Walls, Masks and Plaid Shirts (Book One of the 'Plaid Shirts' series)

Day One: Monday / Debriefing - (Isaac POV)

We continued on the act of watching but not watching as the boys finished up our meal with toasted baguettes and began to serve up at the dining table, then there was the pop of tupelware, the scrape of spoons on plastic, a plop of metal in water then all sound seamed to cease. I move my head up to Stiles (the only one doing so), I couldn't help it, he looked back at me a small smile on his face, the others where talking about the beta shift form debating a small detail, me and Cora where on 'Stiles duty' appointed by Derek when there was information Stiles has found that could be of extreme benefit. I was glad I had super-hearing when Stiles rasped "Hey pup, tell the pack to go eat before it goes cold and to enjoy". Another weak grin and Stiles Stilinski was out the door and speeding away in his jeep.

I could still hear the Jeep slightly as Scott finished up the argument with Derek by shouting, "Well Derek, your eyebrows have to go somewhere, don't they!". Derek just rolled his eyes and stood up turning to me, "You smell like you want attention, what is it pup?" I stood for a second before saying, " Stiles is gone" slight shock and sadness on their faces, they didn't realise and I added before I looked too much at their guilty faces, "Stiles said to go eat before it gets too cold". The frowns deepen and Scott whimpers, aww my poor mate, I go over and hug him, pulling him into my chest. I tip my head and whisper into his ear, "It's okay babe, remember we are fixing it". There is a slight sniffle against my shirt, he is holding back tears. "Wh...what iffff we ar....arrre t...t...too late!", oh god, "It will all be fine in the end" I hope "Now let's go eat babe"

Dinner was silent. Completely and utterly silent. Stiles had cooked us chicken breast in a mushroom sauce with wild rice and hot buttery baguettes and I swear to god I heard Derek moan as he chewed a forkful of the rice covered in the thick sauce. With no talk at the table dinner went past quickly and I finally put my fork down on my empty plate and looked up to everyone else. "Jackson and Lydia you are on dishes" two nods from the couple. "Erica, Boyd and Allison go grab everyone blankets" another three nods, "Cora and Peter make everyone a cup of tea" another two nods, "Everyone else into the living room and wait for the meeting, go to the bathroom now if you need, this might take a while". And with that Derek left the room walking in the direction of the Library at the end of the corridor and everyone else got up to fufil the Alpha's demands.

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Everyone sat around the coffee table on bean bags, wrapped in blankets, we all looked like children, yes even Derek. The situation with Stiles had reduced us all to vulnerability, we where scared, I was terrified. Derek cleared his throat, "Lydia, Phase one report, deal with one point at a time please" Lydia nodded and let out a shaking breath. "Okay so my first bullet point, Stiles was running away from being beaten by Jason and those other pricks" Everyone nodded but it was Cora who spoke up, "Okay so that and how he was beaten in the parking lot in the diner, which also my I add Stiles looked like he was used to, we can draw a conclusion for that, it's simple, Stiles is bullied" Erica spoke up next, "Why the hell would people bully him" Cora shook her head "I have heard people call him 'useless', a 'freak' and a 'faggot', it's fucking disgusting that people would even think to call him that word, everyone accepts everyone else no matter what sexuality in school, why the fuck is Stiles a different case!" Derek's eyes had gone slightly wide, "Stiles is Gay?" I spun my head around to him like the rest of the pack, it was Scott who answered him, "Stiles has been openly gay for as long as I remember, dude how the hell did you not know, he dated Danny for like two years when they where like fifteen" Derek looked like a fish out of water and I snickered under my breath, "Yeah Derek now you can just tell him about your little or should I say gigantic crush, he absolutely adores you". The tips of Derek's ears turned a rosy pink that was steadily spreading to his cheeks and he made a choking noise before announcing, "Lydia what is your next point". Oh Derek.