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noise rushed through the corridor as students brushed past one another to make it to their next class. y/n walked against the flow of students, remaining unnoticed as she opened her locker. she clutched her books tightly to her chest, her hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands. her headphones were playing a familiar song as she tried to block out the noise. she shoved the books she didn’t need into her locker, slamming it shut as she turned to walk towards her next class.
she scoffed as she watched her adopted brother approach the new girl at her locker. his pervy teenage eyes checked her out openly in front of his ginger girlfriend wrapped around his arm. the new girl seemed oblivious to his obvious flirting, smiling politely at the duo as they entrapped her into becoming a part of their inner circle. y/n could remember a time when she was included in that inner circle, a time when her brother actually remembered she existed. it all seemed to change once they joined high school, the boy ditching his sister for his lacrosse teammates. long gone was the sweet boy who would ride his bike home with her after school and watch movies together as they ate whatever meal their chef had prepared for them.
y/n walked past the trio, keeping her head low until she caught the eye of the new girl smiling at her as she passed. she was shocked at the acknowledgement and gave a brief smile back. jackson and lydia didn’t even bother following the new girl’s gaze, continuing their conversation and coercing the girl to watch lacrosse practice that afternoon and to go to lydia’s party on friday. y/n could feel the negative thoughts crawling from the depths of her mind at the cold shoulder she was receiving from her brother. they were confirming all of the things she’d started to believe after the first time jackson had ignored her: how no one would notice if she were gone, how no one ever notice
d she was there or even wanted her there. it was everything she had told herself as she often cried herself to sleep. her spiral was interrupted as she slammed into a solid body, the impact sending her and the books she was holding straight to the floor. she winced as she felt her back slam into the hard floor and knock the wind out of her, praying that not too many people were around to witness her embarrassment.
“shit. i-i’m sorry.” a quiet voice scrambled to help the girl pick up her books, their own bag now being re-slung onto their shoulder.
“i-it’s okay. i wasn’t looking where i was going.” y/n barely looked up as she grabbed the books out of the person’s hands. “thanks.”
she didn’t give the boy a chance to say anything back, rushing down the corridor before anyone else could notice the girl’s crash into him. y/n turned the corner and fled into her classroom. mr harris was sitting at his desk, looking up in surprise at the entrance of a student.
“whittemore, glad to see at least one student is eager to be here.” he rolled his eyes, going back to grading the papers in front of him.
y/n walked to the back of the classroom and sat down in her seat. she slumped over onto her arms as she mulled over what a fool she’d made of herself, knowing full well that at least half of the corridor had seen her slam into that boy. her phone buzzed in her pocket, a message from her mother reminding her that she’d have to wait for her brother after lacrosse to take her home. she’d forgotten he’d been the one to drive her to school that morning, not having gotten her licence over the summer like her brother had.
students began flooding into the room, no one blinking an eye as the girl remained by herself in the far corner of the room. coach harris began telling off the rowdy students as they sat down in their seats, his usual annoyance on full show. a shadow cast over y/n’s desk, making the girl look up to find her keys dangling from an outstretched hand.
“you dropped these.” the boy smiled awkwardly down at her, her keys still in his hand.
“t-thanks, isaac.” y/n stuttered out, tentatively taking the keys out of his hand, her eyes not quite reaching his towering build.
“sorry again for crashing into you.” isaac rubbed the back of his neck, guilt forming on his face as he remembered how the girl had scurried so quickly away from him.
“that was you?” she finally looked up to meet his eyes.
“yeah, i wasn’t looking where i was going.” isaac met the girl’s eyes, his blue eyes holding the guilt he felt at running into the girl.
“i-it’s okay.” y/n set her keys down on her desk, a genuine smile forming on her face.
“lahey! you gonna sit down or have we all gotta wait for you to stop flirting with whittemore?” mr harris shouted, standing at the blackboard with his arms crossed.
isaac and y/n both blushed at the accusations, the former rushing over to his desk without another look at the girl. y/n slumped in her chair, feeling the stares of her brother and lydia in the side of her head. the duo were as shocked as the rest of the class at the teacher’s words, not believing that the girl was even interested in another person, let alone being so openly ‘flirting’ in class.
mr harris seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed and continued his rampage on the students, calling out anyone who was even slightly drifting off. y/n kept her head down and took notes on everything the man was saying, praying not to get on his bad side once again. her phone buzzed once more in her pocket, the girl sneaking a look to find a message from an unknown number that just read ‘sorry’.
looking around the room, she found isaac’s eyes on her, an apologetic look in his eyes before he turned back to his work. she was confused how the boy had gotten her number, but assumed he’d asked her brother for it sometime during lacrosse practice. she smiled to herself slightly at the thought of the boy going out of his way to ask for her number, but quickly wiped it off her face as she looked back down at the notes she’d been taking.
