Chapter Text
Lydia had always been the brightest in her class, the hardest working and the top performer academically. It was everywhere else in her life that she felt she had fallen short. Her shy tendencies made it hard for her to make friends, coupled with the fact that she was entirely unsure as how to hold a normal conversation without overwhelming people with her vast knowledge on an array of subjects.
Usually she doesn’t mind her lack of friends; she had always been content with keeping to herself. Except for when it comes to Isaac Lahey, when it comes to him she wishes that she was bold enough to strut down the halls and make him take notice in her. She wasn’t sure what it was that drew her to him; he wasn’t exactly the smartest kid in their class.
There was just something about him, something so innocent and kind, he reminded her of a puppy, a very jumpy puppy. She’d taken notice of the numerous bruises that would mar his face, she figured there were probably other injuries but he did well to cover them with baggy shirts and ill fitted jeans.
She had asked Stiles if he knew anything about the bruises, seeing as the two were on the lacrosse team, but he’d said they were probably just from practice. Stating that Lahey
wasn’t the most coordinated player. Lydia had scoffed at the remark; reminding Stiles that he too wasn’t exactly a shining star player.
Lydia had been caught up in placing her textbooks into her locker that she hadn’t noticed everyone gawking at the pair that had just entered the building. She noticed the shift in volume; the usually noisy halls had grown eerily quiet. She peered around her locker door and stood in shock alongside her classmates. At the end of the hall stood a truly stunning Erica Reyes, alongside her stood Isaac, smirks planted on both their lips as they took in the stunned faces of their classmates. They were shells of their former selves, all awkwardness and acne scars gone; in their place were two incredibly good looking teens.
“Well are you all just going to stand there and stare or is someone going to escort me to my class?” Erica asked sweetly. Dozens of boys soon crowded and her grin grew as she sauntered down the hall with her flood of followers in tow. Isaac shook his head and laughed to himself as he followed along.
“What the holy hell?” Lydia whispered to herself. Just as she’d said it, Isaac turned his head in her direction as if she’d called his name, his blue eyes falling onto her for a moment before he grinned and continued along.
Lydia felt herself flush as she quickly turned back to her locker, busying herself with finding her Chemistry textbook. She had always thought that maybe she’d have a chance with Isaac, seeing as they both tended to stick to themselves. She rarely ever saw Isaac interact with others, though now he seemed buddy buddy with Erica. Not to mention his new found confidence and seeming attraction to leather, Lydia wasn’t so sure of her chances with the fair haired boy anymore.
*
Lydia continued to notice changes in Isaac. For one, Erica and him had gained another member of their….what pack? No that’s ridiculous, though the way they practically stuck to one another eerily resembled that of pack behavior. Then there was all the random visits from that brooding guy, Derek was his name, she used to listen to Stiles complain about him. He seemed to always be lurking around the school, even more so than before.
Even Scott seemed on high alert whenever the troublesome trio was around. Lydia had always been rather intrigued by Scott. He had started off just as she was now, invisible with no notable talents worth people fussing over. Then one day he was a super athlete that seemed to constantly be in a state of duress.
In fact, as she thought about it, McCall’s remarkable climb from antisocially awkward to overly confident and sure of himself greatly resembled that of Erica and Isaac’s, now Boyd too, change. She wondered if they’d joined a cult or something, sold their souls maybe? Whatever it was it made her uneasy, but also increasingly intrigued, mostly by Isaac. His shift in personality really did little to dampen her affection for him. If anything the new found confidence and endless amounts of leather jackets only made him more appealing.
That’s why she had decided to do something bold herself. She’d spent countless hours daydreaming about what it would be like to talk to Isaac. She’d even gone so far as to practice saying hi in her mirror, not a moment she was very proud of. Lydia had never liked the idea of conforming to the materialistic girl that needed boys’ affection in order to thrive. She liked being independent and on her own, but there was just something about Isaac that drew her in, like a moth to a flame.
It took her until school was out to finally build up enough courage to actually talk to him. It hadn’t been very hard to find him actually; she just had to look for the swarm of boys trailing after Erica. Lydia waited till the boys dispersed some before making her way over to them. She stood frozen in front of them, suddenly all that practice and that whole introduction she’d spent all last night planning just went right out the window. Instead she stood there awkwardly having to tilt her head some to make eye contact with the taller boy; the pair practically loomed over her.
“Can we help you?” Erica asked, her tone coated in annoyance.
“I just, I um,” she stuttered momentarily, trying to ignore Erica’s amused expression and focus solely on Isaac who looked rather intrigued by this encounter.
“I wanted to know if maybe you’d like to go bowling with me,” she finally managed to blurt out.
“Or you know a movie or just….something.”
The two stared at her for a moment, Isaac stunned, a slow grin spread across Erica’s face as she moved in on Lydia.
“And does that invitation extend to me too?” she asked, eyes wide and innocent. Lydia sputtered, unsure of how to respond and suddenly regretting the whole situation.
“Look darling, you look like a nice kid, what with your Annie Oakley sense of style and all, but as I am sure you can tell he’s a bit out of your league,” she said, deliberately moving in closer.
“I mean why would he want you when he can have me?” she motioned to her budding chest and lean legs, “So why don’t you save yourself the embarrassment and scram.”
Lydia looked to Isaac who refused to make eye contact with her. She felt her cheeks burn, almost as if she’d been slapped. She chanced one last look at the pair before turning on her heel and pushing through the crowd that had gathered to watch her embarrassment.
She fought hard to keep the tears back, not till she was safe at home in her room would she allow herself to cry. Before she could make it to her car though she felt a hand tug her arm and pull her to the side.
“Lydia are you alright? I saw what happened and…” Allison stood in front of her, her face drawn into a frown.
Lydia and Allison weren’t exactly that good of friends. Stiles, who was basically the only person that ever talked to Lydia, introduced them when his best friend Scott decided he was head over heels for her. They had been a sickeningly adorable couple, until recently when they out of the blue broke up. But she caught the longing stares share by the pair.
“I’m fine,” she replied, not making eye contact with the taller girl.
“Hey, why don’t we go to the mall, a little shopping to get your mind off things?” she asked hopefully.
Lydia wanted nothing more than to tell her no, that she had something she needed to do. But the hopeful smile Allison gave, full equipped with dimples and everything was too much and she reluctantly agreed.
Maybe some shopping would help her, though she honestly didn’t think anything could erase the sickening sensation of rejection that filled her whole body at the moment. She chanced a glance back as Allison and her made their way out of the school, but as she had mostly expected the two had disappeared.