Redamancy(PERMANENT HIATUS)

Chapter 7

Isaac's hand rubs up and down my arm; a small, soothing motion. We're curled up against each other in Yumi and I's bed, my face nestled comfortingly against Isaac's chest and Isaac's face pressed into my hair. The party's volume has started to dwindle; the party-goers beginning to leave for the night.

"I've missed this so much." Isaac admits, pressing a gentle kiss to the crown of my head.

I huff a laugh against his chest, my eyes moving up to his face.
"I've missed this too. Yumi is a terrible bedmate. He hogs all the blankets."

Isaac smiles down at me, pressing another kiss to my forehead. The action sends lightning zipping down my spine.

"Isaac?" I ask, tilting my head to be fully looking at him.

"Hm?" He responds, moving his face from my hair and meeting my eyes.

"Earlier, you said you knew that I had feelings for you, but you still did all that stuff. Why?" My chest feels tight as I ask, as if the words were constricting my lungs.

Isaac's eyes widen slightly at the question, and his hand freezes on my arm.

"It's a lot to explain. At first I was afraid of Nick's reaction. Every time I so much as looked at you, Nick looked like he wanted to castrate me." He laughs, "But then it became more than that. I was afraid of not being good enough for you. You deserve so much, and I don't know if I can be that for you. You deserve someone who's able to relate to your struggles and help you through them. Not someone who makes them worse."

As he finishes, he presses his face back into my hair. His heart is jack-rabbiting against my chest, making his nervousness clear.

"Oh, Isaac" I whisper, wrapping my arms around his waist, "You do help me. You're one of the only people who understands how I'm feeling just by looking at me. Do you seriously think that I would send Christie to come and get you when I was overwhelmed if I didn't feel like you would help me?"

Isaac is silent for a moment, thinking my words over.

"I can't promise that I won't mess up again." He says quietly.

"Isaac," I reassure, "I don't expect you to be perfect. I expect you to be human. Messing up is part of that. If I wanted perfect, I wouldn't have moved into a house with you and the others."

At that, he finally smiles, "I just don't want to hurt you anymore."
"You won't." I promise.

His arms wrap around me tighter as he sighs, finally relaxing against me.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

After Isaac had explained, the exhaustion that I'd been fighting finally caught up to me, and I was struggling to keep my eyes open as I lay against Isaac's chest.

"Ash, I know that you're tired, but you need to change out of your party clothes." Isaac says, shaking my shoulder gently. I shake him off with a groan, pressing closer to him.
"Too tired, don't want to do that. Can we go to your room?" I ask.
He laughs and nods, before maneuvering into a sitting position. He moves around a bit more before standing beside the bed and reaching down towards me. With a single, easy movement, Isaac slides one arm around my waist, slipping the other under my knees. He hefts me up with ease, holding me carefully against his chest.
"Alright, let's get downstairs." He says, heading out the bedroom door and back into the party. Most people have cleared out, the remaining members all grouped up in the living room, having conversations about who-knows-what.

As Isaac and I make our way past them, I catch Yumi shooting me a smile and a thumbs up. I laugh in response and give him a tired thumbs up before closing my eyes and leaning back against Isaac's chest.