the bell rang, making all of the students rush to get up and leave. y/n took her time, knowing she didn’t have anywhere to go as she’d have to wait for her brother after lacrosse practice before she could leave. she walked out of the classroom and towards her locker, her eyes glancing over at where she saw her brother once again flirting with the new girl. the poor girl seemed too nice to brush Jackson off, smiling as he spoke to her.
y/n watched from afar as her brother got way too close to the girl, praying that lydia would make an appearance soon to stop him before she would have to step in. it seemed whatever almighty being above was listening as the ginger girl appeared behind the boy with an annoyed look on her face. jackson’s demeanour took a full 180 as she wrapped her arms around him, his full attention going onto his girlfriend as they walked the new girl away from her locker. the trio walked down the corridor together, all eyes following them as they sauntered past.
she knew she should probably follow them towards the lacrosse field, a place she only rarely frequented when she was forced to wait for her brother after classes. during the colder months, she’d spend her time in the library until practice was over, but recently she’d found the quietness of the room too much for the spiralling voices in her head. besides, she had more inspiration for her sketches watching the boys running across the field than the boring few bodies sitting by themselves in the library. the lacrosse benches were almost half full by the time y/n made her way outside. she resented her brother for deciding he was not only going to be an asshole but an asshole who played for the favourite sports team in the school. if he was just an ass then maybe she’d already be home snuggled in bed with her cat. instead, she’d have to endure the brutal display of masculinity as the boys crashed into one another.
she sat down on the very edge of the bench, setting down her bag and pulling out her sketchbook. if she was going to be forced to sit and watch the boys play, she might as well get some good practice out of it. unbeknownst to her, lydia and the new girl, allison, were sitting almost directly behind her, ogling at jackson as he ran across the field. y/n was shocked as she looked up from her sketchbook, watching as scott mccall caught every single ball thrown his way. the usually clumsy and asthmatic boy seemed to suddenly have the reflexes of a ninja, shocking even coach, who watched on in awe.
it seemed her brother wasn’t as impressed with the boy’s new talents, slamming through the lineup of players to get to the front. she internally winced as her brother ran forward and aggressively swung his lacrosse stick towards the boy, the ball going almost directly into scott’s leg before he blocked it with his own stick and caught it. cheers erupted around her as the boy realised he’d caught the ball, coach finstock looking mildly impressed by mccall’s sudden athletic prowess.
it seemed the newly athletic scott had caught the attention of both lydia and the new girl as the pair cheered for the boy as he continued to catch every ball thrown at him for the rest of practice. y/n could already feel the annoyance radiating off of her brother as he watched his girlfriend and the rest of the student body present fawn over the boy. she knew it would be all she’d be hearing about for the rest of the day, the rest of the week if she was being entirely honest. she knew she’d seen enough of the practice to get some inspiration for her sketchbook when she saw mccall block a goal for the twelfth time. her boredom was kicking in and making the girl want to be anywhere but there. her eyes drifted from the field to the bench where a few of the lovingly nicknamed ‘bench-warmers’ were sitting, and she spotted a familiar curly-haired boy.
isaac was curled over on himself as he sat watching practice, his knee bouncing and his eyes constantly moving towards the watch on his wrist. she wondered what had gotten the shy boy so stressed; was it the fact that practice was running so late? or was he bored with sitting on the bench for so long? her eyes never broke from his form even as he was shoved by coach finstock with the rest of the team back towards the school, signalling the end of practice. she couldn’t help her curiosity as the boy flinched slightly at coach’s aggressive nature, shocking the girl as isaac had a good couple of inches on him. it seemed she wasn’t the only student at beacon hills that was hiding a secret; there was something dark that the tall boy was hiding, and y/n was determined she’d find out what that something was.
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it seemed y/n’s guess of her brother holding his grudge against scott for more than just that afternoon came true, as, when she turned the corner to go towards the library, she found her brother pinning the poor boy against a locker. she couldn’t hear what he was shouting at the boy, but knew from his body language that it was anything but kind. if the interaction went on any longer, y/n was sure she’d be seeing a scott shaped dent being formed in the locker her brother had him pressed up against.
“jackson, leave him alone.” she rolled her eyes as she jogged to reach the duo, scott’s eyes pleading as they looked over at the girl.
jackson didn’t budge as his sister approached, continuing his glare into the boy’s eyes. “i know you’re hiding something, mccall. i’m not sure what but i’m gonna find out. no matter how long it takes.” he shoved him one last time into the locker before stalking away towards the locker rooms. scott sighed in relief as he was finally released from the tight hold, sagging until his arms hit his knees. y/n approached the boy carefully and tentatively put a hand on his shoulder.
