Chapter Thirty-Two
"Piss off."
Louis' heart began to beat faster once more, and he suddenly sat up straighter in his chair. Isaac was gay? Why hadn't he said anything? Yes, Louis was a stranger, and the topic hadn't really come up; apart from when Louis mentioned his sexuality earlier in the evening. But that posed the question: How did Shawn know?
"That seems a touch harsh," Shawn replied, faking an offended look. "Though I did say I wouldn't say anything like that."
"He's not gay," Louis said, definitively shaking his head.
Isaac couldn't be gay. Why would he react the way he did before if he was gay? There wasn't any reason for it. Not in Louis' eyes anyway.
"I'm pretty sure he is." Shawn nodded his head as if he was agreeing with himself.
"How would you know?" Louis asked with his eyebrows raised.
"Because he told me?" Shawn laughed. "On, like, the first day we met."
"The first day? Really?"
"Yeah, one of my other friends brought him over to our table at lunch and introduced us, and Isaac said, and I quote, 'Hi, guys, I'm Isaac. Now, I may play your sport, but don't get any ideas, gentlemen; none of you are my type.'" Shawn finished off Isaac's impression with a rather complex hand gesture, making Louis laugh.
"That was a fantastic impersonation. Can't comment on the hand gesture though," Louis muttered before collecting his thoughts again. "But when I told him I was gay before, he acted really weird about it. He pretty much just left."
"Did you say you were going on a date?" Shawn asked, and Louis nodded.
"Yeah, pretty much in the same sentence."
Both the boys went quiet for a moment, and it looked as though Shawn was thinking about something rather hard. His forehead had become crinkled, and his eyes squinted, and Louis couldn't help but think that he was definitely cute. Though, even with that thought, he just couldn't seem to get his mind off the fact that he wanted it to be Isaac opposite him. Letting out a silent sigh, Louis brought his attention back to the table, pulling himself out of his thoughts, just in time to see Shawn's eyes light up and a huge smile spread across his face.
"Oh, my God. Lou? Lou-Lou?" he suddenly asked.
"Uh, what?" Louis was taken aback by the sudden enthusiasm and the nickname.
"Do people call you that? Is it a pet name? Does Isaac call you that?" Shawn fired the questions at Louis so fast, Louis barely caught any of what he was saying.
"Wha—yes, why?" he stuttered.
"Oh, my God!" Shawn yelled. "You're Lou-Lou! You're the Goddamn guy!" Shawn continued to yell, causing Louis to worry that they'd get kicked out of the restaurant, as he was positive that everyone in the building had heard the exclamation.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Louis asked in a harsh whisper.
"You're Lou!" Shawn brought his voice down to the same level as Louis', and he leant forward in his chair, closer to Louis.
"Yes, I am." Louis raised his eyebrows. "I'm glad you remember."
"No, you idiot." Shawn rolled his eyes. "Isaac talks about you all the time!"
Louis' heart stopped for what seemed like the fiftieth time that night. Isaac talked about him? Isaac thought about him? Louis hadn't realised that he existed to Isaac outside of their little wall talks. Louis never even considered that he would play on Isaac's mind, just as Isaac played on his own.
"Why would he talk about me?" Louis whispered, not really knowing what to say or how to react.
"Well, I would say because you're hot, but he hasn't seen you." Shawn laughed. "So, I'm guessing it's because you seem like a great guy."
"Shut up," Louis mumbled, looking at the table, not being able to stop a smile coming across his lips.
"I still can't believe you haven't actually seen each other." Shawn shook his head. "That is something that needs to happen."
"Uh, no!" Louis said, snapping his head back up to look at Shawn, horror filling his face. "That is a horrible idea."
"Why is that?" Shawn laughed at Louis reaction.
"Because... I'm not good with this stuff."
"What stuff?"
"Feeling things," Louis mumbled.
"Surely you've felt like this before?"
Louis shook his head.
"Never?"
"Never," Louis responded, once again looking away from Shawn.
He didn't know if he should be embarrassed or not by what he had just said. Sure, he'd never been in a relationship or on a date before this, but he also had never had feelings like this before. For anyone. Yes, he had felt love and weirdness in his stomach, but this was different, and Louis couldn't seem to ignore it. What he felt for Isaac was something that he could never have imagined, and he hadn't even properly met the boy. It wasn't normal, and he didn't know what to make of it, and he certainly didn't know why he was talking to Shawn about it.
The thing was, besides the fact that Louis always seemed to be an outcast, he had never really thought of even trying to get close to someone romantically. Sure, he had looked at people he found himself attracted to and wondered what it would be like, but he had never given it any serious thought. He had never really needed to. But now he was getting this surge of feelings for someone he barely knew, and he had no idea what to do about it. Maybe that was the reason he was spilling the information to Shawn, which he really hoped he didn't regret later.
"You're still young," Shawn said after a moment. "I'm sure that's not uncommon." His voice was reassuring.
"Still..."
"Louis, this happens with people all the time! Getting feelings for complete strangers, forming crushes. Especially for gay people. Sometimes it becomes something more if you actually try. Why not give it a chance?"
"Because... what if he doesn't actually like me?"
"He does—"
"No." Louis cut Shawn off. "What if he doesn't like the real me?"
"And that means?" Shawn raised his eyebrows.
"You think I talk to the person I like how I normally would talk?" Louis chuckled. "I'm a massive asshole, to be honest with you. I'm sarcastic and always right; don't even question me on that. I'm a mess."
"Oh, wow," Shawn whispered.
"I know." Louis shook his head. "I feel like I've lied to him."
"Oh, no. That's not what I was 'oh, wow'-ing about." Shawn laughed. "I mean, yes. Technically, you've been lying, but I was just taken back by how similar that is to... well, Isaac." It was now Louis' turn to be taken aback.
"Uh, what?"
"You mean to tell me; you haven't heard the same Isaac that I hear every school day? You haven't had to put up with the same human I have?" Shawn asked, surprise coating his voice.
"Clearly, I have not," Louis stated with a laugh, a small fraction of relief spilling over him. "He's so sweet and caring and doesn't even seem like he'd begin to be an asshole, for any reason."
"Oh, my God. I'm going to have to slap him." Shawn laughed. "He's literally doing the same thing as you! Which only proves my point further."
"Your point is still stupid."
"He must like you in one way or another, or he would have probably insulted you by now."
"Now that I think about it, it seems like there were times when he wanted to say something that could have come off as an insult."
Louis thought back to all their conversations and could remember Isaac stopping mid-sentence as if he was rethinking what to say.
"I swear, I'm gonna kick his ass." Shawn laughed again.
"So, you're telling me that I've been holding my tongue for nothing?" Louis asked, quite interested in this development.
Though he couldn't say he was too surprised. The way this night had been going, why would he expect anything less than Isaac to have a completely hidden personality? At this point, anything could happen, and Louis would just nod and accept it.
Shawn tried to help. "If it makes you feel any better, Isaac has been complaining about not being able to be sarcastic."
"No. No, it doesn't," Louis replied shaking his head, though a smile was now plastered on his face.
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A/N: Oooo, now we're getting to know a little more about Isaac!
Question Time:
Do you think both Isaac and Louis should have been themselves from the start? Or do you think them being hesitant was the right choice?