"I hear you're going to lacrosse try-outs. Soon, you're going to be the queen of school spirit. Our little sophomore is growing up so fast."

With a roll of her eyes, Genie leaned forward to smack her forehead against the cool metal of her locker with a satisfying rattle. Quiet laughter came from Isaac beside her and her face flushed as she turned to shoot him a small glare before continuing to pack up her bag for the day. Isaac was leaning on the locker next to her, a self-satisfied smirk settled across his lips. Closing her locker with a bang, Genie straightened up and squared her shoulders, walking pointedly away from the boy without a word.

"Oh, c'mon. I'm kidding," he called, jogging to catch up to her and match her pace. She glanced at him, eyes narrowing in suspicion as he painted an innocent look on his face. His eyes widen a little, his lower lip jutting out. Genie rolled her eyes and slowed her pace so she wasn't rushing to get away from him anymore. "So, are you going because you want to check someone out or-"

She halted in the middle of the hallways, shooting him an exasperated look as she clenched a hand around her backpack strap. Isaac shrugged, trying to look innocent again and doing a horrible job as he failed to hold in a laugh. There was something very strange about Isaac Lahey, but Genie couldn't quite put her finger on it. Something had happened first semester, she gathered. Whatever it was, it had affected the whole group, but Isaac and Scott and Lydia seemed the most wrecked by it, for lack of a better word. Lydia had looked almost horrified when Isaac had shown up in the cafeteria the first day. Genie didn't want to pry, not when none of the happiness or humor that Isaac spewed reached his eyes, and not when he looked ready to fall apart at a single word.

"I mean, that's why most girls go to lacrosse try-outs, okay? I just don't understand why you're going, because obviously you'd just be going to check out me, but I'm not trying out, so- Wait, come back!"

Genie groaned as she turned away from him and continued down the hall, trying to slow her breathing a little as she quickened her pace when she heard feet following her again. He caught up to her easily, matching her step for step as she steadfastly refused to look at him. The silence grew to an uncomfortable length between them until they reached the doors outside.

"Sorry. Force of habit," Isaac mumbled, going quiet as they walked out. With a glance, Genie noticed the sudden vacancy in his eyes, a hollowness settling on his face. She let out a small sigh, nodding her head to herself and pulling her coat a little more securely around her.

The day before, Lydia had told her to single out a person to be her friend, and Genie had spent nearly all night distracted as she tried to figure out who to work on. She had made lists, scribbled down notes of what she knew about people and how she thought they would react and how it would benefit her in the long run. In the end, she still hadn't had an answer. Walking next to Isaac, however, seemed to settle her into a decision.

"I suppose… everyone has their habits. It's okay," she replied softly, shooting him a small smile. He didn't respond for a moment, choosing to stare at her blankly before smiling a little himself.

"What about you?"

With a faint blush, she nodded and looked down at her feet. "Even me, the stunning picture of social grace that I am," she said quietly, a hint of bitterness tingeing her voice. Isaac let out a snort, looking ahead towards the bleachers.

"You're not doing as bad as you think," he confided. It was Genie's turn to snort, her hand shooting up to her face to cover her mouth and her eyes raising to look at Isaac. Isaac only laughed, amusement clear on his face. Her embarrassment grew as she continued on silently, trying to quicken her pace and pretend she didn't exist. She was cut off by the bleachers, Isaac stepping in front of her to face her. "I'm serious."

She stared at him doubtfully for a moment before looking back down at her feet and nodding just barely. The look on his face was earnest, but Genie was beyond convinced of her social ineptitude. It seemed Isaac chose to let the subject drop. Without another word, he tugged on her backpack strap to lead her forward and around to the front of the bleachers. Kira waved them over, a large smile on her face.

"Hey Isaac, hi Genie. Lydia told me you were coming to the try-outs today. You'll sit with us, right?" Kira asked quickly, her smile stretched a little wider than was necessary. Genie guessed that the group had been told to include her as much as possible and had to withhold a wince at the awkward atmosphere. When Lydia had told her to go to try-outs, she had kind of assumed that the girl would show up as well. Apparently she was wrong. She gave a quick nod to Kira before Isaac continued to pull her up onto the bleachers and settle down himself a row up from where the other two sat. With a look between the two girls and Isaac, she sat down to his right.

