A/N: i recommend playing Livin' on a Prayer by Bon Jovi before or during this chapter!
enjoy ;)
—
"Ow, Jackie!" I said, rubbing my head where she had hit me harshly with a pillow. I looked at her as she tossed the pillow down beside me.
"Dude, get up!" she exclaimed, turning to her dresser to put on deodorant.
I slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes. I stretched, looking at my sister, "What time is it?"
"Almost 9."
My eyes widened, "Why am I up so early on a Saturday?"
"It's not early." Jackie shook her head, "And the Walters are taking us somewhere so get up and get dressed. I already ate but there's breakfast downstairs."
"Where are they taking us?"
"Don't know. They just said to bring a jacket."
I scrunched my nose. Three weeks had passed since Katherine's award ceremony and it was now early April. Spring was in full bloom and the weather started to clear up. Here in Colorado, spring was definitely the most beautiful season here.
"But it's not even cold." I said, throwing the blankets off of me.
Jackie shrugged, "That's what I said."
After hurriedly changing and getting ready, then going to the bathroom to brush my teeth, I went to the kitchen with Jackie. Mostly everyone was down there already eating pancakes.
"Finally, she's awake." Benny exclaimed, throwing his hands up.
Katherine turned, a mug of coffee in her hand, "Y/n, good morning. How did you sleep?"
"Great." I smiled.
"How many pancakes do you want?" George asked me.
"Two, please." I replied, accepting the plate from him. I set my plate down at the table before going to the fridge to get orange juice, "Jackie said we're going somewhere?"
"Oh yes! We're going-"
"Shh! It has to be a surprise, Mom." Parker said, cutting between us to grab a piece of bacon. Katherine and I laughed as I continued to pour my drink.
"Sorry. I guess it's a surprise until we get there." Katherine said.
"It's okay. I just need to know, is what I'm wearing okay? Or should I change?" I asked, looking down at my outfit and closing the refrigerator door again.
Before Katherine could answer, someone beat her to it, "I think what you're wearing is fine but baggy jeans probably won't go good with where we're going."
I turned around and there was Isaac, coming inside form the side door. He had a navy blue t-shirt on and was in light wash jeans with his Timberlands.
Before I continue with my story, let me back up a few weeks.
After my near kiss with Isaac on the day of Katherine's ceremony, I realized that I indeed had developed a little bit of feelings for Isaac...
Okay, that's an understatement.
When I finally figured out that I had liked him, after all this time, I didn't know how to react. All this time, I had claimed to despise him and even taken into calling him a creature (which he still very much was, just in a not-so-despicable way anymore), and now I saw him as the complete opposite.
I had become completely enthralled with him. The way he dressed, how he talked, how he laughed with his stupid smirk. I had done a complete 360, and my mind was on him 24/7.
But in the last three weeks — Absolutely. Nothing. Happened.
After my realization, I found myself not knowing how to act when he was around. Do I act flirty? Do I act the exact same?
He had taken into acting completely normal, as if nothing had happened. We were acting like complete frenemies as we had been for a few weeks now, but I just thought that maybe...maybe things would've changed...
And honestly, I was going insane. Here I was, freaking out over this guy that literally lived two rooms down from me, and here he was, acting as if nothing happened? Can you believe that?
Still, I crossed my arms, perfectly executing my role of not caring, "You're wearing baggy jeans though."
"Yeah, but I'm a guy. Obviously I can't wear tights." he gave me a funny look. Then, he turned to the island and picked up my glass of orange juice and began to chug it.
"Hey!" I quickly rushed over, trying to grab my juice from him but he held his arm out, pushing me away. He kept chugging until there was none left and he let out a loud sigh.
"That was delicious."
"That wasn't yours." I said, shoving him in his arm.
"Yeah but it always taste better when I know its yours." he smirked and I felt my stomach flutter.
"Isaac, that wasn't nice. Go serve her some more." Katherine ordered. He kept his eyes on me as he walked to the refrigerator and grabbed the juice once more.
"Everyone we're leaving in thirty so be ready and outside or were leaving without you." George announced and was met with everyone's nods and sounds of approval.
The room then went into different conversations and people maneuvering their way around the kitchen. Everything was fine until Jordan yelled.
"Isaac, stop taking my juice!"
—
Just as George had said, we each piled into two cars and took off to wherever we were heading about thirty minutes later. I had changed into flared leggings and a short sleeve with a light jacket on top.
