I smiled as the last bell before the start of Spring Break rang. I knew that this week would be one of the most relaxing ones I've had since transferring to Beacon Hills. Lydia and Allison had immediately brought me into their circle of friends when they realized that I knew about the werewolves and other supernatural things that went on in this town. Even though this knowledge put me in danger a lot of the time, I was glad that my father worked with Stiles' and had accidentally let slip (during a conversation I had overheard) the curious things that went on in this town.

For the first time I could remember, no one was in danger right now and the celebratory feeling among my friends was tangible, a reason I was so excited about the weeklong vacation that we had planned. We were just going to Lydia's lake house a couple of hours from here, but it was something we all needed.

I finished gathering my books and stepped out into the packed hallway, full of teenagers like myself excited for a break from school. I was pushing my way through the crowd with little success when someone draped their arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer to him.

"All packed and ready, Ashlyn?" Stiles asked me, breaking through the crowd and pulling me with him towards the parking lot. I looked up at him to see a huge grin plastered across his face, his eyes bright with excitement. Stiles definitely needed this vacation to de-stress since I know he was always worried about Scott. Heck, we were all constantly worried about Scott because he could never resist trying to be the hero.

"Are you kidding me? I've been packed for weeks, counting down to this moment!" I told him, bouncing up and down on my toes before turning to rifle through the trunk of my BMW for my bags.

"I wish I could drive your car to the lake", Stiles told me as he helped me load my bags into the Suburban Allison had borrowed from her father for the trip, "You know how much all the guys love your car." He whined as he shut the trunk of my Beamer.

I just smiled and leaned against his Jeep. "I just don't understand why all the guys are riding with you, and Allison and I are going with Lydia."

Stiles opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by a girl's voice instead. "Oh, you know why, Ashlyn. We have to have our girl talk on the way up there." Lydia told me as she walked up to us with Allison trailing behind a little behind.

"Besides, we get to listen to our music if the girls all ride together." Allison told me, as she glanced around the quickly emptying parking lot, probably for Scott. Though they weren't together, everyone could tell how strong their feelings still were for each other. With any luck, they'd get back together on this trip.

I just laughed at Allison's comment, and the four of us made small talk while waiting for Derek, Scott, and Isaac. I was entertained by the constant flirting Stiles aimed at Lydia, only for her to blow him off most times. I felt bad for him. He was a good guy and deserved someone who would actually value him; though I loved Lydia to death, I wasn't sure she would.

Eventually, Scott and Isaac came running up to us, sweat plastering their shirts to their finely muscled chests. They both had Gym last block, and I wouldn't be surprised if they were late because Coach had made them run extra laps.

"Where have you been, man?" Stiles impatiently asked his best friend, his arms folded across his chest. "If we want to get to the lake and still have daylight left, we better hurry up and we're still waiting on Derek."

"No need to wait anymore. Derek called me when I was in the locker room; he started heading up there about an hour ago. We can leave now." He shoved the phone he had been brandishing in his pocket before walking by Allison and climbing into the passenger side of the Jeep. Allison then quickly scrambled into the Suburban.

Soon, we were all assembled in our cars and were leaving the school grounds when I realized I had accidentally left my phone in the backseat of Stiles' Jeep when I had been putting my bags in the SUV.

"Lydia, can I borrow your phone for a minute?" I asked my best friend anxiously.

"Sure," she answered slowly, "but what happened to yours? Is it dead or something? I have a car charger, if you want to use it." She told me, handing me her iPhone.

"That's the problem. It's in Stiles' Jeep." I told her, quickly punching in Scott's number.

Scott answered after only two rings. "What's up, Lydia?" He answered over the loud music the boys were blaring already.

"It's not Lydia, it's me." I told him. "I left my phone in the Jeep. We're fixing to pass you, so can you hand it to me through my window."

"Sure." He answered. I heard him rifling through all the junk in the back seat before saying, "Where exactly is it?"

"The backseat." I told him.

"Okay." He muttered before I heard him asking Isaac to find it. After a few moments of faintly hearing Scott tell Stiles he really needed to clean out the Jeep, he pressed the phone against his ear again. "Isaac has it. Roll down your window and he'll hand it to you."

I had just pressed my finger on the button when Scott hung up, so I quickly handed Lydia back her phone and filled Allison in.

When we were beside the Jeep, I leaned out the window to grasp my phone from Isaac. He shyly smiled at me when I met his eyes. I grabbed hold of the phone finally, but not without accidentally grasping Isaac's fingers first. His eyes widened for a split second before I mumbled an apology and sat back in my seat.

Out of our whole group, Isaac was by far the shyest. He was naturally quiet, but I could tell being around girls made him nervous. When it was just the boys though, he seemed like he warmed up a bit more. Even though I hadn't known him for long, he always seemed mildly jumpy and automatically flinched if a hand was quickly raised. I wondered why sometimes, but chalked it off as something that was just a part of him. Maybe he had an older brother who always pushed him around. I tried to push it out of my mind, but it kept nagging at the back of my mind.

I quickly unlocked my phone to send a quick text to my mom only to find my Notes was open. I quickly read the short message: I'm glad you're a part of our group. –Isaac. I bit my lip in thought, surprised. Though if I were him, I would be happy I was no longer fifth wheeling at school too.