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Mumbling incoherently to herself, Aspen attempted to wedge three of her books in her locker next to the empty water bottle and Stiles' lunch box. The bell for the next class rang three minutes ago, and she knew her teacher would have a fit if she were late again. After seeing her grades the other night, she couldn't afford any more useless absence. After a few more attempts, she resorted to angrily stacking everything and slipping out a notebook that she was pretty sure belonged to Scott and slammed her locker shut.
Pressing herself between two students who didn't care to move after countless pleads to move aside, she let her eyes downcast for a few seconds. Enough moments for her to stumble back the moment she felt herself slam into a chest. A yelp slipped her lips before a tight grip on her wrist hauls her from falling back anymore. After finding her vision again, her cheek immediately heats up when she sees Jackson standing before her, a smirk plastered on his face. But not wickedly.
"Jackson," she mumbled with uncertainty. She hasn't really spoken to him in a while, and whenever they did cross paths, it wasn't exactly friendly. And if she was being honest, she wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. A few students brushed her shoulder to get past, and she realized they were standing dead center of the congested hall. "S-sorry,'" she stammers after a couple of brutal seconds and shook her head with a weak smile, "I didn't see you--"
"No, no," Jackson laughed, the corners of his eye crinkling in an oddly adorable way that she bet Lydia gushed over. "It's all good. It's my fault."
His tone was jocular and sounded foreign on his tongue. Aspen tilted her head with a sheepish smile of her own, scrunching her nose at his odd behavior, but she masked the confusion with a light laugh. "Agree to mutual faults?"
Jackson laughed and nodded his head in agreement, shouldering his backpack. But he was still smiling--well, for better terms smirking. A smirk on Jackson's lips isn't an odd thing; the guy practically oozes cockiness. But it was what was in his eyes that caught her attention. Like he knew something.
"So you and Lahey? How's that going?" he asked, his voice deep yet chipper. It was like a gender switch of Lydia. Seeing Aspen's bewildered expression, he lifted a hand and chuckled, "Just wanted to see how things are holding up. His old man passing away must have been rough even if he was an asshole. But believe it or not, I know a thing or two about losing parents."
Aspen made sure not to show it, but it finally hit her that Jackson was adopted. He was the star lacrosse player. Who would think his life is anything but perfect. But it wasn't. She wondered if the boy has ever gone through an identity crisis, considering he's never met his biological parents.
She instead gave a nod of understanding, drumming her fingers on her notebook as she rolled back on her heels. To keep things light, she blew out a whistle and acted surprised, "Woah, that almost sounded since Jackson."
He seemed to appreciate her not taking pity as most girls did. Like Lydia did, though he would never admit, he missed her. "I'm deadly serious," he whispered with a playful stare.
"Aspen!"
Ah, my walking headache, Aspen thought as she slowly turned around to see Stiles stampeding down the hallway, his bag literally being dragged behind him. "Hey--"
Stiles didn't let her comprehend what was happening as he spun her around by the shoulders and quickly guided her down the hall. "No time to chat, just walk."
Aspen could do nothing but comply, knowing if she stopped, her face would be intimate with the floor. Her eyes gazed over her shoulder to see Jackson send a short wave. She could barely form a smile before Stiles was pushing her harshly. "Stiles--what happened?"
"What were you and Mr. Testosterone talking about? Your baby shower?" Stiles mused sarcastically as he moved to her side but continued to lead her by her forearm.
Aspen rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. "Yes, Stiles, and we decided to make you the godfather, congratulations."
Stiles feigned a gasp, earning a smug scrunch of Aspen's nose, and he mocked her right back like a bickering child. "How considerate, I'll teach him all I know."
"That should take you 'bout five minutes, right?"
Stiles resorted to flipping her hair in her face, leaving her to brush it away from her eyes. She still didn't know where Stiles was taking her and let him practically pull her like a mule into the classroom. She took a seat by the closest desk by the back door and Stiles to her left behind Scott.
Stiles beckoned for Aspen to inch closer as he dropped his bag hazardly on the floor, making Scott turn around in his reclined position. "Dude, I just talked to my dad, who just talked to Jackson. And I've got really terrible, horrible, very, very bad news..."
Aspen quirked a brow, lips slightly agape as she waited for Stiles to finish his negative adjectives. It was too anti-climatic for the morning, but she couldn't expect less from him. It was a quick glance. Meaningless. But once she did, there was no mistaking it. Honey brown curly. A leather jacket that hugged him perfectly. And it seemed Scott had already known too as they all stared at the back of his head.
Isaac Lahey was back in Beacon Hills High School.
<•>
How? Why? How, how how...
Questions danced across the crown of Aspen's head like ballerinas sautering every ten seconds, and she felt the onset of a headache already.
