Twenty-Eight

Ravi

(Adj.) (French)

To be delighted.

Jess woke up to Isaac's godawful morning alarm again. He grunted and hid his head in the pillow quickly. He could hear Isaac curse from next to him and the arm that was lazily draped around him moved to shut off the loud noise.

Isaac's hand came back, running up Jess's back soothingly. When he spoke his voice was soft in a half-whisper type of way. "I'm sorry, Baby."

The name made Jess more willing to accept the apology. He ignored the knowledge that his ears were turning red for the sake of his embarrassment. Slowly, he rolled over and grunted out an, "I'll forgive you this time."

Once he had rolled over he let his eyes take in the sight before him. He swept in the gorgeous man in front of him. Isaac was sitting, shirtless, looking down at Jess with caring eyes.

I've never felt so lucky.

Jess leaned up a little and Isaac met him halfway. Their lips locked but only for a few seconds before Jess pulled away. He scrunched up his nose. "Morning breath."

His voice came out scratchy and rough from his sleep having been taken away from him. Isaac's eyes widened at the sound of it before his brain seemed to catch up on what Jess had said. He quickly laughed.

"Sorry."

Jess waved off his apology and sleepily glanced around the room. When he brought his eyes back to Isaac's they were more worried this time.

"Are you feeling better? Do you want to stay here today? Or I could drop you back off at your house if you prefer to stay there."

Jess's stomach tumbled at the caring tone of his voice. He shook his head. "No, I'm okay." He gave the boy looking down at him a sleepy smile. "Thank you."

Isaac smiled back. He leaned down and kissed the side of Jess's neck, driving the boy crazy. When he pulled back he spoke, "I'm gonna get dressed and go for my run then. I'll wake you up when I get back?"

Jess nodded but didn't roll over to fall back asleep. Instead he watched as Isaac got up and walked over to his closet. He watched the muscles in Isaac's back move as he looked through the shirts.

When he found a shirt and pulled it over his head Jess couldn't help but frown. "Well, there goes my view."

Isaac laughed at the words and gave him a lazy smile. "Go back to sleep Baby."

Jess rolled his eyes but did just that. While Isaac left the room he rolled over and hugged the pillow under his head. He missed Isaac's body heat but settled for pulling the blanket higher up. He faded back into sleep in the comfort of Isaac's bed.

Of course though, good things can't last forever. His sleep was disturbed once again by his boyfriend. If Isaac wasn't so damn attractive he'd probably hold a grudge against him for stealing away his sleeping time so much.

Jess blinked awake and stared up at the one that woke him. Isaac's smile seemed brighter than the light seeping in through the window to Jess's sleepy hazed brain. My Elayne.

"It's time to get up. You gotta get ready for school."

Jess sighed but pulled himself up to a sitting position on the side of the bed. He leaned over, resting his head on Isaac's abdomen for a moment because getting up seemed like such a hassle. Isaac laughed and put his hands on Jess's arms to slowly ease the boy up.

Once standing Jess just leaned forward again and rested his head on Isaac's shoulder instead. His boyfriend didn't seem to mind this as much. Hands were rubbing up and down his back as Isaac's lips left soft kisses around the base of his neck where the collar of the hoodie was.

"You sure you're okay?" Isaac whispered.

Jess hummed in reply. With a slow nod he leaned back to look at Isaac. "I'm okay. Drousy because I got a little too much sleep."

"Yeah." Isaac nodded. "You slept for a while yesterday and all of last night."

Jess gave him a small smile. "I was trying to sleep the sadness away."

Isaac gave him a weak smile in return, clearly still worried about yesterday. "Did it work?"

"I don't know. I think you helped more than the napping did."

Isaac's grin was wide. He leaned forward to kiss Jess again. This time his breath smelled like mint toothpaste.

When they pulled away Isaac gave him a sly smile. "Notice how I don't complain about the morning breath?"

Jess rolled his eyes. "You like me too much to complain."

Isaac chuckled and craned his head down to kiss at Jess's neck again. "You're not wrong."

The feeling of warm breath hitting his skin made Jess shiver. Isaac had to have felt it as his lips were touching him. If he did, it only fueled him to kiss at Jess's neck more.

The boy groaned lowly and at the noise Isaac's lips left his skin immediately. Jess realized he had interrupted the sound wrong and leaned over to kiss Isaac's jaw.

"I don't wanna be late to school." Jess said quietly. Isaac's eyes washed over with understanding, covering up the desire from before. A smirk rose to his face slowly.

