perfect?

Jonah shook away Isaac’s arm. He couldn’t handle it right now - his world was crashing down - walls that he’d built up so high tumbling and all he could think was…this was what he deserved. He deserved to have his sunshine taken away because he was using her, he was lying…but he couldn’t tell Isaac that. He couldn’t tell anyone. “I can’t, Eye - “ His voice was broken - cracking and full of fear. “what if…what if we wait for tomorrow and it’s too late? I don’t care what happens to me, I just want her safe…besides I don’t know if I can stand.” His entire body was shaking, he was wracked with fear and he worried that if he stood up, he’d only fall or worse - throw up.

Watching Jonah push him away, Isaac figured that he should have expected it. It was ultimately his own fault for not being there for Jonah sooner, especially when his date had just gone missing in front of everyone’s eyes. They all could have stopped this, and they hadn’t. Anger flooded his veins, but he swallowed hard to keep himself calm. He needed to be there for Jonah right now. “We can wait. They won’t wait. Emery, the other guards, the detectives--they aren’t going to rest til she’s found, Jonah. Whoever took her couldn’t have gone far, but we can’t get in the way of them looking for her.” He moved next to  Jonah, placing another hand on his shoulder. “I’ll carry you, then. We gotta get out of here.” 

Staring.

That was all Jonah could do.

He wanted to run, he wanted to scream until his throat bled, he wanted to find her - but he felt paralyzed. The security surrounding him, leading him away called it shock. He remembered the feeling well - almost a year to this day, standing in the middle of the living room when Sam came home, but not Patrick.

Frozen.

He stood frozen in the hallway, dumbly, watching others run and stumble out of the gym erupting in tears and screams. He wished to do the same, but instead he leaned against a wall, feeling his back slide down to the floor.

He was nobody’s hero.

“Maisie…” his hoarse voice finally whispered, tears finally finding their way down his face. “I have to find her…”

Eddie came first, but Ali was close in second. That was purely because of circumstance, and he couldn’t fucking find Jonah. So he put off looking for his friend for a split second, if only to take care of those who needed his help, and who he could locate easily. Holding onto Aliyah tightly, he had only let go when she moved to console Whitney. Seeing Eddie, however, broke his heart. But the boy seemed so distraught that Isaac couldn’t do much but wait for him to come back to their room. Then he would do anything he could to comfort him.

And so he made the trek from the crowded, chaotic gymnasium, which was now full of fear and sweat, to the cooler hallways. He instantly started searching for his other best friend, and it wasn’t long before his eyes landed on him. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.” He knelt next to Jonah, placing a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, but we need to get out of her. She’d want you to be safe. You know she would.” He knew Jonah didn’t want to hear it, but it needed to be said. “We can look for her tomorrow. What we need right now is to make sure that nobody else gets hurt or goes missing. Especially you. If you want to be there for her, the best you can do is stay safe. If not for yourself, then for Maisie.”

Isaac’s gaze alone was enough to make a pink hue rise on Aliyah’s cheeks and she was sure the warmth from them was enough to warm up even the coldest of nights. Letting out a soft laugh, she lowered her gaze shyly before smiling up at him as he took hold of her hand. “And you are going to make me melt if you keep this up..” she teased gently. The smile that pulled at her lips was brighter than it ever could have been, but it somehow managed to get even brighter as he revealed the corsage. “Isaac.. it’s beautiful..” she breathed as she looking up at him yet again. Leaning up on her tippy toes, she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek before hugging him tightly. “How did a girl like me get so lucky to find someone like you?” she whispered. 

The slight blush on her cheeks only made her look even more beautiful, causing Isaac’s heart to soar in his chest. God, if Eddie and Jonah could see him right now he would never hear the end of it. Not that he would care, though--this was worth it. She was worth it. “I must be the luckiest guy in the world.” He breathed out, his eyes shining as he reached out to wrap an arm around her waist. “If you melt, I guess I’ll just have to catch you.” He whispered in her ear softly, not sure exactly when or how he got to be this charming. However, suddenly she was kissing his cheek and he forgot that he was trying to charm her. He was back to being a loser, but he knew he was her loser. And she was his princess. “I could say the same  thing about you.” He replied, holding out an arm. “Shall we?”

Standing outside the Indoor Gym Stadium in a floor length sparkling blue dress that looked like it had come out of the movie Frozen itself, Aliyah felt a little nervous. She had been ‘dating’ Isaac for a little while now, but going to something this formal with him was nerve wracking.. and like any girl about to go on a date with a guy she had a crush on, she had crazy butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She knew Isaac would be there soon, but in the meantime she made conversation with a girl in her class. It wasn’t a secret that Aliyah loved to talk. No matter who it was too, she was a social butterfly, and sometimes she got so lost in conversation she forgot where she was.. which was exactly what she had done in that moment. Talking about an upcoming fashion assignment with the girl, all nerves had momentarily subdued, that was until her friend changed topic.  “Hey look, you’re date’s here.. and damn he’s looking cute.” the girl said with a wink before she scurried off. Aliyah’s heart was once again beating like crazy, and very slowly she turned around, unable to stop the smile that pulled at her lips as she saw Isaac.  “Hey you.” she said softly. 

