Chapter 13: Flashing Memories
Chapter Song: Broken Home by 5 Seconds of Summer
"She would hope, she would pray, she was waiting it out. Holding on to a dream while she watches these walls fall down."
~
Isabella's head was still tucked into her legs and she was blocking out the noise of Scott and Stiles. She could hear them struggling to do something at the door, but she had no idea what they were saying. She tried looking up once, but her eyes were still too blurry with tears to even see anything and her hearing wasn't at it's best, her mind was too clouded by her sadness to do anything. She still couldn't believe Derek was dead. Well, at least he looked dead. There was so much blood coming out of him, especially from the mouth. There was no way he wasn't dead.
Derek was the only person in her family she had left besides Peter, but he couldn't even do anything. As she had said before, he was fucking useless. He was a vegetable.
Derek was her father, the person who had raised her. He hadn't done it without help but he had been the one to claim her, to give her a real identity. She became a Hale because of him. He was her family and she was his. Isabella just couldn't handle it. She had just lost Laura and now Derek. She was beginning to think that they should have never come to Beacon Hills.
"Izzy! You need to get up. Come on." Isabella felt someone shaking her shoulders. She came out of her thoughts and raised her head. Scott was looking at Isabella with wild eyes as Stiles bounced on his feet behind him, obviously anxious.
Isabella gently shook head and looked down sadly," I can't.."
Scott picked up her head by placing two fingers on her chin and began to talk, but she pushed his hand away from her and shook her head again.
Scott sighed and pleaded with her desperately," Izzy, please. You're gonna die if you stay here."
Isabella looked at him straight in the eye and glared as she said hopelessly, "I'd rather die. I'd be with him."
" Hey, we don't know if he's dead." Stiles said trying to lighten the mood with a smile. Isabella gave him an 'are you serious' look which quickly straightened out his smile.
Scott sighed again and looked around a few times before resting his eyes on her again," Well, if you're not gonna move. I'll move you."
" Wait, wha-" Isabella began to say but was stopped short when she felt two arms gently pick her up from under her knees and carry her bridal style, it was Scott.
Isabella began thrashing around and screaming for him to let her go. Scott quickly put his hand over her mouth and whispered, "Calm down. I know you're saying you want to die, but Stiles and I don't.
This shut Isabella up real quick and she nodded sadly, cuddling into his warm chest. If he was gonna carry her around, she figured she might as well enjoy it as much as she could. It was soothing to her. Especially after she had watched her dad get stabbed, his arms made her feel safe.
Scott carried her all the way to a room before gently placing her on her feet and kissing her head. He then left her and walked over to a table in the room where Stiles was too. They had to discuss what they were going to do. They would have called Isabella over to talk to but she was definitely not in the right head space to decide anything.
Isabella just stood there as they began talking, totally yet again, she was oblivious to what exactly they were saying. Isabella heard something about Scott's boss being the Alpha, but that was about it. Her ears just wouldn't focus.
Isabella was looking around the room aimlessly and she could see the Camaro outside the window. Isabella slowly walked to the window and put one of her hands on it, softly staring out at the car. When she saw it, she couldn't help but remember when Derek first got it for her. Isabella remembered how excited she was when she saw it.
The Camaro was one of her dream cars for sure. She loved it. Not so much anymore...now that Derek was dead. It reminded her too much of him, she figured she'd have to get rid of it if they ever got out of the school alive.
Isabella began to walk away from the window solemnly, but she stopped when something else caught her eye, " Hey Stiles?" Isabella shouted nervously turning her head towards the two boys.
They both stopped their conversation as they turned around and looked at Isabella. Stiles gave her a puzzled look mixed with sympathy seeing as this was the first time she had voluntarily spoke since they had gotten inside, "Yeah, what's up?"
Isabella quickly turned her head to the window and then back to Stiles. She pointed out the window as she looked at him, "Uh...something's wrong with your Jeep. More importantly the hood."
Stiles quickly ran over to Isabella along with Scott and looked out the window, "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong."
Isabella pointed out towards it and shrugged her shoulders," It's bent."
" What, like, dented?" Stiles squinted his eyes as he tried to see what Isabella was seeing. He didn't need his Jeep to damaged, he didn't have the money to fix it.
"No, like bent." Isabella said matter of factly, she was more than sure it was bent. She could see the interior of the Jeep's hood that was bent upwards and letting out smoke.
" What the hell-" Stiles was cut off as something came crashing through the window.
Glass scattered everywhere as Isabella let out a scream. Isabella felt a body collide with hers as the glass rained down and she soon recognized it as Scott. Scott had shielded her from the glass. She was thankful for him, but it still hurt when he literally body checked her to the floor.
Stiles, Scott, and Isabella were all sitting against the wall, trying to stay out of the view of the window....or what was left of it. Isabella knew that the Alpha knew where they were, he had been the one to throw that into the window.
Stiles was staring wide eyed at something in the middle of the classroom. Isabella followed his gaze and there lying in the middle of the classroom was a car battery. It had to be from the Jeep. That had been why the hood was bent and smoking.
Luckily, it wasn't Isabella's car or she would have had to whoop some Alpha ass....well, if she didn't die in the process. Isabella couldn't sell a Camaro without a battery in it. She needed to sell it, she couldn't keep it now that her dad was dead.
" That's my battery." Stiles said very loudly as he leaned into Isabella's ear.
Isabella cringed and glared at him, hitting him in the shoulder harshly, " I think we get that Stiles."
Stiles began to stand up after glaring at Isabella for a few seconds, but Scott harshly pulled him down, "Don't."
" We need to move." Stiles said in a panic as he yelled at his best friend in the quietest way possible.
" He could be right outside! " Scott whisper shouted at Stiles.
" He is right outside." Stiles said back aggressively.
"Just let me take a look." Scott said sternly.
Stiles nodded in agreement and sat down with Isabella. Stiles and Isabella both watched in worry as Scott pulled himself up slowly to peak his head up and check to see if the coast was clear for them to move.
