[Isaac just lets out a massive sigh out loud as he stares down at the text. It takes him a few minutes to respond, but when he does, it's short, to the point.]
i know you didnt do it on purpose
[That's about all he can grant him. Isaac has felt the pull of the moon, the bloodlust, he remembers hurting people, almost attacking Stiles- and he knows the situation isn't the same, but there's a tiny part of him that feels empathy.
[ what the hell. coming from allison or scott, it'd be easy to ignore that comment; coming from isaac, it's way more jarring, and it takes him a second to reply. ]
I asked for the bite.
I get what you're trying to do [ except he doesn't, not remotely ] but I don't need excuses. I know it was my fault.
[ tone doesn't carry via text, but there's nothing overly emotional in the statement. it's him taking responsibility, not a bid for more sympathy. this is what a few months away has managed, the reason he didn't really fight leaving to begin with. he'd stopped hiding from his role in what'd happened, but he was still too much of a coward to face everyone back at beacon hills and really understand what they thought of him.
which is still all about him, and it occurs to him that rejecting isaac's attempt at... whatever the hell that was isn't actually an improvement on that. so, a few seconds later: ]
But thanks.
[ if that seems weak and incredibly lame, that's because it is. ]
im not trying to do anything. i told you i dont give a damn about your feelings
[Which is the long and short of it. He doesn't care about what Jackson feels (but maybe I'm sorry I didn't die is hard to hear anyway), which, in a way, makes him more brutally honest. He hates him. He does.
And whatever the hell this- this conversation, this argument, this something is, it doesn't change that. Jackson is sorry, sure- Jackson hates himself for killing people, that's understandable, but going to Isaac about it is strange, and it makes him feel more than a little uncomfortable.
He shouldn't. He should mock him and then hang up, but maybe Isaac has been spending too much time with Scott lately, or maybe he's just growing a little as a person, because he still doesn't do either of those things.
Even so. The next words are hard to think, harder to type out, and he almost doesn't send it anyway. It's too personal, exposes himself too much, to Jackson of all people. But Jackson has seen him vulnerable for years, and as much as Isaac tries to force it away and make him forget about it, the truth of it is always looming over his head. Jackson knew. He knew, and it shouldn't feel humiliating, but it does.]
why didnt you say anything?
text this was the worst idea also how extreme can my bracket-to-text ratio get
[ he could lie. part of him wants to, to make himself look better; to make it less humiliating for isaac, maybe. because back then, he honestly didn't care – he didn't regret doing nothing, didn't feel sorry for isaac. even now that everything's different, it'd be bullshit to say he dwells on it. there's too much else stacked up for it to win out, and he knows on some level that that in itself is shitty.
isaac said it himself: jackson's fucked up. there's no point in lying. ]
Because you were nothing. Because everyone has problems and expecting someone to come in and save you is for children. Because I'm not responsible for anyone.
[ the mirroring of isaac's phrasing could probably be taken as a petty dig, but it rings more hollow. jackson doesn't mean it now. he doesn't particularly care about isaac; he doesn't really care about any of them, despite everything, but he doesn't hate them. he never did, even when it was all hitting the fan, with the kidnappings and the accusations – maybe because he knew they were right, vehement denial aside. he's also not oblivious to the fact that he owes them.
what it all comes down to is that jackson knows he can't fix any of it. maybe he wouldn't even if he could. the best he can do is not make it worse, and he's done a pretty shitty job of that since getting here. he's not the better man, probably won’t ever be capable of coming close to it, so ditching had been the best option. it might've actually worked if he hadn't been dragged here. ]
[The worst part is, in a weird, fucked up way, he sort of understands it. Maybe not coming from Jackson, the perfect, capable kid in the lap of luxury, but explained like that, he can almost understand the reasoning.
It doesn't make it any less of a shitty thing to do. It doesn't erase years of bruises and screams and nightmares. It doesn't make any of it okay, but it's... calming, in a way, just knowing. And maybe a little of the anger dissipates, and Isaac doesn't know why it does, but the urge to beat Jackson bloody isn't quite something on the forefront of his mind anymore.
God, they are both so fucked up.]
right. are we done?
[Because he doesn't want to thank Jackson for his apology for being a douchebag, and he doesn't particularly want to accept it or forgive him either. He doesn't know what to do with it, period, so he leaves it. Done.]
[ could've gone worse. jackson can't read the tone of the response, because text is useless, but he doesn't really care. isaac's done, so is he. ]
We're done.
