Chapter 5: Pack Mentality

"Hey, thanks for the ride. I'm not sure what's wrong with my car." I thanked Allison, turning to look at her with a smile playing on my lips.

"It's no problem Rae, I wanted to spend some time with you anyways." She responded, a big grin on her face as she glanced over before focusing her eyes back on the road.

"Well, that makes two of us. Do you want to hang out after school?" I asked her, hoping she'd say yes. I really liked Allison, she was cute, funny, sweet. Plus she's making one of my best friends a very happy man.

"That would be great, but I do have a date tomorrow with Scott, so that means you have to help me figure out what to wear," Allison told me, blushing a bright red as she spoke of her boyfriend.

"I will gladly help you with outfits, just don't be surprised if Lydia shows up randomly to help. She will be obsessed with making sure you're up to her standards." Laughing, I looked over to see her laughing quietly as well.

"I'm not surprised. Your sister is great, but god she can be so..." She trailed off trying to find the right word.

"Prestigious? All out white girl? Pushy?" I questioned, smiling as we turned into Beacon Hills High; home of the cyclones.

"Yes, all of the above," Allison responded, also smiling as she looked for a decent parking spot. "I have noticed that she's way smarter than she lets on though."

I laughed, thinking back to all the times Lydia ranted about something stupid at school that she couldn't say anything about because she 'had to fake being a dumb blonde.' "I told you. She's super smart and really isn't that bitchy she just puts on this stupid act because she's convinced she won't be popular or have friends if she doesn't."

"I wish she'd just let everyone see who she really is," Allison said, calming down as she pulled into a parking spot surprisingly close to the front doors.

"Me too girl, me too," I replied, sighing as I grabbed my bag and exited the car. "So, where are you and Scott going tomorrow?" I asked in a slightly teasing voice, seeing her cheeks heat up.

"Umm, well I don't really know. We were going to decide what we wanted to do today." She told me, dropping her keys into her bag, shielding her face for a moment.

"Well personally I think you two are the perfect couple for a picnic out in the woods, but that can probably wait until all this craziness is over," I told her, smiling as I thought of how cute they would be at a picnic. It soon dropped as I thought about how crazy things have actually been.

"Yeah, you're probably right. A picnic would be really nice if this killer would just kindly go away." Allison joked lightly, looking a bit down.

"Hey, lighten up. You can do that another time and I'm sure whatever you two pick tonight it will be great." I said, hoping to cheer her up.

"You're probably right, and even if it isn't, at least I still get to spend time with him right?" Allison questioned, glancing over at me with a light grin spread across her cheeks.

"Exactly. You two could go to some swamp where rednecks are hosting a bull-riding contest and still have a good time." Laughing, I looked at her to see her smile before becoming distracted by a large group of kids in the hall. 

They were laughing. 

"Hey, I'll see you in class, I want to see what these bozos are laughing at." Smiling, I turned and faced her, walking backwards towards the group.

"Alright, see you later Rae." She waved before turning a corner as I continued making my way towards the other students.

"Hey, what are you guys-" My sentence was cut short as I noticed exactly what they were laughing at; another student. "Hey, back the fuck up and stop laughing you dimwits!" I yelled at them, pushing through to get to the young girl.

Rolling her quickly onto her side, I held the blonde on my lap, trying to help as much as possible. Stroking her hair back as she held a tight grip on my other hand, I whipped my head up to the group of lowlife losers in front of me.

"Will someone please fix their morals and go get a god damn nurse before I have to carry her there myself?!" I shouted, succeeding in getting a few to stop laughing but still, no one moved. "Helloo?! Seizing girl on the floor?! Anyone want to remember for a second that this is something she can't control and needs to go to the hospital?!" Snapping again, two girls pulled out of their laughter and ran off to find the nurse. "Thank you! For shit's sake, learn what it is to be human-please!" I yelled to the remaining kids. "Get the fuck out of here!" I screamed at them, the remaining students running in different directions; whether to class or lockers, I didn't give a shit.

Pulling the seizing girl farther onto my lap, I held her tightly and let her keep the grip on my hand. Stroking her hair back, the bell rang above me signaling the need to be in class but I couldn't care less. Grateful at the now empty halls, I leaned back against a locker, bringing Erica with me.

"I doubt you can hear right now but I'm sorry they treat you like that, you don't deserve it," I said sadly. Her shaking had declined but had not finished quite yet. Luckily, I looked up to see the nurse and one of the girls from before running towards me, a paramedic with a stretcher not far behind.