I had no idea where we were going, and the only way I could make sure my outfit was acceptable for the occasion was to have Parker approve my outfit...which made me incredibly scared. Parker, while we did get along really well, was very sneaky and loved to pull pranks on everyone, including me. We could be going scuba diving for all I know and it'd be her fault that a shark caught onto my jacket.
As we sat in the car however, Danny drove and I sat in shotgun, once again kicking Isaac to the very back. Cole was no where to be seen.
Since his behavior at the ceremony, he had been M.I.A. most of the time. He was always working or with friends, and the times he was home he was in his shed or locked up in his room. He hadn't given anyone the time of day at all, including me.
By now, I had tried multiple times to talk to him, figure out what he needs help on but he always gave me the cold shoulder. He had completely shut everyone out.
Jackie hadn't talked to him either. She still hadn't told me what he said to her at the ceremony and what made her so upset, as she refused to. Either way, I could tell that the conversation made her angry and wasn't something she wanted to get into.
"Your playlist is ass." Danny grimaced, snatching his phone back from Isaac.
Isaac scoffed offensively, "It is not."
"Yes it is." Alex retorted, then rolled his eyes, "And could you go back to the back now? You're squishing us."
Isaac looked over his shoulder to him. Isaac, who sat in the very back of the car with Lee, had reached over to the front seat between Danny and I to control the music, letting his legs stretch across the seats in the middle.
"Yes, please, can you? It's making the driver nervous." Danny said, pushing Isaac's head back as Isaac grudgingly obeyed.
"Well I just don't wanna hear any of the Hamilton that Danny plays." Isaac huffed.
"Hey!" Danny and Jackie both said at the same time.
Jackie whirled around in her seat to look at him, "Hamilton is amazing, please do not judge Lin Manuel Miranda's amazing singing skills please."
Isaac rolled his eyes, plopping back down in his seat. Lee leaned forward now, looking over Nathan's shoulder, "Dude you call that game?"
Nathan quickly jumped, pulling his phone to his chest to cover his screen, "Lee, what the hell?"
"I've gotta say, Nate, you really have Skylar twisted around your finger. 'You remind me of a Taylor Swift song.' How corny could you get?" Lee laughed.
"Shut the hell up!" Nathan barked, throwing a punch at Lee's shoulder.
"Guys, knock it off. You're distracting the driver." Danny said, glancing over his shoulder.
"Maybe listening to some of your stupid Hamilton will cheer you up." Isaac grumbled.
Jackie whirled around again, "I already told you — Stop hating!"
"Actually, Jackie, he kinda does have a point." Alex piped up.
And just like that, a peaceful car ride between all of us had broken out into a mobile argument down the highway. I shook my head, growing annoyed as one side of the car talked about the "coolness standpoint" of Hamilton while the other argued about Nathan's "rizz," as Lee had put it.
Amongst all this, I suddenly heard the radio and my face lit up into a smile.
"Hey! HEY!" I yelled, turning to look at all of them. They each stopped, looking at me. "Can you guys stop arguing?"
"We are not arguing. We are just having a civil conversation about the stupidness of Hamilton." Isaac said matter of factly.
"That's arguing, stupid." Alex said, earning a smack in the head by Isaac.
"Well I think I have the perfect solution to solve this little argument." I grinned, holding my hands out to the radio, "Karaoke!"
Instead of receiving delighted smiles and everyone praising me for my genius idea, I was met with a bunch of disappointed faces.
"Karaoke?" Lee furrowed his brows, "Why would we do that?"
"And how would that help us?" Danny asked, looking quickly at me.
"Nothing brings people together better than a good karaoke sesh. Am I right, J?" I looked back at my sister. Jackie shrugged.
"Lucy would make us perform every time we were mad at each other to make us stop fighting."
"Exactly! So let's see..." I turned to the radio, flipping through the different stations, until I landed on the perfect song: Livin' on a Prayer, Bon Jovi.
(A/N: play song here!)
"Oh yeah, this one's the one."
"Please. Anything but that one." Isaac groaned, "Uncle G used to blast this one all the time when we were kids while we did our chores in the yard."
"Yeah, I had this song stuck in my head for months." Nathan added, "It sucks."
"And I think that's exactly why it's the perfect song." I smiled, cranking up the volume. Thankfully, it was right at the beginning, perfect for the best karaoke song ever. I turned back to all of them, each of them giving me weird looks. "Alright, I'll start. Everyone just watch and learn."
