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The wolves came to a vote of who was to take shotgun. As Aspen had settled herself in the front seat, applying the lip gloss gifted by Lydia, she let out a shriek when all three werewolves crashed into her car, fighting over the front seat. It seemed they had settled for a race. Isaac, who had his long legs to thank for his speed, took the front seat. Erica let out a string of colorful curses that Aspen was sure Grandpa Sam would disprove of, while Boyde let his moping last only seconds before getting comfortable in the back. However, Aspen promised him a front seat next time due to his broad shoulders.

Aspen wouldn't say her and Isaac's relationship was untangled from its knotted mess. Their short conversation back in the train station was one of the most prolonged interactions they'd had in a while. But it doesn't change that she had walked away from him when he was only trying to help. She made a note to pull him aside for a while to talk.

Despite telling herself Isaac and her werent the same, it seemed they complimented each other rather than completing each other in a way that Erica and Boyde picked up. The two watched with a perfect view from the back seat as Aspen and Isaac argued over how high the A.C. was. Isaac complained that his body was a walking heater, and Aspen made a dramatic claim that she would get hypothermia. When she began asking about his classes, Isaac hesitated and avoided her eyes. She swatted at his arm, chastising him for not keeping his grades up, and just because he's a werewolf does not mean he has the right to let his grades drop.

Erica let out a soft cry, resting her head against the window once Isaac mentioned all the new pillows he bought, considering Derek failed to provide the poor werewolves with a bed.

"You sleep with how many pillows?" Aspen snapped her neck in Isaac's direction, eyes glancing at his feet thrown over the dashboard because he claimed there was no space at the bottom. She swallowed down a scolding. 

Isaac shrugged. "Five."

Aspen gaped, choking on a cough. "How?"

"I sleep on a floor--it's actually insanely comfortable, don't knock it till you try it," he said, his casual statement made Aspen shake her head. Having noticed Aspen's dry cough before, he cracked open a water bottle.

"I absolutely will not try it. You're gonna have back problems--oh, thank you." Aspen's mother-mindedness halted when Issac nudged her arm with the back of his hand, holding the water bottle. She grabbed it quickly and took a few sips, letting the cool liquid soothe her aching throat. She hoped she hadn't caught a cold being in the dingy train station every morning.

"Listen," Isaac urged as he grabbed the bottle and twisted the lid back on. "back problems would be the least of my concerns with the life I'm living right now."

Aspen rolled her eyes as she snapped down on her signal light to enter the school parking lot. "Yeah, okay, just don't come crying to me when you have a kink in your shoulder the size of South America."

"I'll come knocking. You know I will."

At his softened words, Aspen caught his glance. The intensity shot a jolt through her whole body, and she shook her head to hide her smile. "Whatever," she murmured.

Erica and Boyde dashed from the car before Aspen pulled into a parking spot. She scolded them for not waiting till she came to a complete stop, but the two were suffocating in chemosignals.

Aspen stepped out of the car, the sun blinding her almost immediately. She felt her blood pounding in her ear, and she wasn't sure if her headache was urging her to eat—the flood of students making their way inside blurred into waves of color and loud chatter.

Only when Isaac slid his hand on her shoulder did she blink away her unfocus. "You alright in there?" Isaac asked, eyes searching her own, noticing the blackness of her pupils nearly taking over her whole eyes.

Aspen's lips parted to offer a reply, but no words could form to make him understand what had happened. She was sure it was the lack of sleep catching up to her. "Yeah, fine. I'm good," she assured with a fleeting smile, her hand coming to lay over his arm that was still on her shoulder. His thumb pressed another collarbone, hoping she was alert.

"You sure?"

Aspen shrugged off his concern and shoulders her bag. "Yeah, It's probably the training catching up to me."

Isaac's chest vibrated with a silent laugh as he began walking toward the entrance. Aspen had to skip slightly to catch up with him. She hasn't felt comfort like this in a while. The giddiness she would feel when she would walk alongside Isaac in the halls. It was always just them with no one to mind. But as Aspen's eyes danced across the hall they now trekked, she saw a few girls from her history class throwing glances her way--no. Not her. To Isaac. What they saw now was what she had seen in him from the beginning. Now he walked with his head held up tall, his muscled body filling in his sweater, and the smile he offered to people in passing was simply charming.

Aspen suddenly felt small near him and awkwardly kept her hands close to her.

"I wouldn't worry too much about the training. You did well today." Isaac said, bumping his shoulder with hers.

"So being thrown by Derek is an improvement?"

"I think the fact that you haven't lost it is what he calls improvement."

Aspen cracked a smile as they approached her locker. As her hand trailed to her shoulder to pull her bag from her shoulder, Isaac's hand was grabbing the strap already. "What're you doing--" she mumbled, watching as Isaac grabbed her bag and zipped it open for her, holding up open.

"You should keep weight off your arms," he answered, his tone matching his soft gaze. The drop of his eyes to her arm was enough to indicate what he spoke of.

