From The Other Side

15. marcus

FIFTEEN
marcus

Thursday, March 20th

It had been raining all week, and Isaiah was starting to get antsy. He hadn't been able to play baseball for what he deemed far too long. He never usually bit his nails, but he seemed to be doing it a lot more lately.

Practice was still cancelled, but he managed to convince Steve and Ashton to go to the cages with him. Ashton was reluctant, as he'd bought a new video game he wanted to play, but Isaiah persuaded him by promising to buy him something to eat afterward, and just like that, the game was shoved to the back of his mind.

"My shoes are gonna get dirty," Ashton complained as they walked to the cages. The gravel crunched underneath their feet, and Isaiah couldn't tell if he liked or hated the sound. "I just bought them."

Steve snorted and glanced at his shoes. They were so white that it actually hurt to look at them. "Your fault for buying white ass shoes. Have fun washing them."

"Fuck you, too, then."

"He's right, though," Isaiah commented, shrugging his shoulders.

Ashton pursed his lips. "I know that. But still, fuck you."

Isaiah grinned. "Someone's cranky. Who pissed in your cereal this morning?"

"Okay, first of all, I had oatmeal. Not cereal. And secondly, I'm not cranky. You two are just annoying."

"That's rude," Isaiah replied, faking a saddened look. Ashton took one glance at him and scoffed, mumbling a quiet 'dumbass' as he picked up his pace, leaving them behind.

                     After a few silent moments, Steve whispered, "He's definitely cranky," and Isaiah laughed. Steve chuckled too, a sound Isaiah quickly realized he didn't hear all that much. He glanced at him with an arched eyebrow.

"You seem happy," he commented. Steve hummed, shrugging his shoulders and sliding his hands inside his pockets.

"Do I?"

"Yeah." Then at Steve's silence, he shot him a teasing grin. "Is it because of Morgan?"

Steve scowled. "Die."

Isaiah gaped at him. "Rude," he responded, offended. "But that just proves I'm right. You're welcome, by the way, for bringing up plants."

Steve narrowed his eyes. "You're bringing up Morgan, that means I can bring up August."

Isaiah frowned and felt his walls coming up again. "That's different."

"How so? They're both crushes."

"I don't like him, Steve. I'm not interested in anyone. And even if I was into him, it's still different. It's not as easy."

"It is when he also swings that way."

"Now is not the time for baseball puns," Isaiah grumbled.

Steve blinked. "Oh shit, that was an accident, I swear." He still snorted in amusement, slapping a hand over his mouth at the realization. "Oh my God."