[ it doesn't change anything. not on jackson's side, anyway, because that distance is still there; he did awful things, he feels bad, it doesn't mean he's that much better at really empathizing. the fact is that it took murder for him to start caring, and that's telling.
but he doesn't regret it, either - the brutal honesty, the lack of forgiveness. it's fitting, and it makes sense, and that's a lot more than he can say about most things lately. ]
text :\\\\\\
i know you didnt do it on purpose
[That's about all he can grant him. Isaac has felt the pull of the moon, the bloodlust, he remembers hurting people, almost attacking Stiles- and he knows the situation isn't the same, but there's a tiny part of him that feels empathy.
Who knows where that comes from.]
text :///////
I asked for the bite.
I get what you're trying to do [ except he doesn't, not remotely ] but I don't need excuses. I know it was my fault.
[ tone doesn't carry via text, but there's nothing overly emotional in the statement. it's him taking responsibility, not a bid for more sympathy. this is what a few months away has managed, the reason he didn't really fight leaving to begin with. he'd stopped hiding from his role in what'd happened, but he was still too much of a coward to face everyone back at beacon hills and really understand what they thought of him.
which is still all about him, and it occurs to him that rejecting isaac's attempt at... whatever the hell that was isn't actually an improvement on that. so, a few seconds later: ]
But thanks.
[ if that seems weak and incredibly lame, that's because it is. ]
text ;w;
[Which is the long and short of it. He doesn't care about what Jackson feels (but maybe I'm sorry I didn't die is hard to hear anyway), which, in a way, makes him more brutally honest. He hates him. He does.
And whatever the hell this- this conversation, this argument, this something is, it doesn't change that. Jackson is sorry, sure- Jackson hates himself for killing people, that's understandable, but going to Isaac about it is strange, and it makes him feel more than a little uncomfortable.
He shouldn't. He should mock him and then hang up, but maybe Isaac has been spending too much time with Scott lately, or maybe he's just growing a little as a person, because he still doesn't do either of those things.
Even so. The next words are hard to think, harder to type out, and he almost doesn't send it anyway. It's too personal, exposes himself too much, to Jackson of all people. But Jackson has seen him vulnerable for years, and as much as Isaac tries to force it away and make him forget about it, the truth of it is always looming over his head. Jackson knew. He knew, and it shouldn't feel humiliating, but it does.]
why didnt you say anything?
text this was the worst idea also how extreme can my bracket-to-text ratio get
isaac said it himself: jackson's fucked up. there's no point in lying. ]
Because you were nothing. Because everyone has problems and expecting someone to come in and save you is for children. Because I'm not responsible for anyone.
[ the mirroring of isaac's phrasing could probably be taken as a petty dig, but it rings more hollow. jackson doesn't mean it now. he doesn't particularly care about isaac; he doesn't really care about any of them, despite everything, but he doesn't hate them. he never did, even when it was all hitting the fan, with the kidnappings and the accusations – maybe because he knew they were right, vehement denial aside. he's also not oblivious to the fact that he owes them.
what it all comes down to is that jackson knows he can't fix any of it. maybe he wouldn't even if he could. the best he can do is not make it worse, and he's done a pretty shitty job of that since getting here. he's not the better man, probably won’t ever be capable of coming close to it, so ditching had been the best option. it might've actually worked if he hadn't been dragged here. ]
text i dont know but now im really upset
It doesn't make it any less of a shitty thing to do. It doesn't erase years of bruises and screams and nightmares. It doesn't make any of it okay, but it's... calming, in a way, just knowing. And maybe a little of the anger dissipates, and Isaac doesn't know why it does, but the urge to beat Jackson bloody isn't quite something on the forefront of his mind anymore.
God, they are both so fucked up.]
right. are we done?
[Because he doesn't want to thank Jackson for his apology for being a douchebag, and he doesn't particularly want to accept it or forgive him either. He doesn't know what to do with it, period, so he leaves it. Done.]
text pro.... gress........ ????
We're done.
[ it doesn't change anything. not on jackson's side, anyway, because that distance is still there; he did awful things, he feels bad, it doesn't mean he's that much better at really empathizing. the fact is that it took murder for him to start caring, and that's telling.
but he doesn't regret it, either - the brutal honesty, the lack of forgiveness. it's fitting, and it makes sense, and that's a lot more than he can say about most things lately. ]