@isaacxclayton

Isaac thought he was ready. He had really, really thought he was prepared to see her. After all the hard work he and Jonah had done to look good, and to get their dates corsages that matched their dresses. And as much as he had wanted to pick Ali up from her room, to be the proper gentleman he wanted, they’d ultimately agreed on something else. And so he’d followed along with what they’d agreed to do. Taking the blue corsage in his hands, he held it behind his back as he made his way through the crowd of students... and then his eyes landed on her, and his entire world stopped spinning.

“Wow, you look... wow.” His voice was soft and breathless as he stared at her, pure adoration in his eyes as he approached her slowly. “You are a princess, Ms. Watson.” He took her hand and kissed it, his eyes raising to meet hers. Straightening up a bit, he pulled the corsage from behind his back. “For you, m’lady.”

The dance was mere hours away and Jonah realized how under-prepared he was. God, he was going with a literal Disney princess and here he was, still in his pajamas with his hair uncombed. He barely even knew where to start. He had a tux - in fact, he’d just rented it. He owned a few, but he’d either outgrown them or they were tied together with court cases and funerals, but other than that? He felt lost - so he turned to the only person he knew to help him.

Practically running through his dorm hall in his pajamas, with his tux trailing behind him in the wind, he threw open Isaac’s dorm room and looked at him frantically. “Bromeo! I’m not ready for the dance!”

@isaacxclayton

“Yo Broses,” He greeted automatically, a laugh building up in his chest before dying on his lips as his eyes were filled with mock horror. “Oh my god this is even worse.” His eyes took in everything from his friend’s messy hair to the dissheveled clothing to the fact that his clothes were fucking pajamas. “You can’t wear pajamas to a dance, Jonah!”

To give the guy some credit, Isaac had been expecting the younger dude to find some suitable clothing... and so when he realized that Jonah was actually holding the suit in his hands, he almost started to cry out of relief. “I--Yeah. Okay. I’ll help you get ready. Just--Seriously? Don’t scare me like that.”

Aliyah looked over at him, completely ready to blurt out what the text had said and what the anonymous blog wanted her to do, but the moment her eyes locked with his all words escaped her. She had initially planned on letting him read the text himself, but then she remembered it mentioned her keeping secrets from him, and she didn’t want him to question that.. she still couldn’t bring herself to tell him about the horrible things she had done in the past. Taking in a shaky breath, the blonde was almost on the verge of tears as she tore her gaze from his quickly. His eyes were something she could melt in.. his whole presence made her feel safe, and that honestly scared her.  “It uh-” she started, clearing her throat as it cracked slightly. “She wants me to hurt you. Not physically-” she corrected herself quickly, looking over at him once more. “She told me to make you interested.. in me.. interested enough that you’d actually want to date me and then she wants me to get your hopes up and promise you the world only to break your heart but I can’t- I can’t do that to you, I won’t do that to you and now I don’t know what to do. I’m not going to hurt you, Isaac but I’m so so scared of what she’s going to do.”  She had blurted it out now and she knew there was no going back, she was going to have to find a way to get around E’s consequences, she didn’t expect Isaac to help, but she had to at least tell him about the text seeing as it involved him.

There was something in her eyes that got him to stop, to pause what he was doing and look--actually look--at the blonde girl. And for a moment his expression softened, blue irises melting as he watched her. He couldn’t possibly guess what she was thinking, or if what she was thinking was even plausible or likely in any universe, but she seemed to believe in what she was saying, and that was enough for him to be serious. “Yeah, okay. Of course. You got it.” He agreed almost instantly with a nod, studying her expression as if by doing so he could read her mind and prepare himself for whatever was to come.

“Hey, it’s okay.” He whispered, his hand sliding into hers out of instinct. His knees aren’t exactly touching hers, but they were close enough for him to feel the heat of her body radiating off of her. His warm gaze studied her curiously, thumb tracing hearts on the back of her hand as he watched her. As she explained what the text message had entailed he visibly flinched, not even wanting to imagine what might have gone down had Aliyah actually followed through with what had been asked of her. Surely he would have cried, and a lot of yelling would have occurred, as well as a few broken hearts. But maybe forgiveness would have been in their future, as well as a kiss. Because Isaac rarely fell for girls, but when he did, he fell hard and without warning. And for Aliyah all it had taken was a single smile. “Hey, it’s okay, Ali.” He ran his thumb  across her hand soothingly, his eyes searching hers. “We can get past her--I don’t know, she wants you to hurt me, right?  So why don’t you hurt me? Or, pretend to. She--or they--won’t know the difference.”