It was Allen's best friend, Kyle. He was very handsome too, tall with a nice build. His face was more delicate than Allen's, but that only made him look like a walking renascent sculpture. His light blonde hair was shining under every source of light above him. He really stood out, whether it was on purpose or not. He flashed a charming smile at her, grabbing the nearest chair beside Cassidy, who straightened her spine out of shock.
"We haven't had the time to introduce ourselves," he held out a hand. "I'm Kyle."
She looked at his hand and shook it, feeling a little nervous. "Isabelle."
He detailed her face shamelessly, resting his back on the back of the chair. He then looked at Cassidy. "Nice to meet you too, Cass." Her name came out of his lips as soft as silk, sending shivers through Cassidy's back. She just managed a nod. His eyes went back to Isabelle's. "Mind if I call you Iry too?"
"N—No problem." Her voice barely audible.
"Cool," he let out with a higher pitch, almost looking excited. "So. You've got an admirer, huh?" He asked pretty straightforwardly.
Cassidy and Isabelle looked at each other, not knowing exactly why he approached them or why he was asking about it.
"That's what I think," Cassidy spoke. "She's been trying to ignore the guy, but he just keeps texting and calling her." She shrugged, playing lazily with the juice box in front of her.
"I think he's got the wrong number." Isabelle said.
"Could he see your profile picture?" Kyle asked with a finger over his lips. Isabelle looked up, thinking a little, and nodded. "Then he does have the right number". Kyle grinned, leaning his body forward and resting his elbows on the table. "An ex, perhaps?"
Isabelle and Cassidy looked at each other, then laughed aloud. Kyle's eyes narrowed, but his smile was still there, waiting for an explanation.
"That blonde, brainless asshole?" asked Cassidy. "Please. He didn't even have the balls to own what he did." Cassidy spit out in disgust, then added with a mocking look on her face. "Well, what he wanted to do. I don't think he has the nerve to call her again."
Kyle's eyes darted towards Isabelle's, his smile vanishing, making her uncomfortable. She shrugged it off.
"He was just messing with me. So I broke up with him when I found out." Her hazel eyes looked right through his.
"I see," his mind recalled what Allen said. So that's why he wanted to do it right with her, he thought. She sure gathered all her courage to ask him for something like that. Suddenly, he felt he liked her. "Well, but it's a possibility, right?"
"I guess," Isabelle said, looking at her phone on the table. "I kinda felt his voice sounded familiar."
Cassidy shot his body forward. "You didn't tell me that!"
"Sorry," Isabelle smiled faintly. "I just didn't want to think about it. I don't care anymore."
Kyle grinned, resting his back on the chair and crossing his arms over his chest. A sudden weight on his left shoulder made him blink a couple of times, erasing the smile on his face in a second. He paled a little when the grip on his shoulder tightened. He looked up to find Allen's cold gaze over him.
"What are you doing?" His voice came out like a low growl, his eyes looking down on him. Kyle swallowed the lump in his throat and smiled nervously.
"I made new friends, right, Cass? Iry?" The sound of her nickname coming from his mouth made Allen feel his blood boil. His eyes grew colder, and a dark smile spread on his lips.
"Iry?" He repeated, feeling his chest tighten. He took the chance to call her that, pretending he didn't get the name at first.
"Yeah," Kyle said. "Anyway, wanna sit?" he gestured to the chair near Isabelle, raising his eyebrows.
Allen pressed his lips together. This motherfucker is testing my patience. What the fuck is he even doing here? He thought, releasing his grip and walking towards the chair. He sat down, still looking at his best friend. He narrowed his eyes as a 'watch your fucking mouth' warning. Kyle smiled widely, feeling empowered all of a sudden.
Allen's closeness made Isabelle nervous, so she looked down at her hands now resting on her lap. Kyle gazed towards her shy figure, signaling Allen to speak to her.
He had no idea what to say. He was not good at small talk, so he started feeling nervous too. His eyes averted from Kyle's, racking his brains to find something to talk about.
"That picture with the yellow dress—" he said, putting his arm on the seat's back and resting his cheek on his hand. He looked casual, as if he was not troubled at all. "You look pretty on it."
His light blue eyes looked at her, waiting for her reaction. He was pleased, seeing her shoot a quick glance towards him before looking back down, her face blushing.
