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cafe au lait

"ASPEN?"

I turned, meeting the wide blue eyes of Sebastian Georges.

It had been two days since that humiliating incident on the soccer fields. When I'd woken up in the library, Isaac had stayed behind, skipping class while I shuffled to English.

We quickly returned to our routine of not speaking to each other.

I was beginning to become used to it.

That didn't stop me from staring longingly at him in the halls like an absolute creep. Could you blame me? He was like a Greek God, with his tousled dark hair and glowing tanned skin. His leather jacket reminded me of the smell of his cologne.

My heart raced at the mere thought of him.

I blinked, forcing myself to focus on the blond mess of curls in front of me. He stood over me as I sat in my usual corner of the art room. His brow slightly arched and his lips pressed in an awkward, querying smile.

"Sebastian," I finally sputtered, eyes wide.

"I'm sorry," he gushed before I could say anything more. "I was stupid the other day. I shouldn't have pressured you like that in front of everyone. That's on me."

My expression softened into a small smile. He stared down at me, his eyes sorry and his mouth tugged into a frown.

I turned to face the ground.

"It's fine, really," I replied timidly. "Don't worry about it."

Sebastian's face broke into a grin of relief and he slid into the seat beside me.

"Thank God, I was scared you hated me now."

I laughed quietly and jokingly said, "Don't test me, though."

"Do you want to pair up again, today?" He asked with a grin, already opening his sketchbook as if expecting me to say yes.

It wasn't like I had a choice. I had no one else to partner up with in this class. I was always the odd one out.

I opened my mouth to reply when a voice interrupted me.

"She already agreed to pair with me."

I turned to meet the green eyes of none other than Isaac Hensick.

I hadn't seen him at lunch last period and definitely didn't expect him to turn up to class. I hated the way my heart hiccupped at his voice. He stood beside me, watching Sebastian with a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes.

Sebastian raised his brows. "When?"

"Does it matter?" Isaac spat, his gaze hardening.

Sebastian's eyes widened and he stood from his seat. "Shit, Isaac. Okay, fine."

His gaze turned to me and he sent me a lopsided grin. "See ya, Aspen."

He gathered his belongings and turned to leave, his friends quickly shouting after him on the other side of the classroom. I watched as Sebastian paired with another boy before returning my focus to Isaac.

Isaac's eyes trained on me as he sat beside me, pulling out his sketchpad as Ms Laney blabbered on about our instructions for the day.

We were silent for a minute. Today's activity entailed sketching a still life, with each pair using a different prop. In front of us rested a basket of fake apples.

I focused on the apples, sketching circles onto my page and shading in random places in an attempt to make it look less like a five-year old child's shot at art.

Beside me, Isaac sketched slowly, his hands moving gracefully in calculated, smooth movements. Even though we were supposed to be sketching the still life, I couldn't help but peek over at Isaac every few minutes.

My eyes flickered to him for the dozenth time that lesson to find him smirking back at me.

I blushed, spinning to face the apples again.

"Surprised to see you back in class today," I stammered, trying to make it look like I was only trying to converse.

He continued to smirk, seeing right through my bluff, and sent me a casual shrug.

"I just thought we haven't really been speaking much lately," he said.

I blinked. I had thought I was the only one who noticed – the only one who missed our conversations, even if they were short and most of the time awkward.

I realised he was staring at me and I hadn't replied.

"Well, I mean, you don't come to class – which is totally fine by the way. And, you know, we both have our own friends and I guess responsibilities and commitments, so sometimes it can be hard, and it's not a big deal. We're talking now, anyway. Am I talking too much? I feel like I'm talking too much," I found myself rambling.

Isaac smirked at me in reply.

"Aspirin," he said. "You always talk too much."

I blushed, fiddling with my sketch pencil. "I'm sorry."

He smiled wider in response. "I like it."

I could feel the blush creep up my neck and stain my ears. He noticed, his eyes trained on my face, our sketchpads long discarded, and sent me a smug grin.

I grew warm under his gaze, my heart speeding up. I thought of how he'd hugged me in his arms, of how he remembered my order and bought me coffee. I thought of how he'd lent me his jacket, how he whispered in my ears.

I thought of Lacey.

"So," I began after a moment, curiosity getting the better of me. "What's happening with you and Lacey?"

Isaac's face fell into a neutral expression and I momentarily regretted bringing her up. He shrugged.

"Nothing."

I sent him a pointed look and he laughed.

"Seriously, nothing is happening. We decided we're better as friends."

I had to stop myself from snorting. Friends. Lacey didn't stay friends with people for long – especially not with hot, tall, tanned, dimpled boys like Isaac.

I opened my mouth to debate him when the bell sounded. I blinked in disbelief. The lesson had felt so short. I packed my sketchpad up alongside Isaac when he turned to me.

"Walk you to your locker?" he asked.

I fought the grin that stretched across my face, trying not to seem too eager. "Sure."

We walked out of the class side by side. His backpack was slung off one shoulder while I wore mine with both straps, my sketchbook clutched close to my chest.

We walked through the corridors, teasing each other about our artworks and knocking elbows.

The halls were full of students stopping by their lockers in the rush to get home. We passed them, students pausing and turning to watch us. Probably wondering why Isaac was lowering his standards from Lacey and Chloe to someone like me.

We reached my locker in seconds. William stood leaning beside my locker, his eyes growing wide when he noticed me walking with none other than Isaac Hensick.

"Aspen," William sputtered out, his wide eyes flickering between me and Isaac.

"Hey," I smiled, pausing to open my locker.

Beside me, Isaac came to a pause, leaning beside the locker and looking William up and down. His jaw set.

William practically trembled beside him. I had to stifle a laugh.