" Anything?" Isabella questioned, as she came up a little to look out the window too. Scott rolled his eyes at her and pushed her head down back down. Isabella pouted and sat back down next to Stiles.
Isabella understood that he didn't want her to get hurt, but she could handle the Alpha better than him. She'd been a werewolf longer.
" No." Scott replied and looked down at Stiles. He couldn't see any sign of the Alpha, he had essentially vanished after throwing the battery at them.
" Move now?" Stiles questioned from the ground.
" Move now." Scott says nodding his head and grabbing Isabella's hand, leading the group out the room.
They all ran out of the room and into the dark and deserted hallway as Scott tried to lead them around, "This way."
Before he could take them anywhere though, Stiles put his arm out in front of Scott and shook his head, halting the entire group, "No, no, no. Somewhere without windows."
Isabella scoffed and folded her arms over her chest, like she always did. It was something Derek had passed down to her, "Every single room in this place has windows, Stiles!"
Stiles rolled his eyes at Isabella and threw his hands around in a spastic manner, "Or somewhere with less windows."
Scott looked down and thought for a moment before turning to both Stiles and Isabella frantically, " The locker room."
Stiles' face immediately lit up, " Yeah."
Stiles pushed Scott and Isabella towards the direction of the locker room in a hurry to get them all safe. When they reached the locker room, Stiles closed the door swiftly before looking around the room for anything suspicious. It looked as if they were safe...at least for the moment.
Scott turned to Stiles and motioned aggressively towards him, " Call your dad."
"And tell him what?" Stiles asked with wide eyes. He didn't like the idea of bringing his dad there, or bringing him into their world of fucked up shit. He could barely handle it himself.
" I don't know. Anything. There's a gas leak, a fire, whatever. If that thing sees a parking lot filled with cops, it'll take off. " Scott said with a scared tone, trying to get Stiles to have Sheriff Stilinski save them. He didn't know if he believed his own words but it was worth a try.
It wasn't a bad idea, but not a good one, Isabella thought to herself. Sheriff Stilinski could get severely hurt from the Alpha and it wouldn't hesitate to kill him if need be.
"What if it doesn't? What if it goes completely terminator and kills every cop in sight, including my dad?" Stiles whisper shouted at Scott as he threw his hands up in anger.
He could see the possibility of his dad getting hurt, just like Isabella did.
"They have guns." Scott said shrugging his shoulders. To him it wasn't a big deal, he figured they could take him out.
" Yeah, and Derek had to be shot with a wolfsbane - laced bullet to even slow him down, you remember that?" Stiles said as his eye angrily twitched while he stared at Scott.
Isabella gulped and cringed when Stiles spoke. She closed her eyes sadly and moved her head away from them. She wanted to cry again. Hearing something about Derek hurt her heart. She wished that they had never come to the school. Maybe, he wouldn't have died if they hadn't.
Scott sensed Isabella's sadness and squeezed her hand gently. He sighed sadly and answered Stiles, " Then we -- we have to -- we have to find a way out and just run for it."
"There's nothing near the school for at least a mile. " Stiles said with aggravation.
The three teens all stood there in thought. They were stumped, they didn't know what they should do. They didn't want to risk anymore lives and they didn't want their lives to end, they had two conflicting problems.
An idea suddenly popped into Isabella's head as her eyes went wide, "What about my car? I have an extra set of keys with me."
Isabella pulled them out of her pocket. She wished she would have remembered she had them earlier. She could have successfully locked herself in the car.
Stiles' eyes widened and he excitedly nodded his head at the keys in Isabella's hand," That could work. We go outside and then we take the car."
Isabella stepped closer to the two boys and gave them a stern look," We also take him. I don't care if he's dead we're taking him. "
Stiles angrily sighs before saying, "Fine. Whatever."
Stiles might not have been planning on taking Derek but Isabella was. Isabella wouldn't leave his body, no way. Derek deserved a burial just like Laura, except she would be more discrete than Derek was with her.
They all then made their way towards the door of the locker room. They were going to attempt to execute their plan. Isabella couldn't help but wonder as they walked, if any of the lockers were her dad's. She knew he played basketball for Beacon Hills when he went there. She didn't know if they had a separate locker room but it choked her up a bit to think that something in there had been his once.
Stiles reached for the door handle, but was stopped literally right before he could grab it by Scott who gripped his wrist tightly. Scott began to look around, searching for something. He had heard something other than them moving, another heartbeat.
Stiles tried to talk but Scott cut him off, pressing a finger to his lips, "Shhh, quiet."
Isabella soon realized that Scott was trying to listen for something and she thought maybe she should too. She focused her hearing on the hallway and heard big thunderous foot steps coming closer and closer to them. A panic immediately began setting inside of her as she squeezed Scott's hand tightly.
Scott could hear them too and he knew that they needed to hide. He didn't want two of the most important people in his life to die. He slowly started to back up, pulling Isabella with him. Stiles got the memo and slowly began to do the same silently.
As they neared the first set of lockers behind them, Scott whispered into Stiles' ear without taking his eyes off the locker room door, "Hide."
Stiles scrambled for a locker and quickly closed himself in. Scott and Isabella were momentarily left out in the open. Scott quickly pulled himself and Isabella into a locker as they heard the footsteps right outside the door.
They both squished together inside, no room between them. Isabella's chest was pressed hard against his and her head was in the crook of his neck as he held her. If the Alpha found them like that and killed them, it wouldn't have been too bad. At least she got to die in his arms.
Isabella and Scott's breathes were in sync as they waited in the locker together. Suddenly, the three teens heard the locker room door swing open and the footsteps increasing as they stepped into the room.
Isabella's breath hitched in her throat as the person got closer. She held onto Scott for dear life, knowing this could possibly be the end for them. Isabella stared out of the small holes of the locker door, watching as the figure get closer.
His head eventually popped up right in front of her view, he was staring at her. Isabella screamed and cuddled into Scott. It wasn't an asshole Alpha, it was a man. More importantly it was the school's night janitor.
Scott swiftly opened the door and pulled himself and Isabella out of the locker. Stiles tumbled out of his locker as well, he was screaming louder than Isabella had been.