"All right, I only found one thing online called the Kanima. It's a werejaguar from South America that goes after murders."
"I didn't know reptiles mutated to cannibalistic mammals," Aspen said, keeping up with Stiles and Scott's long steps.
"That thing was not a jaguar," Scott said, hands gripping his straps, most likely from stress.
Seeing Isaac outside her bedroom was odd. And not in a good way. Hearing his voice answer questions in class was too much. The voice that can make Aspen go from calamity to something akin to a million butterflies fluttering around her stomach. He certainly seemed different, and she wasn't the only one who noticed. His transformation was physically apparent. Broader shoulders, arms, and Aspen wanted to kick herself for staring at those damn hands.
Her cheeks would heat up every time she remembered how they felt cradling her cheeks that one blissful night. She even let herself catch a couple of the girls in her class who have never gambled a glance at Isaac, basically screwing him with their eyes. It was revolting. But she pushed away from the thought and kept her mouth shut about her feelings as she tried to keep the topic on the Kanima.
She missed Allison and Lydia.
"Yeah, and I'm not exactly a murder." Stiles retorted, gesturing to himself.
Scott heaved a heavy sigh, "Yeah, but you did see it kill somebody, which is probably why it tried to kill you." he paused for a moment, giving Aspen and Stiles a chance to exchange a glance noting their werewolf friends burying himself in a frenzy. "And it's still trying to kill you, and it probably won't stop until you're dead."
Scott continued stalking ahead, but Stiles came to a halt with a blank expression, and his eyes bored into the back of Scott's head. Aspen bit her lip as she stood next to Stiles with a winced expression. The pale boy became paler and more annoyed with the voice of "confidence" of the group already planning his funeral. "You know, sometimes I really begin to question this "friendship." Stiles snapped with air quotes and only moved once Aspen grabbed his arm to follow.
But her eyes didn't miss Isaac and Erica lounging by the lockers clad in leather. Her hip was jutted out with arms crossed and golden locks spilling down her shoulders. Isaac towered over her with a hand on his book bag--a little too close for Aspen's liking.
"So Derek wants this done during chemistry?" Erica asked. Even her voice was different. They shared the moment the other night, and she apologized, but now that was behind them, and Aspen knew their next greeting wouldn't be pleasant. Aspen took her time trailing behind the boys and kept her ears keen.
"Yeah," Isaac breathed, "and if it's Lydia, I'm gonna kill the bitch. All right?"
Aspen came to a deadly pause, not caring about the complaints of other students. Her jew set and her hand tightened on the strap of her bag. Her control was wavering in only seconds, and she felt her chest tightening.
"We have to test her first." Erica reminded him.
"Kanima," Isaac sighed, briefly looking over his shoulder.
The conversation seemed to stop there, and the chime from Erica's bracelet sang a villainous melody as she strolled by. The blonde winked in her direction as she strutted away, and Aspen hoped she timed it right. Isaac was just about to walk by her, and she forcefully grabbed his arm and yanked him toward the nearest empty classroom. He was a werewolf now and most likely stronger. But Aspen came from a line of powerful god-like druids, and she was pissed.
Isaac wasn't daft and knew she had heard the whole conversation and let himself be thrown into the dimly lit classroom lined with windows. A hedge outside covered a portion of the window, but light still streamed in. Enough light to see Aspen slam the door and the angry lines creasing her head.
Oh, how she desperately wanted to smack the smirk playing on his lips at the moment. His eyes looked her over, almost admiring, but Aspen was too blinded by anger to care. Her knees would have melted to a puddle with that look, now all she saw was red.
"Derek was right. You gotta learn control." Isaac mused.
Aspen scoffed and advanced, leaving Isaac to stammer back, "You gotta lot of fucking nerve Isaac." she sneered, her eyes flashing white.
The blue of his eyes roamed the glowing iris'. He had almost forgotten a ring of gold would usually show itself. But one would only notice if they were close enough like she was right now.
Isaac inched forward, his face dangerously close to hers. "Says the one who just threw me in a classroom. Alone," he whispered raspily, tilting his head with a smirk.
Her cheeks tinted red immediately, and she took a stubborn step back, her arms dropping to her side. "Asshole," she murmured. There were times when Aspen would say things to him, completely innocuous things, which he couldn't help but take with a double meaning. It was embarrassing for Isaac, this crush on her that he had developed over time, and he couldn't even recall when it had surfaced. He was sure it had come about slowly because it's hard for him to fall for a girl.
