Chapter Text
Isaac doesn’t know if he can ever get used to Derek’s singing.
He’s known him for about six months, ever since Derek posted a craiglist ad asking for a “Responsible and QUIET roommate” who was willing to split the rent on a townhouse in Beacon Hills, California. Derek, as Isaac found out within hours of moving in with him, has possibly the world’s shortest temper. He is constantly slamming doors, yelling at inanimate objects, and locking himself in his room and brooding for hours at a time.
Isaac has also seen his soft side, because what Derek doesn’t know is that the bathroom walls are incredibly thin, and that when he sings Lorde in the shower Isaac can definitely hear him.
Derek finishes his serenade, and Isaac listens to the water hiss as the shower is shut off. Derek is definitely a weird roommate, but he keeps the house clean and cooks the meals, which Isaac can’t really say for himself. He’s working five days a week walking dogs, and gardening for neighbours on weekends. It isn’t much, but a high school dropout with no parents to help him takes whatever he can get.
Isaac, who is sprawled on his bed waiting for Derek to be done with the bathroom, looks over at the clock on his nightstand. 11:15 am, almost time for him to go pick up the dogs. He’s just about to yell at Derek for taking ages when the older guy appears in his doorway, a towel slung across his waist.
“Did you hear about the house next to us?” Derek asks, leaning against Isaac’s door frame, “New neighbours.”
“Oh, really?” Isaac sits up and stretches, “Do you know anything about them?
“No,” Derek shrugs noncommittally, “I don’t really talk to neighbours.”
Isaac hops down the front steps of the townhouse, five leashes clutched in his hand. It’s a sweltering hot day, making Isaac regret the dark blue scarf he wrapped around his neck.
He pauses on the sidewalk to see who’s moving furniture into the now-occupied house next door. Two girls, one brunette and one strawberry blonde, are struggling under the weight of a black leather couch in an effort to get it up the steps, giggling every time one of them stumbles. Isaac is tempted to go introduce himself, but his shyness gets the best of him. He catches sight of another person, coming from behind the sedan parked in their driveway, and the first thought that enters his mind is that’s the hottest boy I’ve ever seen.
The boy is sweating in the California heat, his brown hair tousled. Isaac is still staring at him when the neighbour looks up and they lock eyes. The redhead calls out to him, “Scott, quit standing there are come help us!” and he gives Isaac a wave before joining his friends.
Isaac’s cheeks are still warm with embarrassment when he picks up Aspen the chihuahua five blocks away.
Isaac is soaked in sweat. He jogged through the park with the dogs, Blitz and Digger almost dislocating his arm in their eagerness to race ahead of the others. After two hours of winding through Beacon Hills in the heat, even the big dogs are tired out. He drops off most of them, but Digger he has to pet sit for the afternoon.
They are almost at the townhouse when Isaac trips over a crack in the sidewalk and falls flat on his face. He loses his grip on Digger’s leash, and of course the boxer dog has his energy back and all he wants to do is run away from Isaac. By the time the blonde boy is on his feet again and has groaned because there’s a gash in his jeans and blood on his knee, Digger has dashed off.
Fuck, Isaac thinks to himself, wincing as he straightens out his right leg and power walks in the direction Digger went.
“Digger!” He yells, eyes squinting in the sun as he glances worriedly around. Mrs Hammond, who already has enough on her plate with the triplets, would not enjoy having a lost dog to be concerned about.
Suddenly, Isaac hears a bark coming from the backyard of one of his neighbouring houses. He’s halfway to the house’s back gate when he realizes that it belongs to that really hot boy - Scott, he remembers - and those two girls.
He approaches the open gate tentatively, can already smell the burgers that probably drew Digger there in the first place. As he steps in, he notices that the backyard is practically empty, save for a barbecue against the outer wall of the townhouse, and that Scott is shirtless, leaning over, feeding Digger bits of burger.
He is so immersed in giving the dog the royal treatment that he doesn’t notice Isaac until the taller boy is forced to fake a cough loud enough for Scott to hear.
“Oh, hi!” Scott says, sounding surprised, “is this your puppy?”
Isaac chuckles, “No, but I’m taking care of him for the day. I, uh, kinda tripped, and he ran off.”
This makes Scott giggle, continuing to pet Digger, who is the happiest dog in the world, with a mouth full of half-cooked burger and a tail wagging dangerously fast.
Scott’s mouth turns into a frown of concern when he notices the blood and gravel stuck to Isaac’s knee, “Hey, are you alright? I can go grab the first aid kit from my house.”
“Oh, no, that’s fine!” Isaac says, fingers awkwardly playing with the ends of his scarf, “I’d better get Digger out of this heat, anyways. Digger is the dog, by the way.”
“If Digger is the dog’s name, then what’s yours? I’m Scott McCall.”
“Oh, uh, I’m Isaac. Isaac Lahey.”
Scott grabs the dog’s leash and hands it to Isaac, “Well, Isaac Lahey, I don’t have enough burgers made to invite you over tonight, but I’m having a big party here in a couple of days. You should come - and bring your housemate too, if you want. You can meet all of my friends! It’ll be totally cool, I swear.”
“Really? I mean, I’d love to!”
“Well, I’ll see you then, Isaac”, Scott smiles, flips a burger on the grill, “I’m glad I got to meet you today!”
Later, Isaac remembers to give Digger double his usual amount of good-boy treats.