“you okay, scott?” she almost jumped out of her skin as the boy leapt back into the lockers at her touch.
“shit. sorry, y/n.” scott frowned as he saw the fear in the girl’s eyes at his sudden movement. “i’m fine. just jackson being-“
“a jackass as usual?” y/n finished for him, a surprised look on his face at her words about her own brother. “i’d say you get used to it after a while. but after almost sixteen years, he’s still as insufferable as when we were kids.”
scott laughed at her words, surprised at her blunt nature as he’d barely heard the girl say a word since the first day of freshman year. “at least one of you whittemores isn’t a complete jerk.”
“glad i can help improve the name.” y/n smiled at the boy, carrying on down the hallway towards her locker.
her phone began buzzing in her pocket but she was unable to answer it as her hands were full with the books she’d been studying. as she reached her locker, the phone began buzzing relentlessly again, sighing as she realised whoever was calling wouldn’t be stopping their attempts at contacting her anytime soon. she shoved her books into her locker before pulling out her phone and seeing her mom’s name on the screen.
“hi, mom.” she leant against her locker.
“hi, y/n/n. jackson’s got lacrosse tryouts today, right?” her mom’s voice sounded distant as she spoke, growing closer as she finished her sentence.
“yeah, i just saw him leaving in his kit.” y/n rolled her eyes as she remembered the arrogant boy walking down the hall.
"you’re gonna need to wait for him to finish again.” she was blunt in her words, the sound of a keyboard typing in the background.
“can’t i just walk? it’s still gonna be light out.” y/n groaned at the idea of having to wait for her brother for the second time that week.
“no, absolutely not. they found a body in the woods the other day. i’m not having you going out there by yourself, y/n.” mrs whittemore sounded exacerbated as she spoke.
“mom, i don’t even go near the woods. i can just cut through the graveyard.” she felt the annoyance growing in her chest.
“thats’ worse and you know it.” she could hear the exasperation in her mom’s words at the suggestion.
“fine, i’ll wait for him.” y/n rolled her eyes at her mom’s adamance. “bye, mom.”
she didn’t allow the woman to utter another word before she was shutting off her phone and shoving it into her pocket. she stormed back to her locker, her mind solely focused on grabbing her sketchbook. if she was being forced to stay behind, she would have to direct her anger somewhere other than herself or those around her.
it appeared earlier’s drama between scott and jackson had carried on through to tryouts as the two boys had it out for one another. scott was knocked to the floor in the first five minutes of y/n arriving more times than she could count. the mccall boy finally seemed to get his ninja reflexes back, sprinting across the field and leaping across the other players to make the shot.
once more, y/n felt her eyes being drawn to the benches of players waiting to play. though this time her eyes weren’t on the tall, curly-haired boy they were last time, but the buzz-headed best friend of scott, who seemed to be the only person not cheering for the boy making first line. was stiles just jealous that he was still stuck on the bench whilst scott would be playing in their first game? had something happened between the two that were usually thick as thieves?
it seemed her thoughts had made the girl completely oblivious to everything happening around her. coach had sent the players back to the locker room, leaving only a few stragglers behind to help him carry the kit back inside. included in them happened to jackson, who was still looking irritated at his throne of top lacrosse player being threatened by scott.
“jackson! mom said you gotta drive me back.” y/n crossed her arms as she approached her brother, matching his annoyance at the situation.
"can’t.” jackson brushed her off without an excuse, taking off his helmet and following the rest of the players towards the locker room.
“what do you mean ‘can't’? in case you forgot, i don’t have a car to get home.” y/n followed the boy, ignoring the annoyed glances of the other players who were walking alongside them.
“then walk. not my problem.” jackson rolled his eyes, entering into the school without holding the door open for her.
“why’ve you gotta be such a dick? you’re already heading back anyways, why can’t i tag along?” y/n jogged to catch up with him.
“i’m taking lydia back home before her party, and i’m not having you third wheeling us like usual.” jackson finally looked back at her, stopping as they reached the locker room. “walk. it’s good for you.”
y/n sighed in annoyance as the boy walked off without another word. of all the times her brother was a jackass, it was at its peak whenever it came to him having his ‘alone time’ with lydia. she wrinkled her nose at the amount of times she’d had to interrupt those alone times whilst home alone with them.
"i can give you a ride.” a voice appeared from beside her, making the girl nearly jump out of her skin.
y/n yelped at the sudden voice, holding her hand to her chest to stop her heart from beating out of her chest. “jesus, isaac.”
“s-sorry. i thought you realised i was walking with you.” isaac rubbed his neck guilty, a habit y/n was noticing he did often.
“it’s okay. and don’t worry about it. i can just walk.” y/n gave him a grateful smile, starting to walk past the locker rooms.