"What time do I go to yours again?" I asked, snapping him out of his daze.

Isaac raised his brows.

"Five," William replied. "Earlier if you can. Don't forget the KitKats and Skittles. She won't forgive you if you don't bring any."

I laughed, remembering the last time I'd forgotten to bring them to a movie night. Riley had gone on a hunger strike, refusing to eat anything the entire night and refusing to speak to us until the next day when I had bought her all the KitKats and Skittles, she could want.

Granted, we were eleven years old, but I never made that mistake again.

"Noted," I said, slamming my locker shut and shrugging my backpack on my shoulders to make it sit more comfortably.

Isaac leaned forward.

"You guys are meeting after school?"

I laughed. We'd been meeting after school almost every other day since we'd met.

"Yeah, we're best friends," I said. "Besides, we're throwing a surprise party for Riley's birthday."

Isaac's shoulders sagged as if in relief.

"Oh, right," he said with a small chuckle. "Well happy birthday to her."

I smiled, opening my mouth to say goodbye when William spoke.

"You should come."

My eyes widened and I spun to face him, sending him a look that clearly said, 'What the hell are you doing?'

William ignored my look.

"Really?" Isaac asked, quirking a brow, and William nodded frantically.

I clenched my jaw. There was no way Isaac would want to waste his Friday night hanging out with... us. I loved my friends, but we could get pretty weird when we were together.

We were an acquired taste.

Besides, I was sure Isaac had much more 'cool guy' things to do on a Friday night than eat Skittles and watch rom coms.

That's why I was so surprised when Isaac opened his mouth and said, "Sure."

I blinked in disbelief, my jaw turning slack.

"Great!" William grinned. He sent me a hopeful look and suddenly it all clicked together.

He didn't want to be a third wheel with me and Riley. He wanted me to be stuck with Isaac. He wanted Riley to himself.

I had to give it to him, it was smart. It was a great excuse for him to sit next to Riley all night and chat her ear off without her trying to include me.

"Great," I echoed finally, turning to smile at Isaac. "Well, I'm sure William will send you all the details. I have some Skittles to go buy."

I turned to walk down the hallway towards the exit, already beginning to overthink what will happen tonight – already overthinking how I was going to have to struggle to make conversation the entire night.

"Wait!" Isaac was beside me in seconds, his shoes squeaking next to mine. "Wait up, Aspirin."

"What?" I asked, not stopping. He walked next to me, quickly outpacing my steps with his long legs.

"Let me drive you."

"What?"

"Let me drive you. We're going to the same place anyway, right?"

I paused, blinking. "I guess..."

"So," he concluded with a smirk. "Let me drive you. As a thank you for the invitation."

I laughed, "William invited you. Maybe you should go hop in a car with him."

"Oh, right, see ya then." He turned to walk away from me.

"Wait!" I shouted, spinning to stop him.

He stopped a smug smirk tugging on his lips. "Oh, so now you want a ride?"

I blushed and rolled my eyes, a small smile playing on my mouth.

"Let's go, Aspirin," and he stepped past me, striding nonchalantly towards the double door exits.

I swallowed my anxiety, taking a deep breath through my nose, and followed him.

Isaac slid into the driver's seat, starting the engine with a hum and immediately switching the radio on. I blushed, remembering the day he had driven me home after I'd become a blubbering mess at Arthur Andrew's party.

I released a shaky breath and tugged on the handle of the passenger door. I quickly hopped in, buckling my seat belt and was instantly hit with the smell of Isaac's cologne.

"Alright," Isaac said, beginning to pull out of the parking lot. "Where to?"

I blinked, trying to ignore how close Isaac was to me. How his fingers gripped the steering wheel, how he placed his hand behind my seat while reversing.

"Well," I sputtered finally. "I need to buy some classic movie night snacks. Could we stop by Marty's on Hayes Street?"

Isaac nodded, taking a sharp right and driving towards the supermarket. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel to the rap song playing on the radio. I felt so aware in my body beside him and desperately felt the need to fill the silence.

"Rap, huh?"

Isaac blinked, "What?"

"You like rap?"

He threw me a look. "Yeah, I guess."

"Cool."

I really made it more awkward, didn't I?

I cleared my throat, turning to watch the buildings pass by us outside the window, trying to stop myself from staring at Isaac as he drove. Hayes Street wasn't far from the school. It would be a ten-minute drive at most, with this after school traffic.

Besides, it was close to William's. I had worked there every summer since I was fourteen for some extra money to pay for my daily coffees. It really added up, even with Vivienne's student discounts.

"You guys do this often?"

I blinked, moving my focus back to Isaac. He glanced at me in the corner of his eye.

"You know, throw surprise birthdays for each other, have movie nights."

"Oh," my voice sounded croaky and strained. I coughed. "Yeah, always. I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not much of the party type."

Isaac barked out a laugh. "Really? You had me fooled."

"I know, I just looked like the biggest party animal hiding in that bedroom hyperventilating," I teased back with an eyeroll. "I'm just multi-dimensional like that."

Isaac grinned at me, his cheeks dimpling as he glanced between me and the road.

The car began rolling to a stop as he turned into the parking lot at Marty's, parking the car near the entrance. I tried to ignore the disappointment I felt at having arrived already. I wished it was a longer drive. I wanted to keep sitting here, joking like this.

Isaac slid out of the door as I unbuckled my seat belt. Before I knew it, he had jogged around to my door and held it open with a grin and a dramatic gesture towards the supermarket.

"Miss Aspirin," he spoke with a posh British accent. "Welcome to Marty's Mini Mart."

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a u t h o r ' s n o t e

next time: Aspen and Isaac shopping together, and then shit goes down at Riley's birthday

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