Chapter 44

Melanie was bed bound in the hospital for a week. Isaac, though she loved him, was being a serious pain in the ass. He would come to her side at the slightest twitch. The only good thing that came out of this was his insistence in helping her bathe. It was selfish and ridiculous since she could do it herself. The benefits were quite the perk though.

The ER doctor that was supposed to be working her case was found dead. The doctor on call after him was found in her SUV wrapped around a tree, but Scott had gotten to Deaton just in time. The veterinarian had been strung up by his hands in a warehouse downtown. This new and sudden change that overcame Scott, abrupt as it was, helped him to free Deaton.

"He's become an alpha," Derek had told them.

Stiles fed her the rest of the details when he came to visit after school and also dumped all of her missed homework onto her feet. She nearly beat the crap out of the side of his head with her casted arm. The shocks of pain shooting up her leg kept her from doing so. Isaac did it for her and stated what an idiot he was.

And as nice as it was for Stiles to visit and keep the two of them updated, it bothered the living hell out of her. She wasn't allowed to walk very much. She had to put on her best sneaking techniques just to go down to the cafeteria. Melissa had caught her once. She told her to take the elevator and steered Isaac in the opposite direction. That woman was a godsend sometimes.

"I need the exercise," Melanie had whined to Isaac when he had caught her.

"You need rest." He put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed gently. She arched into her hands, hoping he'd massage him.

"I'm sick of rest. If you don't let me walk I'm never talking to you again," she added.

Isaac feigned hurt feelings with a jut of his lower lip. Melanie just sneered at him and remained defiant, trying to wriggle away from him. This only got him to scoop her up and carry her back to bed.

When she was given permission to go back to school, which she didn't need, Isaac refused to give her the car keys.

"I know how to work pedals and steer. Give me my keys," she grunted, reaching up on her tippy toes for them.

With difficulty and some jumping, she finally peeled them from his fingers and made it to school. She missed the gross stink of hopelessness to be honest. Her arm was still in a cast but it would be able to come off in three weeks. Her busted lips were mostly healed though and her black eyes were now

As she made her way to her first class, with Isaac at her side of course, Finstock pulled her into his classroom by the arm. The rough yank sent sharp pains up her arm and down her side to her toes nearly making her fall over. She bit back an ugly groan, but couldn't manage to do the same about the grimace on her face. He glared at Isaac who tried to follow them then slammed the classroom door in his face. The window part rattled and Finstock yelled at Melanie. She stared at him unflinching, but bored instead. She rubbed her shoulder and fixed her grey V-neck that nearly exposed parts that should never be exposed and then pulled out her late homework from her bag and put on the desk behind him.

After he stopped yelling, she turned and walked out of the classroom and proceeded to class. Finstock looked at Isaac with an ingrained glare, his eyes doing that creepy thing where they bulge from their sockets. Isaac hurried after Melanie. She laughed quietly and took his hand, lacing her fingers with his.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"He wanted to know where I was for the last month and a half. He told me how I had a lot of homework to make up and that he wanted to give me detention and all of this other bullshit. He's also pissy about all of the cross country meets I've missed," she explained, shrugging. "I gave him the make-up homework."

He gave her an unsure look, his eyebrows furrowing. She squeezed his hand.

"It's nothing to be worried about. I'm just going to spend a lot of time after school."

"As if we don't have enough issues." Isaac shook his head annoyed.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'm doing great already. And, though you've been a serious pain, you've been really great." She stepped in his path, making him stop. He looked down at her with a soft but still worrying gaze. She didn't know how he did it, but he could make her switch from annoyed to swooned in an instant. She reached up with her broken arm and brushed her fingers across his cheeks.

"You almost weren't," he said.

"There have been a lot of times that I almost wasn't."

"And each time I nearly died too."

The darkening in his eyes put truth into his words. Melanie took her hand back.

"While you were stuck in that place, I couldn't sleep. There was a point that my ribs cracked. I could feel some of what happened to you." His face fell. He stepped closer to her.

Melanie glanced around. The halls were slowly emptying out as people got to class. Isaac's hand graced her collar bone and slid to the nape of her neck. He pressed his face into the other side of her neck. The air shuttering from his chest passed her ear. She wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. It stretched her back, making it pop in some places, relieving small aches.