“i’m already heading that way. i help my dad out at the graveyard sometimes.” isaac set down the bag of equipment that he was struggling to hold up.
“really? i’m surprised i haven’t seen you. i cut through there all the time.” she turned back around, finding the boy leaning against the wall outside the locker rooms.
“i usually only help out at night. so unless you’re going for midnight strolls through the graveyard, then probably not.” isaac chuckled nervously at the thought, y/n smiling at the sight.
“only occasionally.” y/n winked, matching the boy’s pose opposite him.
“if you want, you can wait out here and then i can drive you home?” isaac looked up at the girl sheepishly hoping she’d agree.
“really, isaac, it’s okay. i don’t wanna burden you.” she sighed, her resistance weakening.
“take it as an apology for making you crash onto the floor the other day.” he pouted his lips slightly, hoping it would trick the girl into agreeing.
“okay. but be quick. i have a very persistent cat at home that needs my attention.” y/n rolled her eyes at the thought of the black cat that was no doubt sunbathing on her bed at this very moment.
isaac nodded quickly, grunting as he lifted the bag back onto his shoulder and entered the locker room. y/n sent her mom a quick text to let her know she’d be getting a lift home, a very quick flurry of alerted messages coming back from the women. she rolled her eyes at the obvious helicopter parenting, sending back a reassuring text that she’d let her know when she left and when she got back home.
both her parents had been extra cautious when it came to y/n, more so than they were with jackson. it had all heightened after she ran off during a family hike when the siblings were five and she didn’t turn up again until the next morning, muddy, bloodied and bruised. she was most annoyed that her mother was most concerned with the foremost of those things, offended that the girl would ruin her new jacket she’d bought her especially for that hike. y/n said she didn’t remember ever wandering off, her last memory being a game of tag she and jackson were playing before she woke up on the floor of the woods. she always had her suspicions of what had happened but kept the thoughts to herself and just let her parents pamper her.
“i said i’m not giving you a lift, y/n. why are you still here?” jackson’s annoyed voice cut through her thoughts.
“i’m waiting for my ride, jackson. don’t worry your ugly little head about it.” y/n rolled her eyes, leaning back against the wall to glare at her brother.
“with who?” jackson put on his, only just, older brother act.
“does it matter?” y/n rolled her eyes once more, getting fed up with the overprotectiveness of her family.
“if it’s greenberg, i will kill him.” jackson’s jaw tensed as he thought about the boy being alone with his sister
“it’s not greenberg. god, why do you care so much?” she pushed off of the wall, turning to face him fully.
“because you’re my sister.” he was offended at her tone.
“didn’t seem to care when you left me at target last year.” y/n pouted as she remembered leaving the boy at least twenty voicemails before he finally realised he’d left her behind.
“oh my god, it was like a twenty minute walk home. would you give it a rest?” jackson was exacerbated, beginning to give up on the argument.
“would you give this conversation a rest?” she threw his comment back in his face, smirking as he glared at her,
“whatever, just don’t go hooking up with any of my teammates.” jackson rolled his eyes, walking away from the girl.
“jackass!” she shouted down the hall, slumping back against the wall.
“i do not miss that part of siblings.” isaac’s voice made the girl once again jump out of her skin.
“jesus christ! you have got to stop doing that.” y/n slumped once more against the wall.
“sorry, you just seem jumpy.” isaac shrugged. “ready to go?”
“yeah.” y/n pulled her bag up higher on her shoulder, following the boy down the corridor.
she was confused as she followed him into the parking lot, not seeing any cars in the part of the lot they were walking towards. she paused in her steps as she spotted the lonesome vehicle that the boy was approaching.
“you know when you said ‘drive’ i thought you meant a car.” y/n raised her eyebrows at the bike propped up in the parking lot.
“oops?” isaac sheepishly pulled out his helmet, placing it in the girl’s hands.
“don’t you have a spare?” she looked at his empty hands as he shoved their backpacks into the storage under his seat.
“not with me.” isaac shrugged, lifting his leg to straddle the bike. “you wear it. i’ll be fine.”
“you’re the one driving, you should wear it.” y/n shook her head, trying to shove the helmet onto his head.
she underestimated the tall boy’s strength as he easily fought off her attempts and shoved the helmet onto her head, securing it in place for her. her eyes glared at him jokingly through the visor, a cheeky grin staring back at her through the tinted screen.
“now, where we heading?” he flipped the visor all the way down, ensuring her eyes were protected from the wind.
“my house? the one you said you were driving nearby” she raised her eyebrow behind the visor, still not climbing onto the death trap on wheels.
“and that would be?” isaac winced, realising he’d been caught in his lie.
“isaac, do you even know which side of town i live on?.” she glared at him suspiciously.