"Oh, thank god you found her. Thank you for sending this young lady to find me and for staying with her." The nurse said as she fell down to the ground next to me.

"It's no problem, she's a good person," I told her. "But, Nadia, I didn't just find her. There was a group of kids laughing around her doing nothing." I explained, still holding the young girl's hand in mine as she squeezed, looking directly at the girl who got the nurse.

"Oh my. I'll have to find out who and have a serious talk with them." Nadia replied, looking like she was trying to reign in her fury. 

"Thank you," I told her, looking up as the paramedic arrived. "Will you back up for a moment, please? I can get her on the stretcher." I asked the nurse, watching as she stood up and backed away.

Standing up slowly, I sadly pulled my hand away from Erica's to place it under her legs, putting my other arm under her head. Gripping tightly so she wouldn't fall in her shaking, I stood and placed her down on the gurney, where she quickly grabbed my hand again.

"I know I'm not supposed to..but could I ride with her? She doesn't have any family here and I really don't want to let her go again, it seems like she gets worse." I told the paramedic, giving him a pleading look. It didn't matter if I missed class, I just wanted to be sure she was alright.

"Well, I'm not supposed to. But, I guess if you don't say anything, I won't. You're a good friend." The paramedic smiled at me kindly before starting to push the stretcher down the hall with me walking next to it. All of a sudden, a whirl of blonde appeared next to me.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know it was wrong to stand and laugh, I just didn't want my friends to be mad at me. It was a bitch move. I won't do it again." Turning my head, I saw the girl that went to grab the nurse.

"I appreciate that, but I'm not the one you should be apologizing to. You should be apologizing to her." I explained, nodding down at Erica. "It'd mean a lot to her if you did. It would mean even more if you stood up for her or just said hi to her sometimes." I explained further, exiting the school.

"Okay." She nodded. "I can do that." She said, a small smile gracing her features as she seemed a bit lost in thought, stopping at the top step as another paramedic ran over to help bring Erica down the stairs.

Walking down the steps to the school, I stopped as the paramedics did; looking at Erica.

"You family?" I looked up to see the second man talking to me, looking at me and down to my hand grabbing Erica's.

"Yeah. She's riding in the back to the hospital." Smiling politely, the paramedic winked over at me before they started loading the stretcher in, me following.

The ride was pretty uneventful. Erica had almost completely stopped shaking but was still unresponsive and kept a steel grip on me. The two men in the front didn't talk much, but did glance back to check on us every few minutes.

Eventually, we arrived, rushing through the double doors as the paramedics were replaced by doctors and my favorite nurse. 

Mama McCall.

"Rae, what are you doing here? What happened?" Melissa asked as we hurried down the sterile hallway.

"I found her in the hall surrounded by a bunch of dumbasses. I asked if I could come with and the medic let me go." I explained quickly, all of us piling into a room.

Mama McCall took in what I said before she began Erica's examination. A few minutes later she was finished and had given her something to calm her down.

"If you want, you can wait here until she wakes up. It shouldn't be long." Melissa smiled sweetly, pulling off her gloves.

"Thanks, Mel. I was hoping I could. I want to talk to her." Smiling back at her, I laid my head back on the chair and yawned.

"You need more sleep sweetheart." Turning my head to look at her, I slightly nodded my head.

"Yeah, I know. I've been a little stressed lately, that's all. I promise I'll get some sleep tonight." Sighing, I glanced back over at Erica, wishing everything would go back to normal.

"Good. We can talk later if you want, but I have rounds right now." With one last smile, Melissa McCall slinked out of the room before shutting the door and returning to her daily rounds.

Sighing once again, my head lolled from side to side as I stared up at the white ceiling. Not knowing what was going on with my friends was driving me crazy. It didn't help that they were blowing me off and lying to me. We never lied to each other. And then there was the small issue of these visions I've always had. I still don't know why I have them, and now they're filled with strange anomalies of my best friend. I don't know what the hell is going on and I don't know what to do. 

A sudden squeeze of my right hand pulled me out of my reverie, quickly raising my head to look at the blonde girl lying in bed.

I watched as Erica slowly came to, slightly moving around before her eyes opened wearily, glancing around with a confused look. During her analysis, she noticed me sitting there and then realized there was a pressure on her hand. Quickly pulling her hand out of mine she was fast to say something.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, backing up in the bed as if she was afraid I would hurt her.

I leaned forward slightly, making sure I didn't scare her. "I found you in the hallway at school. You were having a seizure. There were a bunch of kids around you, but I made them leave you alone and got someone to go to the nurse. The medics let me ride with you because you had grabbed my hand and it seemed like it made you feel better. The only time I let go was to put you on the stretcher." I gave her a small smile trying to calm her down. I didn't want her to be afraid of me.

