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[eloquencejones]

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[keepsmeawake]

Honestly, Stiles had no idea what was going on. Admittedly that was pretty much his state of being ever since Scott had gotten bitten, because while he did his level best to be the person who knew what the fuck was up, he had pretty much been flying by the seat of his pants the whole time. It was a state of affairs that had only gotten worse since Isabel rolled into town, with her bitchy comments and her pretty eyes and her....ok so maybe Stiles had been crushing hard from the moment she walked into the classroom. He couldn't really explain it, there was just something about her that had drawn him, and sure he'd read enough awful supernatural romance novels (for research, he swears) to know that was either very, very bad or very, very good, and honestly he wasn't sure which. So of course he'd followed her around and she'd been drawn into their wolf-related shenanigans just the same as any other newcomer was, and he'd gotten...not less confused, never less confused, because why would the fates allow him such a simple thing as understanding?

There had been the kiss, it had made him see stars and left him wondering and it had been brilliant, honestly, but now he had no idea where they stood because she seemed to change her mind every five minutes. Like today, there she was, pulling up to him completely apropos of nothing, all 'get in loser we're going shopping' (of course he's seen that movie, everyone's seen that movie), looking as beautiful as ever and hadn't she been sniping at him this morning for being such a loser?

He sighs resignedly, locks his jeep and climbs into the driver's side without much protest, there's not really any point in protesting anything that happens to him these days, he mostly just has to get on with it and satisfy his complaining desires with snarky comments.

"Is there some kind of fashion emergency we have to get to?" he asks archly

[givenodamns]

Isabel knows more than she's saying. She is not, absolutely not going to fall in love with Stiles because love makes you vulnerable, weak and gives people the power to hurt you. She did that once and she is never going to do that again. There's a little part of her that says maybe Stiles wouldn't use that power to hurt her, but she squelches that thought as soon as it crosses her mind. Instead, she leads him on, pushes him away, pulls him closer and generally engages in some bi-polar sort of romance where she's the only one that has the cue cards. If she were to let him in on a secret, she's confused as hell too because she is falling for him whether she wants to or not and is ,in turns, enamored with the idea of it and pissed off by the idea of it. Really, it would have all been much simpler if he'd ignored her from the very beginning, but if he'd done that, Isabel would have missed so much and he makes her smile as much as Isabel is capable of. Sometimes, she even acts like a normal girl around him!

It had been a very good kiss, even Isabel can admit that. She's not sure where they stand either; she isn't sure where she wants them to stand and she's aware that she holds the power to dictate that. She holds that power close to her, letting it make her feel safe and assuring herself that as long as she's got that power, Stiles can't hurt her. She lies to herself that way. (Everyone has seen that movie; she likes that movie) She had been sniping at him this morning for, essentially, being a loser. She'd used more words but that had been the heart of it and really, she'd woken up, read Stiles' good morning text and felt happy all the way to her toes. That had pissed her off, set her on edge and scared the shit out of her because if Stiles had the power to make her happy with a simple text then what else did he have the power to make her feel? Feelings outside of disdain and anger are dangerous for Isabel.

"Coffee and what we can't do something semi-fucking normal every now and then?" she snaps back cooly. This is Isabel asking him out on a date. She's entirely aware she sucks at it.

[keepsmeawake]

And now he's being yelled at when she was the one inviting him on this impromptu little field trip. He was pretty quick-witted, he didn't think it was arrogant of him to think that, but keeping up with her was next to impossible. He'd tried to talk to Scott about it, but his best friend was predictably useless at giving him any advice. That was why Stiles was the brains of the operation.

"I'm not so sure we can," he responds easily, deciding that today's tactic for dealing with her snippiness is to kill it with kindness - that is, completely ignore all her bitching and answer everything in charming, polite tones like it was a perfectly normal question "I mean, let's face it, pretty much everything we do gets overrun with werewolves, like we're some kind of homing beacon. ...I mean us personally, not the town, because, well, duh."

He starts the engine and heads off, though he's driving for a few minutes before he actually realises he doesn't know where he's headed.

"Wait, where did you want to go?"

[givenodamns]

Not yelled at. More just snapped at. Isabel doesn't yell. It's far too common and gives someone else power. He is pretty quick witted, which is why he's lasted this long, which is why she's so prickly about the fact that she's having feelings for him; feelings that make her soft and vulnerable and give him the power to hurt her. If Scott cares about Stiles, he'll tell him to run away from Isabel as quickly as possible. She knows that and she hates herself sometimes for being such a bitch, but she's like a snail (or something). This hard shell is the only thing that really keeps her together.

