★彡[ ɪᴢᴢʏ'ꜱ ʜᴇʀᴍɪᴛ ʟɪꜰᴇꜱᴛʏʟᴇ ]彡★

The next day, Isabelle awoke feeling slightly better than she was yesterday, only because she would actually have a break for once. She didn't have to work or go to university and that was about as good as it got for her. 

For most of the day, she stayed at home, watching some TV and catching up with the shows that she missed during the week. It wasn't until her phone rang which woke her up from a very nice nap. 

She heard Will on the other end asking her where she was and that if she remembered the party she'd been looking forward to, at least a bit the previous day. And suddenly, Isabelle didn't feel like going out and attempting to socialise.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised to hear you've decided to keep on with your hermit lifestyle," Will said when she told him that she wouldn't be going to the party with him, Emma and Eddie.

"I'm not a hermit," Isabelle replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm just not feeling like going out right now."

"Are you sick or something?" Will asked with a hint of concern. 

"Yeah, kinda," she replied. "Maybe I'm just tired. Uni's just been a pain." 

It was true enough and something Will would be able to sympathise with. 

"Take a nap or something," Will advised. 

He paused and Isabelle could faintly hear Emma talking in the background. "Never mind, Emma says you're just being anti-social." 

Isabelle could just about hear him grinning.

"Well, that too," she admitted.

"Oh yeah, you're definitely not a hermit," Will stated in a deadpan tone.

"Shut up," Isabelle grumbled, getting up from her couch and walking to the fridge in search of something edible. "Go to your stupid party and stop harassing your poor, sick friend."

She heard Will laugh on the other end as she stared at the unimpressive contents in her fridge.

"Alright, I'll tell Emma and Eddie just how broken up you sound about having to stay home." She was sure that Will would, just like she knew that the three would complain about it the next time she saw them.

Isabelle hung up and after a quick look through her kitchen, decided that she had to go out for food. Unless she wanted to eat expired ramen noodles, that was. She really needed to go out and get some groceries. 

She shrugged on her jacket, grabbed her keys and some money. As an after thought, she grabbed the other phone that she'd tossed onto her coffee table, the one Yelena had given her, and ventured out into the chilly night in search of affordable food. 

It didn't take her long to walk down to the fast food joint. Something that Isabelle was very much glad for, mostly because of the cold weather. She opened the doors to the fast food place and walked in. 

With twenty dollars in her pocket and a sprawling menu of cheap junk food to choose from, Isabelle felt much better as she surveyed her options. Less than ten minutes later she was leaving with a paper bag full of burgers and fries. 

Quite honestly, it made her wonder how many more burgers her poor heart could take. She supposed death by takeout wouldn't be so bad.

"I seriously hope that's not an actual bag full of burgers."

The sudden voice nearly made Isabelle jump. Fortunately for her, she recognised that voice and turned to face the speaker. 

"If it makes you feel better, there's fries," Isabelle replied. "They count as veggies, right?"

The young man standing just a couple of feet behind her looked seriously unimpressed. He was about as tall as Isabelle, maybe even taller by about an inch, with light brown hair that just grazed his shoulders and eyes of a rich brown tone. 

His name was Jordan, and he had been in the same class as Isabelle the previous year. They'd also had a thing, though Isabelle thought two weeks couldn't be considered actually dating, and had managed to stay on good terms.

Isabelle wondered if it was because neither of them were much into drama.

"How are you not dead?" Jordan asked, getting closer as he hid a smile, but Isabelle could still see it even if it was just a small quirk of the lips. 

"Luck?" Even Isabelle herself didn't believe what she said. "What are you doing around here?"

"Just went out to buy some groceries." Jordan shrugged as he slightly held his bag up to her.  

The two walked together for a while just until they reached the bus stop and Jordan stopped. He didn't sit on the cold, metal bench but stood beneath the overhang and glanced down the street, but there was no sign of the bus.

"Weren't you going home?" Jordan asked her.

"I'll wait with you for a while," Isabelle replied, sitting on the bench and setting her dinner down at her side. 

"Really?" Jordan asked, trying and failing to hide a grin. "Should I be touched that I'm more important than food?" 

"Haha." Isabelle shot him a playful glare. "Next time I'll leave you alone in the cold, empty bus stop."

"Glad to see you're still as snarky as always," Jordan said. "Even if you kinda look like crap." 

"I do not!" Isabelle argued, sounding offended, not that she wasn't perfectly aware of how true Jordan's words were. 

"You keep telling yourself that," Jordan told her with a roll of his eyes.

The bus soon approached, bright lights visible in the distance. As Jordan pulled out his bus card, he paused and turned to Isabelle. 

"Seriously though, take care of yourself," Jordan said, casting a wary glance at the dark circles under his friend's eyes and her paler than usual complexion.

As the bus pulled to a stop in front of them, he leaned closer to Isabelle and left a quick kiss on her cheek. 

"I'll see you later," he said before climbing into the bus. 

Isabelle could see Jordan waving at him as the bus drove past. She waved in a daze, trying not to think of who came to mind when she felt his lips touch her skin. Scowling to herself and cursing her mind for thinking things she didn't want to, Isabelle resumed her walk home. 

She stopped at a corner to wait for the light to change, still caught up in the mess that was her thought process at the moment. She liked to think that it wouldn't be half as bad if it weren't for a group of certain vigilante people.

The light changed and Isabelle stepped off the sidewalk, her footsteps seeming to echo against the pavement. It was just a moment later that she realised that it wasn't an echo. Without turning her head more than was necessary, she glanced behind her. 

She could just make out someone walking just a couple of feet behind her. When the stranger had appeared, Isabelle couldn't tell, having been too distracted to pay much attention to anything. 

Now, however, her thoughts were fairly focused on whoever was walking behind her. 

Please don't be a crazy stalker, please don't be a crazy stalker, Isabelle thought over and over in her mind. 

She wasn't really confident that, for once in her life, her luck would actually be good, but she thought hoping wouldn't hurt. Nervously, her free hand slipped into her pocket, grasping the phone she hoped she wouldn't need to use. 

She quickly dialled the number and sped up, thinking of the best possible way to defend herself with a bag of fast food. Her options were painfully limited. And as much as she was trying not to panic, the moment she felt a hand grab her shoulder with a tight grip, Isabelle felt as though her heart would burst from how quickly it was beating. 

Not knowing what else to do and not stopping to think about what would happen if it was just some random guy trying to ask her for some directions, Isabelle turned and literally beat the man on the head with a bag full of burgers. 

Granted, she didn't expect to cause much damage, but at least she'd do something. To her surprise, the man actually let out a displeased grunt and released Isabelle, stumbling back, probably more out of surprise than anything else.

Isabelle was stunned for only a moment that it actually worked as she turned, meaning to get away. But her victory was short lived as she felt the guy pulling on her coat, practically tossing her back onto the pavement. 

She hit her head hard, feeling her vision get blurry and her ears rang, something that didn't improve when the other man's fist slammed onto her cheek, knocking her head back against the ground. 

Isabelle caught a glimpse of a vaguely familiar yet blurry face beneath the hood of a jacket as a bright light from a car flashed across them. A moment later, she felt a sharp flash of pain to the side of her head and her vision went black.