Malia seemed focused on the book in front of her, her head bent down as she read, until she closed it with a snap and turned to face Genie with a frown. "Do you understand this book at all?" she asked, her voice pitching down in annoyance. Genie glanced at the cover, the words 'The Crucible' spelled out in a rich, swirling script, before smiling apologetically.

"Yeah, I- uh- I had to read the same book at my other school at the end of my freshman year, so I-"

"Can you help me? I don't understand why the hell Abigail is such a bitch, and reading this dumb book is giving me a headache," Malia interrupted, frown deepening. Genie let out a small laugh, covering her mouth to stop herself from getting any louder. Kira was giggling from beside Malia as well, unable to stop when the girl in question looked between the two of them in confusion. It took Genie a moment to be able to speak, her face red in embarrassment. By the time Genie had finished explaining, the boys were all jogging out onto the field. Malia and Kira turned back around to watch as Coach Finstock began to talk at the group and start up the try-outs.

With a small sigh, Genie slipped her backpack off of her shoulders and shifted until she was practically sitting on the floor in-between seats. Her legs rested against where she had just been sitting and her back was pressed against the seat behind her as she snuggled in to get more comfortable. The truth was that Genie didn't care for sports much. On occasion, she liked to watch soccer or even tennis, but she got bored very easily with most sports. Try-outs were bound to be a whole different level of boredom for her. It was going to be a while before she could leave. Isaac stifled a small laugh, turning to raise an eyebrow and look down on her patronizingly. When his hand came to pat her on the head, she swatted at his fingers and rolled her eyes in response. Her attempts at focusing on the field were pitiful, and very soon broken by Isaac squeezing into the footspace of the seat beside her.

"Lacrosse not your thing?" Isaac asked conspiratorially, leaning down so he could talk quieter. Genie shrugged noncommittally, weaving her fingers together and squeezing her hands. With an unimpressed look, Isaac started talking again. "I mean, I know it must be so much more boring without me down there to look at, but-"

"Oh my God, seriously?" she hissed, side-eyeing him as he started to laugh and leaned back. Grumbling under her breath, Genie tried to calm the way her heart sped up at seeing him laugh more sincerely. A small, traitorous smile wormed its way onto her face despite her best efforts to keep it at bay. Isaac nudged her a few times, waggling his eyebrows when she finally looked up at him. "You're the worst. Why am I trying to be friends with you?"

He smirked at that, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning a little closer. "And here I thought you just wanted to watch boys play lacrosse," he whispered, his lips twitching up in a suggestive smile. She could only stare for a moment, helpless, as her heart sped up a little again. He seemed to smirk a little wider at her unease, as if he could tell just what effect he was having on her. Unable to speak, Genie reached up to push his face away from her so she could collect herself. Isaac seemed to settle a little after that, though the grin didn't leave his face. "Anyway, you said something about trying to become friends with me. Truth?"

"Mmhmmm," she hummed quickly, fixing her eyes out on the field. He was curiously silent beside her, and Genie risked another glance in his direction. His face was blank as he stared out at the players, his eyes unfocused. It was the same look Lydia had had the night before in the car, the same vacant expression she had seen on all of their faces at some point in the past two days. She poked her elbow out to bump into him, watching as he blinked quickly and looked down at her with a dazed, incomplete smile. Despite already knowing the answer, she had to ask. "You okay?"

Even his half-smile seemed to break a little more at that, his lips popping open as he seemed to battle with an answer. In the end, he closed his mouth and nodded resolutely instead of trying to put his lie into words. Genie nodded as well, turning her head forward again and curling her arms a little tighter around herself. She didn't quite know what to say to that, still unwilling to push whatever sensitive subject they all held close to them back out into the world. However, that didn't mean she was going to stop trying to be friends with them altogether.

"Me trying to be friends with you does mean that- y'know- if you decide that you're not okay, I'll be here. Somewhere. If you need," she replied uneasily, keeping her eyes focused forward as she spoke. Genie breathed in shakily, clearing her throat a little and trying to distract herself from the anxiety building up in her stomach from the silence.