It's not a bad tactic and today, it might actually make her dial the bitch back. She knows that Stiles is good to her. She knows that he's a good guy and maybe there's a small part of her that's afraid she's going to ruin him because he's a good guy. She doesn't want that. Sometimes, she feels like she's constantly testing him, pushing to see how far she can push him, how tough is he? How much will he take? How much can he take? Can he cope with all of Isabel's issues single-handedly? Maybe. It's looking more and more likely anyway. "Yes. That's obvious," she sighs, raking both hands through her hair. First Mercy Falls, now Beacon Hills. It seemed she was doomed to deal with wolves (and other things). She lays her head back against the car seat. Her voice is soft, a little far away and terribly wistful when she speaks again. "Do you ever wish you could just run away from it all?"

She's quiet while he drives, thinking about that place where she could run away from it all. She looks over to him when he asks where she wants to go.

"Some place with coffee and something divine to eat. Or at least passable."

[keepsmeawake]

"Sometimes," he admits with surprising seriousness, but it quickly drops when he adds "But then I think, what would they all do without me? Probably starve and die and horribly embarrass themselves, so I know it's my duty to stay," he gives a mock long-suffering sigh "the struggle is real." Stiles didn't really like to do serious when irreverence was right there, begging to be used, but at the same time the old adage of 'many a true word is spoken in jest' rung particularly true with him.

"I think I know a good place," he said after a moment's thought "It's a bit far but it's perfect." the place he was thinking was a little way out of town, he chose it for two reasons. One; it might satisfy, at least partially, her need to get away, it might at least feel like they were going further afield, even if they weren't, and two, he was genuinely curious if the way she treated him would get any less incomprehensible if they were away from people who knew them, if it was just the two of them alone and away from anybody who might recognise them. But mostly that getting away thing.

[givenodamns]

The surprising seriousness sets Isabel a little at ease. He's not mocking her, at least and that's something. She used to spend all her time in Mercy Falls wishing she could run away somewhere else after Jack died and Cole acted like...Cole. She spends less time wishing that here and she doesn't know if it's because no one here knew Jack. No one here knows the vulnerable girl she used to be before the wolves; no one here knows that Isabel Culpepper can be broken. It's easier to be here than it ever was in Mercy Falls and, while Isabel won't admit it, part of that is because of Stiles and his friends who have become her friends (sort of) by proxy.She smirks at his ramble. "That's exactly how I feel about the common sense that I bring to everyone's life," she chimes in. Isabel is always the one to call bullshit, to bring levity to the situation. Of course, she's also the one that says 'We're probably all going to die'.

"I don't mind far," she assures him, settling back into the seat and closing her eyes a moment. She does like the idea of 'getting away' even if it's only temporary, even if it's only a little ways. She likes the idea of being anonymous. As for whether the way she treats him becomes less incomprehensible or not, she's not entirely sure. The problem is that it has nothing to do with Stiles and everything to do with her. In fact, if she liked Stiles less, there would be nothing in comprehensible about her behavior; she'd be flat out bitchy.

[keepsmeawake]

"Yes, common sense, remarkably uncommon, especially amongst werewolves," Stiles commented dryly. He knew his presence wasn't actually as vital as he liked to pretend it was, but sometimes there were moments when he felt like the only sane person in a group of crazy wolf people. Sometimes, he was the only sane person in a group of crazy wolf people. Despite her inconsistency when interacting with Stiles, he at least appreciated that she was another sane person when the chips were down.

"Good," he nodded, steering the car in the direction that would take them to the place he was thinking of, reaching over to turn the radio on and give them some background music, make it feel like a proper road trip, even if it was a short one.

[givenodamns]

"Why is that?" Isabel asked. "What the hell exactly is it about becoming a wolf that makes you incredibly stupid, reckless and ridiculous?" Isabel had a feel he was a great deal more vital to their group than he knew. Everyone needed a slice of normalcy and maybe Stiles provided that normalcy for the wolves in this group. They could, at least, support each other in that.

Isabel stretched her arms over her head, wiggling the tips of her fingers then folding her hands behind her head, elbows still akimbo. "Is this where people in Beacon Hills go for fun when they're not dealing with werewolves and other fucked-up-ness?"

[keepsmeawake]

"You are asking the wrong person, I am just as mystified by the whole thing as you," Stiles admitted "Maybe we should submit that to the next science fair, "The psychology of becoming a werewolf and its effect on your propensity for risk taking", something like that." he almost wished they actually could, it would make a fairly interesting thesis. Maybe it didn't have the pizazz for a good science fair entry, but it would still be a pretty intriguing study.

"No, blessedly, this is a place that nobody in Beacon Hills - including any residents with animalistic tendencies - actually goes to. Disclaimer; I don't actually know if nobody ever from the entire town has ever been there, but what I do know is that it's too far out and not exciting enough to draw people away from Beacon Hills specifically. So it should be something new and different for us."