"Can I leave one mark?" His voice was a whisper and he leaned down so his breath fanned over Jess's neck like it had before. Goosebumps spread up Jess's arms and the boy weakly nodded.

"One."

Of course that didn't last. They were on the bed with Isaac looming over him in no time. By the time they were done the entirety of Jess's collarbone on the right side was covered with marks and the collar of his hoodie was a bit stretched out. There was one at the side of his neck as well that he gave Isaac clearance to leave.

His boyfriend was worried visible marks would bother Jess. In the moment he didn't mind the idea at all. In fact he wanted Isaac to leave them anywhere he liked.

Although after going to the bathroom to brush his teeth Jess got to see the mark himself. It was one dark hickey for sure. There wasn't any hiding it either.

Jess could wear the hoodie and that could probably partially work but if anyone was standing within a few feet of him they would be able to see it. If anyone was looking a little too closely from a distance they could see it. It didn't bother Jess, it was just slightly embarrassing to think about how people would think they had sex last night.

He shrugged off his concerns and brushed his teeth. Then he left the bathroom and went back to Isaac's room. He kept on the sweat pants he had borrowed from Isaac the night before and grabbed a T-shirt.

He pulled off the hoodie and immediately felt eyes on him. He looked over to confirm and sure enough, Isaac's eyes were looking over his bare torso. He licked his lips before tearing his eyes away and forcing them up to meet Jess's. Jess smirked and a blush spread over Isaac's face at getting caught.

Jess turned back around, ignoring the way he once again felt his boyfriend's eyes devouring him. He picked out a shirt and pulled it on before putting the hoodie back on over it. Once all that was done he spun back around.

"All right, we should probably go."

Isaac nodded. "We definitely should."

Jess followed Isaac out to his car and they both got in. The radio and the heater were both already on and to Jess's preferences since he had been with Isaac the whole drive yesterday. It made him smile as he buckled in.

Once they started to drive Isaac reached his hand over to rest it on Jess's thigh. He moved his thumb to rub at the fabric there and Jess forced himself to look out the window. It was a weak attempt to hide his blush.

They arrived at the school and with a gentle kiss to Jess's jaw, Isaac stepped out of the car. Jess followed after him and they walked next to each other, arms brushing lightly, all the way inside. Tally and Andrew were already at Jess's locker waiting on them when they got there.

The two smiled in greeting, putting a halt to their conversation. Jess stepped up to get into his locker and Isaac joined in on Tally and Andrew's talking.

"Your boyfriend's here today so does that mean you're not gonna run off and leave us this time?" Andrew teased.

Isaac chuckled softly. "Yeah, sorry about that."

Just then Mason walked up with Kristi next to him. He joined the conversation with a warming smile. "Is he apologizing for ditching us yesterday?"

"That he is." Tally confirmed.

Jess closed his locker and turned around then. Tally's eyes moved to him before slightly down and then they widened in surprise. He smirked. "Oh I get it now."

Andrew, Mason, Isaac and Kristi all gave him confused looks. Then they shifted to Jess and realized what he meant. Isaac sighed, no doubt preparing himself for the teasing about to come. Kristi and Andrew's eyes widened while Mason shared a matching smirk with his best friend.

"Holy shit." Mason laughed. "Did you run off to get laid?"

"Mason!" Kristi scolded him and he softly apologized to her.

"No but seriously because what is that?" Andrew joked, raising his hand to motion towards Jess's neck.

Jess adjusted his hoodie just to ease the teasing. He wasn't bothered greatly by them seeing it. Isaac however must've seen the motion and thought that he was uncomfortable because the boy glared at their friends.

"Shut up. And no, we didn't have sex."

Andrew laughed. "Now that's a damn lie but I'll pretend to believe it."

Isaac just rolled his eyes, scooting slightly closer to Jess in a protective way. Jess laughed under his breath at his boyfriend. Isaac looked down at the noise, his irritation fading.

"We didn't have sex, Isaac just has a major marking kink." Jess's voice was teasing towards the end.

A blush made it's way up Isaac's neck and he ducked his head down bashfully. The group exploded with laughter, all except Kristi who rolled her eyes. Isaac eventually snapped at them to shut up and they did.

Jess leaned over into Isaac's side as a silent apology. He accepted it, throwing his arm around Jess and rubbing his shoulder affectionately.

"Kristi!" Jane's voice cut into their group as the girl ran up to her friend. "Bathroom, now."