“okay, maybe that was a little lie. but, hey, we’re here now.” isaac shrugged, grabbing his keys to start the engine. “get on.”
y/n stared at the bike suspiciously, not quite trusting that the machine would get her home in one piece, experienced driver at the helm or not. the boy seemed to sense her hesitation, turning his head to look back with a soft look in his eyes.
“you’ll be fine. don’t you trust me?” he held out his hand for the girl, patiently waiting for her to accept his trust.
“i spoke to you properly for the first time like three days ago, isaac.” she rolled her eyes, accepting his hand and swinging her leg over the back of the bike.
she gripped the sides of the seat that he wasn’t occupying nervously, praying that she wouldn’t fall off as soon as he started the engine.
“i’d recommend holding onto me or the handlebars if you wanna not fall off.” he spoke over his shoulder, kicking the stand up and backing them up out of the parking space.
y/n gulped as her hands tentatively moved to around his waist, a firmer than imagined torso greeting her hands under his thin top. his own hands pulled her in closer, giving her hand a squeeze before he revved the engine and sped off out of the parking lot. y/n squealed as she felt the wind flowing in her hair, her head tucking into his shoulder out of fear.
it seemed the ride to her house lasted longer on isaac’s motorbike than in jackson’s porsche. she finally got used to the feeling of the wind blowing past them as they sped down the roads, her head resting firmly against his back instead of in his neck. she could feel isaac’s heart racing against her hand on his chest, a grin forming on her face at the thought that she was the cause of it. y/n didn’t want to admit it, but she was disappointed as she spotted the familiar whittemore house come into view. isaac slowed the bike down and came to a halt at the end of their driveway. she paused in her position before slowly removing her hands from their sort-of embrace. she pulled herself off of the bike, stepping back to allow isaac to do the same. the boy pulled her bag out from its place under the seat, handing it over to her with a blushing smile.
“thanks for the ride, isaac.” y/n smiled, feeling her cheeks heat up with a matching blush.
“you're welcome.” isaac rubbed the back of his neck once more. “i’ll see you monday.”
“y-yeah, see you monday.” y/n waved slightly to the boy, walking up the inclined driveway towards her house.
“are you going to the party?” his voice carried up the driveway, causing the girl to pause in her stride.
“what?” she turned back, confused.
“lydia’s party tonight. are you going?” he shoved his hands in his jean pockets, swaying back and forth on his feet.
“parties aren’t really my thing. i was planning on just staying in and watching some movies.” as she said it, y/n realised how sad her plans sounded in comparison to going to the first party of the year, held by the most popular girl in school.
“o-oh, okay. cool. yeah. nevermind.” isaac looked down, disappointment flashing in his eyes for a brief moment.
“d-did you wanna go?” she inquired, curiosity peaking.
“m-maybe. did you-” isaac didn’t get to finish his sentence the sound of the house’s front door swinging open alerting the duo to the presence of another.
“oi! mum’s been calling you for ages. get inside.” jackson shouted down the driveway, barely acknowledging his teammate that had driven his sister home.
“just ‘cause you're three weeks older than me doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do!” y/n shouted back up to her brother, glaring at the boy who’d interrupted their conversation.
“still older, dipshit!” jacksons stuck his finger up at her, retreating back into the house.
“asshole!” y/n turned back to isaac with an apologetic look in her eyes. “i‘d apologise for my brother but if i started now i’d never stop.”
“don’t be. he’s been an ass since i met him in middle school.” isaac chuckled at the display of sibling rivalry. “i should go before he decides to come back out.”
“y-yeah. thanks again for the ride.” she waved the boy off, walking back up her driveway and through the front door.
she watched through the small window beside the door as isaac drove away on his bike, disappointment filling her that they never got to finish their conversation. y/n turned to face the glaring figure of jackson that was standing at the bottom of the stairs.
“what?” she snapped at him, moving to walk past him and up to her bedroom.
“when you said you got a ride from one of my teammates, i thought you meant someone who actually plays.” jackson followed her up the stairs, his annoyance clear in his voice.
“he’s still on the team isn’t he?” she turned her head to glare over her shoulder at him.
“benchwarmers don’t count.” jackson scoffed, watching as she walked towards her bedroom door.
“not all of us have daddy’s money to buy steroids to keep in ‘tip-top shape’” she rolled her eyes before slamming the door in his face.
“those are prescription meds and you know it!” jackson shouted through the door, his footsteps retreating away in anger.
“whatever you say, junkie!” she shouted back, flopping onto her bed beside the sunbathing black cat, poppy.
she pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket, opening her texts to find over thirty messages from her mom worrying where she was when jackson had arrived home without her in tow. she sent a reassuring message to the woman who was finally on her way back from a meeting to let her know she’d made it back home in one piece. her finger hovered over isaac’s name before she shut off the device. she knew she would say something she’d regret if she sent something straight away to the boy. instead, she set down her phone and curled up around the sunbathing cat that purred at her presence.
her peace was short lived as only a few minutes after she started to drift off, lydia was barging into her room. the ginger girl walked straight over to y/n’s closet, rifling through her clothes until she pulled out a short black dress that was long forgotten behind her many hoodies.