A hand popped in front of her vision, holding out a phone in a beat up navy case. Genie looked over at Isaac, hesitantly taking the phone from his hands. He pointed at it, still not looking at her. Peering down at the lit-up screen, she smiled gently when she saw it was set to add a new contact. Her fingers typed in her full name and her number before she pressed save and handed it back to him. She felt her own phone buzz in her jacket pocket a minute later. 'Little successes.'

"What's wrong with you?"

Genie jolted, face heating up as she looked down at Malia. For once, the blonde wasn't looking at her as she asked the question. She was looking at Kira. The smaller girl looked like she had been caught stealing from her parents.

"Me? Nothing," Kira said, her words coming out a little too quick. The smile she gave was unconvincing. Genie pushed herself out from between the bleachers, leaning forward a little to look at Kira closer. Malia glanced up at her and raised an eyebrow before turning back to her interrogation.

"You reek of anxiety and it's distracting," Malia countered, giving her knowing look. She closed the notes she was looking at soundlessly. "What's going on?"

The Japanese girl seemed conflicted, looking between Genie and Malia, before deflating altogether. "Scott and I sort of had this thing happen, but it wasn't much of a thing, and now I'm starting to think it never was anything at all," she spilled, biting her lip nervously. Genie gaped a little, snapping her mouth shut when Kira looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes. "What?"

"Well- I mean- I just thought that you two were… a thing," Genie replied lamely, using Kira's own words as she tried to define what she had seen them as. The two were practically inseparable at lunch, always talking and laughing together. To her, they had always seemed like they were a couple already. Kira smiled almost wistfully for a fraction of a second before her face dropped back into worry.

"That's the thing. I don't know if it's a… thing," Kira answered, shoulder dropping again as she rubbed a hand over her eyes.

"What do you want it to be?" Malia asked, staring at Kira and cocking her head.

"More," she said honestly, the anxiousness on her face fading as she looked back out at the boy on the field. He and Stiles were preparing to guard the net together as one player at a time took them on. The group on the bleachers all focused in on them, watching as they knocked down and practically man-handled everyone coming towards them.

Everyone except for one boy.

He was smaller, but he practically danced through the defense that Scott and Stiles had set up, scoring easily. Beside her, Isaac let out a low whistle followed by a muttered curse. Genie raised her eyebrows and turned to him. He didn't seem to notice for a second, keeping his eyes trained on the field, before shifting to move up onto the bench beside her and start speaking.

"Scott and Stiles have been kind of sucking all day. I mean, they were doing really well with the defense, but that kid… I don't know who he is, but he's really, really good. He's making them look like idiots," he muttered, eyebrows raising in interest when Malia stood up suddenly and started to make a scene.

"That was luck!" she cried, gesture towards the goal as if it had personally done something wrong. Genie put a hand over her eyes and slumped backwards with a sigh, trying to ignore the number of eyes currently watching their group. When Coach Finstock didn't reply, she continued to shout. "Do over!"

"Sweetheart, there's no do-overs. This is practice," he said flippantly, turning back around.

"Ten bucks on Scott and Stiles."

There was hardly a pause before he spun and pointed at her. "I'll take that action. Hey, get back in there, Liam!"

Malia sat down, turning to look at the rest of the group victoriously, the grin dropping when she noticed the exasperated looks on everyone else's faces. With a huff, she turned back around and leaned forward to watch the redo of the attack. Genie removed her hand from her eyes, biting on a nail absentmindedly as Isaac leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Everyone on the bleachers seemed suddenly nervous as Scott and Stiles squared up and Liam began to run towards them. He evaded Stiles again, letting the taller boy glance off his back, but he hit Scott head on and was practically tossed over his back.