Kristi listened, patting Mason on the shoulder before quickly walking off with her best friend. Mason rolled his eyes. "The amount of times that woman has stole my girlfriend for gossip-bathroom-time is ridiculous."

The group laughed at him. Tally nudged him with his elbow teasingly. "She loves Jane more than you, does that mean you love me more than her?"

"Don't get your hopes up too high there, bud." Mason said immediately with his playful smile. Tally seemed to deflate at the rejection. Jess laughed at the two.

"Ay, don't laugh at me." Tally shot a glare over at him. "Don't think that thing on the side of your neck has been forgotten."

Jess just shrugged in response. He shared a small smile with Isaac before the group slipped back into easy conversation. The topic of his hickey wasn't brought back up and it was almost refreshing to know that the group didn't actually care that much but was rather just teasing.

It was good because he hadn't been entirely joking about Isaac having a marking kink. The boy seriously loved leaving hickeys all over Jess and after this morning that thought had been confirmed. Not that Jess minded that at all. It was just good to know he wouldn't get too much shit for coming to school with hickeys.

Once the bell rang they all went their separate ways. Jess skipped off to his first class with a happy feeling in his chest. He had been feeling like shit yesterday and he worried it would carry over to today but it didn't. He knew Isaac had a big part in that too.

In first hour it was clear people had seen the bruise on his neck. Some of the girls were whispering in their corner and throwing him looks. That and people side eyeing him for most of the class period was really the only indicator that he had to deal with. He wasn't bothered by that.

After class Isaac met him while he was walking down the hall. "You okay?"

Jess smiled reassuringly at his worrying boyfriend. "Yes, Isaac, I'm great."

Isaac raised his eyebrows. "Great?"

"Yup, fantastic. My neck is starting to hurt."

Isaac's eyes widened. "Oh shit, I forgot ones on the neck supposedly hurt. It's not bad is it?"

Jess chuckled and shook his head. "No, just a reminder as to why everyone's whispering around me today."

Isaac, again, looked worried. "Shit. I'm sorry."

Jess gave him a smile. "It's okay. I'm not bothered."

"You sure?"

"Yes. Now, if you don't go, you'll be late for class."

Isaac looked over his shoulder in the direction he was supposed to be walking. With a sigh, he turned around. "Fine. Promise to tell me if anyone says anything that bothers you?"

"Promise." Jess nodded his head and with the reassurance Isaac walked away. Jess knew already he wouldn't need to worry. The comments didn't bother him.

After second hour he had begun the walk to third hour without any incidents. He didn't even have a concerned boyfriend following him around this time. Yet, no peace can last forever. Especially not at the school where word travels fast.

He was abruptly ripped off course by an arm pulling him to the side of the hallway. Maria and Lia, along with Ray all immediately starting inspecting his neck.

"Holy fuck, it's true." Ray let out a chuckle, punching Jess's arm. "Way to go man."

Jess rolled his eyes. "To answer your questions, no we didn't have sex."

Ray looked almost disappointed, the little pervert. Lia however looked relieved. Maria didn't have a reaction.

"Well everyone's saying you did, just so you know." She filled him in and he nodded.

"I furgured they would." Jess shrugged.

"You're not freaking out?" Lia asked with concern.

Jess rolled his eyes but then chuckled soon after. "I honestly think Isaac is freaking out more about it than I am, and he's only freaking out because he's worried I'm freaking out."

Maria and Lia's faces melted. Both of them were big softies and Jess could tell they found that adorable. They shared a look before audibly cooing. "Awwww."

Ray smiled. "That's cute and all but I'm not about to make myself feel more single. Bye bye then." He waved and walked off. Before he got too far though he threw another smile over his shoulder and gave Jess a thumbs up. "I'm happy for you bro!"

"That is so freaking adorable." Maria brought thr attention back to her and Lia.

"He really cares that much?" Lia asked, a little bit of concern still deep in her expression.

Jess nodded. "He even asked me this morning before giving me the hickey if it was okay. Double checked a few dozen times too that I wouldn't mind a visible one."

Lia's worries washed away. Jess was glad in a way because her worrying would've made him worry as well. He didn't want to worry about this because his relationship was the one thing he wasn't currently worrying about. It was the one thing he felt sure it would be okay.

He had grown far more attached to Isaac than he has been to anyone he didn't share DNA with ever. That wasn't an exaggeration either. Part of him hated it. That part wanted him to distance himself and detach from Isaac as soon as possible to avoid getting hurt.