"Why would you do that for me?" Erica's face was screwed up in confusion and she looked like she might cry. "I'm a nobody. You're one of the most popular girls in school."

"I would do that for anyone. You're a good person and you don't deserve what people put you through. You may not think so, but I noticed you years ago. I just didn't know how to approach you, I didn't think you would want me around. And popularity doesn't matter to me. I get along better with the less popular kids anyways. If people can't deal with my morals then they can just go fuck themselves." Finishing off with a slightly sarcastic smile at the last comment, I saw Erica start to tear up and my smile became more sincere.

"Can I hug you?" She asked, seeming to not know what to say.

"Of course you can." Standing up, I walked closer and sat next to her on the bed as she wrapped her arms around my neck. Wrapping my own arms around her back, I felt her shake slightly as she started to cry. I began to rub her back hoping it would help her. A few minutes later Erica had calmed down and was sitting back against the wall, rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry for crying, I usually don't do that." She apologized, lightly laughing to herself as she wiped her face off.

"You're perfectly fine, don't worry. Everybody cries it's nothing to be embarrassed over. Are you gonna be okay?" I asked, truly worried about her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me." Erica gave a small smile, looking towards the door to see if anyone was coming.

"I hope so. I'm sorry for this, but I have to get back to school. I have a test next period." I explained, smiling sheepishly as I stood up. "Remember, you can come talk to me anytime, it doesn't matter who I'm with. Actually, here." Looking down I grabbed a pen and notepad from my bag, writing down my number before I stepped forward to hand it to her.

"Thanks," Erica said, taking the piece of paper from me, and just stared at it like no one had done that before.

"No problem." Starting my walk towards the door, I opened it before halting and turning around. "And you might want to think about talking to Isaac Lahey. I think you two would make great friends." With one last smile toward the timid blonde, I walked out the door, shutting it behind me.

()()()()()()()()

"Really Rae, I just don't understand why you feel the need to help poor little lower class creatures like Erica." Somehow my lovely sister had found out about this morning and although I know she cared, she acted like she didn't.

"For one, how did you even find out about that? And for two, because she's not a creature nor is she lower class. She's simply a good person who doesn't deserve to be laughed at just because she's epileptic." I explained to her, walking into the cafeteria behind her.

"Rae, I find out about everything you know this. And well, okay fine she doesn't...but I swear if you tell anyone I said that I will kill you...with my curling iron. I just don't get why you're trying to ruin your popularity by helping her, let someone else do it." She told me, walking forward to grab an apple from the food line.

"Lydia you know I don't care about my popularity. I don't even like most of the popular kids. And you also know that not many people want to help, they just want to laugh and be dickheads." Grabbing a slice of pizza I ignored the dirty look my sister gave me and set it on my tray along with some cut up pineapple.

"Fine have it your way. But when you're at the bottom of the food chain trying to claw your way back up don't expect me to be there to pull your ass up." Lydia finished her sentence with a head tilt and a smirk thrown my way before walking away from the line.

Scoffing, I typed in my pin before following my crazy sister to a table I did not expect her to sit at. Scott and Stiles table. "Figure what out?" Lydia asked the boys, setting down her tray before sitting to the left of Scotty boy.

Stiles looked as if he was on the verge of a meltdown as I sat on the left of him, shooting a confused look at my sister.

"Just..uh..homework," Scott replied, looking extremely confused.

"Yeah." Was Stiles half-assed reply before he glanced in between Scott and I. "Why is she sitting with us?" He whispered, Scott answering with a shake of his head and many weird facial expressions.

Leaning over I whispered in his ear, "I have no fucking idea," as more people began to sit down.

Quickly, Scott moved his backpack off the remaining seat next to him as Allison walked up with her tray. "Huh, thanks," Allison said, sitting down at the table with a wide smile that I had named the iconic Allison Argent smile.

Next to me, Stiles looked over at Danny with a goofy, awkward smile on his lips as he nodded his head before the smile dropped since Danny looked away with an irritated look on his face. I was still extremely confused but slightly amused.

"Get up." Was suddenly heard from the head of the table, none other than Jackass Whittewhore finally gracing us with his presence.

"Why don't you ever ask Danny to get up?" The random boy sitting at the front of the table asked, turning his head to look at Jackson, irritated at his command.

"Because I don't stare at his girlfriend or her sister's coin slot," Danny responded with a slight smirk as Lydia smiled at him sweetly and I reached behind Stiles to give him a high five, a smile spread on my cheeks as the pervert stood up and left.