I looked at Jackie and she was shaking her head. I grinned, putting my fist to my chin as a fake microphone and began to sing.
"Tommy used to work on the docks
Unions been on strike, he's down on his luck, it's tough
So tough"
I looked around Danny, who was clearly trying to push down a smile. I leaned closed to him, "Come on Dan, I know you want to."
"I seriously don't." he looked at me.
"Come on." I insisted, putting the fake microphone to his chin now.
He didn't say anything at first, but slowly, he gave me a look and began to sing quietly.
"Gina works the diner all day
Workin' for her man, she brings home her pay for love
Mmm, for love"
By this point, Danny had managed to raise his whisper to a full on singing performance and everyone was smiling at him.
"Keep it going, Nathan!" I held my hand-microphone to Nathan.
"She says, 'We've gotta hold on to what we've got'
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot for us
We'll give it a shot"
"Jackie, Alex!"
"Oh, we're halfway there
Whoa, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand, we'll make it I swear
Whoa, livin' on a prayer"
Now everyone was laughing, thoroughly enjoying the way Alex and Jackie got into the song and performed.
"Lee, it's all you!" I yelled, reaching over to him. He shook his head before singing.
"Tommy's got his six string in hock
Now he's holdin' in when he used to make it talk so tough
Mmm, so tough"
"Isaac, let's go." I looked at him. Isaac looked back at me, shaking his head, yet smiling.
"No way, I don't sing."
"Aw, come on. Everyone sings." I insisted.
"Well I don't."
"Well then watch and learn." I smiled, continuing the song.
"Gina dreams of runnin' away
When she cries in the night, Tommy whispers
'Baby, it's okay'
'Someday'"
"Come on, Isaac, let's go!" Alex shook his shoulder.
"No."
"Come on, Isaac."
"Please, dude."
"Come on."
"Have some fun, Timber."
"Fine." Isaac rolled his eyes and began to sing passionately, all of a sudden.
"We've gotta hold on to what we've got
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
We've got each other, and that's a lot for love
We'll give it a shot"
And now everyone was yelling, screaming the lyrics.
"Oh, we're halfway there
WHOA, LIVIN' ON A PRAYER
TAKE MY HAND, WE'LL MAKE IT I SWEAR
WHOA, LIVIN' ON A PRAYER
LIVIN' ON A PRAYER"
Lee, Nathan, and I started to play the air guitar as the chorus went on, everyone singing and laughing. We finished the song, screaming at the top of our lungs and then the next song played, the same thing happening.
We repeated the process over and over with each passing song all the way down the highway. It was amazing, seeing how each of us connected and got along. I had the biggest smile on my face watching Alex try to hit all the high notes, Isaac pretending not to know a song but singing his heart out a split second later.
It was so much fun, that we were all still laughing about it as we parked the car.
"Nathan, you are an awesome air guitarist." Jackie gushed as we exited the car.
"Yeah, it's almost as if he plays guitar." Lee said sarcastically.
"Danny, where did you learn those killer dance moves?" Alex said mockingly.
"Well, Alex, you're either born with the talent or you're not." Danny shrugged, swinging the keys around on his finger.
"I cannot believe you got us to sing the whole way here." Isaac said from beside me. I looked at him and he was looking down at me, smiling, "How did you manage to turn us into the Backstreet Boys?"
"I definitely wouldn't call us the Backstreet Boys, per se," I smiled back at him, "but I definitely think we were pretty high up there. I have nothing to thank though besides the power of karaoke. Never underestimate it."
Isaac and I laughed and I swear I felt my heart flip.
"Wow, sounds like you guys had a nice ride over." Katherine said as they finished parking their car beside us. Everyone quickly looked at me and I shrugged.
"You could say that."
"So, where are we?" Jackie asked.
At this, I finally took the time to look around. We were in this massive parking lot with s large building at the far end of it. That was it, around the area was nothing but miles.
"Well," George said, going over to the trunk and propping it open. He looked over at us and smiled, "Does this answer your question?"
I went over to the trunk and my eyes went wide. Thrown there were a bunch of ice skates all piled over each other. George leaned over, grabbing two pairs tied together by their strings.
"I found these in the garage from when you guys first moved in. They're yours' right?"
Jackie and I looked and each other smiled, "Yeah, they are."
"Well, here." he handed them to us and looked at the kids, "Everyone grab your skates."
