10. build

TEN

build

Friday, March 14th

It was that point in the year where Isaiah started counting down the days until summer. Around two months away. Seventy one days, to be exact. And not only would it be summer, but he would also be out of highschool for good. The thought filled him with joy.

Ashton was already planning some summer beach bash. Isaiah wanted to slap him and himself for having to hear that phrase come out of his mouth. "Dude, just call it a party like a normal person."

"But that's boring," Ashton shot back. He'd looked to the rest of the group for back up, but Steve was on his phone, and Morgan and August had apologetic looks on their faces. Ashton visibly deflated at their reactions.

For some reason, they weren't tired of sitting with Isaiah and his friends just yet. He thought they would've left after the first few days, but no, they were still here. Don't get him wrong, he actually enjoyed having them there, it was just weird. He'd been with Steve, Ashton, and Marcus for so long that he never even considered making new friends. Much less losing one.

Despite that, Isaiah felt okay. As close as he could get to it, at least. He'd pushed Marcus to the back of his mind; he pushed everything that'd been troubling him lately to the back of his mind. Maybe it was unhealthy, as Steve pointed out constantly, but he was feeling better. Albeit temporarily, but better nonetheless.

Now that he had done so, his mood had become brighter. He was less awkward around his newfound friends, and he was actually able to focus again. He'd never been more relieved in his life.

Isaiah was leaning against his locker, eyes trained on his phone when he spotted a pair of feet stop in front of him. He lifted his head to find Morgan smiling up at him, eyes made brighter by her winged eyeliner.

"Morning," he said, glancing behind her. "August didn't come with you today?"

She shook her head in response. "He's skipping first period."

"What? Why?" Isaiah asked, brows furrowed in confusion. He didn't seem like the type to skip. Then again, they still didn't know each other that well, so what did he know?

"He has to present a project. He'd rather take a fifty than speak in front of a class," she explained. When Isaiah still looked confused, she added, "He has some anxiety problems."

"Oh," Isaiah said. "I didn't expect that. He always seems so—" He waved his hand in front of him, struggling to find his words. "—confident? He makes conversation super easily."

Morgan's eyes turned wide. "I know!" she exclaimed in disbelief. "He's so good at that! But I guess it's because he's talking to one person, not a whole classroom full of them."

"That's understandable. Tell him that I said I hope things go well? If he ends up having to present and stuff."

Morgan frowned and pulled out her phone. "Do you not have his number?"

"Uh, no—"

"Here," she said, showing him her screen. "Text him."

Isaiah shifted awkwardly, hand flying to the back of his neck. "Are you sure he'd be okay with that? I mean, there's probably a reason he didn't give me it."

"Oh my God, you two are so alike."

"Well, that's debatable."

"Just take it," she urged, giving him a friendly smile. "He won't mind. And if he does, for some reason, tell him I gave it to you."

"Okay, I guess."

Isaiah: uh hi, Morgan gave me your number so I could tell you that I hope your presentation thing goes well if you end up having to do it 👍🏽

August: damn morgan just can't keep her mouth shut huh spilling all my business smh but thanks lol

Isaiah: wait oh God no she didn't have any bad intentions – Sorry! and you're welcome D:

August: you never told me but i'm assuming this is isaiah bc you're the only person in the world who still uses D: but dw btw I was just kidding lmao

Isaiah: Oh yeah it is! it's Isaiah. and you could probably tell because my thumbs up emoji isn't white (:

August: LMAO yeah that too. y'all better be in class stop texting me, go learn n shit ✌🏻

"Oh shit," Isaiah blurted out. "Class exists. Right. Bye, Morgan."

She let out a quiet laugh and lifted her hand to wave goodbye. "See you at lunch," she replied. Isaiah nodded, and they both headed in opposite directions to first period. Isaiah had psychology, and it was one of the only classes he actually found interesting.

As soon as he'd grabbed his seat in the back, he pulled out his phone again. His eyes ran over the texts he sent August, and he debated sending one more, but decided against it. He probably wanted to be left alone. Isaiah always wanted to be left alone when he was anxious.