The teens had managed to startled the janitor, he let out a shrill scream along with the words, " Son of a Bitch!"
Scott immediately began to try and calm the janitor down, but Stiles had beat him to the punch by shouting loudly as he waved his hands in the janitor's face," QUIET!"
The janitor looked at all of them as if they were crazy, " Quiet my ass, what the hell are you trying to do, kill me? All three of you get out."
Isabella tried to reach out to him and grab his shoulder, but he batted her off as she said calmly, "Will you just listen for half a second, okay?"
The janitor shook his head furiously and grabbed ahold of the teens, pushing them towards the door in a hurry," Not okay. Get the hell out of here right, Now."
The janitor continued to push them harder and harder as they struggled against him.
" God, just one second to explain." Stiles shouted at him as they were forcefully pushed at the door in front of them.
The janitor opened the door and shoved them out, pointing down the hall and yelling at them loudly, " Just shut up and go."
Before the janitor could pull himself back in the locker room, he was snatched inside by a large clawed hand. The was door was slammed shut. The janitor's hands were resting on the other side of the door as he was pressed against it.
Isabella's breath hitched in her throat again and she covered her mouth to keep from screaming. The janitor's hands were covered in blood and it was spreading all over the window as it attacked him. Isabella guessed it was the Alpha who was slamming the janitor against the door multiple times and she was right. The janitor screamed as he was being mauled and it physically hurt Isabella to know she couldn't help him. All she wanted to do was cry.
Isabella had experienced two deaths that night because of the Alpha and she knew that could have been her. The janitor wasn't dead yet, but he would be soon. Knowing the Alpha had been in the locker room the whole time or that he entered as they were leaving scared Isabella to death.
Scott ran at the door, trying to open it, as the man continued to scream, but it was no use. They knew there was no saving him, they all knew. Scott was just the hero type, it was in his blood to always try even if he knew the outcome.
Stiles sighed heavily before he grabbed Scott off the door and Isabella 's wrist while pulling them down the hallway shouting," No, no! We're leaving."
He didn't need Scott to try and be a hero and get them all killed. It wasn't worth it, he would rather live.
As they ran down the hall a crash rang out, vibrating off the white walls of the hallway. Isabella turned her head slightly and saw that the door had fallen off the hinges. The man was laying on it, he was still alive but barely. Before the janitor could even catch his breath or attempt to crawl away, he was pulled into the locker room by his ankles.
Isabella watched over her shoulder with wide eyes and let out a small scream. That was all she needed to see to want to get out just as bad as Stiles. She had never wanted to be trapped in the school in the first place, but now she wanted out even more. She turned her head and ran like hell next to Scott and Stiles. She no longer wanted to die.
They kept running until they came to a door, the same one they had came in through. Isabella noticed the bolt cutters were no longer on the door. She knew that meant that this was where the Alpha had gotten in from. Scott and Stiles both rammed into the door while Isabella stayed back.
The door didn't open right away as they usually did on a school day. They had seemed to be jammed, by what Isabella had no idea. The only bit that opened was a small crack between the doors, enough to see outside. Enough to see the moonlight shining in.
" What the hell?" Stiles shouted as he continued to ram into the door.
Scott poked his head out of the small hole and Isabella could hear him gasp as he pulled his head back in," It's a dumpster."
Isabella's eyes widened, The Alpha had put a dumpster in front of the door to lock them in. Isabella put her head in her hands and walked over to the corner, putting her head in it. Isabella began hyperventilating, that's how stressed and scared she was. She couldn't breathe and neither Scott or Stiles had paid any notice to her. They were too busy arguing and slamming into the door, though it was no use.
Isabella was gonna die in school. Isabella was never gonna see her dad again. She was never gonna see Allison or Lydia, or even Jackson. This was her last time with Scott and Stiles. All these thoughts were clouding her mind as she stood in the corner. She couldn't shake them.
Isabella could hear Scott faintly shouting at Stiles, but she paid no attention. Isabella then felt Scott come over to her and grab her once again bridal style, finally noticing something was wrong.
Isabella's breath began to calm as she was in his arms, but she still was having trouble breathing. All she wanted to do was go home like she had planned to do that night. Unfortunately, she never had the chance to. As Scott carried her, she could hear his and Stiles' conversation.
" God, what is he doing? What does he want?" Stiles said with panic, obviously freaking out as much as Isabella.
Isabella lifted her head and said with a raspy voice," Scott. He wants Scott. The Alpha will be stronger with a pack. " Before laying her head back down on Scott's chest.
Stiles sighed heavily and hit his arms on his legs, " Yeah, great a psychotic werewolf who's into team work. That's... that's beautiful."
Isabella lifted her head again and growled at him which made Stiles jump in fear. Right then was not the time for his stupid comments.
Suddenly, Scott put his hand out in front of Stiles' chest while still holding Isabella with one hand, stopping them all in their tracks. Isabella followed Scott's gaze, he was staring out the window and she caught sight of what he saw. There perched on the roof of the building was the Alpha and as soon as he knew that they saw him he started running across it towards them.
Isabella knew Scott wouldn't be able to hold her and run, so she jumped out of his arms just as the Alpha jumped through the window next to them.
They all took off running with the Alpha on their heels. Isabella could hear it growling behind them with every step they took. They slammed through the door that led to the staircase of the basement and hurriedly ran down the stairs.
On the last step, Isabella tripped and fell but caught the banister on her way down to the ground. Isabella recovered quickly and pushed through the door at the bottom of the stairs with Scott and Stiles.
They all ran around until they reached a set of old rusty lockers and hid behind them. This scene reminded Isabella of when she and Jackson were in the video store hiding behind shelves, hopefully this time the thing hiding them didn't fall on them.
They all stood there for a few seconds until Scott signaled for them to move around the other side of the lockers. Stiles and Isabella obliged and immediately began running around them and through more doorways.
Isabella could still hear the Alpha growling as it looked for them. Isabella was more than slightly scared that it was going to kill them. So much for it not laying a finger on her and leaving her unscathed. It was going to kill her tonight.