Soon we were all walking towards the massive building with our skates in hand. I was giddy with excitement and nervousness. On one hand, I was thrilled to be back on the ice. As I've mentioned briefly before, I used to be captain on the hockey team back in New York, the rink was like my second home. Going back after almost a year, man, I was exhilarated.
On the other hand, I was nervous for the exact same reason. I hadn't been on the ice since even before my family had died. I was nervous for how I would be.
"Hey, you okay?" Jackie nudged me. I looked at her and nodded.
"Yeah. Just nervous is all."
"Don't be. You weren't the best in the school for nothing."
My eyes widened once again when we entered the building. It was massive, carrying one giant ice rink in the center of it with multiple smaller ones all around it, having people playing mini games and obstacle courses.
"Whoa." Jackie said from beside me.
"You guys never been to one of these before?" Alex asked.
I shook my head, "They don't have these in the city."
"Well they're really fun." Alex said.
"Says you. We haven't been here since we were, like, ten." Lee rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, why are we here again?" Isaac asked.
"Well usually you guys know that we go to the lake and skate, but this year we didn't have time and now all the ice has melted so," Katherine gestured around with her hands, "this is it. And besides, I know Jackie and Y/n were hockey fans back home."
Jackie and I glanced at each other, grinning, "You could say that."
"Alright guys, go lace up." George said, holding out his ticket after purchasing it at the front desk.
Parker and Benny took the lead of finding an empty area for us to stay at as we all followed after them.
I sat down on a bench, pulling off my black converse and grabbing my skates. As I laced them, my hands had a mind of their own as they hooked the strings through each of the loops.
It was funny, seeing that after all this time I hadn't been on the ice, or even held my skate in my hand, the idea of lacing it up came to me so easily.
Slowly, I pulled on the skates and I felt like I was back in New York, getting ready for another game. I could almost hear my dad giving me a last minute pep talk in my ear. I could picture Jackie and Lucy giving me the biggest smiles as I went out on the ice.
I remember the day of my last ever match. It was the last game of the season until next year. Everyone was there, including my mom which was the biggest miracle I think could ever happen. It was as if the universe knew this would be it.
I remember playing my hardest, but when the time came, we lost, I remember throwing my gloves down in the locker room and kicking my bag out of anger. We were so close, so close to the win and of all days, we had to screw it up.
The part that made everything better was my mom being there. Even though I hadn't won and didn't play my best, she comforted me and all of us went to dinner after, celebrating the season.
"I promise. Next season I'll be at every game." she told me.
Now whether it was the truth or another empty promise of hers, I didn't care. That promise meant the world to me and it was yet another thing of what could've been.
"Converse, you okay?"
I looked up and Isaac was standing in front of me, his skates already on. I nodded, quickly pulling myself out of my thoughts.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Then why have you been staring at the ground for two minutes?" he raised a brow, squatting down in front of me so I was now looking down at him.
I grinned, despite feeling embarrassed for having been caught daydreaming, "I was just thinking, that's all. It's been awhile since I've skated."
He shrugged, "So? I heard from somewhere that you were the best on your team back in New York."
It was my turn to raise a brow now, "Oh really? Timber, were you eavesdropping on us earlier?"
Isaac grinned, shrugging his shoulders again, "You could say that, but you also have this really loud, annoying voice-"
"Hey!" I pushed his shoulder, making him hold out his arm to the ground to keep him up right. We both laughed before he stood up.
"Come on then, babe. Let's see what you got." he held out his hand and I felt myself grin as I took it.
We both went to the ice and I took my first step. I pushed off, not feeling the slightest bit rusty or scared as I went forward. It was like no time had passed since I was on the ice and everything came to me so naturally that any nerves quickly washed away.
I quickly gained speed, catching up to the other Walter's as we went around the rink. It was enchanting as I put my arms out and let myself glide. I hadn't done this in so long. I almost forgot how amazing it felt.
We all skated for a long time, racing each other, pushing and pulling everyone as we made a huge human chain. Everyone was out there on the ice, including George and Katherine.
After awhile, Benny yelled, "Can we play a game now?"
He was met with excited cheers and nods of agreement and George nodded, going over to the exit of the rink as everyone followed. I slowed down, watching them all head over to one of the smaller rinks on the side.
"You coming, Converse?" Isaac asked, nudging my arm as he skated past me. I looked at him as he turned, skating backwards to keep his eyes on me. "Come on, I've been dying to kick your ass in a game since we got here."