Class passed by faster than he wanted it to, and so did the rest of the morning. At lunch, he plopped down in a seat next to Steve, who just barely lifted his head in greeting. His gaze was trained on some assignment, something that had a lot of numbers. A lot. It gave him a headache, so he looked away.

"August," Ashton stated suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention. Except for Steve, since he was in his own world. Ashton pointed at his prosthetic with a curious look. "I have a serious question."

August sighed. "Please don't ask me if I'm half-robot."

"I mean, I wasn't going to. Are you though?"

"Ashton, no."

"Okay, so, what happened?" Ashton asked. "I have my theories, do you want to hear them?"

August exchanged a look with Morgan and Isaiah before turning back to Ashton. "Sure. Go for it."

"Okay, number one. Diabetic foot," he stated, absolutely serious. "Like, gangrene can develop. If it gets really bad, you may have to be amputated. And—"

"Stop," August interrupted, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Ashton, what the fuck? No. God, I've never heard that one before."

"What have you heard?" Ashton pushed, leaning forward. His eyes were glistening like a child's when they discovered something new. Isaiah glanced at August, hoping he knew he didn't have to answer anything.

August blew out a breath of air, leaning back in his seat. "Well, I've heard car crash. Diabetic foot now. Explosion. Gun shot, stab wound, and a bad fall. Leg crushed under a large object."

Ashton raised an eyebrow. "It's not any of those?"

The other boy smiled weakly and shook his head. Ashton hummed before rattling off different scenarios, and Isaiah watched as August's face contorted into a slight grimace as he went on. He was blatantly uncomfortable, and as always, Ashton was oblivious.

"Hey," Morgan piped up, interrupting Ashton in the most polite way possible. Isaiah had a feeling she sensed August's discomfort, too. "We should all do something tomorrow."

"Like what?" Steve asked, finally tuned into the conversation. Isaiah had to bite back an amused smile; of course he'd listen when Morgan talked. He kept that comment to himself.

She bit at her glossy bottom lip. "I didn't think about that," she admitted. "I was hoping you guys had ideas."

"We should go to the beach," Ashton suggested. "I need an excuse to wear my new sunglasses."

"Hell no," Isaiah said, scrunching his nose up in disgust. "The nearest beach is in Galveston. And that shit is nasty as hell. Did you know a kid died after drinking the ocean water?"

Ashton's eyes grew wide. "Really?"

"No," Steve said, rolling his eyes and launching his elbow into Isaiah's side. "He's just trying to freak you out. But Galveston's beach is gross, Ash."

"Let's make it simple, yeah? We should just go see a movie," August pitched in. "I heard there's this real weird film out. I wanna see how weird."

"August," Morgan hissed before sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"But I'm right. I heard it's a really bad romance. And also the way they act is just... not realistic. At all."

"I know what you're talking about," Steve said. "I heard about the acting part. Like, no one says that shit. It's like Fifty Shades of Grey and Glee's love child, but without the singing."

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

"Y'all down?" August asked, and everyone nodded. Morgan hesitated at first, but ended up agreeing as long as August paid for her ticket. She meant it as a joke, but August agreed anyway. It made Isaiah wonder how long they'd been friends.

The rest of the day went by fast, and once Isaiah was home, his exhaustion slapped him across the face. He threw himself onto the sofa and turned on the TV, deciding to watch the soap opera that was on. He was too lazy to change it. He could understand half of what they were saying; he wasn't completely fluent in Spanish. His mom loved this shit though. She said she found the drama funny. Isaiah had to agree.

Isaiah ended up dozing off twenty minutes in. For some reason, he'd been unusually tired. Practice, waking up early, and having to focus on things he hated all day tended to drain him. Today it was just a bit more exhausting.

He wondered if it had just been an off day, or if it was all his other shit days piling up into one weird one. He didn't know, and he didn't really care. All he wanted to do was sleep, so he did.

Isaiah didn't have any dreams that night. He hadn't been having them for a while.