Chapter Twenty-Six: Isaac
Lydia took a drag of her joint and exhaled the white smoke. She looked down at the small creek under the bridge she sat on.
"Fancy seeing you here," A thick, English accented voice said from behind her. She looked over her shoulder and lazily smiled up at him.
"Hey, Isaac," She said quietly. "What are you doing here?"
Isaac moved his hands a certain way, a silent gesture that asked the girl if he could sit down next to her. Lydia scooted over a tad and he kicked his legs out in front of him, letting them dangle off of the bridge.
"Today's been a bloody shit-show," Isaac muttered. Lydia made a noise of agreement and passed him her blunt. The blond man accepted it and took one long drag. "I freaked out on Scott, and since he lives not too far from here I thought I could cool down at the park because why not. You?"
"I left home," Lydia said quietly and kicked her feet slowly back and forth. "Had an argument with my mom. Just don't want to go back."
"You're nineteen, right?" Isaac asked. "I think that's around the age I left home too."
"Twenty," Lydia whispered.
"What?"
"I turned twenty a few hours ago," She told him and watched as the sun started to rise from behind the trees. She yawned and looked up at the boy next to her, who was staring at her with shocked eyes.
"What?" She asked him.
"Today's your birthday?" Isaac asked. Lydia nodded and shrugged.
"It's not a big deal," She told him.
"It's a very big deal, actually," He told her and sat up straighter. "Does anyone else know?"
"Of course they know," Lydia said and stared into the water. "They just forgot. They all have a lot on their minds right now. I even forgot."
"That's not alright, Lydia," Isaac said to her.
"It is," She murmured. "The last time we celebrated my birthday was the year we adopted Elias. So I'm used to it, really, Isaac. It's all good."
"We're going to celebrate it, you know, later, after we sleep," Isaac said and then looked at the strawberry blonde. "Speaking of sleep, where are you going to go?"
"I was going to go crash at Danny's like Allison had," Lydia told him and she shook her head. "But I've stayed there so many times that I'm pretty sure his parent's don't like me."
Isaac bit his lip. "How can anyone not like you?"
Lydia laughed. "Oh, believe me Isaac. It's possible."
"Well they're idiots," Isaac told her. He began to slowly stand up and she watched him. He reached a hand out to her. "C'mon. You need sleep."
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"To Neverland, Lydia," Isaac said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes at him with a lazy smirk. "To my apartment. You know, the place with an actual bed." Lydia grabbed his hand and he lifted the petite girl up.
"One bed?" Lydia taunted and yawned once more. "Sorry, but no can do, Isaac. I'm a growing woman who needs a whole bed to herself."
Isaac laughed and took off his coat. He draped it over Lydia's arms and guided her to his car. "Okay, Princess. I'll sleep on the couch. It's a pullout anyways."
"I can sleep on the couch," Lydia told him as he opened the car door for her.
"No need," Isaac told her. "I prefer sleeping on the couch, anyways. There's a ghost in my room. Better you sleep in there than me."
"Ha ha," Lydia said sarcastically.
"You think I'm joking?" Isaac said with a grin. Lydia rolled her eyes and laughed.
—
Isaac began taking pillows off of the bed to bring to the couch. Lydia shook her head and sighed. "Isaac you look horrible. You need just as much sleep as me. I'm not going to kick you out of your bed."
"It's fine—"
"Isaac, the bed's big. We can share it. If you go to the couch then it's going to take you twenty minutes to pull it out, put the sheets and blankets on, and the pillows."
"Someone's eager to sleep with me," He tiredly smirked.
"Mhm," Lydia mumbled sarcastically. She crawled into his bed and lifted the blue quilt up to slip under. "Just stick to your side."
"Yes ma'am," The blond said and got in on the opposite side of the bed. He got comfortable with his pillow and looked up at the ceiling. His bedroom was dark, there was only one window, which was covered by a shade. The sunlight outside wouldn't be a problem.
Lydia shuffled onto her side and faced the wall. Isaac glanced at her, noticing that she slept funny. One of her arms was under a pillow while the other arm was around another pillow, pulling it close to her chest. One of her legs was straight while the other was bent.
"Stop looking at me," Lydia murmured.
Isaac chuckled and she turned her body to face him. She raised her eyebrows at the blue eyed man. He smiled. "You sleep weird."
"A lot of girls sleep like I do, Isaac," She told him.
"Then a lot of girls are weird," He quipped.
"How is it weird?" Lydia laughed and pushed his chest. "At least we don't creepily lay on our backs, staring at the ceiling and the person next to us, all night."
"Hey, I was just observing," Isaac said, playfully pushing her back.
"Observing what? My ass?" Lydia asked and swatted him. He put his arms up, blocking her hands and he sat up straight.
"No, because I'm not a pervert," He said with a small laugh and poked her chest.
"Oh I'm sure," Lydia taunted and sat up too. She poked him back.
"I was more into watching your tits rise and fall," He joked. Her eyes widened. "I'm kidding, Lydia. Oh my God."
"You are a pervert!" She laughed.
"Lydia, go to sleep," Isaac chuckled and laid back down. "You're crazy when you're tired. Falsely accusing a man of being a pervert. You're a monster."
"I was trying to! But then a curly headed idiot decided to stare at me," Lydia said and hovered her head above his. "And hey, it wasn't a false accusation."
"Mhm," Isaac mumbled and smirked up at her. Lydia watched the way his lips curved into that grin. "I'm an idiot now, too? A perverted idiot? Wow. That's bullying, you kno—"
Lydia leaned down and connected their lips. Isaac went very still and the girl grabbed onto his shoulders as she kissed him. Lydia eventually got the hint that he didn't want to kiss her back. She slowly pulled away.
"I'm...sorry," She whispered.
Isaac noticed that the girl looked hurt. He reached up and placed his palms on her cheeks. She looked down at him.
"Lyds..." He said quietly, looking for the right words. "Tonight...well today's....been awful. We're both sad and tired and not in the best states of minds right now." He paused, noticing how she wasn't looking at him anymore, but at the blanket. "I would love to kiss you back, believe me Lydia, I would. But you're Stiles' girl. And that wouldn't be right of me."
"Stiles' girl?" She said. "He and I broke up, you know that."
"Yes," The English boy said. "But I also know that you love him. And he loves you."
Lydia shook her head. "He doesn't....he doesn't love me."
"He does," Isaac told her. "He really fuckin' does. Ever since you and him had your fallout, he stopped talking to everyone. He always looks tired and sad. But when he sees you, his eyes light up and the color comes back to his face. He loves you."
Lydia shook her head, as if she didn't believe him.
"Lydia, you have to take my word for it, even if you don't believe me."
"You could be wrong."
"I'm not."
"How do you know?" She asked him, tears spilling out of her eyes.
"Because," He whispered. "I've been through the exact same thing. I remember not talking to anyone for weeks. I remember being very fucking sad. And I remember how it feels to see the one you want to be near all the time during it all. I know because I went through it, Lydia."