He knew he wouldn't be able to. If Isaac was going to hurt him then it was going to be the worst ache of his life because he couldn't distance himself to soften the blow. He knew he was too far gone now. Too deep with feelings for Isaac. There was no way out now.

That was okay though. For now, he felt secure. He wasn't worried about anything happening. Maybe that would come back to bite him in the ass later but that was a later problem.

In fourth hour he and Mason had sat next to each other. That seemed to be a thing they did now, ever since last week when it first got out about Jess and Isaac. They didn't talk during class really but Mason sat next to him. It was reassuring in a weird way.

People were still whispering and giving him looks on occasion. It had died down a lot more now. Jess suspected they'd be like this all day though considering it was new gossip and people just never got tired of that.

Lunch was normal for the group though. They ate their food, Jess snacking on a bag of chips Isaac had handed him at the beginning of lunch. He wondered when the boy grabbed them for him since he had been with him all morning but decided not to dwell on it.

It wasn't until sixth hour, Algebra II, that things shifted. When he walked in the two girls were in their back row playing on their phones, the ffa country boy was over by their teacher talking about homework, and Ki was sitting in his desk on his phone ignoring everyone. It was as normal as that class got.

Wyatt walked in after Jess had taken a seat. He looked at the boy and scowled before shifting his gaze down his neck. He scoffed out loud, walking over to plop down in his seat while grumbling. "Fucking disgusting little fags."

Jess fully intended to ignore the comment. In fact, he was going to pretend he never heard it. However the next thing said made him spin around in his seat and watch the scene with wide eyes.

"Why don't you just shut the fuck up, Wyatt?" Ki snapped. Ki Lendev. The same homophobic bastard that was ignoring his childhood best friend because he thought he was gay. "No one wants to hear your stupid fucking opinions."

Everyone was quiet. Even Wyatt seemed shocked. Of course he was. Ki and him hadn't been talking lately. In fact, Ki had been ignoring everyone in there for a while.

When he snapped then though he looked genuinely pissed. His eyes burned with rage and his mouth twisted up with hatred as he stared at Wyatt, willing the boy to talk back. He didn't. So then, Ki moved his eyes to the set watching him.

Jess froze when the burning glare turned to him. He expected Ki to snap, to say something rude and hateful. Instead though, the anger on Ki's face started to fade and he moved his focus back down to his phone, going back to ignoring everything.

Jess had no idea what was happening. Slowly, he turned around again in his desk. He blinked a few times to rub off the shock because he felt gobsmacked. What the hell was that?

Class went on and he tried not to think too hard on it. He did though. He thought about it because it was strange. It was very, very strange.

At the end of the day he met up with Isaac and the group again. He wanted to tell them about it but didn't. Instead he waited until everyone said their goodbyes and it was just him and Isaac alone in the car.

"Hey, something weird happened today." Jess started out carefully. He wasn't sure how to even go about telling him what but he knew he should tell him. Ki did used to be his best friend.

"What?" Isaac looked over at him confused. "Are you okay?"

And so he told him exactly what happened. In the beginning Isaac looked like he was about to crawl out of the car and find Wyatt's ass to beat. He didn't though, and by the end of the story he looked just as confused as Jess. Conflicted as well.

"Huh." He nodded. "Maybe he's getting his head out of his ass."

Jess nodded too. He wouldn't say anything about the hope he saw in Isaac's eyes. "Maybe."

They drove back quietly. The hum of some songs Jess recognized played in the background and Isaac's hand rested on Jess's thigh the whole way back. It was relaxing.

They parked at Isaac's house and Jess realized he'd never expressed his want to come back here, Isaac just knew. It made him smile a little as he got out to walk in. When the door opened the sound of the TV filled the air.

They took off their shoes and walked over to the living room. Isaac smiled at the man on the couch. "Hey Dad."

Dave smiled wide at both of them. His eyes grazed over Jess before a small chuckle erupted from his lips. "Well damn, he's here more than I am."

Isaac chuckled softly, reaching his hand over to thread his fingers with Jess's. "Yeah, I can't seem to get rid of him."

Jess's jaw slackened in surprise and he glared over at his chuckling boyfriend. "Can't get rid of me? You're the one that keeps randomly kidnapping me and bringing me back here."

Isaac gave him a bashful smile. Dave found this interaction hilarious. Jess smiled a bit brighter, finding comfort in the loving environment.

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I'm excited for the upcoming chapters. So very excited.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!

Love you ♡

- Z