Aspen avoided his cerulean entrapment of beauty and lust, resorting to pulling her book out from the bag Isaac was holding open. She could practically feel girls glimpsing their way. The gesture Isaac was performing was nothing short of what a boyfriend would do. "I swore they would have healed by now," Aspen said lowly, her forehead creasing as she swapped out books for her first class. "and I don't wanna bother Deaton with all this. Can't go to Mina because I'm pretty sure she would attempt to drown me, and my grandfather isn't answering his phone. Did he forget who I am? Probably. Now I've gone to Derek Hale, the egotistical alphahole who thinks throwing me around is helpful. So now I'm resorting to wearing long sleeves, so people don't think I'm decaying." Aspen punctuated her aggravated ramble with the slam of her locker, making a few peers jump.

Isaac offered the people she scared an apologetic nod before leaning his weight on the lockers, craning his head down to be eye level with Aspen.

"Hey, fight club." he mused with a small, alluring smile.

Aspen sighed heavily through her nose, spinning softly on her shoes to look up at Isaac with a challenging glare. She could see the slightest brown speck in his blue eyes.

Isaac smiled with adoration at the frown that she adorned. "Did you just call me fight club?" she asked blatantly.

"You're scared." Aspen shifted uncomfortably in place, her teeth biting her inner cheek as she avoided his eyes. But from how close they were, it was nearly impossible. "You got all the right to be. The Veata Moon is close, so I uh-- well maybe showing you this isn't the best time, but we're in public, so you can't kill me."

Aspen's brows rose in question as she watched Isaac zip up her bag and swing it over his shoulder. His hands then fished into his pocket, pulling something out that made Aspen nearly go ballistic.

Splayed in Isaac's large hand, a cloudy, white marble sat.

Aspen let out a breath, her fingers shaking as she plucked the marble from his hands. All this time, she had thought she ruined her chances of gaining control. Never would she have thought she would hold her last bit of power in the palm of her hand. It felt like electricity in her hand, the energy inside begging to be released.

"You kept it," Aspen whispered, voice trembling. Her eyes were zeroed in on the last marble that was keeping her from killing half the town.

Isaac kicked her boot with his shoes. "I wanted a piece of you anytime I went home to my dad. But I think you need it more than I do." Aspen could already feel the tears behind her eyes burning as she looked up at Isaac.

The days where a boy would sneak into a girl's window to find a loving embrace that was never found by his own blood. A girl that smacked him in the head with a marble to keep him up during class.

"Thank you," Aspen said sincerely, a smile taking over her features. "Oh god, thank you so much," she tucked the marble in her pocket and quickly looked back up to Isaac. He seemed to revel in her happiness just by her smile. "for everything.'

Isaac shook his head. "What are you talking about?"

"You took care of me after what I did," Aspen sniffled through a laugh. Isaac's flushed slightly, not expecting the conversation to arise at such a moment. It was pretty stupid to be having this moment in the hallway, but she couldn't wait another minute. "You were there you--you didn't leave me alone. Even if I really wanted to just die right there and then, you held me up. You didn't leave me."

Isaac's every growing smile was contagious enough to latch onto Aspen. Isaac ducked his head before straitening his back. "I promised I would help you. That means we try to get rid of whatever the hell is going on with your arms and work on your control."

"Please don't throw me," Aspen begged, squeezing her eyes shut.

"No ones throwing anyone," Isaac grinned before wetting his lips. "How about this? We have our own training after you're done with Derek. You gotta break your anger. We'll run at the reserve. It's private enough to use your power...."

As Isaac listed off more ideas, Aspen took a moment to admire who he had become. Her heart was an alarm in her ears, and she was getting lost in the ocean of his eyes that had drowned her in storms, lost her in moments that were too quick admire, sunk her so deep that she didn't want to leave.

"Yes," Aspen blurted with no regard for whatever else he had said.

Isaac ticked his head to the side. "Yeah? We're doing this?"

"Yes yeah, totally doing this." Aspen laughed as Isaac raised his hands and shared a high five with her. But she was quick to yank his hands down and point a firm finger to his face. "But we're making time for studying too, understand? Your grades are ass."

Isaac sucked his teeth as he pulled away from Aspen. "I'm balancing on a D," he assured dismissively, with a quirk of his shoulder. His laid-back behavior to his horrible grades seemed to be his only defense, and it only infuriated Aspen more.

"The D is a tightrope. And you are a jolly green giant. Please give me a probability of you actually passing."

"Solid ten."

"Bullshit."

Isaac groaned, hanging his neck back as he began walking to their English class. Aspen trailed after him, growing irritated when she realized he was speeding on purpose to get rid of her ranting.

It was safe to say Aspen was happy to have Isaac back, even if it wasn't in the way she wanted. He was enough.

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a/n: Isaac and Aspen are back! I felt terrible for not delivering the content you guys are here for, so I apologize if the last couple of chapters were not to your liking. Hopefully, this cute moment is what you guys have been craving. Also, um, I just realized the book is almost done...also also, the rave. GUYS, THE RAVE IS COMING UP. I am saying you're welcome in advance.