I scoffed, rolling my eyes as I caught up to him, "Yeah. We'll see about that."
We divided into teams and the game started. Obviously, I took the lead because I'm me, duh.
I played tediously, my jacket coming off as I got into the zone. It was fun, especially since I had Jordan on my team and I certainly had no idea he was a secret hockey god.
The whole time however, Isaac and I kept bickering back and forth. We trash talked the most and I would laugh every single time he missed his goal.
I couldn't help but absolutely become enthralled by his looks, however. The way his hair swayed and flopped every time he moved to get the puck. The way his jaw flexed each time he was focused. The way he moved through the ice like he was a literal figure skating legend.
And whenever he talked to me, with the stupid smirk he always had, I felt my stomach fluttering and I couldn't help but be drawn to him. How in the hell had I not noticed this feeling before?
Eventually, our team had won and Katherine went over to me, giving me a high five.
"Remind me that you will always be on my team." she said, putting an arm around me as we skated to the exit of the rink.
"Not fair! Y/n's on my team next time." Parker said.
"I say we all form an alliance next time." Jackie grinned, "You know, girls vs boys."
"But then we'd be outnumbered." Parker furrowed her brows.
"Does it matter? We would so crush them." I smiled.
"I like that idea." Katherine smiled back.
"Whatever, you guys just got lucky." Isaac called as he took a seat on the bench to pull off his skates.
"Oh really? Was that fate then of you missing all your shots?" I smirked, sitting down across from him to pull off my skates.
"Yeah. It was the universe feeling sorry because they knew you guys didn't stand a chance."
"Do you know how stupid you sound?" Danny rolled his eyes.
"Don't call me stupid, stupid." Isaac pushed him as he walked by.
"Don't push me." Danny replied, back smacking the side of his head.
"Guys!" George called before anything got too far. He shook his head and Katherine laughed, holding out her hands.
"How about some ice cream?"
—
Our day was nice, having spent the entirety of it all together as a family. Since our time here in Colorado, I had come to love these family days together. I loved being part of the Walters. I loved being here.
Later that night, I slept peacefully in my bed. It had been a long day, playing hockey, getting ice cream, then playing tag after our barbecue in the backyard.
My thoughts went wild with Isaac appearing in every single one. I kept seeing his smile, hearing his laugh, remembering all the things he told me throughout the day, even though I pretended to hate them. I couldn't stop thinking about him, I couldn't stop it even if I tried.
I slept soundly with my Isaac infested thoughts, until I heard a creak that woke me. I nestled closer to my blankets, ignoring it. I then heard the soft sound of footsteps tapping the floor. They were coming closer and before I could think about actually opening my eyes to see anything, a hand clamped over my mouth.
My eyes jolted open and I quickly sat up, my eyes landing on Isaac himself. He was wearing his leather jacket with a black t shirt underneath and black jeans. He looked down at me, his finger to his lips.
"Converse, it's me." he whispered. I looked behind him and there was Alex, holding his phone with his flashlight. I looked back at Isaac and he cautiously pulled his hand away, now that I was calmer.
He was wrong. As soon as he did so, I grabbed my pillow and swung it at him harshly.
"Ow! What was that for?" he whisper yelled at me.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" I whisper yelled back, "Waking me up in the middle of the night like a kidnapper."
"Well maybe tonight was finally the night I was gonna kill you after all." he glared back at me. Isn't he the sweetest?
Before I could say anything, Alex stepped in, putting his hands out, "Will you two knock it off? We need your help with something."
"What?" I furrowed my brows.
"We all voted. We want you and Jackie to help us with a prank."
"A prank?"
"Yeah." Isaac grinned evilly, "We're gonna TP the principal's house."
—
After changing into a pair of black leggings and a black zip up hoodie with Jackie behind me, we quietly slipped outside of our room. She was dressed the same, sporting a pullover hoodie and black pants.
Outside, all of us were dressed in the same black outfits. All the teenagers, including Cole, Alex, Danny, Nathan, Lee, Jackie, Isaac and me, each helped to push the car down the road.
According to Danny, Katherine could hear everything, which was surprising since she obviously hadn't heard any of us climb down the tree outside Isaac and Lee's window. So, we had to wait until we were down the road to start the engine before leaving.
As we finally huddled into the car, Cole turned around, looking at each of us.
"Danny, you got the toilet paper?"
"Yup."
"Lee, you brought the forks?"