The trio stopped when they reached a big rusty door and they all just stood there trying to catch their breath. Isabella usually could run forever, but this was different. She didn't usually run with terror running through her body. That was enough to take away her breath.
Stiles was the first to speak, " Okay, we need to do something."
" Like what?" Isabella said with annoyance, there wasn't much they could do except run. It was an Alpha and he was up against two betas and a human, they stood no chance.
"I don't know. Kill it, hurt it, inflict mental anguish on it. Something." Stiles replied as he threw his hands up in the air.
They all looked around the room for something they could use and all Isabella saw were brooms, desks, and lots of rooms, nothing that would really help them 'hurt' the Alpha.
Stiles got the look on his face that said he had a plan and Isabella knew it wasn't gonna end well. Stiles reached into his pocket and began to fish something out of it. As he pulled it out Isabella saw it was his keys.
" What are you doing?" Isabella whisper shouted at him harshly.
Stiles just looked back at her with a sense of urgency as he threw his keys on the ground and then hurriedly pulled Scott and Isabella into a room as they heard the Alpha come charging toward their location.
Stiles slammed the door just as the Alpha came charging for it and began shouting at Scott and Isabella while holding it shut, "The desk. Come on, the desk!"
Isabella frantically ran over to Scott who was trying to pull the desk that was in the room over to the door, they had to block the it. She immediately began to help him pull it.
Scott and Isabella both pulled with all their might and after a few seconds they reached the door. They pushed the desk into it and it trapped the Alpha outside. As soon as the desk hit the door, Isabella put her head down on the desk while squatting and let out a breathe of relief, for once one of Stiles' plans worked.
Isabella stood up and looked at the two boys next to her. She saw the wide smiles on their faces and couldn't help but smile too. They had somehow outsmarted the Alpha and they had did it together.
Scott and Isabella were both positioned on a different side of the table from Stiles who was motioning for them to come over to him so they could leave, " Come on, get across. Come on!"
Isabella shook her head at him and jumped onto the desk as she began climbing across. As she was stood up on it to walk across, the Alpha ran into the door causing her to stumble and fall forward onto Stiles.
They both fell to the ground and Stiles had his arms wrapped around Isabella as they both hit the ground. Isabella sat up and held her head that hit the ground as Stiles laid on the ground moaning to himself.
Isabella laughed and patted his chest, " Hey, Stiles. Thanks for breaking my fall again. Funny how this keeps happening to us."
Stiles glared at her as she stood up and held her hand out to him. Stiles scowled and grabbed her hand. Isabella pulled him up just as Scott was jumping off the desk after climbing over.
Isabella smiled at him and he returned it before walking over and grabbing her hand as he began to lead them down the hall. After a few seconds of walking, they noticed that Stiles wasn't with them. They turned around to find Stiles slowly making his way onto the desk and peering through the window in the door at the Alpha.
Isabella sighed and pulled Scott back over to where Stiles was and politely tapped him on the shoulder with a sarcastic fake smile on her face.
Stiles turned to her as she tapped him with an expression that said, 'What do you want?'
" Sir, the animals do not like to be taunted please back away....and LETS GET OUT HERE!" Isabella said yelling the last part at Stiles.
Stiles just scoffed and turned back to watching the Alpha, " Look, it's trapped, okay? It's not gonna get out. Yeah, that's right, we got you -" He said taunting the Alpha, just like Isabella had told him not to do.
Scott interrupted Stiles and shouted, " Will you shut up?!"
" I'm not scared of this thing." Stiles said just as the Alpha jumped out of nowhere right into his line of sight, startling him and making him roll backwards off the desk out of fright.
Isabella couldn't help but laugh as he fell. Sure, he wasn't scared.
Stiles stood up quickly next to Scott and Isabella and continued to watch the door as the Alpha dragged his claws on the window.
Stiles then shouted in a very unsure voice, " I'm not scared of you. Right, 'cause you're in there, and we're out here. You're not going any --"
A crash suddenly broke out from the room where the Alpha was trapped and Isabella peered around Stiles to see in the room better. She saw things falling from the ceiling.
Her eyes widened as she looked up to the ceiling above her, he was fucking climbing into the ceiling. Stiles just had to taunt him. Now, they were gonna die again.
The teens all looked up as parts of the ceiling started to cave in above them. As a panel fell they all broke out into a run down the hall to escape the Alpha yet again, and all because of Stiles. Isabella swore that if they ever got out of there she'd kill him.
*****
They had been running around the basement trying to find a way out, without running right into the Alpha when Scott stopped them for the third time that night. He had heard a cell phone ringing from inside the school. One he knew was not any of theirs.
" Wait. Do you hear that?" Scott asked the two beside him. Isabella stopped and focused her ears on the building around her. She heard the ringtone clearly in her ear and her eyes immediately widened. Someone else was there with them.
" What?" Stiles questioned the two of werewolves who seemed to be zoned out.
" It sounds like a phone ringing." Scott answered before Isabella could even get the words out.
Isabella nodded her head silently and continued listening to the ringtone as they stood there. As she listened to it more she began to recognize it. Her eyes went even wider and her heart beat quickened. She couldn't be there with them.
Stiles noticed Isabella's face and turned to her, concerned, " What?"
Isabella shook her head rapidly as she began to panic," No, she can't be here. I know that ringtone, it's Allison's."
Isabella quickly turned to Stiles and yelled at him, holding her hand out to him aggressively, " Give me your phone!"
Stiles gave her a confused look, " Wait why? Use yours."
Isabella threw her hands up in the air, waving them in his face, " Does it look like I have mine? Give it to me." She commanded.
She may have never checked to see if her phone was broken after she threw it at the wall earlier that night. She had never bothered to pick it up, so here she was phoneless.
Stiles huffed but reluctantly pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Isabella. She quickly scrolled through his contacts before frantically hitting Allison's name and calling her.
Isabella began bouncing on her feet in anticipation as it rang," Pick up." She whispered hopefully to herself.
If Allison was there, Isabella was hoping the Alpha hadn't found her. She couldn't lose Allison too, she wouldn't.