"So I hear they're saying it's some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar." Danny sparked up a conversation, turning to look at Jackson with an apple in his hand.

"Wait what, what do you mean animal attack?" I questioned, brows furrowed in utter confusion.

"Umm, outside. The bus. Guy mauled and taken to the hospital. Did you leave some brain cells on the pillow this morning Rae?" Jackson answered in his usual jackass way, snide tone and all.

"Well for your information, I wasn't here this morning and no one's told me about this. And no I don't think I did but I'm pretty sure you knock some out every time you're on the lacrosse field." Smirking I popped one of Stiles' carrots in my mouth for emphasis.

Scoffing, Jackson turned back to look at Danny, completely ignoring my burn to his city-sized ego. "I heard mountain lion."

"A cougar is a mountain lion." My sister snapped, causing my eyes to slightly widen as a grin spread on my cheeks. She was showing her smarts for once. "Isn't it?" And there is goes, paired with the dumb blonde look and all.

Releasing a huff as my smile dropped, I dropped back in my seat, back hitting the plastic chair as I played with my fruit.

"Who cares?" Unsurprisingly came from Jackson's mouth. "He's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway."

"Wow Jackson, way to be a fucking asshole." I spat at him, my face contorted in one of disbelief.

Throwing me a glare, his comeback was quickly interrupted by Stiles. "Actually I just found out who it is," he told us, "check it out." Everyone, even Jackson, leaned in to get a closer look at his phone; wanting to know what happened this morning.

"The sheriff's department won't speculate on details of the incident but confirm the victim, Garrison Myers, did survive the attack. Myers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition." Anything else the reporter may have said was cut off by Scott as he spoke to the group.

"I-I-I I know this guy." He looked up at Stiles before looking back at the table and I swear he almost looked panicked.

"You do?" Allison asked him, concerned and curious as to how.

"Yeah, when I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad. He was the driver." Scott told us, looking back up at Stiles who had sunk back in his seat. I had no clue what to say, but apparently, my sister did.

"Can we talk about something slightly more fun please?" She questioned, waving her fork around. "Liike..oh, where are we going tomorrow night?" At the same time my eyes widened and I looked over at her incredulously, Allison looked at her confused, just having taken a bite of her lunch.

"You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night." Lydia explained like she should understand. "Right?" Allison had finally caught on to what she was insinuating. Infiltrating her date.

"Uhm...we were thinking of what we were gonna do." I saw Stiles look up with an expression that said he would kill my sister if she ruined Scott's date. Laughing lightly I turned back to the car crash waiting to happen.

"Well, I am not sitting at home again watching lacrosse videos, so if the five of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun," Lydia told them, looking over with a smile that said she'd get her way. Wait a second, five?

"Wait, five? Lydia, there's only four of you." I stated, waving my hand around in confusion. "Technically should be two," I whispered under my breath catching both Stiles and somehow Scott nodding with my near-silent statement.

"Oh, you're coming with." My sister stated perkily, looking at me with a smile. "Unless you want to sit at home alone moping and single forever, you are coming. And I'm finding you a date." My jaw just about dropped to the floor as I lost my ability to function for a moment.

"Wait, what?! Lydia no way in hell am I going with you four, which was supposed to just be a two-person date by the way, and getting manhandled by some stupid jock. If you wanna ruin their date fine, but count me out. I'd rather sit at home and pull my teeth out." I slightly shouted at her, taking a drink of my water to try and calm down, completely missing the look Stiles gave me.

"Hanging out. Like the five of us? Do you wanna hang out? Like us? And them?" Scott questioned her, looking like he agreed with me on not wanting this at all.

"Yeah. I guess. Sounds fun." Despite her words and smile, I could tell she was slightly agitated at my sister, glancing at me for a second with irritation in her eyes.

"For once, I agree with Rae." Jackson pointed his fork at me, slightly shocking me. "You know what else sounds fun? Stabbing myself in the face with this fork." He told them, now holding his fork up.

"I volunteer as tribute." I raised my hand up before leaning forward and holding my palm out, waiting for him to put the fork in my hand.

Lydia quickly took the fork and batted my hand away with a cross look on her face. "How 'bout bowling?" She questioned, far too excited while Scott looked at Stiles like he might just strangle her. He sucked ass at bowling. "You love to bowl." Cue Stiles stuffing his face with French fries.

"Yeah with actual competition." Jackass stated, looking at her like she was crazy. I actually think she might be at this point.

