Chapter 1
Scenting emotions doesn't come as easy as Isaac thinks. He's been given an advantage-he knows this. He, at least, had been given a choice. He knew what he was getting himself into-or so he thought. Derek hadn't explained it well enough. And now-now the world is spinning and he feels as though he's seeing color for the first time. He cannot differentiate the myriad of scents around him and loses himself quickly. Fear smells like lust. Happiness smells like anxiety. Anger smells like amusement. Conflicting emotions permeate the air with such a thickness that it impairs Isaac's vision.
If the sensory overload only happened at certain times, Isaac would be okay, but it doesn't. It happens constantly. He cannot escape it-even if he closes his eyes. He still breathes. He still hears. The world is a cacophony of every second of every minute and every minute of every hour. His only respite is sleep, and even that does not come easily. The headaches keep him up.
The headaches eventually lessen, but he continues to be astounded by their sudden arrival.
They happen most often in class. A newly bitten werewolf surrounded by the intoxicating scent of teenage pheromones is too much for him. If he so much as tries to concentrate on the lecture or task at hand, he has to fight a headache as well.
No one ever turns to notice. No one looks his way. When he ducks his head behind a textbook to ride out the waves of pain, not even the teacher steals a glance in his direction. It has always been like this-and now that he's been given this new gift, these new senses, he is overwhelmed. He's always been used to pain, but until recently it has always been external. This pain comes from within and radiates outward until he can feel it everywhere. Internal becomes external. Red becomes blue. Isolation becomes rage.
Isaac doesn't realize he's drumming the eraser of his pencil hard on his desk until it snaps. He manages to catch the attention of someone and he glares at them until they turn away.
He refuses to believe this will get better with time.
He is drowning, spiraling downward and out of control. For the first time, he longs to be shut in that freezer again just to block out sensory input. He hates himself for wanting that. Hates himself for even thinking it. He's gritting his teeth and listening to the clock tick on the wall and trying not to let the echoes pierce him.
Suddenly, there is a feather-light touch on his arm and the entire world pauses. The only sound he can hear is now the beat of his own heart. The only smell he can identify is sweet and soothing, like fresh linen and grass. Like sheets drying on a clothesline. When he turns his head to glance down, there's a familiar hand at the crook of his elbow and Isaac stares at it.
The hand belongs to Scott McCall.
Isaac steals a side glance to Scott long enough to catch his smile and receive a quick nudge. "You okay?" Scott mouths silently. All Isaac can muster is a shaky nod. It must be enough because Scott withdraws his hand and goes back to writing his notes.
Everything is a dull roar, even Isaac's own heartbeat. He lets out a breath of relief and can actually concentrate on class again. When he gets the chance, he steals a look toward Scott, but their eyes don't meet again for the rest of the class.
Isaac's headache is gone.
*
Days go by. Weeks. Isaac isn't making as much progress on his new senses as he or Derek would like. He loses his normal lunchtime seat when both Erica and Boyd stop showing up at school. Isaac feels more alone than ever. The isolation hits him harder than when it was just him and his father. He has gotten a taste of what friendship can feel like, and now it's been stripped away.
