exsiliumlogs | If I hadn't made me, I'd have been made somehow

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If I hadn't made me, I'd have been made somehow

Date & Time: Backdated to October 29th
Location: at a burger joint HOPEFULLY THERE IS ONE...
Characters: Isaac Lahey and Scott McCall.
Summary: So they haven't talked in a month and they're tired of being angry at one another so they're gonna try to settle their differences ~~and getting back together EVEN THOUGH THEY SAID THEY WOULD NEVER EVER EVER~~
Warnings: Nooone maybe language idk

Scott had said twenty minutes; Isaac was there in ten. He was jumpy, a little put on edge by all the monsters still prowling the outer edge of the city. While he hadn't come across any on his way here, he'd had to fight more than his fair share in the past few days, before blatantly refusing to go out and do any more. He was just- tired.

Tired of fighting, tired of being angry at everyone, tired of just... trying to keep everything together in the wake of the underground disaster. As if coming to this place wasn't bad enough, everything seemed to spiral out of his control when the bombs hit- from having to convince Scott to go underground to trying to keep Erica from killing anyone, to actually brawling with the other beta and being forced back into a corner to lick his wounds. Put on top of the stupid battles the initiative were making them fight, the mutants attacking the city, the constant state of worry that he was going to be mauled at any minute-

He would rather be home, and that's saying something.

Still, Isaac knew when he had to get over it and be mature. He knew that eventually, especially without Derek, the two boys would have to put their differences behind them (yet again) and try to work together. As much as being around Scott made him tense and irritable, Isaac knew that if there was anyone to trust in this godforsaken city, it was him.

And right now? He really needed someone to trust.

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Scott was there in twenty-five, mostly because he didn't actually know how to get there so aimless wandering was kind of a thing.

He spotted Isaac instantly, though, and as he made his way over there wasn't a trace of the hostility that had been dogging their steps (haha dogging) for the past month. That same weariness hanging over Isaac was mirrored on Scott; the fights with each other, the fighting they'd been forced to do, the weight of having to deal with this place without someone to lean on - it was too much, and it was taking its toll.

So when he'd gotten the text from Isaac, what he'd felt more than anything was relieved. He was sick of not having anyone to talk to, and even if Isaac was unpredictable and hostile it was better than nothing, and seeing him again prompted a genuine - if exhausted - smile. "Hey. Sorry I'm late."

Isaac had already ordered by that time and was waiting for his food by the time Scott arrived- and even though he knew rationally that he wouldn't just not show up, Isaac couldn't help but to breathe a little sigh of relief when Scott finally did.

"It's fine. I already ordered- she'll be back around in a minute, I think."

He didn't particularly want to launch into a conversation as soon as Scott got here- his shoulders were a little tense, the wolf in his mind bristling away from the scent of the other wolf, the one who had defeated him before. But Isaac forced that down, forced himself to think of a way to start the conversation, forced- anything he could think of.

"How's- Stiles?"

And - great way to start the conversation, because the simple question stopped Scott up short mid-way to taking a seat. It was a short pause, but it was an obvious one - and despite his best efforts he couldn't shake the sudden tension that followed. Scott knew he'd have to tell Isaac eventually, but for whatever reason he was reluctant to say it; saying it made it official, and it also meant admitting he'd been lying to Isaac the whole time.

When he finally replied, he was making an effort to sound casual, straightforward - but there was no hiding the dull, tired edge that came with accepting a hard truth.

"Stiles is gone. He has been since before the bombings."

"Wait- gone?"

Far from feeling lied to (that thought hasn't crossed his mind yet), Isaac found himself mentally reeling, trying to fit this all together. Derek gone, Stiles gone, the two of them still here. How could this place just give and take as it saw fit?

He didn't really mourn for Stiles or anything- Isaac had never particularly liked him, and while he wasn't happy he was gone... the two of them had never been friends. But Scott- they were practically attached at the hip, and now without Stiles around, this entire month, he'd been alone, and Isaac hadn't known. Hadn't really cared enough to find out.

A little pang of guilt drove through him at that, and Isaac looked down at the table for a moment, before rubbing awkwardly at the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry, dude. Are you okay?"

The concern actually got a small smile out of Scott, because - yeah, he'd been alone, and it had kind of sucked. So it was nice to have someone asking, even if the circumstances were kind messy otherwise.

"Been better." There was even a touch of self-deprecating humor in his tone. It was definitely a deflection, but he'd been dealing with this on his own for a month and there was no reason to focus on old wounds now.

"But maybe it's a good thing. Now that they're actually making us fight, it's kind of..." Dangerous, obviously, and nothing he wanted Stiles mixed up in. But that was it for dwelling on that subject, so now it's his turn to ask.

"What about you?

Isaac nodded, understanding a little, and was quiet as Scott spoke. He understood- while Derek here was relieving, having Erica here, despite her ability to fight, just worried him. He already felt the need to protect her, to make sure that nothing happened to her like it did back home. Isaac felt responsible for her fate in some way- if he'd gone with them, if he'd convinced them to stay, things might have gone differently.