"How do you know we're not actual competition?" Allison questioned, taking the bait and leaning forward. "You can bowl right?" As Stiles looked off to the side waiting for the explosion, I slid down in my seat.

"Sort of," Scott told them, causing me to sink even further into my hole.

"Is it-is it sort of..or yes?" Jackson asked him, leaning on the table as he mustered up his best dickhead face.

"Yes. In fact...I'm a great bowler." At that, I spat out the water I had been drinking and quickly picked up my tray before walking in the other direction.

()()()()()()()()

"...you don't hang out with hot girls. It's like death. You and Danny can start hanging out." I heard from my locker. Looking over, I noticed Stiles and Scott walking outside. Furrowing my eyebrows I pulled out my phone, quick to send him a message.

To Batman: So, I'm not hot?

Looking over I noticed him spastically pulling his phone out as Scott walked away from him. Once he read the message he freaked out, spinning around as he searched for where in the hell I was with wide eyes. Once he noticed me, I surprised myself by sending him a wink before I blushed profusely and hid myself with my locker door. 

I did not just do that. 

When my phone buzzed, I was quick to look down.

Batman: No comment

Still blushing, I stayed there until I knew he was gone before hastily shutting my locker and rushing out to Allison's awaiting car.

()()()()()()()

"Well, since your lovely sister decided to crash my date I guess we'll go through outfits tomorrow," Allison said in annoyance as she fell face-first onto her bed. Sitting next to her, I patted her back.

"Just be glad you're going with the boy you want to. Lydia is going to force me to go with some dumb jock and with my luck, she'll pick fucking Greenberg." I spat out, peeved as all hell at my sister. These are the moments I wish she knew about who I wanted to go with, but even if she did she'd pick someone else.

Rolling over, Allison looked up at me and sighed agitatedly. "Yeah, you're right. Hopefully, by some miracle, she'll pick Stiles."

"You and I both know that'll never happen Ali Cat." Letting go of my own sigh, I fell back onto the bed, roles being reversed as she sat up.

"Ali Cat?" She questioned, looking at me with a raised brow and a small smile.

"Yeah, why the hell not. It sounds like a good nickname." Shrugging as best I could I gave her a light smile, for the moment both of us forgetting our date night problems.

"Why the hell not. I like it." She said before holding out her hand for me to grab, standing up. "Alright come on, we're going to go pick out some movies and ice cream. We're having a girls night."

Letting her pull me off the bed and downstairs, we made a beeline for the living room before sinking down on the ground to look through movies.

"Okay, so what do we want? Action? Horror? Comedy?" Allison questioned, rifling through the selection. It was pretty good.

"How about all three? We have time, right?" Scanning over some films myself, I glanced up at her as she nodded.

"Yeah, we do. Alright, how about Inception, Insidious, and Monty Python?" Pulling out three movies, she showcased them. 

"Sounds awesome. I wish I had Monty Python." Smiling sweetly at her, she slid in the first movie before turning back to me.

"Ice cream time." The brunette bounced up, practically running into the kitchen with me following behind her. "So we have a few choices, pick your poison." She had clearly already chosen her own; rocky road clutched in her hand. Looking into the freezer she had held open for me, I went over my options.

Strawberry, vanilla, cookie dough, mint chocolate, dulce de leche...

"Allison. You have my favorite ice cream. I just began to love you more." Snatching the caramel flavored goodness, I hugged it to my chest and practically coddled it.

Laughing, Allison handed me a spoon before grabbing her own. "You are such a dork. How are you even Lydia's twin?" She questioned, venturing back to the living room.

"I don't even know. I think it was a twist of fate." I joked. "I love her though. Wouldn't wish for another sister." Plopping my ass down on the couch, Allison curled up on the other side, pressing play on the action movie.

"Even when she forces you on dates?" Allison asked, taking a bite of her ice cream.

"Hey, we're not supposed to be talking about that." I pointed my spoon at her. "But yes, even then."

Laughing, we both turned to the screen, entranced by the first movie of the night.

()()()()()()()

Four hours later and our ice cream was gone. Due to this, we had resorted to eating Oreos and Cheetos instead.

"Now that I'm sufficiently terrified, let's watch the comedy," Allison stated, unfurling herself from her cowering position in the corner of her couch.

"Yeah, I'm just glad I've seen it before. You got the short end of the stick." I told her, popping a Cheeto into my mouth.

"Mmm, I probably should've picked one I've already seen." Setting down the pack of Oreos, she got up to switch out the movies.

"Yeah, you probably should've. I'm pretty sure the neighbors heard you scream." I laughed, eating yet another Cheeto.

