chapter two:
umbrella

"Fuck!" Isaac shouted, the word echoing around his bedroom as he slammed the door shut. His school bag dropped with a solid thud by his feet.

Today was probably the worst day he had had in a while. It rivaled the day he'd gotten arrested and the day he was kicked from his house. 

"Watch the door!" The voice of his grandma carried from the kitchen up the stairs and into his room.

"Sorry." Isaac mumbled, paying no mind that she wouldn't be able to hear that answer. Isaac groaned, muttering to himself, glancing at the open window.

Almost as if on cue, a shudder shot down his spine. Another groan, this one much angrier. Isaac forced his feet to move, trudging over to window and mumbling to himself.

"Happy Fucking Friday." He muttered to himself, fingers wrapping around the window. He grunted, straining as he forced the window shut. "Shit!"

He swiped away at the water that had sprayed onto his desk. "Dammit! Fucking stupid ass goddamn fucking rain. Stupid. Project's all ruined."

Isaac did not like the rain. Almost as much as he didn't like ice skating. "Fuck you, rain."

A disbelieving chuckle left his lips and he shook his head as it dawned on him.

he was talking to the literal weather. He thought his habit of talking to himself was bad, but now he was talking to weather.

Isaac almost turned around to wallow in his sadness in his bed (almost) but something, or someone, caught his eye before he had the chance to.

Nancy. Motherfucking. Wheeler.

His breath hitched in his throat, nerves running rampant at the sight of her. Isaac wished he had the ability to describe her, but words were never his forte. Only one word would come to mind. perfect. Utterly perfect.

She'd been, conveniently, in his science class every year since the accident. He assumed it was dumb luck, though it didn't matter what it was. It only mattered that Nancy was the only one who never treated him differently, though he could tell she thought of him differently.

Isaac may be dumb, but he wasn't stupid. He saw it in her eyes during their, albeit extremely limited conversations, he could see the judgment. The fear. She was afraid of him.

Despite knowing this, Isaac couldn't help but admire her. How could he not? Isaac couldn't help himself. Nancy was too pretty not to admire.

Oftentimes he'd catch himself watching her in class, mind drifting to what it would be like to know her. To know the intricacies of her life. From what keeps her awake at night to as simple as how she takes her coffee, if she even drinks coffee. Isaac wanted to know that, too.

Isaac could barely make out the struggling girl through the sheet of water pelting the small town. Isaac wasn't much of a thinker, and that's how he found himself rushing down the stairs to help.

"Isaac!" The boy froze at the sound of his grandmother's voice. He cringed, shoulders tensing as he slowly turned around. "What are you doing? You'll catch your death out there!"

"I- uh- Helping Nancy?" The words came out as more of a question than anything. His eyes drifted down to the item she held in her hands.

"Take this." She held the umbrella towards him shakily.

"Uh," Isaac carefully took the umbrella from the frail woman's hands. "Thank you, grandma."

The woman huffed, shakily making her way back to where she sat in the living room.

Isaac shut the door behind him, opening the umbrella and raising it above his head. The sound of the water splattering against the ground

Isaac recalled the weatherman warning about it this morning, paying no mind to it as he finished eating his blueberry pancakes. He wished he had paid more attention now.

The rain splashed as Isaac took quickened steps towards Nancy's home, soaking his shoes entirely and the bottom of his jeans. Isaac paid no mind, anxieties flooding his system the closer he got to her house.

He began to wonder if it was a bad idea, ultimately deciding that it was. Nancy  would assume he was a stalker if he just showed up beside her.

By the time he'd realized his mistake, it was too late. He was already standing right next her, though she hadn't noticed due to her focus on trying to get everything into the house safely. She hadn't even noticed that the rain had stopped hitting her as Isaac moved the umbrella to cover her, rather than himself. Almost immediately, his clothes became soaked, clinging to his body. Momentarily, he felt regret at this action, but that thought was quickly washed away at the sight of her up close.