He could only imagine what Scott must have been feeling, with his next-to-useless friend here in a world of war and violence.

At the question, however, Isaac looked back up at him, weighing on his mind whether or not he should even tell Scott at all- the last time he'd tried, he'd been dismissed quickly, and it stung, but... surely, there was a reason for it? And maliciously keeping information from him was cruel, even if it wasn't necessarily Isaac's information to share. So he cleared his throat and answered, a little tentatively.

"Well- uh. Erica's here."

"Erica?" He couldn't stop the incredulous reaction, because seriously, Isaac and Erica? Of all the people to end up stuck here with, they were definitely some of the last he would've chosen. And the idea of trading Stiles out for Erica was - an asshole thing to even think of, really, enough so that a flash of shame crossed his features.

He managed to calm down marginally before speaking, but his tone was still animated - maybe even a bit aggressive. "When did she get here?"

Obviously, telling him hadn't been the right thing to do. Isaac flinched back a little at the sudden change in tone before bolstering himself and... well, getting defensive. He couldn't help it- Erica was his friend, and he was responsible for her. She wasn't a bad person, and she certainly didn't deserve Scott's dislike at the very mention of her name.

(Maybe she did. Isaac and her had done some terrible things together, after all.)

"Look, she's fine, okay? She's not going to do anything stupid. Don't- " Isaac's own eyes narrowed, and the next words were a warning. "-don't scare her off."

Yeah, just slightly terrible. Though they'd been helpful at the rave, and as far as Scott was concerned they were just tools - like, literally tools, being taking advantage of by Derek, so he didn't really have any serious grudges against either of them.

Well, except for Erica's annoying 'I'm going to steal your boyfriend' act, though annoying had been the extent of it.

And then it was Scott's turn to get defensive, because- "What? I'm not going to scare her off." The idea of himself as scary was kind of ridiculous, despite everything. "I'm just surprised, okay? Seriously, how long has she been here?"

And what the heck have you two been doing in the meantime is what he avoided saying, if only marginally.

Isaac bit back a retort as he suddenly remembered that Scott didn't know about Erica and Boyd leaving. He knew Isaac stayed, he knew how the outcome was, but... Isaac can't ever remember telling him that the other two betas had just left.

It was a little sensitive- probably a little more than it should have been, but could anyone really blame him? Erica was his first genuine friend in... what seemed like forever, and because this battle got too intense, because Gerard pushed it and the Kanima attacks grew worse, she had left, and Isaac hadn't.

He looked away.

"Probably around when Stiles left. I found her a little before the caves. I- I tried to tell you, but-"

But he was promptly dismissed for his troubles. Way to go, Scott.

Edited 2012-11-05 02:47 (UTC)

Scott didn't put it together right away, mostly just looked confused for a second, waited for Isaac to finish his sentence. But then - right, around when Stiles left. When Scott was massively distracted and being kind of a jerk about it.

He had the decency to look slightly abashed when he put two and two together, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize. It'd been crappy timing, and yeah he'd been dismissive, but he didn't regret being preoccupied with Stiles's disappearance for a second.

What he would do, however, was put the effort in now. "How is she?" A beat, then- "With all of... everything." Because that was great clarification.

Isaac offered a little shrug to show for it, turning back down to his food and sort of pushing it around with his fork. This part wasn't super fun, and he wasn't sure how much of it he wanted to talk about- or how much was really his to talk about, ultimately. He didn't want to say anything Erica might consider private, but at the same time, a small part of him knew that Scott wasn't asking to try and one-up them, he genuinely cared.

"As good as can be expected, I guess." He glanced off, biting at his lip. "Back home, you know, she left because she was tired of all the fighting, and here... well, she's forced right back into it. So it's not really all that great."

Plus the tunnels, the full moon, the fighting with her to keep her from attacking the other humans... Isaac has had his plate full with both the emotional and physical consequences of facing Erica again, and though he was happy to have his friend back, it wasn't necessarily easy for either of them.

Oh. Wow.

The fact that Erica had left back home made sense, meant she was the just the kid Scott knew she was under all that bravado. And whether Isaac had intended to or not, that won them both some good faith on Scott's part. But the revelation still sucked, because being thrown into some bizarre war here... probably not what she'd hoped to run to.

"I'm sorry. That... really sucks." Hardly eloquent, but genuinely heartfelt. There was a thoughtful pause before he continued, and there was nothing guarded about his tone when he did.

"So I think we already have, because - we're here and having lunch like things are totally normal, but - truce, right? Officially. I know we don't agree on everything, but I also know you and Erica aren't the massive jerks you were pretending to be back home. We should try to stick together, right?"

Wow, nice compliment. He really did mean it as one, though, and his light expression and tone conveyed as much - same for the slight smile.

"You don't have to apologize."