"I'm okay. I'm tougher than I look." She let go and her arms relaxed at her sides.

"She thinks you're a main player," he said.

He was referring to the darach. Melanie scoffed, shaking her head. His worry was causing her to get unnerved. She refused to let him see it though, and tensed her muscles just enough to stop shaking. He couldn't see it. If he did notice the fact that she had been thinking about it he would go off the wall.

The lunar eclipse was drawing nearer. Stiles and Danny were still looking into the exact date. Hopefully, they found out soon.

"For all she knows, I am," Melanie replied.

"Hey," a light, airy voice called.

Melanie and Isaac pulled apart and turned. Ms. Blake stood in her doorway. She eyed both teenagers skeptically.

"Get to class before you two are late," she said after a few awkward minutes. She didn't look away but waited. Melanie didn't miss the cold stare. She just nodded and gave Isaac one last glance before walking off. Danny had a seat for her when she came in. The bell rang seconds after she sat down.

"How are you feeling?" Danny whispered.

"Better than yesterday, but you know Isaac."

"How's he doing then?" Danny's forehead creased. He knew how Isaac was. He'd been helping to get Melanie better faster.

"Not so well, though he tries to hide it."

Danny nodded, staring down at his notebook. His forearms tensed as he clenched his fists. Melanie glanced up at the teacher and caught Stiles's worried glance. Scott still wasn't acknowledging her. Stiles looked at Scott then back at her, his eyebrows raised sympathetically. Scott was still pissed. Fine.

She glanced over at Danny. He was still tense. The vein in his forearm led a trail down to his hand.

"I'll be fine." She reassured him.

"It's not that. Haven't you noticed it yet?"

He snapped his head at her with a harsh glare, making her jump.

"What?"

"Everyone is choosing sides. Scott, Lydia, Allison and Isaac. Derek, Cora, Stiles, Ethan Aiden, me? It's like everyone is falling apart."

"What? No." Melanie shook her head. That's not what was happening. Everyone was just working on getting things back to normal, which was still death or death situations, but there were no sides.

"Yes. Scott doesn't trust Derek."

"What about you?" Melanie whispered, hunching down in her seat a little as the teacher eyed her disapprovingly.

"I trust you. You trust Derek."

Melanie nodded stiffly and looked past him at the wall where a lively colored poster was taped. The top corner was ripped. The longer she looked at the more she got annoyed. There were three teenagers laughing and above them were the words, 'Do you know who your true friends are?'.

After the last bell of the day, Scott went to the locker room. Finstock wanted him on the field for lacrosse immediately. He had to try out for captain again. It'd be effortless.

He couldn't quit thinking about the fighting ring. Melanie confessed to a lot. He squeezed the handle of his lacrosse stick tightly, denting it. The netting was grass stained from past years. Melanie had expected that she wouldn't get out of that place.

"I still think you shouldn't use your werewolf powers," Stiles stated, peering at Scott from around his locker door. Scott snapped from his thoughts and nodded mindlessly.

"I say screw it," Isaac piped up.

Scott smirked Isaac chuckled and shut his locker.

"Uh no, bad idea," Stiles snapped.

"That"s how I got the position last time," Scott said.

Yeah, but-" Stiles was quickly cut off by cat whistles.

"Scott McCall!"

Isaac's eyes widened. He spun around right as Melanie, her face in full of rage, was storming towards them. Boys got out of the way, pressing their backs to the lockers. Stiles cringed, then looked down at his half naked self and opened the bottom locker and hid behind it.

Melanie didn't acknowledge Stiles or Isaac. She went straight for Scott. Grabbing him by the hair, she yanked him hard and shoved him against the opposite lockers. If she would've been a werewolf her eyes would've been glowing furiously for all to see.

"You're pissed at me, fine. Whatever. But don't try to force other people to be all angry like you and choose sides. You don't even understand what Derek is about. You probably haven't even tried."

She paused taking a few steps then swung back around. Scott took a step back and set his lacrosse stick down.

"Do you realize what you are?" the anger was gone like a flash and replaced with wonder. "You opened yourself up to it. It's nobody's fault, Scott."

