Without The Thought of Him

one week and three days ago

"Isaac, could you grab the bag of potatoes from the cupboard? They're below the granola bars."

Usually he would be reluctant to ever help out in the kitchen, knowing everything he attempted to cook or help out with ended up tasting like shit. He did not have any type of cooking gene in his body, so he usually let his mom or his sisters help out with that kind of stuff.

But it was Thanksgiving, one of his all time favorite holidays. There was no way he was missing out on the opportunity to get a taste of what he was going to devour in a couple of hours.

Of course Isaac hated the history of the holiday, which was ironic because he literally disliked why one of his favorite holidays was created. Obviously he didn't support genocides or racism in any form, but fuck, did he love food.

So it takes him no time to launch himself from the couch and go into the kitchen where his mom and his youngest sister, Alexis, were frantically grating cheese. He flattens his dark green button-up shirt against his chest, trying his best to not look too smug when he entered. His mom beams when he appears and his sister wrinkles her nose as she looks him up and down.

"You're not wearing that tonight, right? You look like a K-Pop singer." she snorts and Isaac rolls his eyes. He should've known wearing something other than joggers and a hoodie would get him attention, whether that be positive or negative.

"Come on you two, no bickering today. You should be thankful for each other." their mom hums out with a sweet, small smile, causing the two to roll their eyes and groan out.

"Alright, alright. What did you need again? Oh yeah--potatoes." he hums and turns around to head to the cupboard. He was not about to listen to his mom recite inspirational quotes about the beauty of Thanksgiving.

He ends up spending the majority of his afternoon washing and peeling potatoes, which wasn't exactly what he wanted to do. But it kept him busy and definitely got his mind off of stuff.

After the potatoes were mashed and drenched in way too much butter, Isaac decides to disappear upstairs and change his outfit. Alexis was right, his choice of top was way too bold for the dinner table. He'd never actually wear something like this and he didn't want his entire family thinking he was permanently dressing this good from now on.

As soon as he reaches his bedroom, the first thing he does is grab his phone to check for any notifications. Usually he got some after posting on Twitter, especially from Sandra hyping him the fuck up whenever he posted a selfie. He does see a lot of her messages, but he also sees a direct message from @samnelson7.

He blinks, lifting the phone closer to his face so he could make sure he was really seeing what he thought he saw. Yeah, he got a DM from Sam.

His heart rate picks up as he unlocks his phone and goes onto Twitter. He ignores all of the notifications from his other friends, going straight to the DM tab. Isaac bites down firmly on his bottom lip, reading over the boy's message. He reads it over again, and then a third time after that.

looking good Isaac. i love that shirt!

Isaac couldn't stop reading the words, feeling his face go red and his heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to pop out of his fucking chest. The love of his life just complimented him. Twice. Sam thought he looked so good that he took the time out of his Thanksgiving to direct message him and to tell him it.

Isaac wasn't sure what he was supposed to do now. Obviously he had to reply with something, but the difficult part was with what.

thanks, you already know i had to wear something besides sweatpants to the dining room

He stares at the message that he types out, finger hovering over the 'send' button when he realizes that was way too personal for just a friend. Were they even friends? Who fucking knew.

Isaac sighs out softly, deleting all of his message and starts over again.

thanks man, i appreciate it :)

He sends it without another thought, knowing his mind could literally take control of the whole situation if he let it. He sets his phone back to where it was charging and walks over to his full-length mirror, eyeing himself and the outfit he was wearing. Sam liked it, why the fuck not just leave it on?

It was honestly silly because Sam wasn't even going to see him at all tonight, so why keep it on if others, including himself, found it uncomfortable?

Fuck it, he was leaving the shirt on.

He quickly turns around and makes his way into his bathroom to brush his teeth and style his hair a bit more than before. He couldn't believe a simple message from somebody could make him feel so good and so confident, but it did. He can't stop smiling as he moves about the bathroom, eyeing himself in the mirror.

This positive energy definitely sticks around when guests begin to arrive, Isaac actually smiling and initiating a lot of the conversations he was having with adults.

Hell, Samuel needed to compliment him more often.