Everything went quiet for a moment when the boy hit the ground with a sickening thud, the air tense. Just as suddenly, everything began moving again. Genie breathed out quickly, pulling her hand away from her mouth as she realized she had bit down hard enough that she had started bleeding. Scott and Stiles were rushing to help the boy as he tried to stand, Coach Finstock rushing out towards the group. When Liam tried to stand, he faltered and seemed unstable without assistance. Quickly, Scott and Stiles moved to hold him up and started to basically carry him off the field. With a yell from the coach, the rest of the boys began to run a lap.

"Damnit," Isaac hissed, leaning back quickly drawing his hand down his face. Grumbling, Genie wiped at the spot of blood on her thumb and kept her eyes down, not knowing what to say. If Liam was actually hurt, that could be really bad for Scott. It had been a good block, but it was too rough. There had been no real reason to push so hard, but Genie could only guess that Scott had felt like a string pulled too tight and threatening to snap all day after such a grueling practice. Wrapped up in her thoughts, she didn't notice the lacrosse ball hurtling towards the group until Kira had jolted and caught it effortlessly just before it hit Malia square in the face. Isaac sat up straighter beside her, sharing a wide-eyed look with her as the coach yelled over at them.

"Oh. Uh. Wow. Nice catch!" he called, pausing before waving his arms at Kira. "Throw it back!"

Kira stood up quickly, looking over at Malia, before jerking the stick forward to send it flying towards Coach Finstock. It hit him in the center of the chest, knocking him to his knees as he doubled over and coughed. When he could straighten up, he stared up at Kira as if she was a gift from above. The rest of the group beamed at her, including Genie.

"S-Someone ask her if she's ever played lacrosse!"

A little while had passed since Kira had joined the group on the field for the last few minutes of the practice, during which Malia had gotten a text from Stiles saying that he and Scott were taking Liam to the hospital to get his ankle x-rayed. When the try-outs came to an end, Malia stood and said goodbye with a quick wave. She picked up Kira's bag and met her halfway. The smaller girl shot an ecstatic grin towards Isaac and Genie, waving as she practically bounced away with a lacrosse stick in her hands. Genie waved back shyly before turning and picking up her backpack.

Isaac was already on his feet, jerking his head towards the bottom of the bleachers and leading the way down. Wordlessly, Genie followed, quickening her pace when he headed towards the parking lot so she could catch up with him.

"How do you get home?"

Blinking up at him, Genie raised an eyebrow. "I just walk home" she answered, shrugging her shoulders. The pair continued to walk towards the driveway that connected to the street.

"You just walk home?" he questioned, his tone a little hard as he shot her a disbelieving look.

"Y-Yes?" Genie replied hesitantly, the word stuttered as it came out like more of a question itself than an answer.

"I'll walk with you."

Isaac walked ahead of her. Genie, however, had stopped in her tracks and was practically floundering for an excuse, her mouth opening and closing quickly. While she had singled Isaac out as the person she would befriend, she was a little baffled at how easily it was all coming. He wasn't fighting it, or trying to ease into the friendship. The rest of the group still kept her at arms' length, except for Lydia who had practically cut off Genie's own arms when it came to boundaries. She hadn't been expecting Isaac, of the whole group, to be so open to being friends.

Turning on his heel, Isaac raised an eyebrow at her and tilted his head for her to follow. She scurried towards him, balling up her hands in her coat pockets and keeping her eyes down. "I can walk home by myself, you know," she mumbled, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"I don't doubt that that is a skill you have, Genie," Isaac teased, bumping into her to make her start walking. She didn't budge, though, instead looking up at him in frustrated. His light demeanor dropped as he stared back. "Did you not hear a word that Stiles said at lunch today? There's a murderer on the loose. You're not walking home alone."

"What do you mean there's a murderer on the loose?" she squeaked, her eyes wide and her heart thumping nervously in her chest. Isaac rolled his eyes and pulled her forward by her elbow to start walking towards town.

"I mean, some kid's entire family got axed last night, except for him, and the guy who did it got away," he explained.

Genie felt like she could get sick then and there. 'An entire family, just gone,' she thought, breathing shallowly at the nervous panic flooding through her. It was horrible enough for the family to be killed, but for there to be a survivor, just one person out of all of them who lived, was even worse. She couldn't even imagine going through that type of pain with her own family. As they continued to walk, she didn't dare speak, letting Isaac drag her along for a while before he finally stopped them at a corner.