"Hey! I was not that loud." She exclaimed, shooting me a faux dirty look.

"Maybe not, but you might be when you and Scott do the dirty tango." I teased her, a small smirk painted on my lips.

"Oh my god, Rae!" Allison practically yelled, throwing a stray pillow at my face before I could catch it.

"What?!" I exclaimed. "It's not my fault, you set yourself up for failure there," I told her, my phone buzzing in my pocket with a text so I fished it out, unlocking it.

Unknown number: can you come get me

Confused, I looked at the text as Allison responded.

"Yeah yeah, get your head out of the gutter." She waved me off as she put the movie in the tray. All I could do was hum in response, too wrapped up in my phone to give a clearer answer.

To unknown number: Maybe if I knew who this was

As the trailers started playing and Allison sat back down to cut to the title menu, my phone buzzed again.

Unknown number: new phone. its isaac. please

My eyes widened as I realized the severity of the situation, quickly replying after I changed his contact number.

To Isaac: Yeah of course, where are you?

The response was immediate.

Isaac: im at the park by my house

To Isaac: I'm on my way

Looking back up from my phone, I slid it into my pocket as I stood up.

"Ali, I'm so sorry. I need to go. I know it's a lot to ask, but could I borrow your car tonight? I can come pick you up in the morning." I asked her, in a rush to leave as I was worried over my friend.

"You're fine, Rae. Is everything alright?" She asked concerned, pausing the movie as she stood up.

"Yeah, it's just one of my friends he needs my help," I explained, rocking on my heels in my anxiety.

"I get it. Yeah, take my car it's no problem. I'll just have my dad take me to school tomorrow don't worry about it." Walking over to a small table she grabbed her keys and placed them in my hands. "Go help your friend." Smiling sweetly she gave me a hug goodbye.

"Thank you so much." Hugging her back for a bit, I soon pulled away from her, waving as I walked out the door.

Jogging over to her car I quickly unlocked it and jumped inside, starting the car before I drove off into the night.

Soon enough I was in another residential area, driving straight past Isaac and Jackson's houses, heading for the small public park a few blocks away.

Pulling into a parking spot, I shut off the car as I noticed the silhouette of a person. Isaac. Hopping out, I quickly ran over to him.

"Are you alright? What happened?" I questioned him as soon as I got close enough, placing my hands on his arms.

"Nothing, nothing. I just didn't want to be home tonight." He wouldn't look me in the eyes, let alone away from the ground. And he was shaking.

"Okay, I know that that's bullshit but you can tell me in the car, come on." Grabbing his arm lightly, I started walking to the parking lot, taking him with me.

Once inside, I started the car and pulled out, heading towards my house. "So, do you want to tell me what happened now or do I need to pull it out of you?" I questioned the doe-eyed boy, glancing over at him for a moment.

"I told you, nothing. I'm fine." He responded, keeping his eyes trained out the window.

"Alright, I guess it'll be the hard way." Sighing, I pulled into my driveway before completely turning to look at him. "Did he hit you again? Or did he push you down the stairs this time?"

Isaac turned to me with wide eyes, shrinking back against the door. "What are you talking about?"

"Your dad. I'm not blind Isaac. I know that all of those excuses you use are just that, excuses. They're lies. I've known for a long time, I just haven't said anything. I wanted to wait for you but that's not an option anymore." Leaning back in my seat, I looked at him waiting for a response.

For a while he just sat there, like he was deliberating whether or not he wanted to tell me the truth. Finally, he spoke. "He locks me in a freezer in the basement." His voice was shaky as I looked at him with wide eyes and reached over to grab his hand. "Sometimes it's beatings, but most of the time it's the freezer. I was in there for two hours. I-I didn't mean to, the plate j-just slipped out of my hands. When he let me out, I-I waited and snuck out of my window before texting you." At this point, he was shaking more than before and a few tears had escaped his eyes as he retold the hell he went through on a daily basis.

I was speechless. How could you do that to your child?

"It started after my mom died. At first, he was okay, but then he started drinking. It wasn't long after that..he'd start 'disciplining' me when I did things he thought were wrong. When Camden died, that's when he really lost it. The beatings got worse. They happened even when I didn't do anything. And that was the first time he used the freezer. He didn't even unplug it that first time, he was too drunk. It was freezing and he left me in there for half an hour. When he finally pulled me out he had to take me to the hospital and told them I jumped into a lake which was why I was hypothermic." By now tears were cascading down his face as well as mine as I listened to the heart-wrenching story.