She knew he understood her. Her eyes got icy again.

"Stop being a dick. I get it enough from Peter. I don't want to worry about two people wanting me dead. I have enough problems," she snapped.

Scott's mouth opened to speak.

"Rouxe!"

Melanie spun around. Finstock stood in the doorway of his office staring at her appalled. His whistle was pressed between his teeth. He clenched the clipboard in his hand tightly.

"This is the boys' locker room. Get the hell out!"

"I'm going!" she hollered back. "Plus," she eyed Isaac with an approving smirk, "it's nothing I haven't seen before."

Finstock glared at her. Her eyes widened and she scurried quickly out of the room, her ponytail whipping behind her. Scott stared after her. A sigh of guilt washed away every bit of anger he felt. She had gone through a lot.

"What the hell was that about?" Stiles asked.

"Nothing," Scott answered blandly as he continued to change into workout clothes.

Isaac replayed practice over and over again in his head as he got home. Scott had gotten tackled on more than one occasion but still managed to keep his spot. Scott was distracted and it was because of Melanie. She hadn't been that enraged since the time she yelled at him for being hot and cold. He was tempted to ask her about it but didn't incur her wrath either. Scott could deal with it all on his own.

Isaac went upstairs, hearing her steady heartbeat. She was lying down in her bed, not his. He kicked off his shoes, scooting them to the side with his foot then crawled under the covers next to her. There were faint, translucent streaks on her cheeks. Running his fingers over her cheek, he then kissed it. She let out a deep sigh as if heaving a great weight from her chest. He smirked just the slightest at hearing her heart pick up its pace.

He wrapped his arms around her. Within minutes her cheeks were flushed from the heat of his body plus the two blankets over them. Closing his eyes, he slipped off into a light slumber beside her; it was the first good sleep since her disappearance.

She shifted and twisted and shook with small whimpers, but he held her close, soothing her while also reminding her that he had her and she was okay. Everything was okay. A small kiss to her ear calmed her completely.

Isaac hoped her nightmares and jumpiness wouldn't last forever.

"You know what they're doing. They're 'needs' and all." Stiles said, going back to how Isaac told all them to leave him and Melanie alone for a little while.

They met up at Derek's loft. Stiles and Danny struggled to convince Scott and Allison to tag along but did so in the end. There was no researching or training. Just good old fashioned Chinese food. Derek didn't have a TV but that was okay.

Stiles's arms crossed were over his chest. His eyebrows furrowed and Cora knew instantly that he was envisioning the intense 'sexual healing' that he thought was going on between Melanie and Isaac. She rolled her eyes and swatted him across the back of his head. He glowered at her, rubbing the fresh sore spot.

"Thy Juliet hath been reunited with her Romeo by his faithful friend Mercutio." Stiles said, ignoring her.

Scott shook his head deadpanned.

"You know Mercutio died in the play, right?" Scott asked.

Stiles face blanked. His jaw stuttered as he tried to rectify his words.

"That and Romeo and Juliet killed themselves." Allison added.

"Yeah," Stiles shrugged, with an awkward laugh. "I knew that."

Cora snorted.

Melanie let out an airy sigh and the rest of the tension in her muscles were released. Isaac's hand twitched as he held her. She shifted a little, snuggling her back closer to his chest. Her hair tickled her nose.

"Hey," Isaac said.

His chest rumbled. Melanie smiled. She flinched as he touched her shoulder lightly, going over the brand there. The infection was gone but it was going to scar, adding to the collection of other ones on her body.

"Are you okay?"

"More than that." she said.

She took his hand, sliding her fingers through his. The warmth of his hand sent a shiver up her arm.

"I'm happy to be home."

"I'm glad your home." Isaac said.

He pulled her hair from her neck then kissed her jaw bone. She tensed up as the sensation made her pleasantly dizzy. She hummed as his tongue touched her skin there.

"I need to get a shower. I still don't feel clean." She said, holding his hand tighter.

She sat up and tugged lightly and he followed her sluggishly. His hand fell onto her hips loosely and she let her head fall back onto his chest.

"I love you, Isaac." She reached back and touched his shoulder clumsily.