Pretty girls come from the ugliest places; you come from the worst of the all.
Heartbreakers like you are hard to erase, you lift me up just so I fall.
"Emma." I looked up from typing on my computer and raised an eyebrow at my dad.
For as long as I can remember my dad has been my closest ally. Whenever Allison and I would fight when we were younger he was always the peace maker. He used to force us to sit down together in the living room floor with our backs against each other. We would have to sit in silence for as long as it took for us to get over whatever problem we had and no matter how many times he forced us to do it, no matter how many times we swore it wouldn't work, it always did. Sometimes it would be minutes before Allison and I were best friends again, other times it would take hours, but it always worked. I think maybe sometimes my dad had more faith in mine and Allison's relationship than we did.
"Can you run to the grocery store for Mom?" he asked, leaning against the doorframe of my room. "She needs milk." I nodded and rolled off of my bed. I grabbed the first pair of shoes I could find and slid them on and then grabbed my purse from my dresser and my cell phone.
"Just milk?" I asked after I'd gotten all my stuff.
"Yeah, she's going on another one of her baking things." I nodded, understanding immediately what he meant.
When I was younger and I was having a bad day my mom was always waiting for me with a cupcake and an open ear to listen to my rant. She did the same thing for Allison, Kate, and Aunt Victoria. It was her way of showing that she cared about us without actually saying it. We'd all just gotten used to it over the years. My mom got out all of her frustrations and anxiety by baking.
I grabbed the keys from my dad's hand and tip toed up to kiss his cheek. I walked past him and down the stairs. I stepped outside and smiled at Allison and Gerard, who were both standing at her car talking.
"Where are you headed?" Gerard asked me.
"I'm going to the grocery store for my mom, she needs more milk. Did you need anything?" I asked with a polite smile. I figured it was easier if I just went along pretending like my grandfather wasn't trying to murder every werewolf in town, including one of my newest friends.
Gerard shook his head and gestured towards my dad's car with a smile. I nodded at him and then sent Allison a look, letting her know that she and I had to talk when I got back. She smiled, showing me that she understood and then turned back to our grandfather.
I climbed into the car and started the engine. I turned on the headlights and easily backed out of the driveway and then started driving towards the grocery store in town. I glanced at the clock and frowned at the glowing numbers. It was already nine o'clock and Jackson hadn't made any effort to call me back after earlier that night.
A part of me expected that behavior, because even though he acted differently around me, I knew exactly who he was and who he had been. I knew that he was the big school jerk who broke Lydia's heart and didn't seem to mind at all. I knew what I had gotten myself into with this whole thing, or at least I thought I did. Despite knowing exactly what kind of guy Jackson was, it still hurt a little to find out that I wasn't going to be any different than any other girl he'd dated before. I frowned down at my phone and put it in the cup holder.
When I got to the grocery store I parked my car in the lot and hurried inside. I found the milk easily enough and headed towards a checkout lane. I just wanted to get in and out and go back home so that I could attempt to sleep and hope that tomorrow was better. I smiled politely at the cashier and handed over the appropriate amount of cash for the milk. I grabbed it by the handle and walked out of the store, not even bothering with a bag.
I frowned when the lights in the parking lot flickered. I glanced up at them and shook my head, picking up my pace towards the car and grabbing the keys to unlock it as soon as I got over to it. I walked around the back of the car and stopped in my tracks, though, when I saw someone leaning against the driver's side of the car.
I hesitantly walked nearer, trying to figure out who the person was before I grabbed the mace out of my purse and sprayed them to high heaven. I let out a tiny sigh when I saw Isaac looking back at me. I continued walking towards the car, but kept my guard up just in case. He was still a new werewolf and I was still a girl from a family of hunters.
"What are you doing?" I asked him, trying not to sound like I was being impolite. I raised an eyebrow at crossed my arms.
"I was waiting for you." He told me, standing up straight and now towering over me. "We haven't talked in a while, I didn't know if you were okay or not."
"Shouldn't you be with Derek?" I asked, looking around everywhere but at Isaac. He sighed; clearly annoyed with the way this conversation was going and stepped closer to me. I took a tiny step back and finally looked up at him.
"What's going on with you?" he asked.
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. This conversation was becoming awkward and I was the only one to blame for it. Isaac was just a concerned friend, someone that I had helped and who wanted to return the favor. He thought there was something wrong with me because I'd been spending more time with Jackson the last few days and didn't even think about calling him to talk or ask him how he was. I chewed on my lip and nodded, looking down at my scuffed boots.
