From The Other Side

18. new

EIGHTEEN
new

Saturday, March 29th

If Isaiah still had queries about whether or not August knew about his crush, he definitely didn't anymore. Not after that. He'd made it so obvious how badly he wanted to kiss him. Oh God.

Isaiah heard August's frustrated sigh, a little further away than he was before. "Sorry," the blond muttered, then there was shifting, and he was behind Isaiah once again. The speed at which his heart was pounding couldn't be healthy. He absently placed his hand over it; he could feel it thrumming against his palm. Or perhaps it was just his imagination.

"You okay?" August asked, reaching a hand out to touch Isaiah's shoulder. His heart jumped. "Isaiah? I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortabe. Really. If you want, we can forget about it."

Do you want to forget about it? I don't. But if you do... "It's fine," Isaiah whispered, his voice wobbling with anxiety. The good kind of anxiety. "I'm not, um, uncomfortable. I just—" He blew out a rush of air, too embarrassed to even meet August's gaze. He was a nervous wreck.

August was quiet for a few seconds before he finally said: "Let's just forget about it, yeah?"

"No." Isaiah covered his hand with his mouth as soon as he said it, squeezing his eyes shut. Stop talking, stupid. "I'm sorry. I—I don't want to forget about it. God, I can't think. I'm sorry, shit."

"Hey," August murmured, and then his hand was pressing against Isaiah's cheek, turning his head to face him. His thumb brushed against his cheekbone, gently, and Isaiah was sure he looked like a total fucking idiot. "Don't worry about it. Go at your own pace."

Isaiah didn't want to go at his own pace. He wanted to answer the endless questions that kept running around in his head, like what would it be like to kiss him? Does he feel the same? Would things go to shit if I admitted my feelings? He wanted to kiss him like his heart was begging him to. He wanted to hold his hand, go on dates, tell him how amazing he was. He wanted to do all that couple-y shit right then and there, so badly. But his limbs were frozen in place.

If Cody hadn't barged in, would we have kissed? Or would I have chickened out?

Isaiah found himself leaning into August's touch. If August found it weird, he'd blame it on sleep deprivation. But if he didn't, well, what then?

August let out a quiet laugh, snapping Isaiah out of his thoughts. He blinked up at the blond, confused as to why he was laughing. Did Isaiah look as stupid as he thought he did?

"What?"

August grinned. "Your cheeks are so warm," he teased, cradling Isaiah's face in both hands. His thumbs swiped underneath his eyes and across his cheekbones. Isaiah was melting in his palms, and it was so fucking embarrassing, but in that moment he didn't care. He just wanted August to hold him like that forever.

There was silence between them, a comfortable one, yet it was filled with a tension that made the hairs on his arms stand up, a pleasant shiver running down his spine. August slid one hand down to the area between his jaw and neck, his other one pulling away to settle underneath his own chin. His finger pressed against Isaiah's bottom lip, and his bright eyes shifted from his lips to his gaze, soft, yet piercing. Isaiah felt like he was running out of breath, and he never thought it'd feel so good.