"Thanks," she said softly. Isabelle didn't know he actually stalked her from time to time.
No one did. Cass and Kyle were too concerned with their interaction, so they just stood there, quietly watching them.
"Did you have a good time?"
"Yeah. I bought a couple of books," she said happily, looking at him with a small smile. "Couldn't buy the dress, though." She shrugged a little.
"A shame," his eyes looked down at her half open backpack, a thick book peeking out, grabbing his attention. He stretched his arm and grabbed it, putting it high enough for him to read the title, 'Last Summer'. He grinned, raising an eyebrow. "Romance?"
Isabelle scoffed, trying to take it back, but he just moved his arm further away.
"Yeah—" she said, her smile widening, trying to grab it once again; unsuccessful. "You mind giving it back?"
"You can't still be ashamed of it, can you?" he pinched her cheek with his free hand.
She stopped struggling to get her book back, feeling his warm touch on her face; butterflies fluttering violently inside her stomach.
She shook her head slightly. "Not anymore, I guess."
Allen was practically memorizing her features at this point, looking at her nonstop. He felt a warm feeling inside his chest when she shrugged shyly, leaving him out of breath. Her red hair tied in a messy bun was glowing intensely under the lights, her hazel eyes sparkling as she looked up to meet his eyes. She was practically the opposite to him. Her gaze always felt like home, cozy and warm; while his was cold and distant. She's the opposite, yet she feels like that's all I needed. The thought resonated in his mind, filling him with a completely new feeling.
He didn't notice when his lips started darting upwards. His smile was sweet, even endearing, his eyes soft and full of awe. He didn't notice, not even Isabelle, who was looking at him the whole time. But both Kyle and Cassidy were speechless. They felt completely invisible because, well, neither Allen nor Isabelle even remembered they were there.
He released her cheek, poking his finger on it, right before the bell to go back to class started ringing. Then, he put the book on her lap with the other hand.
"See you around." He gave her a charming smile, stood up and left. Kyle hesitated for a second before standing up.
"Well, nice to meet you Iry," he looked down. "Cass—" He smiled and sprinted towards the door where Allen had just disappeared.
Isabelle put the book inside her backpack, standing up and trying to ignore the smirk on her best friend's lips. Cassidy's eyes were drilling holes in her face, making her sink her head deeper in her shoulders.
"Well, I see why you ended up having a real crush on him." Cassidy threw her right arm around Isabelle's shoulders. "He's fucking cute when he wants to!"
"I don't want to think about it," Isabelle said in a calm tone. "I'm not getting any hopes up, but I do want to take a little advantage of it and enjoy it while I can!" She smiled wide and mischievously.
"You little shit," Cassidy messed her hair a bit more, laughing along with her.
The rest of the classes went smoothly. Isabelle's mind was working hard to concentrate on Mr. Dominguez rather than his perfect, pale-blue eyes. They had this thick, almost-black-blue outline around them; a detail that made the color on his iris look even lighter. Heavy long lashes framed his eyes, making his gaze strong and serious without much effort. She knew Allen was popular amongst both men and women; some found him incredibly hot, others incredibly intimidating. Either way, she felt captivated the more she looked into them.
Isabelle, unlike ninety-five percent of the other girls in school, didn't have a crush on him at first. She thought he was gorgeous, of course, but she never cared much about the looks to begin with. She lived her life around him without feeling any kind of butterflies or wetness between her legs; that until they slept together. She just couldn't help it.
A long sigh warmed her throat as she let it out, gathering all her things, when the bell rang one last time for the day. I've been sighing more in this past week than in my last 5 years, she thought while heading towards the main door. She was waiting for Cassidy to give her a math notebook she borrowed when someone grabbed her arm, turning her quite roughly.
Her eyes opened widely.
"Hey, babe." His voice sent chills down her spine, not precisely in a good way. His dirty blonde hair waving along with the breeze.
"W—What are you doing here?" Isabelle said with a strangled voice, feeling curious eyes landing on them.
He didn't let go of her arm, a grim grin spreading his lips. "You seriously deleted my number?" He asked with faked hurt in his words.
She looked at him, her shock morphing into anger. Isabelle locked eyes with his, trying to figure out what his deep almond-green eyes were hiding. "What are you doing here, Sean?"