Isaac’s friends were officially overprotective psychos and Jared wanted to die. Or alternatively disappear. Anything to remove himself from this God-awful situation, sat stiffly on Isaac’s bed with the girl called Keira not even trying to hide her glare (directed straight towards him) while Callum and Lily brought Isaac up to speed on the gossip of his old school.
“Are you into theatre stuff, Jared?” asked Lily suddenly, smiling politely at him. He felt like squirming.
“Er, nope. Not really the drama type.”
“Drama type?” muttered Keira in disgust. Jared resolutely ignored her.
“Oh.” Lily remained smiling. Her permanent outward pleasantness was almost more unnerving than Keira’s glaring. “Well. Keira and I are, but Callum’s with you on that front, aren’t you Cal?”
She shot Callum a look that seemed to say ‘come on, involve the outsider in the conversation- it’s only polite!’.
“The production was really lame last year anyway,” said Callum, stretching out on the rug. “Isaac, did you hear about what happened to Henry Islington?”
Ten minutes later and the tension between Jared and his old friends seemed to be getting to even Isaac. He got up, faux-casual, and stretched.
“I’m gonna go make us some tea- you wanna come help J?”
Thank God, thought Jared, making to jump up. He was beaten, however, by Lily.
“It’s alright,” she said sweetly. “I’ll help.”
Isaac shrugged.
“Sure,” he said, meeting Jared’s eye and doing another, minute little shrug just for him (complete with the trademark Isaac smirk).
That left him with just Callum and Keira.
“She is so fucking annoying,” exploded Keira as soon as Lily left the room. Jared blinked.
“Is there anyone you don’t find so fucking annoying?” he asked dryly. “And also, what? I thought you guys were all friends.”
Keira’s eyes shot daggers at him, while Callum laughed.
“Keira and Lil are definitely not friends. They’re like, polar opposites.”
Jared frowned.
“And? Sometimes polar opposites get on.”
“Oh, like you and Isaac?” Keira demanded, getting all sassy and sitting up straight. Jared frowned even more. He could feel himself getting defensive.
“Yeah, like me and Isaac,” he said, and for a moment Keira’s glare dissipated. Then she leant forward slightly.
“You’d better not just be friends with him for his- homework, or whatever. You probably don’t see but he’s not always as happy as he seems and he doesn’t deserve somebody using him. He’s been through a lot recently.”
“Yeah, I know,” snapped Jared, appalled. “Of course I’m not fucking using him for his homework; this isn’t Year 7!” He got up. “I’m going to go help with the tea.”
Keira nodded, folding her arms.
“Just be careful with him, okay?” she said.
“Fuck off,” muttered Jared, and left the room with anger burning through his veins. Okay, so he wasn’t the most outwardly-nice guy ever, but that didn’t mean strangers could imply he was a total douchebag. And not to Isaac. It’d been such a long time since he was truly mean to Isaac and he just- he didn’t fucking appreciate people insinuating that he’d hurt him now.
When he reached the kitchen it was to Isaac being lectured in hissed whispers while the kettle boiled loudly in the background. Lily had hold of both his arms and was whispering something that Jared couldn’t quite hear (not only was the kettle on but the radio as well, a soft murmur to the side), sounding urgent and sort of angry. Her smile was completely gone. Isaac looked miserable, eyes on the ground like when his mum’d been scolding him. He was hunched over slightly like he wanted to disappear, and suddenly Jared hated Lily.
“I’ve come to help!” he announced loudly, shooting her an obnoxious beam as she dropped her hands from Isaac’s forearms. She blinked, and then fixed her smile back on.
“D’you think you could come back in a minute Jared? We’re just talking-”
“It’s fine,” interrupted Isaac. “We’re done.” Jared watched him swallow, the tension clear in his crossed arms and tight jaw. He moved to the kettle and turned it off - and without the loud boiling sound, the music on the radio became just audible.
“You wanna know something about me that no-one else knows?” Jared asked Isaac impulsively, not really caring that Lily was still in the room. And maybe this was what having a proper friend was like- caring enough not to care. He just wanted Isaac to unfold again.
Isaac gave a small, weak smile, and tilted his head.
“Do you even need to ask? Of course I do.”
“Okay, so, here’s some Spencer trivia for you. And don’t spread this, because it’s like probably the worst thing ever about me.” He grinned, and then said quickly, “Cosmo and I kinda-may-have once entered a talent show as a gymnastics double act. To this song.”
Isaac started laughing.
“Oh my god. No. You’re joking.”
“Uh huh. One of those things I fucking wish I could erase from my memory.”
“Oh my god,” cackled Isaac. “Wait, what’s the song? I can’t hear it. Turn it up.”
Jared reached and did as asked, turning it up so loud that he couldn’t hear Lily’s protests. Isaac started laughing even harder, half-collapsing over the kitchen island, and shot him a smile so bright and amused and grateful that he couldn’t help but grin back, biting his lip.
“I can’t imagine it. Demonstrate,” shouted Isaac, turning to lean his back against the island.
“NO. FUCKING. WAY,” shouted back Jared. Lily looked scandalised. She yelled something that looked suspiciously like, “Turn it down! The neighbours!”.
Isaac and Jared ignored her, Jared going for the cupboard with the mugs in as Isaac started dancing around to the music, all long limbs and stupid, clumsy adorableness. When Jared turned round with a stack of five mugs it was to Isaac pointing sassily at him and singing,
“I'm burning through the sky, yeah! Two hundred degrees; that's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit!”
And Jared hadn’t sung out loud in front of someone since his dad left, but he put the mugs down and sang right back, and it was like they were in some cheesy CBBC program but Jared didn’t fucking care.
He threw the teabags in while outright dancing, and grinning because Lily’s mouth was actually hanging open. Isaac threw open the fridge and got the milk out, pausing to use it as a microphone and sing at Jared that he was gonna make a supersonic woman of him. Jared just burst out laughing, and then Callum and Keira were in the doorway too, gaping.
“Bet my dancing is better than your gymnastics routine,” shot Isaac with a whimsical grin. Jared shook his head.
“Nothing is better than my gymnastics routine,” he said, but then Isaac started to play air guitar and he thought maybe he’d have to take that statement back.
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...