“jackson told me you have an admirer. put this on and invite him to my party.” lydia threw the dress onto the bed, mulling over the girl’s shoe options before deciding on a pair of heeled boots. “come round with me and jackson and i’ll do your hair and makeup before everyone else comes round.”
with a flurry of ginger hair, lydia left as quickly as she entered the room, leaving the girl confused as she stared down at the outfit that had been selected for her. how had she been invited to a party, coerced into inviting isaac, and had an outfit selected for her all in the span of a minute? only lydia martin would have the capabilities and extroverted nature to pull off something like that.
“if you don’t text him, i will!” lydia shouted through the door, scaring the girl as she stared down at the clothes. “we’re leaving in twenty!”
y/n begrudgingly climbed out of her comfort in her bed, walking over to her vanity and staring at her reflection. she wished she’d washed her hair the night before or spent more time over the summer taking care of her skin. all of her blemishes stared back at her mockingly, making the girl want to cover up the mirror and curl back up in bed. she pulled her hair out of it messy style and tried to comb it into something more presentable for a party. when she was finally happy with the state of her hair, she changed into the outfit lydia had chosen for her and zipped up her boots. she sat staring at isaac’s contact in her phone, stressing over whether she should text him or not. would it be better if he was invited directly by lydia, or would he prefer y/n be the one to invite him? was that too forward? would she be coming on too strong?
fuck it, she thought. she typed out a quick message asking if he wanted to go, sent it and threw her phone down on her bed. regret filled her as soon as she sent the message, wanting to delete her number and destroy her phone so she’d never know the boy’s response. it seemed isaac wasn’t lying when he said that he was nearby where the girl lived, as he responded quickly.
'why the sudden change of heart?’ isaac responded, his confusion clear in his text.
‘lydia happened’ she felt guilty at her response, realising it seemed as though she was being forced into inviting the boy.
‘i see. i’ll be there at 8?’ isaac sent back quickly.
‘see you then’ y/n shut off her phone, falling back onto her bed with a sigh.
she felt the purring body of poppy snuggling into her shoulder, the black cat curling into her as she sought out the girl’s warmth. the little void gremlin seemed to never have enough of her, always seeking out of the girl that she shared a room with. poppy never trusted any others like she did with y/n, often hissing at jackson or her father whenever they got too close. her mother was the only exception to the rule but only if y/n herself wasn’t around.
“y/n! let’s go!” jackson’s voice shouted from the other side of her door, his fist banging on the door.
the ride over to lydia’s wasn’t long, but it felt like a lifetime when the couple were making out in front of her at every red light they approached. y/n let out a breath of relief as they finally pulled into lydia’s driveway, shoving herself out of the car so that she could escape their make-out session. lydia giggled as she walked out of jackson’s car, skipping her way up her drive and into the house. the siblings followed after her, shoving each other as they went until jackson almost went headfirst into the bushes.
it seemed that lydia’s idea of ‘helping’ y/n with her makeup was plastering the girl’s face with an entirely new one. she couldn’t recognise herself in the mirror, her eyes popping with the dark eyeshadow and lydia having pulled her hair back off of her face to expose more of her cheeks. y/n thanked the girl before she exited the room, allowing the hostess to rifle through her clothes and find the ‘perfect’ outfit to greet everyone.
she made her way downstairs, sitting down in the martin’s living room and twiddling her thumbs. her exhaustion got the better of her as, before she could stop it, she was drifting off and dropping her head onto the back of the sofa. it wasn’t until almost an hour later that jackson appeared by her side, hitting her in the head with a pillow to wake her up.
“get up, loser!” jackson set down the pillow, dropping onto the sofa beside her. “lydia’s finally almost ready and people are gonna start showing up soon.”
“can’t i just hide away in lydia’s room or you car until you wanna leave?” y/n groaned at the idea of having to spend her evening with nearly the entire school’s population.
“i think lydia would murder both of us if i let you do that.” jackson frowned, lowering his voice so said girl couldn’t hear what he said from upstairs.
“your girlfriend scares me sometime, jacksie.” she shivered at the memory of a very angry lydia during the summer break over something jackson had said.
“what did i say about calling me that?” jackson groaned, pushing the girl away from him and standing from the sofa to look out the window.