The ringing suddenly ceased and Isabella heard Allison's voice on the other line. Isabella immediately calmed and smiled as she heard her best friend's voice. She was alive...for now.
"Stiles?" Allison questioned, she was confused as to why he would be calling her.
She only had his number because she and Izzy liked to call him at 3 am when she came over just to mess with him, so it confused her as to why he randomly called her.
" No, it's Izzy. Where are you?" Isabella said urgently into the phone.
"I'm at the school. Looking for you. " Allison said in confusion.
Isabella furrowed her brows in confusion. Why was she looking for her? How did she know to come to the school?
Isabella shook off her thoughts quickly, finding Allison was more important than questioning it why she was there, " Where are you right now?"
"On the first floor."
" Where are you exactly?" Isabella pressed frantically.
"The swimming pools."
Allison was close enough to the lobby, they could could meet there, Isabella thought as she tried to think of a way to get to Allison quickly and safely.
"Get to the lobby. Go now!" Isabella said basically shouting at her through the phone. Isabella didn't mean to be so harsh, but it was urgent.
" Okay, okay I'm coming." Allison said as she hung up. She was confused by Isabella's words, but she followed her instructions.
Isabella grabbed Scott's hand and motioned for Stiles to follow as she dragged Scott with her, "Were going to the lobby."
****
Isabella burst through the doors of the hallway and into the lobby. As soon as she saw Allison, she let go of Scott's hand and ran to her, engulfing her in a hug. Allison seemed shocked at first, but soon wrapped her arms around Isabella's waist.
Isabella pulled away and grabbed Allison's shoulders, " Why did you come? What are you doing here?"
Allison looked at her in confusion and said in an unsure voice," Because you asked me to."
It was now Isabella's turn to look confused," I asked you to?"
Allison nodded and took out her phone. She slid it open and handed it to Isabella to read the text that she had received 20 minutes ago:
FROM IZZY:
Meet me at the school. It's URGENT.
Isabella looked at the text with confusion. She hadn't send that. Her phone was off and probably cracked at her home on the floor, she hadn't had it all night.
Allison looked at Isabella with wide eyes when she sensed her confusion and looked down nervously, "Why do I get the feeling you didn't send this message?"
" Because I didn't." Isabella said sadly as she shook her head. Someone had sent Allison a message, but it obviously wasn't Isabella.
Stiles then popped up behind Isabella and shouted at Allison," Did you drive here?"
Allison shook her head, " No, Jackson did."
Isabella's eyes went wide and she shouted out in shock, " Jackson's here too!?"
"And Lydia. What's going on? " Allison said loudly, she was obviously getting just as fed up with situation as Isabella was.
Isabella swore she felt like she was gonna faint. She could feel everything falling apart, all of her closest friends were there and any one of them could die. Isabella began swaying, but Scott caught her before she could fall. The last thing she remembered was hearing Jackson scream her name from a distance before she blacked out.
*****
FLASHBACK:
" Der!" Isabella screamed as she ran towards a younger looking Derek who was sitting by a river talking to Laura about the new girl he had met at school. A girl who took his mind off the agony his heart had felt after his first love. He would never get over her but he knew he needed to put himself back out there.
Isabella's small body raced towards the boy who treated her like a princess, even though he didn't have to. Her short blonde hair whisked around her face in the wind. Derek turned around as he heard the little girl's feet pattering against the wet leaves of the forest and a smile spread across his face.
He opened his arms wide for her to jump into them and that's exactly what she did. Derek squeezed her and twirled her as she giggled.
Derek suddenly stopped and held her tightly as he looked into her eyes, " Hey, sweet angel. I didn't know you'd be back so soon. I missed you."
" Talia said she had an important thing to do so she brought me back. I missed you too, Der." Isabella said poking him on the nose, like he usually did to her and doing his special little " boop".
Derek pouted at her," Hey! You little gremlin, you stole my thing."
Isabella giggled and stuck her tongue out at him as Derek set her down on the ground.
Isabella looked over at Laura who had already been looking at her and she smirked as they caught eye contact, " Where's my hug, little missy?"
Isabella smiled widely at Laura and ran over into her arms. Laura squeezed Isabella tightly and sat down on the ground, Isabella sitting in her lap.
Isabella began playing with Laura's hair as she sat, staring at the beautiful shiny river water. Isabella soon and quickly got bored with Laura's hair and looked up to her with smile as she tapped her on the shoulder.
Laura looked at Isabella sweetly as she felt the tap and said, " Yes?"
Isabella looked down nervously and then back up to her," Can I see your eyes?"
Laura looked at Isabella with confusion and began tickling her sides gently, "You're looking at them silly."
Isabella pouted, swatting Laura's hands away from her sides as she crossed her arms over her chest, " No, Laura. Your other eyes."
Laura frowned and shook her head sadly," Honey..."
"Please, please, please!" Isabella begged as she held her hands together and gave her best version of puppy dog eyes.
Laura looked down sadly, "Fine."
She could never ignore Isabella's puppy dog eyes. They were here weakness, just like they were Derek's and Talia's. It was the only way she got what she wanted in the Hale family which she learned pretty quickly.
Isabella clapped her hands together, happily waiting for Laura to show her. Laura sighed and then closed her eyes. When she opened them, Isabella was mesmerized.
Isabella's young eyes had never seen such beauty. They were a beautiful gold and she loved them.
Laura looked down in shame and Isabella picked her head up with her little hands," Why are you hiding your face?" She asked in confusion.
Laura looked away, " Because those eyes are ugly."
Isabella frowned and got off Laura's lap, running over to her favorite tree next to the lake. She plucked one branch off that had the most gorgeous gold flowers on it. She had no idea what they were, but they were golden like Laura's eyes and she wanted to show her how beautiful she had thought they were.
Isabella walked back over to Laura slowly and tapped her shoulder again. Laura turned to Isabella cautiously. The little girl had her head down, looking at the branch in her hand.
Laura looked at the little blonde girl expectantly. Isabella sighed and held up the branch to her.