"Hey-" Isaac's voice cracked, he quickly cleared his throat out of embarrassment. "I mean, hey, need some help?"

Nancy jumped, the pile of books and other project supplies tumbling to the ground. An onslaught of curses tumbled from her lips. "Uh. No, no, I'm- Im really okay, thank you."

Despite her words, Nancy made no attempt to move. Isaac noted that she looked like a deer caught in headlights. Isaac pushed the umbrella towards her, gesturing for her to take it. Wordlessly, she did. Her brows furrowed in confusion, eyes trailing over him.

"You sure?" Isaac offered a small smile, raising his hand to swipe the hair from his eyes.

"Uh.."

Nancy was beyond confused. She couldn't figure out why Isaac Lincoln was in her neighborhood, let alone standing on her front door and being so kind to her.

Isaac Lincoln was the kind of boy her mother warned her about when she was young. Though, so was Steve Harrington.

However, Isaac Lincoln and Steve Harrington were two very different people.

Steve Harrington was a heartbreaker. Mrs. Wheeler has warned her not to give her heart away to a boy like Steve, for she would only get hurt out of it.

While Isaac Lincoln? A boy, a monster, like Isaac Lincoln wasn't capable of love. Nor did he deserve it.

Nancy argued that everyone deserved love, but Karen was adamant that 'Isaac is the devil'

Nancy didn't believe that. When Nancy looked at him in science, she didn't see a monster, or a devil.  She saw a boy. A scared boy with a lifetime of trauma.

Isaac bent down quickly, gathering the books and supplies quickly. Nancy stood stiffly, looking back and forth. Almost afraid that someone would see her standing in the pouring rain with him.

He didn't fail to notice her uneasiness, beginning to scold himself internally at the sight.

fuck. she's scared of you. she's fucking scared of you, you're a monster.

Isaac shook his head, ridding himself of the thought. He stood, easily holding everything in his arms. "Uh, here."

"Thanks.." Nancy passed the umbrella back to him, taking the supplies from his arms. "What... are you doing around here?"

He didn't fail to pick up on the judgment in her tone, though she tried to cover it up. His smile fell as he again held the umbrella over her rather than himself.

"Hm? I.. I live there." Isaac said awkwardly, using his free hand to point to the house across the street, quickly noticing the old woman standing by the window watching them.

Nancy blinked, visibly cringing at her mistake. "Oh."

"Yeah... few months now." Isaac cleared his throat, a shiver shooting down his spine due to the cold. "Uh. I thought you woulda heard about it."

Nancy awkwardly pursed her lips, rolling on her heels. She clutched the supplies to her chest tightly, careful not to drop them again. 

"Well... Thanks, Isaac.. I'll uh, see you Monday?" Nancy smiled unsurely, opening the door just enough for her and the supplies to fit through, but not enough for anyone to see who she was talking to.

"Yeah," Isaac nodded, heart skipping at the smile she wore. "Monday!"

"Was that Isaac Lincoln?" Mike questioned her, arms crossed. Nancy jumped, carefully placing all the supplies on the stairs. "Nancy, he's dangerous. Are you crazy?"

"None of your business." Nancy shot back, voice quiet. She gave him a warning look with, urging him to lower his voice. Mike scoffed, rolling his eyes and trudging back to his room. Nancy glanced out the window, watching as Isaac closed the umbrella and disappeared into his house.

The door slammed behind Isaac, the umbrella clattering to the floor beside him.

"Fucking awesome." He muttered to himself, kicking off his shoes beside the door. "Doesn't even know you live right across from her! Great! Awesome!"

"What was that, dear?" Isaac's grandmother called from the kitchen, trying to busy herself so she didn't appear to be watching him.

"Uh- nothing! Nothing."

~~

a/n; prob should have clarified this in the summary but this is a complete rewrite of it when it was published in 2019 lol

same plot better writing