“that it was your favourite nickname and you can’t wait to hear more?” y/n smiled cheekily at the boy, the siblings sticking their tongues out at one another.
lydia’s footsteps ran down the stairs hastily, the ginger girl huffing as she held up two different pairs of shoes. “white or black?”
jackson looked scared to answer, knowing that there was most definitely a right answer that the girl was looking for. y/n just rolled her eyes at the fear in her brother’s eyes, giving the girl a once over before answering.
“black, matches your outfit more.” y/n nodded, standing from the sofa to join her brother in looking out for arriving guests.
“i knew it.” lydia huffed, running back up the stairs whilst trying to get the black heels onto her feet.
the doorbell rang as y/n reached her brother, the girl giving him an expectant look that said ‘i’m not answering it’, making him roll his eyes. the boy begrudgingly walked over to the main door and opened it, a scowl forming on his face at the person in front of him.
“lahey, didn’t realise you were invited.” jackson crossed his arms, trying to size up the taller boy.
“leave him alone, jackson. lydia said i could invite him.” y/n rolled her eyes, walking over and shoving her brother out of the way to let the boy in. “hi, isaac. ignore the jackass. come on in.”
jackson glared at the curly-haired boy as he entered his girlfriend’s home, not trusting that the bench-warming teammate should be trusted around his sister. he followed the pair into the kitchen, keeping a careful eye on how close the pair were getting as she began to make them both a drink.
“are you gonna have a drink or are you just gonna stand there glaring at us?” y/n glared at her brother, looking over his shoulder as lydia raced down the stairs skilfully in her heels.
“who was at the door?” she asked, pausing as she spotted the tall boy standing in her kitchen. “isaac. I didn’t realise you two were friends.”
“y-yeah.” isaac nodded, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck once more.
“well, what we drinking? i say we have a few shots to get this party started.” lydia skipped over to the wall of alcohol that lined the large kitchen, mulling over what substance she’d force the others to drink with her.
"anything but tequila.” y/n could already feel her stomach turning at the thought of the drink.
“vodka it is!” lydia cheered, pulling out the clear bottle and setting up four shot glasses.
the trio watched as she expertly poured the four shots, each grabbing their own glass before downing the drink. isaac coughed at the burning sensation down his throat, too shy to admit that it was his first time trying anything alcoholic. he smiled down at y/n reassuringly as she gave him a worried look, setting down his shot glass and reaching for the much weaker drink she’d poured for the pair. people started flooding into the house, the duo staying tucked away in their corner of the kitchen. isaac was still nursing his first drink whilst the whittemore girl was onto her third cup of whatever concoction danny had mixed together in a large bowl. she was leaning way too close to the boy than she would've if she were sober, laughing at something he’d said over the booming music.
“do you wanna dance?” she stumbled to reach his ear, hoping he’d heard her over the music.
“what?” he shouted back, leaning down to hear the girl better.
“dance!” she shouted back, nodding her head to where a bunch of people were moving to the pulsing music.
isaac looked nervous as he followed her head, already feeling his palms sweating at the thought of dancing with the girl in front of her. he downed the rest of his drink, hoping that it would give him the courage to agree. y/n raised her eyebrow as the boy reached for her own glass, downing her drink as well.
“you good?” she raised her eyebrows further at the boy, who nodded quickly, taking her hand and leading her out of the kitchen.
she was surprised at his directness, following behind as he dragged her through the crowd. the music grew louder as they exited the house, the crowds of people growing as they entered the backyard. isaac stopped as they reached the centre of the crowd, turning to face the girl who was already staring up at him. he slowly unfurled their hands, looping his arms around her shoulders and drawing her nearer. y/n followed suit, wrapping her arms around the boy as they began to sway together to the music.
the pair seemed to forget everyone around them, only pausing in the bubble as y/n was pushed into the boy by a stumbling scott. the boy barely glanced back as he stumbled through the crowd, allison chasing after the boy. isaac gulped as he looked down at the girl pressed up against him, his hands falling from her shoulders to her waist as he held her up. she looked up at him through her eyelashes, her eyes flitting across his face until they landed on the light blush covering his cheeks.
she smirked through her drunkenness, bringing her hand up to brush against his cheek. isaac's eyes widened at the movement, his grip tightening slightly on her waist. the two felt themselves leaning in towards it each, the alcohol diminishing any doubts they would usually have.
"y/n!" lydia's voice cut through the duo's moment. "have you seen allison?"
"she ran off with scott." y/n nodded her head to where the duo had previously ran off.
lydia rolled her eyes at the thought of her new best friend running off with the mccall boy, rushing off in the direction y/n had pointed. y/n turned back to the still shocked boy, a matching blush forming on her face as she finally realised what they had almost done. she barely knew the boy, but after three glasses of alcohol, she was openly flirting and almost kissing him.
"sorry." she blushed further, stepping away from isaac slightly to return to the position they were in before.