"I swear to god I'll have my mom adopt you," I told him, not at all joking. I would get on my mom's ass until she said yes. We had two spare rooms and we had the money, there would be no reason to say no.

Isaac wiped the tears from his face and gave a small laugh before turning to me. "You would really do that?" He asked, grabbing my hands with the one not covered by my own.

"In a heartbeat. And if she said no, I would fill out the paperwork myself." I replied, dead serious. "You're a really good guy Isaac and you don't deserve what your dad puts you through. You deserve friends and stability and a good home and family. Seriously, if you ever want to, you can take me up on that."

Just like in the bathroom the other day, Isaac pulls me into a tight embrace. Wrapping my arms around him I squeezed as tightly as possible, feeling his tears hit my back as my own trailed down my face. Closing my eyes, I dug my face into his neck, wishing upon every damn star that one day this boy would get everything he deserves.

A few minutes later Isaac pulled away, wiping his face off as I did the same to my own. "Do you want to come inside?"

Looking over at me, Isaac mustered up the only smile he could. "Yeah, that would be really nice." Nodding my head, I opened my door, Isaac following suit. Locking the car doors, I led him up to my house before unlocking the door and holding it open for him.

"You have a really nice house." He told me, looking around in awe at the interior of my home.

"Yeah. I love it. I could share it with you one day." I responded, looking around at the house myself before grabbing his hand. "Come on."

Leading him up the stairs I opened up the door to my room but was halted as Isaac stopped walking.

"What?" I questioned him, looking back in concern and confusion.

"Well, I-I mean I've umm...I've never been in a girl's..in a girl's room before." He explained, looking down shyly.

"It's okay, I promise it's not too crazy." Turning on the light, I gently pulled him into my room, shutting the door behind me which caused him to look over wide-eyed. "Calm down I'm not gonna try and steal your virtue." I joked, blushing as I realized my own was still very much intact.

Once Isaac realized he was safe, he glanced around my room, taking everything in. "You have lots of books." He commented.

"Yeah, I like to read. It's nice to be able to put yourself into a place or a reality that you know would never happen. A place where you can do magic or have love or conquer all odds and end up winning the battle. It makes me happier even if I know it's not real." I explained to him, running my fingers over some of my books, as I had walked over during my explanation.

"I feel like even if I read a million books it wouldn't make my life any better." The doe-eyed boy stated sadly, looking down at a book he had pulled from the shelf; Percy Jackson.

"Maybe not. But I think you should. You can borrow some of mine. Even if it doesn't make your life better it can still be your escape. You can read and let yourself go into that situation and let it take over your mind and thoughts so it takes you out of yours." Placing my hand over his, I pushed lightly towards his chest. "Take it. When you're done, I'll give you the next one. And the next one until you're done and want a different series."

Isaac looked up at me quickly, disbelief shining in his eyes. "Why are you so nice to me? It could ruin everything you have."

"If you mean my popularity, I don't care about that. I care about my real friends. Helping people that need it and deserve it. I couldn't give two shits about something as fake as how high you are in the rank of hormonal teenagers." I told him, walking over and sitting on my bed. "My sister may care about what everyone thinks, but I don't. If they don't see me for what I am and choose to twist it just because of who I affiliate with then they're not worth my time anyways."

"So, what are you then?" He questioned, sitting down on the bed next to me.

"I'm a courageous, confident, sassy girl who likes reading and helping people. I'm a person who doesn't take people's shit and doesn't let insults hit her. I'm smart and beautiful and I fit in better with the outcasts than the crowd I actually run with. I don't need anyone to protect me. I'm strong and passionate and I love with all my heart. I'm many things and if people decide they want to see me differently, I don't give a fuck." I looked over at him then, noticing the hesitant but thoughtful look on his face.

"So, who do you love?" Isaac asked hesitantly, not daring to look up. For a moment I was struck with fear before I answered him differently.

"I love my family and you and Scott and Stiles and Danny and Allison," I told him. It wasn't a big list, but it was a list of people I trusted and people I knew would always be there. I hadn't known Allison long, but she already had a special spot in my heart.

"Well, I like that answer but I think you know that's not what I meant. Your words had a certain flair. You're in love with someone. Who is it?" He asked, more courageous as he looked up at my face. For a moment I had no idea how to answer, so I stared at the wall.

"If I tell you, do you promise to keep it between us?" The response I got was a half laugh, half scoff.

"And who, pray tell, would I say this to?" Isaac asked. He had a point. As sad as it was I was his only friend.