"All of them. I think Aunt Kathy has been collecting them for the wedding but they're our's now." he grinned.
"Why do we need forks again?" Jackie scrunched up her nose.
"To fork the yard." Alex replied, looking at her. He furrowed his brows, "What's on your face?"
At this, I looked at Jackie and noticed a line of black eyeliner under each of her eyes on her cheeks. She shrugged, holding the tube of makeup. "Warpaint. I thought it suited the occasion."
"You are adorable, Jack in a Box." I grinned, pinching her cheek. She swatted my hand away, turning around, "You guys want some?"
"Yes!" Alex and Isaac both exclaimed. One by one, Jackie went to each of the boys and me to paint our face. Except for Cole.
"That's childish." he replied when Jackie had asked him. With a roll of his eyes he said, "Can we stop joking around and get this done now? I'm trying not to get caught."
"Someone's grumpy." Nathan muttered at Cole started the car.
We sped off down the road, entertaining in some music in the background. It was different, being awake in town at this time. Usually, the small town was full of people shopping and walking around, but right now it was empty, as it was the dead of night.
I didn't mind it at all. I liked the night. It was peaceful.
Well as peaceful as it could be with a car full of teenagers going to toilet-paper the principle's house.
"How do you guys even know where he lives?" I asked, looking at Danny.
"It's a tradition we do every year, you know, to wrap up the school year." he replied.
"Yeah, last year when we were running away, a dog started chasing us and bit off Alex's pants." Lee laughed.
"He had to run to the car with his pants at his ankles." Nathan joined in. Alex hit each of them in the arm.
"That's not funny. I'm pretty sure the whole neighborhood saw." Alex said, his cheeks bright red.
"Oh yeah. Grace told me her ring camera had gotten a video of some guy streaking at two in the morning across her lawn." Jackie added. Everyone, expect Cole, was laughing as Alex blushed with embarrassment.
Cole had been quiet the whole time. Every time we talked, he seemed to avoid anything Jackie said, not even taking the time to look or acknowledge her. I still didn't know what had happened between them, but obviously he was still upset about it.
When we got there, Cole parked about a block down the street and we each piled out. In the trunk, he pulled out a duffel bag, filled with all the toilet paper.
As we walked to the house and slowly approached it, my eyes widened. It had to be at least three stories and was surrounded my a bunch of trees, obviously begging to be TP'D. "Holy shit. It's huge."
Isaac snickered, "That's what she said."
"Shut up." Cole rolled his eyes, throwing a roll of toilet paper at him. "Okay, who wants what jobs?"
"Lee and I will do the trees in the front here." Nathan piped up, taking the rolls from the duffel bag.
"But I always go with Isaac." Lee insisted, turning to his brother.
"No, not this time. I will not have a repeat of last year when you stepped on the hose and sprayed me on accident." Isaac glared at him, "In that case, I'll just go with Converse."
I perked up at the mention of my name, "Me? Why?"
"You're pretty sneaky when you wanna be. I think you'll be good at this." he shrugged.
"Okay that's settled then. Isaac and Y/n you guys are together. What are doing?"
"Let's do the back." Isaac suggested.
"In that case I'll go with you guys since it's a lot back there." Danny piped up.
"Cool. Then me and Jackie will do the forking in the front." Alex said, letting Jackie loop their arms together.
"No, I've got a job for you." Cole quickly grabbed her free wrist and pulled her away. He turned to everyone, "Alright, everyone knows what they're doing? Cool, be back here in twenty and don't be stupid."
"Okay." I nodded, turning to Jackie. "Please be careful. I do not want to heard about this from Uncle Richard if we get caught."
"I'll be fine." Jackie assured.
"Come on, babe, we don't have all night." Isaac said. I turned, following him and Danny to the side of the house. Danny slowly opened the gate, letting each of us slip through it.
When we got the backyard, my jaw dropped for the second time. It was huge, with a large patio, a swimming pool off to the side, and a table and fireplace beside a barbecue and bar.
In the very back, a green wall of hedges blocked off what lay beyond it and there was a white wooden gate blocking it. Around the entire yard, massive trees surrounded the side and lights strung from each tree.
"How rich is this guy?" I muttered.
"Tell me about it." Isaac said back.
"Alright, you guys take the garden in the back since that's the most area we've gotta fill in. I'll take the front part right here." Danny gestured around, his voice in a low whisper.
"Okay." Isaac nodded, leading the way to the garden and I followed along.