[givenodamns]

"Maybe there's some chemical that actually affects their brain and makes them stupid," she suggested. "We could approach it from both directions: psychologically and scientifically. We'd win. No contest. Hell, they'd probably give us an award for even trying." It would be fascinating. Of course, Isabel knows that some werewolves have a propensity to risk even before they become werewolves. She's got video evidence of it for Cole. "Perhaps I've found motivation to do something with my life outside of look pretty." Maybe. It's possible.

She smirked and turned her head to look at Stiles. "Covering all your bases, Stilinski?" She looks back and slouches down a little in her chair. "Actually, that sounds as close to fucking perfect as things are likely to get here."

[keepsmeawake]

"Oh but you're so good at looking pretty," bam, ten points to Gryffindor, that was some smoothness, good job Stiles. It was probably ruined by the mental party he was having as soon as he said it, but he wasn't usually that quick with good compliments. It also probably didn't help that he just gave himself house points, he probably lost cool points just for having a Hogwarts house. At least she couldn't read his mind.

"It would be a pretty interesting study though. Maybe we can become pioneers in the field of werewolf physiology and psychology." It didn't actually sound like the worst idea he'd ever had, although he didn't think academics were paid that much.

"Well I just like to be sure, you know me. I thought it might," he nodded, he thought it sounded pretty perfect so he was glad she felt the same.

[givenodamns]

Okay, that got a smirk out of Isabel and if she were in the business of being a little more vulnerable around Stiles (she'll get there) she'd probably even flush because she liked getting compliments (from people she gasp cares about) even if she was rubbish at receiving them. Instead of actually flushing or showing that the compliment pleased her, she rolled her eyes. Maybe he caught sight of that smirk, the one that was still teasing at the corners of her lips. "That's like saying I'm good at breathing." It was fortunate that she couldn't read his because she would have turned it around to say something like that's like saying you're good at being a dork. She secretly kind of liked that Stiles was a dork. It took confidence to pull off and Stiles was entirely himself no matter what. She envied that because Isabel ran around keeping up her bitchy facade because it insured she wouldn't get her heart broken.

"At least we'd get government funding for something we're doing for free now." Sort of. Isabel was pretty sure academics didn't make that much either and she was used to having money. Though, her family was also screwed up enough that she was aware money didn't insure happiness of any sort. "The idea of being immortalized for not being an idiot is appealing." Fame wasn't so much something Isabel wanted or needed, but she'd seen enough people die to know that immortality (not the literal kind) was something few people attained and the idea of being remembered after her death appealed to her.

She reached her arm across the seats between them and ruffled a hand through his hair before letting it rest at the back of his neck for the time being. She might not have said thank you or told him how much she appreciated it, but she could still show appreciation. Actions were easier for Isabel than words.

[keepsmeawake]

"Well, you are, I mean, I'd say you're the best breather I know," Stiles complimented, tone faux-serious like he was giving her the highest praise he could muster. While he was mostly joking, it didn't actually take all that effort, he had to admit (to himself) he was really quite smitten with Isabel, he probably would compliment her breathing, and just about everything else about her. Even though he couldn't make heads or tails of her at times, he still couldn't quite believe someone as amazing as her agreed to spend time with him.

"It's definitely a plan for the future worth keeping on the table," he nodded. It was also a relatively safe plan, it was nice to think they might get to spend their future safe behind a desk writing academic studies rather than running headfirst into danger. Though, knowing them and their friends, they'd probably still find a way to cause trouble.

He leaned slightly into the touch, unable to stop himself, enjoying the feel of her hand just resting there. It was gentle and domestic and he couldn't help but wish they had this all the time.

[givenodamns]

His compliment got a smirk out of Isabel and she turned her head toward him, lowering her sunglasses to watch him. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him that he was too sweet, that she was (unintentionally) going to break his heart, to tell him so many things that she knew she ought to. However, despite knowing all of that, she liked Stiles. Maybe it was selfish and horrible, but he made her feel safe and special. Stiles wouldn't break her heart and she didn't think that he'd reject her. Of course, she'd been too afraid to try anything serious for fear that she was wrong about that. Isabel iwa far more fragile than she'd like anyone to know.

She didn't expect a safe, happy future. She was reasonably sure that girls like her didn't get those sorts of futures no matter how much they wanted them.

Her hand stayed there because she liked the way he leaned into that touch. Right now, in this vulnerable state, she wished they had this all the time too. She wished she could allow herself that vulnerability, wished she knew that she'd survive this. She wanted that safety, that gentleness, that domesticity. She just didn't think that she could have that, not without it destroying her.