“I think someone would attack the dancers without hunters, sometimes people are dicks,” Nicky acknowledged, observing Isaiah glancing around, seeming to focus in one the other guests rather than the new dancer who was coming out on stage. The dancers were fortunately not unobservant themselves and could tell that while Isaiah was handsome he was too focused on Nicky to be a good tipper and kept their attention elsewhere, including the man who had been looking Nicky and Isaiah’s way.
It was obvious from the first part of what Isaiah said that sure, he knew of Emmerich but he didn’t know what things had been like for them. “Sometimes you have to push people, no one likes being a burden,” he pointed out, giving Isaiah a slight smile because obviously Nicky had pushed Isaiah enough times to talk but even still Isaiah would insist the conversation would bore Nicky when it didn’t.
Before he could explain about Em he looked back to the guy, his attention moving from Nicky and back to the dancer. “Probably just thinks we’re weird sitting by the stage and not watching the dancers,” Nicky chuckled to himself, but the laugh fell short because he really did not trust anyone who wasn’t a regular right now. “Maybe once he has some tits in his face he’ll forget about us.”
Nicky took a sip of his beer, attention returning to the topic at hand. “Emmerich was really sick when Lyn and I were dating, well, he was really sick when they were younger but when we were dating he and their family were in the aftermath of it, making sure he didn’t relapse, all that kind of stuff, just Lyn, Em and their Mum. Lyn was in and out of school constantly because of it, practically lived at his bedside, kids don’t understand that, no one really understands it because how can they? What do you do when you’re fourteen and you start school at the beginning of the year, go to two days and then disappear for two weeks because your brother has surgery? You definitely don’t come back and tell all the kids all the shit going on in your life, you don’t make friends that way, so you smile and be nice and you know better than to do the same, you take into consideration everyone else’s crap. Lyn took care of her brother, never showed him how hard it was for her, never showed her mother how hard it was, because they both had it hard too, and then she has no one to turn to outside of them because she’s not close with anyone.” Nicky paused, taking a deep inhale because he was obviously not an easy person for her to have experienced any of this with, even simply the aftermath of it all. He was a quick fuck, easy to ditch for Em, but…he didn’t help her feel like she could open up when he was only around for a night or two. “If she’s acting weird it’s probably because she feels like whatever is going on is a burden to whoever she should be telling it to, whether it is or it isn’t, because they’re stressed or upset and she knows she can take that hurt on her own because she always has.”
With the barrage of words that had come from his mouth Nicky needed another sip of his beer, finishing off the glass. “Just seems to me like her behaviour indicates more that something is wrong than that she’s doing something wrong. You’ve both got pasts, yeah? Maybe their just smashing heads a bit right now.” Placing his drink down the guy was still fucking looking at them… So weird.
Nicky was absolutely right about this point, people could be absolute dicks sometimes, and they didn’t need any reason for it. “Yeah, I’ve had my fair share of fights with drunk idiots in bars before. I’m not proud of it, but I’ve been that drunk idiot a few times too.” He laughed, shaking his head. And Nicky had also seen him more than wasted in this same bar, although he never really caused any trouble. He was a shitty tipper, mostly because he was too damn drunk to even think about pulling out his wallet, but he was not a bad person.
Smiling slowly when the man mentioned pushing people, Isaiah looked down at the bar. He was not the type of person to insist when someone didn’t want to share their stories. He rarely shared his own. Surprisingly, Nicky had been one of the only people in town who heard pretty much everything without him showing any reluctance. Maybe he had this therapist kind of vibe in him, but he really doubted he could be as convincing if he tried to push Lyn to talk.
They were now both looking at the odd man, and Isaiah chuckled at Nicky’s comment, shrugging. “Yeah, two fucking weirdos not enjoying the show.” He said, glancing at the man once again. He hoped the other werewolf was right, and that he wasn’t there to cause trouble. He definitely seemed strange, although he could not tell if the man was drunk, or just naturally weird. He preferred not to know, and returned his attention to Nicky, who began talking about Emmerich.
It was strange to hear about her past from someone else – her ex, more specifically – but he trusted Nicky. He didn’t feel threatened by him, or envious of him. He just listened, curious of what he would tell him, and as the story unfolded, he began to see a different side of his girlfriend. He could easily imagine her by her brother’s side. She was such a caring girl, always there for the people she loved, he wasn’t surprised at all. But he doubted spending time in the hospital with her brother was the same as comforting her best friend, or just him when he wasn’t feeling too well because of the stupid pressure from taking care of a pack. Hearing that she was probably not telling him about what was going on because she didn’t want to be a burden hurt him, but not as much as the thought that maybe something was really going on. “With the barrier broken, I’ve been very distant… And really a dick.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “I didn’t want her to leave the house without me, because I was worried something could happen to her. With everything that happened to my pack, I don’t want to lose her.” He explained, picking up his beer. “I really should talk to her. I should be the one she talks to when she’s not feeling well. Not the one she runs away from.”
He glanced again in direction of the man, who was still staring at them, and turned to Nicky. He was apparently not the only one who had noticed that his almost obsessive attention was strange. Finally, Isaiah turned into the stranger’s direction and cocked his head on one side. “Can we help you, man?”
