Trip Hazard

Cherry Chapstick

Isaac

I can finally breathe when I see Brody's driving his car this time, not his motorbike. Thank the actual fuck. You'd have to bribe me with a lot of garlic bread for me to get back on that death trap.

He gets out and I give him a cheesy grin from where I'm sitting on my doorstep. I don't run up to him, in fact I walk deliberately slow so I can watch him looking at me hungrily. I giggle in anticipation. I may be moving a little too slowly however, because in a way that's quite unlike Brody he speeds up and closes the gap, pressing his lips to mine.

Has he put on chapstick? I bite his lip a little, he thinks it's in a romantic way, and groans in response but really I just want a taste test. Hmm, I never really pinned him as a cherry guy, but I'm not mad at it. He tastes pretty fucking good. When we break away, I for one am sad, but eager to get going. It's an exciting day.

Brody holds my door open for me as usual, so I clamber in easily. I shuffle across and open his door from the inside for him. This kind of thing goes both ways.

He drives along at a speed that always makes me squeamish, so I grip his thigh for support. Oh, who am I kidding? You and I both know I grip his thigh because it feels fucking good, but it's a bit of a stretch because my arms really aren't that long. He thinks so too, judging by his lopsided grin. We sit in a comfortable silence the entire way.

When we arrive, I can only see Noah hovering around a corner. He's grinning ear to ear, which makes me pick up my pace. I actually can't wait to meet the girl that Noah spends half his life talking about.

However, when I round the corner I'm totally shocked. I do not see the curly haired brunette that I'm hoping to see. Quite the opposite.

"Elijah?" My voice is so questioning it raises several octaves.

"The one and only." He smirks, lollipop in his mouth. He pushes away from the wall he was leaning against and joins Noah. Definitely not Clara.

"Of fucking course." Brody mutters.

"But?..." I trail off, looking at Noah. He just shrugs in defeat.

"Clara's flatmate's really ill, so she needed to stay up there and look after her. She apologises, she really wanted to meet you."

I don't try to hide my disappointment. It's beginning to feel like I'll never meet her. She's just always busy or far away, it sucks, I want to know if she's as good as giving hugs as Noah is. Is that so much to ask?

"Aw, that sucks, maybe we can call her later?" I suggest hopefully. Nosy Isaac making a reappearance, it seems.

"Let's see if we're still on speaking terms after ice-skating," Noah pokes me and jibes. No word of a lie, I can tell he's going to be competitive, he's already wiggling his eyebrows, and he only does that when he's serious about something. He carries on explaining himself.

"So because I didn't want to cancel our plans, and I certainly was not going to be a third wheel because that sucks, I called Eli." Ah yes, he did get shoved into a wall that one time he was with Brody and I. Brody just raises a shoulder in a loose apology.

"Good, because I'm ready to skate losers!" I chime in.

"Exactly, and I thought, I may not have my girlfriend with me, but I have my two best friends!" He grins, then after a hot second his eyes widen. "And you, Brody of course. Sorry." He looks genuinely upset that he forgot him.

"I'm thoroughly devastated." Brody says deadpan. I giggle, especially as Noah doesn't look quite as apologetic now.

"So Eli, do you like ice-skating?" I enquire. Clara may not be here but Elijah is, and that's definitely a good thing too. Noah snorts.