"Stiles. I love Stiles. I have since I was a little girl, but he's always loved my sister. It's always Lydia this, Lydia that and I don't understand how he can love her but not me. Am I just not good enough?" Looking down at my lap, I played with my fingers and mentally kicked myself in the ass for my moment of weakness.

"I think you're good enough." At that, my head snapped up to look at him. "If he really doesn't see you for everything you are and is in love with your sister instead, he's an idiot."

"This coming from the kid who asked out my sister last year." Rolling my eyes, I looked back at my bedspread.

"Yeah, but I'm not in love with her. I had a crush on her and to be honest I had a crush on you first, but I didn't want to ruin our friendship so I guess it just transferred to her. And you saw how well that went, so." Looking over I saw that although Isaac was playing with his fingers he was being sincere.

"You're a really good friend Isaac," I told him, playing with one of my rings. "Thank you for being honest with me. About everything. I need a bit of honesty right now."

"What do you mean?" Isaac asked, looking over in slight bewilderment.

"I don't know. It just seems like lately something's been going on with Scott and Stiles. They're my best friends and yet they keep ditching me and lying to me and I don't understand. That's not how we work, we tell each other everything." I explained to him, glancing up at a picture I had of the three of us. Stiles was laughing with his head on my shoulder as I gave him bunny ears, and Scott was blowing a kiss to the camera as I looked at Stiles with a loving smile.

"Why don't you talk to them?" Isaac questioned, noticing my stare and looking at the picture as well.

"I've tried. Every time I try to talk to them, they have to leave and every time I try to hang out with them I get some stupid excuse as to why they can't. I haven't really talked to or hung out with them at all in like the past week." Looking up at the ceiling, I tried to figure out what was going on. I mean, how could my best friend have glowing eyes?

"Well, I hope for your sake they stop being stupid because you don't deserve it. Hopefully, they'll pull their heads out of each other's asses long enough to realize what they're doing." Looking over as he spoke I realized he was yawning.

"Me too. Did you want to go to bed? It has gotten pretty late." Pulling myself back on the bed, I moved over to where I usually slept.

"Yeah, I am pretty tired. I just really hope my dad doesn't realize I'm gone." His face contorted in worry, glancing down at the ground.

"Don't worry, I've got your back. Just tell him you left before he got up and got a ride to school." Giving him a small smile and an excuse, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and put it on the charger before realizing I was still in school clothes.

"Okay. So umm..do you have like extra blankets or something so I can make a bed?" Isaac asked, scratching his head as he looked at the floor.

"What are you talking about? You can sleep in my bed." I said nonchalantly, getting up and heading into my closet to grab pajamas.

Isaac looked like his eyes were about to pop out of his head. "What? Like, you mean with you? Like in the same bed?"

"Yes, Lahey. In the same bed. It's not like I'm asking to have your babies." I teased, pulling down my pants in the closet, not realizing there was enough light that Isaac could see me.

"O-okay. Yeah. Same bed. With a girl. A pretty girl. No biggie. Yeah. Sleep." He mumbled, sounding a bit like Stiles as he rambled. I hadn't realized half the reason he was rambling was because he had seen my bare legs before he looked away.

Putting on a comfy sleep shirt to go with my shorts, I walked back into the room to witness a blushing Isaac. "You get the right side though, I always sleep on the left." Pulling up the covers, I slipped into bed while I waited patiently for him to do the same.

"Guess it's a good thing I wore sweats." After stating that he pulled off his shirt and I won't even lie, I stared. He had a really nice body. Not breaking contact until he was under covers, I was glad he hadn't seen me.

"Night Isaac." Crawling over, I switched off the light before crawling back into bed.

About fifteen minutes later I heard a small voice behind my curled up body. "Umm..could I cuddle with you? Not like weirdly, I just thought it would be comforting and it might be the only time I'll get to so..." I cut him off by sliding back in bed, letting him wrap his warm arms around me and pull me to his chest.

"Yes Lahey, honestly it might be the only time I get to either. And you're comfy." With that said I snuggled into his arms, comforted by the fact that even if it wasn't Stiles, someone wanted to hold me.

Holy Jesus that is a lot of words. 

8000+. 

I loved this chapter. She helps Erica, hangs out with Allison, volunteers to stab Jackson with a fork, and there's the scene with Isaac. 

There's only like five minutes of actual show time in this. Lol. 

Poor Isaac and Erica :'( 

But who loves Isaac and Rae? I know I do. They're adorable and I actually might have started shipping them a tiny bit as I was writing. But, in all actuality, they have more of a protective brother-sister type relationship. 

Well lovelies, I hope you liked this. See you next time!

~SiriusCatBennett