" You know how I always say these are my favorite because they are so beautiful and special?" Isabella asked quietly.
Laura nodded her head at Isabella, not really understanding fully but understanding enough.
" Well..." Isabella said kicking her feet in the dirt, "That's what I think about your eyes too. They're beautiful."
Tears welled in Laura's eyes as she stood up and ran over to Isabella. Laura scooped up the beautiful girl and hugged her tightly, " Thank you, sweet girl. You just made my whole day. "
Laura kissed Isabella on the cheek and put her down. Isabella smiled at her and then looked to Derek who had walked over and who was smiling down at his favorite family member by far. Even though at this point she wasn't officially a Hale.
They were all happy together and Isabella hoped that would never change, but little did she know, everything would change. Everything.
The Hale fire had been lit two days later and practically every Hale family member had died. Laura, Isabella, and Derek had watched it burn helplessly from atop a hill, knowing they had been too late.
****
Isabella woke up with a start and looked around at her surroundings. She was no longer her young self and she was no longer at the lake, one of the only things she remembered from when she grew up in Beacon Hills. Isabella was sat on the cold tile floor of a chemistry room and not just any chemistry room, Harris' classroom. Well, this was definitely a nightmare.
Isabella groaned as she tried to stand, pushing herself up along the wall. Stiles and Scott were talking in a corner secretly while Allison, Lydia, and Jackson stood around a table talking. Isabella leaned on the wall for support, having no idea why her body was so weak as she tried to pull herself up.
No one had taken notice to her still as she continued to struggle. Isabella also still had no idea what happened to her or what had happened while she was out. One minute she was awake and running from the Alpha and then the next thing she knew, she fainted. And then ended up in Harris' room, which she hated deeply.
As Isabella grabbed the window sill above her head, her grip faltered and she went crashing back to the ground.
" Ow. " Isabella said as she hit her head on the wall pretty forcefully and her butt smacked the floor as she collapsed back to the ground. The crash drew the attention of the other five people in the room and Isabella winced with embarrassment.
She waved to them with a small embarrassed smirk from her spot, face down on the ground, "Hey guys."
Allison ran over immediately to Isabella and kneeled down in front of her, "Oh my god, Izzy! You're awake! We were all so worried. You were out for awhile."
Isabella smiled at her worry as responded, it was nice to know that they had been worried about her while she was out, " Well, thanks. So what did I miss?"
"Scott, just filled us in on what happened. I'm so sorry." Allison said sympathetically as she helped Isabella into a sitting position, leaning back up against the wall.
Isabella looked over at Scott and rose her eyebrows in question. Did he really tell her everything...or did he lie? She wouldn't have been upset with Scott if he had but she'd be a bit envious, she had been the one who wanted to tell her best friend. Unfortunately for her, Scott had not done that. He had done something way worse...at least in her opinion.
Isabella looked at Allison in confusion and shook her head, "What do you mean? Why are you sorry?"
"About your dad. I'm sorry that he's the one killing people. I can't believe he tried to kill you. You know you always have a home with me, right?" Allison had placed her hand on Isabella's shoulder comfortingly and she sent a smile her way, one that she had ignored.
She hadn't meant to ignore Allison's kindness, in fact, she really appreciated it. However, Isabella was too preoccupied with what she had told her. Her eyes widened and they immediately filled with tears. What the hell did Scott tell them?
Isabella looked over at Scott with tears threatening to spill from her crystal blue eyes. Scott saw the look of absolute hurt on her face and stepped towards the two girls slowly as he sadly asked Allison, "Can I talk to her for a second?"
Allison nodded her head and gave Isabella another sympathetic look before walking back over to Lydia and Jackson who had been silently watching the whole ordeal. Jackson with a bit more interest than Lydia, he didn't know why but the look on Isabella's face ripped into his heart. He wanted nothing more than to comfort her. Allison, on the other hand, couldn't believe what was happening to her best friend, she felt so bad.
Scott motioned for Stiles to follow him over to Isabella when Allison was far enough away from them. When they both reached her, they put their arms under her arm pits and helping the confused and upset girl stand on her own two feet.
Isabella still had tears in her eyes and ones that were falling down her cheeks slowly as she finally was able to stand by herself. She looked between the both of them frantically when neither one wanted to talk to her first.
"Since you two idiots don't wanna talk, let me go first." Isabella whispered in an aggressive tone with tears falling down her face, " What the hell did you tell them?"
Stiles and Scott both looked at her with guilty faces. Scott sighed and reached out to her, but she swatted his hand away, " Tell me." She begged, tears pouring down her face.
Scott sighed again before saying sadly," Izzy...I'm so sorry we had to tell them something. " Scott paused for a second, fiddling with his hands before looking at her, "We told them he's the one chasing us and that he was the one murdering people. That -- that he tried to kill us. "
Isabella looked at them with shock and hurt written all over her face. Isabella turned to Stiles and pointed at him accusingly with tears pouring down faster and her voice breaking with each word, "Were you in on this? Please tell me no, Stiles."
Stiles nodded his head sadly, he couldn't lie to her. Isabella turned around and covered her mouth, letting tears fall as she cried hysterically. Jackson wanted to run to her, as did Allison and Lydia but they knew that it wasn't time yet.
The boys both reached out to her and touched her shoulder gently, but Isabella turned around quickly and stepped away from them, sending harsh tear stricken looks their way, "No, don't you dare touch me. Either of you."
Isabella walked over to the back corner of the room and slid down the wall, putting her head in her hands and bringing her knees up to her chin. She just sat there and cried. Not only did they lie without her permission, they tainted everyone's last memory of Derek. He wasn't just dead anymore. He was dead and a criminal in Isabella's friend's eyes.
Isabella felt someone's body heat next to her, one of her friends had decided it was time to swoop in to comfort her. She knew it wasn't Scott or Stiles, they weren't that dumb as to bother her right now. The person on the floor next to her suddenly wrapped their arms around her and she caught a whiff of their cologne. She felt the strong arms next and she automatically knew it was Jackson.