He had tried for Lydia freshman year, but all she said was, "Come back when your excuse for a bike has an engine." But what he felt for Aspen was intense and overwhelming. The thought of her in his arms, his hand tracing every dip of her body, how her lips would feel on his. Their lazy conversations during the night, her lousy excuse for tutoring, her laugh, and her smile, and her constant doting and her sarcastic quips. He wanted it all. These thoughts plagued him for some time, and he hated every second of it. If he couldn't pursue what he wanted to do with her, he might as well have fun getting a rile out of her. He thought it was adorable seeing her squirm. And her scowl was precious yet terrifying.
So when Aspen called Isaac an asshole, his smile was endearing, and it pissed her off even more.
"What is Derek planning?" Aspen found her voice and let herself lean back on one of the desks.
Isaac breathed heavily through his nose and crossed his arms over his chest, opting to lean back on the teacher's desk. "Would you just keep an eye on Lydia today?"
Aspen rolled her eyes, wondering how many more times she would be doing it today since she was coming to realize she's surrounded by idiots. "You think she's the kanima?"
"We think she could be," he watched as Aspen chewed on her lip, her eyes drifting toward the window as if pondering, "What?"
Aspen sighed, knowing the possibility wasn't--well, impossible. Even Allison had the theory. She just wished the conversation wouldn't rise to the surface again. She wasn't sure if she would handle her best friend being a rampage lizard. "Doesn't feel right. I've known her for years now. She's not a killer."
"I'm just asking you to do something," Isaac said slowly with a raised brow, "so do it."
Aspen wanted to laugh in his face. She pushed herself up from the desk, her shoulders raised at his tone. "And I'm trying to have a discussion." she snipped just as slow.
Isaac rolled his eyes and slightly threw his hands. "I'm not asking you to open up her throat in the lunchroom, Aspen. Just look out for anything suspicious."
"Or what? You'll kill the bitch?"
Isaac's face broke in that second, his eyes closing slowly. His leg shook incessantly. When he finally glanced back up at her, there was no kindness or sincerity in his eyes, only heartache, and an obedient beta.
"Yeah, don't try that with me, Isaac, " Aspen snapped, beginning to use her hands to speak. "Cut the shit and stop trying to act like someone you're not. Acting like Derek."
"He is my alpha," Isaac mumbled, squinting at the disrespect.
"He is a dick." she retorted, raising her eyebrow. That pulled an upward quirk from the corner of Isaacs' lips, and he shook his head, letting his eyes stray to the window. "At least now I see where you get it from."
Isaac shrugged dismissively and looked at her with the same devious smirk he walked into the classroom with. "You're entitled to your opinion - even if no one asked for it."
Aspen gaped and gave an exasperated laugh of disbelief. "See! That! The Isaac I knew would never talk to me like that." she pressed, jabbing a finger in his direction.
"Yeah, and the Isaac you knew wasn't strong enough to stand up to his father. That Isaac you knew had no idea what he was supposed to be doing."
His words hurt, and she had to fight everything in her not to reach for his hand. Her thoughts went back to the night on the ice rink when he voiced how he believed she thought so little of him. "So this is what you're supposed to be doing?" she questioned with saddened eyes. Isaac sensed the disappointment and hated the pity. But Aspen knew it was far from what she was trying to do. "Running around with Derek? Attacking someone who used to be your friend?"
Isaac pushed off from the desk and was in front of her in two vast strides. "People who used to be my friends don't matter."
Aspen felt her chest tighten at his words. She hated him at that very moment, and it wasn't fair. Every coherent word she wanted to fire back disappeared on her tongue, and she was left standing there, staring up at him. She knew the underlying meaning of his words, and it stung.
The hinges of the classroom door squeaked, and Aspen could make out from her peripheral a fluff of strawberry blonde hair poking inside. If Lydia had sensed the tension in the room, she didn't say a damn thing about it. "I do hope I'm interrupting something, or my heroic gesture would be for nothing." Lydia rambled quickly, her pink lips in a grin. Her green eyes found Aspen's when she finally decided to look her way, and she raised her brows. "Aspen, let's go."
She didn't wait another moment. Without giving him satisfactory of eye contact, Aspen strode over to the door and squeezed past Lydia. The redhead took a moment before joining her in the hallway, no doubt sending Isaac her famous Martin glare. Aspen linked her arm with Lydia's and let out a breath she hadn't realized she's been holding.
"I love you," Aspen mumbled, relieved to be away from Isaac.
Lydia rested her head on her shoulder and delighted at the fact that Aspen was just tall enough to let her head rest comfortably. "Bad day. I needed one of my tall friends."
Aspen chuckled, "Is Allison not around?"
"I'll take what I can get. You're what I got, so I'm rolling with it."
"I'm flattered, Lyds."
"You should be." Lydia quipped, relieved to hear Aspen let out another light giggle and not take her words to heart. "But I love you too."
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Three more chapters are going up today! I don't know how by I pulled through in like two days so enjoy! YOU! ARE! WELCOME!