✓ | BLOODY KNUCKLES.¹

━━━ xix. false awakening.

chapter nineteen.

BLUE IRISES UNVEILS TO a new day but is blocked by a grinning Isaac Lahey leaning over him, an ache swims back around his temple he winces instinctively fingertips ghosting the purple bruise a hole in his memory from last night.

"I wouldn't mind waking up like this -" His arms are agile tanking him into a headlock shoving his body weight on his so his head hits the matrices, ignoring the soft thumping of pain. Isaac grunts surprised, he recovers rapid slapping his back until his fingers find the bottom of his t-shirt and pulls it over his head trapping him. "I should've predicted that. You're still doing the same moves ten years later."

"Why change it if it's fine?" Isaac retorts with a light shrug as Arthur tosses the t-shirt he slept in exchanging it for one of his. "Get up, we're going to to school, loser."

"Mean girl reference?" Arthur scoffs, head sticking out of the fresh grey long sleeve. "Don't start." Picking his brain he tries to remember anything that could give him an insight from the bruise, he doubts Scott gave it to him. It's like his memories are nonexistent almost as if he was born yesterday. Strange, side effects of hitting your head does come with amnesia. "Hey, do you know what happened to my head?"

"You got your ass beat." The blue eyed beta says bluntly. "One of the, eh, twins found you and Lydia knocked out and freezing. You probably hit you're head when you fell."

Arthur bits his thumbnail he wasn't going to change out of his jeans, nodding the information doesn't spark anything inside of him. He sighs taking his word for it, "Yeah, is Lydia okay?"

"Have you noticed how brutal we'd make as team?" Isaac asks changing the subject entirely, hands on his knees he traces the spines of his books.

"Of course, we're invincible." The blue eyed grins, rubbing his palms on his knees clueless to the change. There's a light limp in his leg, he guess from the fight that took place last night although it would've healed by now normally.

"We've wasted so much energy trying to be good." Scott notes, a smile on his lips stopping in front of Arthur, "Nobody notices us so what's the point? There'll be others to take our place if we change course."

"Wh, What?" This couldn't be Isaac talking, this is the same kid who has been wronged his entire life and beating up bullies is how he gets through it. They were rescued by werewolves, who knows where they'd be if they hadn't been. There are times when they can replaced with the snap of fingers but Arthur couldn't leave ensuring ensuring his family's safety and he doesn't mind getting bloody knuckles. "It's not like we have a list of replacement waiting to take our place, and since when did you get bored of being the good guy?"