She yelled and the door swung open revealing the doe eyed boy. She hugged him quickly, throwing him off balance at first. He hugged her back before letting her go. "You okay?" He asked. She smiled at him. "Yes, just annoyed that everyone thinks that I'm in the way or something." Stiles tilted his head in confusion. "That," She pointed to the closet. "was to 'keep me safe'." Stiles shook his head. "Does everyone think I'm helpless?" She asked. Stiles threw an arm around her shoulder. "Nah, it's a werewolf thing."

They heard the front door open and they walked into the foyer area in time to see Scott throw Isaac and Erica onto the front lawn. He stepped out and Allison, Stiles and herself followed. Derek shook his head. "I think I finally get why you keep refusing me, Scott. You're not an Omega. You're already an Alpha of your own pack." His smile grew. "But you know you can't beat me."

"I can hold you off until the cops get here." Scott stated and in the distance you could hear the wailing of sirens in the distance. Derek frowned up suddenly looked up at the roof of Scott's house, where the soft sound of steps could be heard. The four teenagers ran out to the lawn and looked up; sure enough there was the Kanima. The beast looked back at them and let out a roaring screech before running off. Derek looked at his two fallen pack members and turned to Boyd. "Get them out of here."

Lydia suddenly cam stomping out of Scott's house, catching everyone by surprise. "Would someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" No one could answer her; just a complete silence. "It's Jackson." Scott finally whispered. Veda was confused; she could have sworn Isaac said they tested the all-star lacrosse player. The strawberry brunette decided to help Boyd out with Erica and Isaac since Derek as leaving to follow the Kanima. Stiles began to protest. "Really? How can you help them?" She frowned at him as Boyd put Erica in the back of her SUV. "I don't know Stiles. I trust them, as much as you don't. I think they need someone to have some sort of faith in them." He groaned. "They're not faith – they follow Derek." She turned to Stiles and whispered. "Look, Isaac insists that they do this to keep me safe, even Erica said it today that she didn't want me involved. But these are my friends Stiles and I'm going to be there for them – just like I am there for you guys too. Just… just trust me."

By now Boyd had Erica and Isaac all ready to go, he climbed into the passenger seat and waited for Veda to jump into the vehicle. The strawberry brunette girl hugged her friends before jumping into her car. "The abandoned bus station?" She questioned and Boyd gave her a look of surprise and then sighed. "Of course you knew." He shook his head and looked back to Isaac, who was still passed out in the back.

A/N: Sorry it's been a few days. I apologize. School started back up and I've been busy. I'll try to keep the updates regular. Please comment anything you wish to say. =)