Isaac knew it wasn't his fault- it was the hunters, the Kanima, Derek- all of it just grew to be too much for her, too much for Boyd, and... to be honest, too much for Isaac too. If it wasn't for his conversation with Scott that day, he'd have been right with them, running through the woods to meet this mysterious other pack.

At the offer though, Isaac looked back up at Scott, a little tentatively, giving a slight nod as he spoke. He really didn't have much of a problem with Scott- the two of them could have almost been friends, in a different circumstance. But Erica-

"Well, as for being a massive jerk, I'm pretty sure that's subject to interpretation," he replied dryly, raising his eyebrows a little. "But as far as you and I are concerned, I don't have a problem with you. I'm not speaking for Erica, though- I'll try to talk her into it, but she's got to make her peace with you in her own time."

Which might never happen, to be honest. Isaac was done fighting back, done lashing out and hurting people just because he was hurt, but Erica? Her pain came from the society, not a parent, and she had a hell of a lot more reason to hate the people around her than Isaac did. With him, they just stayed quiet, looked the other way at his bruises and black eyes- she was openly mocked, ridiculed, and systematically destroyed by them. He didn't blame her for what she did. She had all the reason to want to continue lashing out, and while Isaac wanted to try and help her, he felt no inclination to force her to stop.

Edited 2012-11-08 08:02 (UTC)

Scott wasn't going to talk about anyone else's business, but he got it. Got why Isaac lashed out, got why Erica did - even if he got frustrated with them, he never really blamed them for their actions. Because, yeah, all the blame was reserved for Derek. Who wasn't part of the equation here, not anymore, so really - making amends, finding some solidarity based on Beacon Hills and wolves was way more appealing than he'd ever though it could be.

"I get it." It was said casually, meant mostly to say he'd give her space; but he got the rest of it too, and the implication was there if Isaac wanted to find it.

And then there was a pause, because now they'd called it even and were sitting here getting food (theoretically, Scott wasn't even hungry) and on good terms, so-

"Did you fight any monsters?" Yes, small talk.

Isaac looked up at the question- he got the implication, or at least a small part of it, and while he wasn't sure what to think of it, he was thankful that Scott didn't give him the opportunity to address it.

"A few." He shrugged. "Went out looking for some the first few days and killed a couple. But they all just multiplied, so I... gave up."

Not exactly what happened, but that's definitely the more glamorous version. Isaac offered a wry smile, before leaning back in the booth, cocking an eyebrow up at him.

"You?"

Oops, he shouldn't have asked. He was going to get judged so hard for this - and he knew it, judging by his self-deprecating tone. And that apologetic, if slightly amused expression.

"Almost." There was a pause, then- "I felt kind of bad for them. I mean, it's not their fault they're crazy mutated freaks."

This was the guy who wanted to save Jackson, remember?

Isaac paused for a moment at that, as if waiting for the punchline, before realizing there wasn't one. He scoffed, rolling his eyes and shooting Scott a disbelieving look.

"Not their fault, but they'll still kill you, given half the chance. You really need to work on that empathy thing- it's gonna get you killed, one of these days. And it makes you look ridiculous."

Scott was okay with looking ridiculous - getting killed, not so much. So he didn't really argue, offered up a sheepish smile instead.

"Yeah, I'll work on that." Except he really wouldn't, because giving up on an entire lifetime of being taught to do the right thing... kind of difficult.

Though even he could admit mutant animals was a bit of a grey area. There was a pause before he continued, and when he did his tone was just slightly more serious, though the light-hearted warmth didn't go away. "How are you doing? With Erica back, I mean." Another pause, this time more hesitant. "You guys are close, right?"

Isaac had to raise an eyebrow at that, not quite sure what exactly Scott was getting at.

"It's alright. We're- pretty good friends, yeah. And, I mean, honestly it's a big relief to have her here, but I-"

He hesitated, folding his arms and leaning back into the booth, suddenly not quite hungry anymore. There had been something bothering him, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to confide in Scott of all people, but Isaac reasoned that there wasn't a whole lot Scott could do to worsen the situation.

"-there's something she's not telling me." It was quiet, and Isaac stared hard at the table, unsure. "I can hear it when she talks about home. I don't want to push her but she's- I'm worried for her, back home."

Edited 2012-11-15 21:21 (UTC)

Scott didn't say anything right away, just listened quietly, waited for Isaac to finish. And even then, there wasn't a whole lot he could do but show concern.

"It's okay. She's here now, right? You can look out for her." Because he still wasn't sure how going home worked, so - who knew, maybe they'd be able to help her when they got back, too.

But don't let Erica hear them saying this. Doubt she'd approve.

Isaac nodded after a few moments of silence.

"For now, I guess."

It really worried him, the extent to which Erica- by all rights, supposed to be his best friend- seemed to be keeping something from him. He could read her anxiety, her unease, and it killed him to not know what was causing it.

"Look, this stays between us, alright?"

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If I hadn't made me, I'd have been made somehow

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isaacccccc

;w;

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WOW I'M REALLY LATE TO THIS

np! <3