sorry for the late update!!
In the afternoon Jared managed to persuade Isaac away from his revision (“even you can’t work on Christmas fucking eve, Isaac”) and to the pool house across the courtyard. As they walked over the cobbles, towels and swimming trunks in hand, Jared spotted Cosmo and Stella coming down the drive in their direction. He caught Isaac’s arm with a grin and Isaac turned to waggle his eyebrows suggestively, smile wide and delighted. Cosmo looked like all his wishes ever had just been granted.
“That’s my boy,” said Jared amusedly, quiet enough so Cosmo and Stella couldn’t hear it.
“Hey Jared,” came Stella’s voice. She looked just as amazing as always, golden hair up in a high ponytail and smile bright across her clear face. “Haven’t seen you in a while. Who’s this?”
Her English was flawless with that slight French accent that twelve-year-old Jared used to find devastating before he grew immune and realised that Cosmo was more invested than Jared had ever been. It was still nice, sure, but other accents were better- like Isaac’s Irish with French, that was- some girls would find it adorable.
“I’m Isaac,” said Isaac with a smile. “Nice to meet you. Stella, right?”
Cos and Stella asked what they were doing and when they heard ‘pool’, rushed off to get their swimming stuff. Quarter of an hour later and they were splashing around in the heated water, Cos having upended the barrel of pool toys into the water so that there were woggles and floats bobbing all around them like brightly-coloured ships. Stella swam gracefully into the deep end and Jared took the opportunity to ask his brother,
“So? Success?”
Cosmo grinned bashfully, blushing as he grabbed a passing float and said,
“Yeah. She said we can go for coffee after Boxing Day.”
“Dude!” exclaimed Jared proudly. “Good job.”
Isaac swam up beside him and emerged grinning.
“I heard success?” he said, and offered Cosmo a high five because, just, Isaac.
------------o------------
They played at woggle races and dunking each other and all these stupid, childish things that made Jared feel silly and ridiculous and blithe. Cosmo got out and did a tsunami-generating cannon ball from the small diving board. Waves covered Jared, and he ducked into the water before coming up breathless, shaking his hair and looking round for Cosmo to get revenge.
But his eyes didn’t find Cosmo. Instead they found Isaac, poised on the diving board with his careless smile and bright eyes, dark wet curls and water glittering on his sunlit skin. He was beautiful, Jared realised, and his stomach flipped in panic...because Jared was utterly sober, this time, and Isaac was beautiful.
YOU ARE READING
Invincible
Teen Fiction"I didn't know you had friends like Isaac," Willa said in greeting. "I don't," muttered Jared. Isaac rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you don't. You have //one// friend like Isaac." His voice turned into this stupid mock whisper and he leaned towards Jared c...