Isabella didn't even fight back as he held her. Isabella just melted into him for some reason and she moved around to be more comfortable. Isabella placed her head in his chest and continued to cry as he played with the hair that was cascading down her back. Isabella didn't take this as romantic, she don't think either of them did. They both were hurting in ways that neither really knew, but they both somehow understood.
Jackson was still shaken up about the movie store, she could tell. And Isabella, well, she was shaken up about everything. Isabella didn't care at this moment if Lydia thought she was a hoe or if Scott thought Jackson was a man-whore. All she cared about was that he was there to comfort her, as one friend to another. She really liked it. She liked being his friend way more than hating him.
****
After about an hour of silently sitting in Jackson's arms, ignoring the world around the two of them, Isabella heard the door creak open. She brought her head from out of Jackson's chest almost immediately. Her eyes widened when she saw Scott about to walk out the door.
Isabella ran out of Jackson's arms and over to Scott, stopping him from leaving. Her eyes were fresh with new tears as she cried out and grabbed his shoulder, trying to pull him back in the room, "What are you doing?!"
"Someone needs to go get the key for the stairwell, so we can get out. They're on the janitor's body."
Isabella shook her head while the fresh new batch of tears began falling out, "No, please don't leave. Please. I know I'm mad, but Scott you can't leave me too." Isabella said quietly crying and looking into his eyes which also held sadness, it was directed towards her.
He didn't want to leave her but he felt like he had to. He felt like he had to save them, especially her and Stiles. They were his people.
Scott looked at Isabella with sympathy and kissed her forehead, longing to stay with her, before he turned around and grabbed the door handle again, " I have to. "
" Scott McCall! If you walk out that door I swear, we're done." Isabella said sternly as the tears made her voice raspy and she pointed at him aggressively.
Scott sighed, but never turned around and flung the door open," Lock it behind me."
With that Scott walked out. Making her whole world crash around her.
Isabella stared at the door for a few seconds, waiting for him to walk back and save their relationship. When Scott didn't come back, Isabella ran back over to Jackson, who had watched that from the floor. She jumped back into him, crying even more this time.
Isabella looked over at Lydia to check if she was bothered, since she didn't do it earlier. She felt like she needed to, it was not her boyfriend after all. She didn't even have one now. Lydia just nodded and smiled understandingly. Isabella turned back around and cuddled into Jackson, ready for it all to end.
****
The group of teens had been sitting in the Chemistry classroom for over an hour waiting for Scott to return with the stupid keys. Isabella was ready to leave and to leave his sorry ass behind, she had meant what she said. They were done.
She had since removed herself from Jackson's arms, but the two were still sitting on the ground together, peacefully.
Lydia turned to her and Jackson out of nowhere and asked, " Jackson, did you give me the sulfuric acid? It had to be sulfuric acid. It won't ignite if it's not."
Isabella rolled her eyes. She had found out that Lydia had made Scott a Molotov Cocktail after he had left and she was a bit angry with her. Isabella didn't think it could stop the Alpha, but her friends could dream. She felt as if it was Lydia's fault for giving Scott hope. She made him leave. He thought he had an advantage because of Lydia and it pissed her off that he risked everything with her for a chance. He was going to lose to the Alpha, Isabella had no doubt. Scott was an idiot and so was Lydia for putting the idea into his head.
That was probably what was taking so long...or maybe Scott had died, Isabella thought to herself. She would never forgive Lydia if that was the case, it was her fault. No matter how much she wanted to have a reason to think of the worst she knew she couldn't do that, she had to be positive. Isabella shook her head at the possibility, Scott couldn't be dead. Isabella was mad at him, but not mad enough to want him to die.
Jackson glared and scoffed at Lydia, " I gave you exactly what you asked for tonight."
Lydia looked at him sadly and sighed, " Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure you did."
Isabella gave her a look of sympathy, she was mad at her but she didn't deserve for Jackass to come out. He was the worst side of Jackson. The sympathy Isabella had been showing however was soon replaced with a face of pain as a ear busting howl was emitted from somewhere in the school. It could only belong to one thing and Isabella knew it, this was the Alpha.
When it hit Isabella's ears, she covered them tightly. Her face scrunched up in pain. It was so loud that it physically hurt her ears, but she wasn't the only one hurting. Jackson was too.
Jackson let out a yell of pain when the howl erupted. He immediately grabbed his neck and began grunting heavily. After a few seconds, Isabella let go of her ears as the pain went away and she crawled over to Jackson as everyone in the room ran over to them in worry.
Isabella put her hand on his back and began rubbing it soothingly, trying to help or at least calm him down. He was screaming and Isabella had no idea what to do. Isabella couldn't very well take his pain away in front of everyone, so she just had to watch him suffer.
Jackson kept clawing at his neck, the same place where Derek had pierced him not too long ago. Isabella knew Jackson had scars, but Isabella had no idea why they were still hurting him. Especially after the Alpha had howled it made no sense to her.
Lydia and Allison picked Jackson up as Isabella stood up next to them. She didn't know why they had done it but she wasn't going to argue with them seeing as it seemed to snap Jackson out of the screaming.
Jackson quickly shook them off with annoyance as he held his neck tenderly, " No, I'm fine. Like, seriously, I'm okay."
Isabella looked at him sadly and was about to say something but Allison spoke up first, halting her from speaking, " That didn't sound okay at all."
Stiles reached out to Jackson's neck and tried to touch it with curiosity, " What's on the back of your neck?"
Jackson swatted his hand away aggressively and gave him a look of disgust. Stiles wasn't Jackson's friend, he barely even knew he was on the same lacrosse team.
Jackson glared at Stiles and hissed out , " I said I'm fine."
Lydia scoffed and sassily said, " It's been there for days and he won't tell me what happened."
Jackson leaned toward Lydia and said through gritted teeth angrily, emotionlessly " As if you actually care."
Jackson then pulled Isabella back to their spot and sat them down. Isabella gave Lydia a sad look of sympathy which she returned with a half smile. She didn't want to hurt Lydia anymore than she was already hurting after Jackson's words despite being upset with her, but she knew that Jackson needed her right now for whatever strange reason so she stayed on the floor next to him.