"I'm fine, it's just-"I looked up. "I don't know what to do. I mean, my mom is on a war path. Apparently she wants to avenge my aunt by killing off teen werewolves who haven't actually done anything wrong. My dad kidnapped me the other night to teach me a lesson because I saved you on the full moon. My grandfather is my principal, so he's basically watching me every step I take and my might be possible boyfriend hasn't spoken to me all night." I looked back at Isaac after ranting for a few minutes with a shy smile. I hadn't really expected to burst all of that out and I certainly didn't expect to tell Isaac all of my problems. Usually Allison was the first person to ever hear me complain about something, but clearly she was busy with her own issues. It was obvious that Isaac hadn't really expected that outburst either. He frowned and then looked over at me.
"I'm sorry if I'm making your life more complicated." He frowned some more, making his eyebrows furrow a bit.
"No, don't apologize." I shook my head. "I'm just being a complacent girl, it comes with the territory. Look, I'm sorry. I have to get home because my mom's expecting me, but I'll call you, okay? I don't mean to just shove you off to the side. You can talk to me." I smiled timidly up at him.
Isaac nodded and then stepped around me, headed towards the woods next to the supermarket. I nodded and then stepped over to my car.
"Hey Emma." I turned to look at him over my shoulder. "You don't have to carry the weight of the world, you know?" I frowned in confusion. "You should really think about yourself before you think about everyone else." He smiled and then nodded and headed off to the woods without looking back.
I smiled and then turned and climbed into the car.
On my way home I drove past a garage, I frowned though, when I saw the ambulance and police lights surrounding the front of it. I just barely glanced over to see Stiles sitting in the back of the ambulance next to another man before I completely drove past the scene. I hurried home then, handing over the milk to my mother as soon as I walked through the door and running up the stairs to my room.
I dialed Allison's number quickly and made sure to close and lock my door. I turned around and sat on the edge of my bed, bouncing my foot up and down and chewing on my lip in anticipation.
With Isaac.
"I'm teaching you how to survive." Derek pushed himself away from Isaac and stood up. "And that's going to be hard." Isaac frowned in confusion. "Next time you go off to see your precious little hunter, make sure you don't come back smelling like her." Derek walked away from the three betas and into the subway car.
"If they wanted us dead why aren't they coming for us now?" Isaac asked, gripping onto the arm Derek had just broken. "What are they waiting for?"
"I don't know." Derek replied. "But they're planning something and you, especially, know that's not our only problem." Derek said as he stepped closer. "Whatever that thing is that killed Isaac's father, I think it killed someone else last night. And until I find out what it is, you all need to learn everything that I know. As fast as I can teach you." Derek told them, looking over his shoulder.
With Emma.
Allison and I sat at a table outside of the school. I frowned down at the textbook in front of me, trying to focus on the words of Shakespeare rather than on the conversation I'd had with Isaac last night. If my life weren't complicated enough, of course it had to have happened that I saw the boy I'd first been drawn to in Beacon Hills on the same night that the boy I'd been making out with for the past week had been ignoring me.
I'd confessed everything to Allison last night. Everything about the first time I'd met Isaac Lahey to when I'd helped Stiles at the police station to the conversation we'd had that night. I also told her all about Jackson and I and how confused I was. Basically, my cousin told me I was stupid for going after the jerk that broke her best friend's heart and one of Beacon Hills' newest betas. I countered back with her that she was still sneaking around with Scott even though practically our entire family was well aware of the fact that he was a werewolf and at some point wanted him dead.
Now, we were both pretending like everything was back to normal and trying to focus on our homework. Allison glanced up, searching the area for Stiles to come running to deliver Scott's message in their newest form of communication.
I glanced up and saw Stiles headed towards us. I desperately wanted to ask him what happened last night, but before I could he started relaying the message to Allison, asking about some kind of book our family might have.
"I think you mean-"Stiles interrupted her.
"No, I mean bestiary and the two of you; I don't wanna know what's going on in your heads." Stile replied. I laughed and gathered my books.
"I'll see you guys later." I waved and headed off as Allison and Stiles began talking about the book.
I walked over to my locker and turned in my combination easily. I placed the books in my arms into the locker and replaced them with the books I needed for my next class. I stepped back and closed the door and then jumped in surprise when I saw Jackson leaning against the locker next to mine with that ever present smirk on his face.
I frowned at him and turned on my heel, headed towards my class without even saying anything to him.
"Oh come on, Emma!" he followed after me. "Why are you mad?" he asked, leaning over close to me.
"I'm mad because I called you last night and you never called me back. I would've settled for a text, a note on a pigeon's foot, a message in a bottle, anything." I frowned at him. "Jackson, there's weird stuff going on in this town and I was worried."
"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Emma. I don't need you running in with your little crossbow to save the day." He waved his arms around.
I stopped walking and glared at him. Jackson sighed and stepped closer to me.
"Look, I was practicing lacrosse, I got distracted. I went home and I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I'm sorry." He told me.
"You're not very good at apologies." I told him with a frown as I walked into the classroom next to us for my next class. I saw him rolls his eyes and look up at the ceiling before stomping away. I smirked to myself and then walked over to my seat.