Infinitesimal

Chapter 2

Lydia found out later that it didn't matter if they were resting in Satan's asshole or if they took a trip the North Pole, she'd still end up doing the same thing with the same people. They'd all crowded in Isaac's shared bathroom to get rid of whatever was leftover in the glass bottles Malia's lips currently hugged.

She wasn't drinking, solely because she didn't want to have to wake up the next morning and deal with classes while hungover. Lydia played along, she pretended. She smiled and laughed as usual, passed the bottle hastily to someone else when it was handed to her and politely declined when Scott offered her a smoke.

If she let herself think about it, neglecting schoolwork to hide in someone's bathroom to get drunk and high felt stupid. Lydia couldn't seem to pull herself away from stupidity, though. She stopped herself from mentioning that this reminded her of Looking For Alaska, and stopped herself again when she almost told them she had to go back and study.

There was something so comforting about being average to her. Lydia figures if she stays quiet and blends in with a group people will pass her by without giving her any trouble. Nothing could go wrong if she did the same things everyday, no one could hurt her because no one would care enough to blink an eyelash at her.

She wanted to drown in it, the normality of it all. Lydia felt at peace, with her bare leg brushing against the rough denim of Isaac's jeans and Scott - already wasted, puppy-eyed, Scott - hazardously dancing for Malia's enjoyment by the sink.

Lydia thinks of Stiles for the third time that day. The familiar image of him leaning on the brick wall, too far away for her to be able to guess what his thoughts on the world are, but close enough to make her curious. The people she saw getting high and drinking all day did it to be somewhat happy while in the company of their friends, but Stiles was alone.

He didn't look happy at all, in fact he seemed sort of depressed. She wondered if Stiles did the things he did to forget everything for a while, or to help end it all faster. Perhaps all of Lydia's assumptions were wrong, because she didn't even know him - no one really did.

"I have to go." Isaac announces, using the side of the bathtub to stand himself up. He shares a fist bump with Scott and kisses Malia on the forehead before offering his hand to help Lydia up. She stares at him in confusion and he waves his hand around, willing her to take it.

"You're coming with me, short stack. Unless you want to watch Scottie and Mal shamelessly fuck in my shower over here." Isaac explains, nodding towards the two. He receives middle fingers from them, but his remark actually makes Lydia smile.

She slips her hand in his, feigning confidence, and allows Isaac to stand her upright. He leads her out of the bathroom, past his irritated roommate, and into the empty halls. Isaac doesn't let her hand go as they walk, but it feels less like a romantic thing and more of a brotherly protection type of thing. It was as if Lydia was a scared baby deer that needed help to learn how to stand up in the world.

"I'm not taking you out to murder you or anything, just incase you're wondering. I need to buy more scarves, and you can't go to another party in your grandma clothes - no offense." Isaac says, as they set foot on the busy street. Lydia nods along to what he says, she really doesn't mind going shopping.

She's glad for him holding on to her while they walk. It comes and goes as she walks fast, pretending to be healthy and okay, a numb feeling from her knee to her ankle that made her feel as if she would fall over any second. Each time it came, Lydia leaned into his side and Isaac kindly wrapped his arm around her, probably assuming she was cold again.

They arrived at a small, thrift-shop-looking place squeezed between a coffee shop and a book store. Once inside, Lydia could see all the clothing ranged from expensive dresses and suits you'd expect to see in a James Bond movie, to the type of stuff that looked years old and battered. Though she wasn't sure if the ratty clothing was like that on purpose to seem cool or not.

Isaac immediately dragged her over to a tub of materials that turned out to be an assortment of scarves. So this is where he feeds his obsession, Lydia thought to herself, watching him happily shift through them. She helps pick out a couple ones she thinks look good, but he rejects most of them and continues to dig through the entire pile.

"You know, if you spend anymore time here on scarves we won't have enough time to 'get me out of my grandma clothes'." Lydia quips, trying her hand at easy banter. It feels awkward leaving her tongue, but she supposes with time it won't feel as weird to be quick-witted and funny like the rest of her newfound friends.

"But," Isaac whines, gesturing the tub of scarves, "I'm looking for the diamond in the ruff." He says. A small smile took over Lydia's face when she heard his reference.

"You're an Aladdin fan?" Lydia asks, hoping that it wouldn't turn out to be a coincidence and she wouldn't look like an idiot for mentioning Disney movies.

"Let's just say, I can show you the woooorld." He drags out the last word, mimicking the song. Isaac grins, and is distracted enough he allows the girl to pull him away from all the scarves and towards the front of the store where the girl stuff is.

The shopping trip comes to a sudden halt, though, when a semi-familiar face comes into view. Stiles Stilinski is in handcuffs a few feet away, standing by the jeans with a damaged face and an angry security guard behind him.

A/N

I have so many plans for this story *insert evil smile*.

Btw, not everyone is human in this AU.