"Can we not argue for like half a second here?" Stiles shouted clearly annoyed. He was mostly annoyed at Jackson since he had been rude to Lydia and the fact that he seemed to be trying to steal his best friend's girl.
Stiles didn't want Lydia to feel any sadness, she didn't deserve Jackson's verbal abuse. He also didn't want Jackson to take Isabella from Scott, she was his good thing. Scott needed her more than he needed everything else he had gained that year including the popularity, the lacrosse skills, the werewolf enhancements. Isabella meant so much more than all of that not only to Scott but to Stiles too. He had only hoped that she hadn't meant the words she spoke to Scott earlier but only time would tell. He needed her though and so did Scott.
Isabella had been smiling at Stiles in appreciation. She had chosen to comfort Jackson in this moment because he had been there for her, but she was happy Lydia still had someone fighting for her. She liked the protective side that came out of him with Lydia. It was just another to sign to her that they were meant to be.
Isabella's smile soon faded though as she realized how long Scott had been gone. Isabella stood up, startling Jackson a bit as she frantically said, " Where's Scott? He should be back by now."
Stiles looked at Isabella sympathetically, " He'll be back Izzy, don't worry. He won't leave us."
To everyone else this had a different meaning. They all thought he meant he wouldn't leave them in there, but Stiles meant he wouldn't die on them. Isabella knew what he had meant without even needing an explanation.
All of the sudden as if summoned to them, Isabella heard something snap behind the door and through the small window she could see Scott's face. Isabella ran towards the door and flung a chair that was in the way to the other side of the room, making a loud crash ring out through the chemistry room. She began screaming out for Scott hysterically when the door didn't open to him within a few seconds. When she reached the door the handle didn't budge, the lock wasn't locked anymore but they were definitely still locked in.
"Scott!" Isabella screamed hysterically yanking on the handle.
Lydia walked up behind her and questioned quietly in a scared whisper," Where's he going?"
Isabella didn't care where he was "going". Scott needed to come back. She didn't care if she was mad at him in that instant she would deal with that after she knew that he was safe and alive.
Isabella began banging on the door, leaving small dents in it because of her supernatural strength aiding her as she yelling out, "Scott! Scott, come back! Please, Scott!"
Isabella wouldn't stop, she just kept punching the door. That was until Lydia shouted at her and held her hands up in the air, "Stop! Do you hear that?"
Isabella moved away from the door slowly, holding her now bruised fist and focused her ears. A smile spread across her face, it was sirens. Isabella's friends had called the police while she was out and they were finally there. They all ran towards the windows with a sigh of relief as blue and red lights illuminated their young pale faces, they were finally saved.
****
The police had rescued the teens with no problem, no interference or death of any kind. The Alpha had left before they even got there. When Isabella got outside, she searched for her dad's body, but it was nowhere to be found. She figured the Alpha must have cleaned up its tracks. It disheartened her, now she couldn't even give him the proper burial he deserved.
At the moment, Isabella had just gotten done giving a statement to one of the cops about what had happened. When he had finished writing down her last words and waved her away, she immediately began walking to her car without any thought. preparing to go home alone. Isabella unfortunately had to go along with Stiles and Scott's stupid idea that Derek did all of that, just so their stories matched. Isabella wasn't happy about at all. She was furious.
On her way to her car, she was stopped in her tracks by her name being shouted from across the parking lot, " Izzy!"
Isabella knew it was Scott as soon as she heard his voice. She ignored him and continued to walk, increasing her speed until she finally reached her car.
Before she could get in though, Scott grabbed her and pulled her away by her shoulders, " Are you okay?"
" Yeah, besides the fact that my dad's dead." Isabella spat at him, " I just wanna go home. Let me leave, Scott."
"Do you need...anything from me? Want me to go with you?" Scott asked sadly searching Isabella's blue eyes.
Isabella's eyes started to brim with tears...again, as she shouted, " Do I need anything from you? How about you stop accusing my dad at every turn, especially when you know damn well he didn't do this. Sadly, you and I know that is something you can't do. So, no, I don't need anything from you. "
"Okay." Scott said looking at Isabella emotionless. Isabella looked at him angerly, it was as if he was frozen in front of her, he didn't move. It was making her more angry and she had to say one last thing to him. She had meant to but it just came out of her.
" And I also don't know what happened to you in there but I hated it. I don't know what you were thinking blaming my dad. Maybe you weren't. But right now, I don't think...I don't think I can trust you." Isabella said looking down sadly and pushing him away from her.
" Look Izzy, I can explain." Scott said frantically. The worry of losing Isabella was finally starting to settle in. He didn't think she had been serious in the Chemistry room, not even Stiles had thought she would actually go through with it.
Isabella shook her head and bit her lip, trying not to let tears fall once again, " I don't care."
Isabella could hear Scott's voice falter and crack as he spoke, " Okay, don't say anything else, please, just don't say -"
Isabella cut him off before he could finish" Scott, I ca-"
It was Scott's turn to cut her off, " Izzy, just stop. Please, just don't say anything. Stiles' dad is gonna give me a ride home. I need to make sure my mom isn't freaking out. And then I'm gonna give you a call and come over to your house. We can ditch tomorrow and do whatever you want. I promise. "
Isabella's expression then hardened along with her voice as she shook her head, " Don't."
Scott's eyes widened and he tried to reach out to her, but she swatted his hand away aggressively making him flinch.
" What?" He questioned in shock as he watched her, helplessly.
" Don't call. Just please -- don't call me." Isabella said turning her back on him before climbing in her car and speeding off, not even caring what he had to say.
As Isabella said before they were done and that wouldn't change for a long time, at least she hoped. She needed to try and be harder on him and she knew it. She couldn't just forgive him like she always did, but knowing her she probably would.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, that took forever to write. I know this was really long, but I wanted to get night school done and over with in one chapter. Tell me what you think about Jackson and Izzy being so close in this chapter!
I had no intention of making it romantic, it's more like a safety net for each of them. Since they came to the understanding at the movie store, they care for each other more and understand each other's problems.