before the void - isaac lahey ⁰˙⁵

23

Stiles is silent on the ride back to my house and so am I, not even the radio is turned on to keep us company.

We reach my house and Stiles hops out of his side of the car before rushing around to open my car door.

I smile at him again. Through and through Stiles was a gentleman. I walk up to the door and see someone standing awkwardly in the hallway and I throw the door open.

"Isaac?" I ask and he spins around.

His face flushes as Stiles follows me into the house, closing the door behind him silently. "I'm going to go see your parents," He murmurs in my ear as he pushes past us both, ignoring Isaac completely.

"Uh, what are you-" I start, looking over my shoulder to the front door. "What are you doing here?" I ask and he smiles tightly.

"Your dad is trying to convince me to stay for dinner, I tried telling him I just wanted to talk to you but he insisted and I don't know what to do." He murmurs, looking down at the floor.

I laugh awkwardly. "Let me just go talk to him," I say, brushing past Isaac and I flush at the contact as I walk past him.

"Dad!" I hiss, racing to the kitchen where he stands with Noah talking. "Dad!"

He turns around, mixing the stirfry in the pan. "Yes, sweetheart?" He asks.

I look over my shoulder to make sure Isaac can't hear me. "Why are you forcing him to stay here?" I demand and he shrugs.

"Your mother told me that he's Camden's son and lord know what he's put that poor kid through." My dad said and he looked at Noah who nodded in agreement before taking a sip of his beer.

I look at both of them confused. "What do you mean?" I ask, my voice still hushed.

Noah sighs. "There was a bad rumour going around about his elder son, Camden Jr. People were saying the reason he joined the military was because he was getting bashed around," Noah says and I gape at him.

Noah already knows what I'm going to say because he put his arms back, in a well in my defencenat manner. "We investigated it, even managed to contact Camden before he passed. Both Isaac and Camden said it wasn't true, but every time I've ever seen them they've always had some sort of physical sign of abuse." He mutters with disdain.

"Oh my god! He's staying for dinner then." I say matter-of-factly before spinning on my heel and going to the hallway where Isaac is still standing awkwardly.

He looks up when I enter and he smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes. "You're staying for dinner, simple as that," I say, almost out of breath from the hushed conversation.

"No, I don't want to intrude-" He starts but I hold up my hand to stop his protests.

"Isaac, I'm not even sure why you came over tonight, but you're staying for dinner. End of discussion, okay?" I ask as I grab his hand and lead him to the kitchen.

☾

The dinner was much more awkward than I thought it would be. Which is saying something, cause I thought it was going to be bad. It was plain awful.

I still had no idea why Isaac was here, he's not my partner for Science like I thought. I was unsure what his actions meant. Was he not mad at me now? Did Erica make up that rumor and he was here to tell me? Or am I just overthinking the whole thing?

It could be any of the above, but my guess is it's c.

"So! Isaac. How do you know Malena?" My mom asks, a smile on her face as she passes him the salad.

My mom had also taken onboard place settings, so, of course, Stiles was seated on my left and Isaac on my right. Making it even more awkward, which at this point didn't seem fundamentally possible.

Isaac, who is eating like it's his last meal, looks up and swallows loudly. "We're partners. In science." He says flashing a grin at me and I smile back.

Stiles coughs loudly. "Malley," He says, and I notice the use of the old nickname as I turn to him with a raised eyebrow. "I thought your partner in science was Allison?" He says, mockingly, and I glower at him.

Of course, he's right. Isaac is not my lab partner but it was a half-decent excuse. Before he ruined it.

"Mieczyslaw," I warn, my tone angry and he looks at me before his gaze returns to his food. "I told you already, Allison was my lab partner before you swapped to be with Scott. Since they're together now." I say, mainly for my mom.

"Oh." My mom says, her face confused. "Are you two..." She starts before I cut her off with a warning glare.

Isaac coughs on something he's eating before he gets the chance to swallow it. "No. We hardly know each other." He says softly and I smile. "Which is probably why this dinner is a little awkward." He finishes and my dad laughs.

"And are you and Stiles friends?" My mom asks and the tension between the guys next to me.

I let out a slow sigh.

"Ah nope. We're on the lacrosse team together but not friends." Isaac says, tightly.

Stiles turns to him. "You're on the lacrosse team?" He asks, genuinely sounding shocked.

Isaac's shoulders sag and I slap Stiles over the back of the head.

"Stiles," Noah says, his tone holding just as much warning as mine did before.

Stiles shrugs, not understating the problem.

"Yeah. I guess I kind of...blend into the background a little." Isaac says quietly and I immediately feel bad.

An awkward silence settles over the table before everyone moves at once.

"Okay! I think it's time for me and Stiles to head out. Thank you for the wonderful dinner!" Noah says as he grabs Stiles by his armpit and drags him up and away from the table while whispering in his ear as they go.

My mom and dad start picking up the plates on the table and taking them next door, hurriedly.

"Thanks for dinner, again Mr and Mrs James," Isaac calls after them.

My dad smiled warmly at him. "Call me Dean, son."

Isaac returns the smile before turning back to me. "So you're probably wondering why I'm here." He starts and I nod, putting down my fork to turn to him.

He sighs. "I just wanted to apologise for being a dick, and for the rumour Erica started. I'm not sure if you heard it, but if you did I'm sorry."

I nod, unsure what to say. "I don't think she likes me very much," I mutter. 

He laughs. "She likes you, quite a lot. That's why she started the rumour, she wanted you to notice us-" He says, before realising his mistake. "Her." He corrects. "To notice her." 

I smile, the widest I have in a while. Erica, sure. I think to myself as Isaac stands up and offers his hand to stand as well. 

☾

AHHHH POOKIE PIES.

i know this chapter didn't really make sense, but idc cause i couldn't wait for more Isaac x malena. 

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