"So… Am I just going to pull you through town or are you going to take the lead?" he prodded. Genie shook her head, turning to look at the cross streets before nodding her head to the left and pulling her arm gently from his grip. They walked in silence for a while, Isaac looking ahead stoically and Genie looking pointedly at her shoes.

"My favorite color is purple," he admitted suddenly, turning to face her for a moment with a curious looking smile. It was teasing, but cautious, like he was trying to hold himself back as usual while still trying to reach out. With a small grin, Genie nodded.

"I like navy, or greens. I like cold colors," she countered, her voice light. He hummed, as if considering her answer before shrugging in acceptance.

"Favorite place you've lived?"

Genie bit her lip, her face scrunching up as she thought over the list of places. There had been a lot of nice cities, and towns. She hadn't really disliked any of the places her mother had had to work, but a favorite?

"Mmm, Florida. We were right on the coast in this sleepy little town, but close enough to Clearwater for my mom's job. It was so peaceful there," she murmured, her voice quiet and dreamy as she remembered the place. Her family had lived there when she was younger, only in sixth grade, and she had been heartbroken when they had had to leave.

"What was your favorite part about it?" Isaac asked, his voice equally quiet. Genie looked over at him, smiling softly as she sorted through her memories. There had been so many things she had loved about living in Florida, the heat being one of them. That had never been what was best about her life there, though.

"The quiet. It was so- so- I don't even know how to explain it. My older brother and I used to go down to the beach at sunset and sit there just listening to the waves. They were so loud, but they made everything else go quiet. It was so easy to feel at peace there. I never- I never felt nervous, or worried. I always knew that I could just walk down to the water and feel better," she recounted, smiling faintly as she spoke. The smile dropped little by little until she felt empty, painfully aware of just how much she had changed since she had lived in Florida. Genie was almost constantly in a state of anxiousness since leaving the state. She reached up to scratch at her neck uncertainly, shooting Isaac an unconvincing smile as he frowned at her. For a few minutes, they were quiet again as they turned onto Genie's street, Isaac seeming lost in his own mind again.

Coming to a stop in front of her house, Genie turned to bid her farewells, freezing when she saw the contemplative look Isaac was giving her. He waited a moment before speaking. "Maybe you just need to find another place that makes you feel like that," he suggested, shrugging his shoulders. Genie shrugged in return, rocking back on her heels. "I could help, if you want."

She blinked and peered up at him. Isaac had and unsure look on his face, and she found she couldn't say no to his nervous sincerity. "I'd like that," she agreed, biting her lower lip and nodding. She felt her face grow warm, and knew there was nothing she could do to stop it. At her words, Isaac settled a little, looking more certain as he nodded and backed away a few feet and turned to walk away.

"Do you walk to school?" he asked, throwing the question over his shoulder.

"My mom drives me," she called, watching as he raised a hand and held it up in a quick goodbye, not bothering to give word to his retreat. Genie watched him walk down the block a few houses before she turned to climb onto her porch and into the house, ignoring the beaming, scruffy face in the window.

Her father was waiting on the other side of the door, his mouth curled into a jubilant smile as Genie stepped in. She held up a hand quickly, silencing any question from him with a firm, "No!"

"Oh, c'mon!" he called after her as she bounded up the stairs, taking them in twos to get to her room quickly and shut the door behind her. Once she had dropped her backpack on the floor by her door and dumped her coat atop it, she leaned back against the wood, holding a hand over her chest and closing her eyes. She took a deep breath and shook her head, letting her head bang against the door.

"No," she murmured to herself, leaning down to grab her phone out of her coat and plodding over to collapse on her bed. She opened up the one message from an unknown number, unable to keep the small smile off of her face. "No."

[From: Isaac Lahey, 4:16pm]

I'll be here somewhere if you need too.

A/N: So like, forreals thank you all for reading so much. I'm so happy that you guys seem to like it. I'll take 9 favs and 11 follows as a huge compliment, and thank you for your comments and messages. You guys are the best, loves. All feedback is seriously appreciated.