I couldn't help but admire the scenery of the yard. Our principle definitely had a beautiful home.
Too bad we were about to destroy it all.
Isaac creaked open the gate and we slipped inside. I looked around in awe.
The garden was filled with different flowers and fruits everywhere. There was a fountain in the middle, the water still as ice as there was no breeze back here. There were light strung across the hedges and I would give anything right now to see how this place looked lit up.
"My favorite part of this place has always been the garden. That's why I always try to call dibs on it." Isaac spoke from beside me. His voice was higher now as we were farther away from the house. I looked at him and he was looking around, admiring the scenery in the moonlight.
"Yeah, it's beautiful." I said. He looked at me and smirked.
"Too bad we're messing it up. Now watch and learn, babe." he pulled out one of his rolls from his arms and threw it hard at a tree. It landed perfectly, draping through multiple branches.
I scoffed, taking one of my own rolls, "Please. You're about to be mind blown."
We went back and forth, throwing the rolls high into the trees. We went around the flowers, draping more paper across their stems and buds. The fountain was full of soggy paper and the lights had paper streaming across them.
I took my time trying to perfect the perfect swirl around a bush, making it that much more difficult for the person, whomever they would be, to take it off. As I did so, I suddenly felt something hit the back of my head with a thump.
I gasped, whirling around. Isaac was on the other side, hanging a piece of paper from a bird house. He didn't seem to have noticed anything, but I knew better. I grinned, picking up the roll and sending it flying back to him.
As if he had the sixth sense, he ducked, letting the roll hit the tree behind him. He turned, grinning evilly.
He grabbed another roll and threw it at me. I dodged it, grabbing one of my rolls and doing the same.
"Oh it's so on, Timber." I laughed, throwing more rolls at him.
We were laughing, going back and forth and getting closer and closer to each other. We met in the middle and I threw my last roll, hitting him square in the chest. He caught it before it fell to the ground.
"You're dead, Converse." he smirked evilly. I squealed, running around the fountain to avoid him as he chased after me. I stopped suddenly, putting my hand in the water and splashing it at him.
He gasped, before bending down and doing the same. We were splashing each other now, getting soaked in the moonlight as we laughed and laughed like no tomorrow.
He still had the roll in his hand and in a moment of weakness, I lunged for it. I took it, trying to pry it out of his hand but his grip tightened around it.
We were in a tug of war, pulling it back and forth and neither of us budged.
"Let go!" I told him.
"Never!" he replied back. He took a step back finally, trying to pull away when his foot slipped on the mudded dirt. He gasped, losing his balance and instead of letting himself fall entirely, he grabbed my wrist and tugged me down with him.
I gasped as he hit the ground and I landed on top of him. He groaned at the contact and I winced, knowing that we had indeed just landed on some mostly dirted ground.
"You jerk. Why'd you pull me with you?" I hit his shoulder. Both of my hands had caught themselves on either side of his head and my legs were intertwined with his.
"You think I was gonna fall and not take you down with me?" he smiled and I laughed.
We were panting, catching our breaths from the running and the splashing, and now our fall. I looked down at him and he had a grin playing at his lips.
"What?" I said, looking down at him.
"Nothing." he replied, "I just notice that we've been falling a lot recently."
"Yeah, I guess we have." I nodded.
It was at this point that I noticed the position we were in. The way I was on top of him. The proximity that we were in, so close that I could see the way his chest moved up and down as he caught his breath.
When I looked down at him, I noticed the white pearl necklace he always wore, peaking out from underneath his t shirt. I could see the hook of his nose and the slight bushiness of his eyebrows. I could see the curve of his lips and I was reminded of how he always licked them when he was thinking. When did I start to notice things like this?
I felt my eyes wandering around his face, lingering on his lips before looking back at him. His eyes were on me and I suddenly noticed how quiet it had gotten between the two of us.
Looking at him, my heart started beating at what felt like a hundred miles an hour. I couldn't explain the buzz I felt in my stomach and I wish that this moment could last forever.
And before anything could change, before any of us could get a word in, to really make sure that this moment was worth it, I plucked up all my courage and leaned down to press my lips to his.
For a second, he didn't react, and I was worried he wouldn't. But then, his lips moved against mine and I felt my stomach flutter once more.
His hand moved to my waist, the other entangling itself into my hair to bring me in closer. I leaned down, moving one of my hands to grab the bottom of his hair.