"i-it's okay." isaac smiled, his eyes flicking around the growing crowd nervously. "do you want another drink?"
y/n nodded, confused as she watched him step away and return back into the house. she felt she'd scared him off with her forwardness, her drunken self having taken too much control over her actions. slowly, she walked through the crowd towards the house as well, hoping she'd find the tall boy instead of waiting by herself in a sea of teens she didn't know or care about.
she sighed as she saw him standing awkwardly in the corner of the kitchen, a couple making out in front of where the fresh cups and remnants of danny's punch were. isaac seemed to give up on his attempts, moving around the kitchen to go back towards the garden. he stopped as he spotted the clock on the wall, squinting to see the time in the dark room.
y/n pushed through the crowds of people to try and get to the boy. she froze as she reached where she last saw him, the curly-haired boy no longer awkwardly waiting to get them drinks. instead he was pushing through the crowd towards the front door, frantically pulling his keys out of his pocket as he did.
"isaac!" y/n shouted after the boy, trying to push through and follow him.
the crowds didn't budge as much as they did for him, the girl finding herself making little progress in her pursuit. by the time she'd reached the front door, she spotted isaac's figure already sitting on his bike and wheeling it out of lydia's drive. she stopped as she caught his eye slightly, confused why he'd suddenly run off.
isaac sighed as he caught her eyes, guilt forming as he watched her shoulder sag. he flipped his visor down, speeding off before he could see any more hurt in the girl's eyes. y/n was left standing on the front porch of the martin house, any traces of alcohol leaving her as soon as she saw isaac drive away. groups of teens cheered behind her as some game or bet was won, their antics going unnoticed by the girl.
she considered heading back inside but paused as she spotted the teens that were currently holding someone upside down doing a keg stand. well, there goes her plan of returning to grab her jacket. turning back towards the driveway, she made the decision that she'd just wait and see when jackson or lydia would appear again so she could get a lift home. she stole an unopened bottle of rum that someone had left on the steps, nursing it to keep her warm and occupied until someone made an appearance.
it took her all of an hour of non-stop cheering back in the house for the girl to realise neither would be coming outside. in that moment, with the large amounts of alcohol that was still in her body, she chose to walk back to her house. she had no idea which way she'd end up going, through the graveyard? no, too creepy. along the main road? she was likely to get hit by some idiot speeding. instead, her tired and now, very drunk, mind made the decision that she was going to cut through the woods.
she stumbled her way down lydia's driveway, her sights set on the large expanse of woods across the road from the girl. her mind felt at ease as she entered into the trees, the noise of the party slowly fading as it grew farther away. she could hear the rustling of the leaves as a breeze went through the forest.
unbeknownst to the girl, a freshly turned scott was sprinting through the same woods. y/n jumped at the sounds of footsteps nearby, hastening her steps until she reached a clearing. she felt safer now that she couldn’t hear the party or the footsteps, her fuzzy head clearing as she looked up at the full moon peeking through the trees. peace filled her as she closed her eyes, the world seeming to slow down and drown out around her as she took in a deep breath.
her moment of peace was disrupted by the buzzing of her phone. she hoped it would stop but whoever it was seemed to be insistent on getting her attention. looking down at the name on the screen, she scoffed as she saw the name of the boy who’d abandoned her at the party. her drunken mind finally made a good decision, rejecting the call and shoving her phone back in her pocket.
the rest of her walk back to her house was spent with the girl drunkenly singing along to a song that was stuck in her head from the party. she paused in her steps as she finally reached the end of her driveway, pausing as she spotted a light still on in the house. her parents were never the types of people to leave a light on, especially downstairs.
she assumed after she’d left the party, a good 30 minutes prior, her brother would’ve noticed that she’d left. but as she walked into the house and quietly shut the door behind her, she sighed in both relief and disappointment. neither her mother nor father was waiting for her as she arrived; there wasn’t anyone seemingly awake in the house besides herself.
she went up the stairs, slowly creeping across the landing to reach her bedroom. relief filled her as she finally made it into her room, falling face first onto her bed with a thud. she was already starting to drift off into sleep when a light ‘meow’ from beside her stopped her. y/n turned her head to the side, her eyes meeting the golden orbs of the void that she called poppy.
“hi, poppy.” she giggled, rubbing behind the cat’s ears in the way she knew she loved. “at least i know you won’t abandon me.”
poppy gave a light purr at the girl’s actions, butting her hand further into her hand. the cat crawled up the bed until her head was buried under y/n’s arm, the pair assuming a familiar position as they curled into one another. y/n sighed at the comfort the cat gave her, finding more safety in the small creature than in the entirety of the student body of her school. drifting off, y/n was oblivious to the danger and harm occurring to those around her that evening. in the dark of the night, nightmares flooded the minds and scarred the bodies of unwilling participants.