I opened my mouth, letting him deepen the kiss. His hands went down to my legs, holding my thighs. He pushed them apart, allowing me to put them over and around him and letting me straddle him.
I hadn't known how badly I wanted this. To feel his lips on mine and have his hands on me. I felt starved. I felt like this was what I was waiting for my whole life.
I flipped my hair to one side as his hands went to my waist. I felt shivers down my spine as his cold hands met my skin, but I didn't care. I was kissing Isaac Garcia, who in the hell could think about anything else but that?
He was aggressive with the way he kissed me, his tongue and his lips moving perfectly and I did the same. I put all of my feelings that I had built up over the past weeks work themselves into this kiss. This fast, passionate, mind whirling kiss.
He groaned as I pulled on his hair and I wanted to savor everything about this moment. Every single thing.
But the moment was soon interrupted as a loud wailing sound filled the air. I pulled away, panting for air. Isaac did the same and we both looked around.
"Is that a siren?" he said. I looked down at him and I could see his lips slightly swollen.
"I think so." I nodded.
"That can't be good." he shook his head. I sat up, getting off of him. He bounced up, dusting himself off. He turned to me, offering me a hand and I took it, letting him help me up.
He looked down at me and grinned.
"What?" I said.
"Nothing. You just...I could see you blushing in the dark."
I put a hand to my cheek and felt as if my whole body was on fire. He laughed, taking my hand in his.
"I'd love to keep teasing you, babe, but I think we gotta go."
I rolled my eyes as we ran to the garden gate then. Danny was at the side gate now, holding it open for us.
"Took you guys long enough! Let's go!" he yelled.
"We're going!" Isaac barked back, letting me go out in front of him.
We ran through the lawn, knocking over some of Alex's forks. Toilet paper swayed from the trees and the front balcony.
The eight of us ran down the block back to the truck at full speed. By the time we got there however, Alex pushed Cole against the side of it.
"What the hell was that for?" Cole said.
"What the hell were you thinking? You did that on purpose! You wanted her to get caught, didn't you?"
"But she didn't get caught, did she?" Cole said, a smug smirk on his face.
"I'm sorry, what happened?" I stepped in, looking at Jackie. She hugged herself, looking down at the ground.
"Cole sent me to the balcony to toilet paper the patio up there but I accidentally set off the alarm."
"Yeah, only problem is that Cole knows the balcony is off limits. That's suicide to do that so you knew she would get caught." Alex said, turning on his brother again.
"Calm the hell down, alright. She's fine, and we're all fine." Cole waved him off.
I shook my head, "What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do that?"
Cole looked at me, "Seriously, Y/n? It was a joke, I thought were all just having fun."
"Obviously it's not funny." Alex said.
"Seriously, you guys are being dramatic. Stop acting like if someone died." Cole said. I heard people gasp and I felt like suddenly everything had changed. One minute, I was on cloud nine having what felt like the best kiss of my life. And now, it felt like I was just punched in the gut.
I looked at Jackie and I could see her eyes filled with tears. "Please, let's just go home."
—
The car ride home was silent. It was tense as everyone had sat in their own thoughts. Cole's words replayed in my head like a broken radio and I couldn't help but feel so angry at him.
I could tell all the guys were upset at Cole, as not one of them had replied when he asked if we wanted anything from Jack in a Box, convenient right?
When we got home, we all retreated into our rooms in silence. I could tell Jackie didn't want to talk at all, so I didn't push anything.
Instead, I found myself lying awake. I thought about Cole, about all the things he had said lately. I didn't know what was up, I wanted to help but he was making it so difficult to do so.
I tossed around to my back and my eyes met the painted wall beside my bed.
The wall I painted with Isaac in here every single day after school for two weeks. The wall that I realized I had looked at every time I would go to sleep with my thoughts running wild. Who knew that after all this time, my thoughts had been about him. And I had no idea.
When I finally drifted off to sleep, I decided to remember that day not as the day that Cole had verbally punched me in the gut. I chose to remember it as something much more happier.
The day Isaac Garcia kissed me. Well, the day I kissed him, but who's really asking?
—
hi everyone! i hope you enjoyed this chapter! HOW ARE WE FEELING? y'all i know a lot of you guys have been waiting for this and sorry it's taken so long to get here but i really hope it did not disappoint.
thank you guys for being so patient with me with the late update but i hope this made up for it!
let me know what you guys thought in the comments and don't forget to vote. hope this feeds you well and spam me!
nessa
PS they're so adorable don't you think?