Thirty-Four

Aeipathy

(N.)

An enduring and consuming passion.

Jess ran down the stairs quickly, two at a time. He crossed the living room to open the door. He smiled when he saw his boyfriend standing there.

"Hey."

"Hey." Isaac beamed at him. "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Jess went over to put his shoes on and Isaac leaned against the door while waiting.

"Your mom not home? I didn't see her car."

"No, I think she's at work but to be honest I never know with her." Jess finished tying the laces and jumped up. "Where are we going?"

Isaac stepped aside so Jess could walk by him and shut the door behind them. He smiled, "What if I want it to be a surprise?"

Jess groaned. "Don't do that. C'mon tell me."

"Fine. Just because you're cute when you pout."

Jess ignored the way his ears were definitely turning red. Instead he focused on opening the car door. He slid in the passenger seat and glared at the AC being on and the vents blowing cold air. He fixed it immediately.

Isaac slid in next and Jess turned his focus back on him. "So, where are we going?"

"I was thinking the diner at the edge of town and then either the park or the field I took you to last time."

Jess smiled. "I like the field but I wouldn't mind swinging either. Both good choices."

"I know, that's why I'm making you pick." Isaac hummed and put the car in gear. Jess glanced down at his hand and as if reading his mind, Isaac moved his over to grab Jess's. They intertwined their fingers and Jess smiled.

"I don't know. We've gone to the park twice and the field only once."

"Does it count if we never went on an actual date to the park? That was before we were together." Isaac pointed out.

"True." Jess hummed. "So end this date at the park to even them out? One date at the field and one at the park."

"If you want." Isaac was no help at all. Jess let out a little huff of annoyance.

"This is why I make you plan the dates, so I don't have to pick."

Isaac started laughing. He smiled over at Jess and when they pulled up to a stop sign he leaned over to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. Jess tried his hardest to keep the cold stare on his face. His ears turned pink though, they do that a lot.

"We'll go to the park then." Isaac said.

"Finally. Thank you." Jess smiled again. Isaac chuckled softly and they continued their drive.

They pulled up to the little diner and parked. It was cute, but Jess had never been there. He didn't go out to eat very often.

He got out of the car and once he was back at Isaac's side the brunette reached out for his hand again. They walked in, a bell above the door ringing when Isaac opened the glass door. Isaac tugged at his hand and led him over to a booth where they sat down opposite of each other.

"So we're finally having a cliché date, huh?" Jess raised his eyebrows.

Isaac smiled. "We went out to a movie once, that's cliché."

"After that though we ate fast food in an empty dollar tree parking lot." Jess said and Isaac chuckled. "That's not really cliché."

"True." Isaac nodded. "Well, then, does this count as cliché? We're going to the park later."

A waitress came by. She had her hair braided down her back and blue eyes cut between them before she smiled. Her arms moved to sit two menues on the table between them. She looked like she was probably in her early twenties. "Hello, I'll be your server today. What can I get you guys to drink?"

Isaac looked to Jess first. He swallowed before speaking. "Uh, Dr Pepper, please."

She nodded and scribbled on her notepad before turning to Isaac. He spoke quicker than Jess had managed to. "Coke."

She nodded, made another scribble, and walked off. Jess turned back to Isaac. He recalled what Isaac had said before and cleared his throat to pick back up their conversation.

"I guess you're right. If this counts as a cliché date than the movie theater does too."

Isaac tilted his head slightly to the side and smiled. Jess smiled too because he was adorable. "So we're just super cliché then?"

"Absolutely." Jess nodded. "We're a couple copied straight out of a book."

Isaac chuckled quietly. "Is our story at least good?"

Jess shrugged. "It's kinda boring. A little too soft to make a good plot."

Isaac rolled his eyes. "What makes a good plot?"

The waitress returned then. She sat down their drinks and brought up the notepad again. "Are you ready to order now or would you like more time."

"Oh." Isaac's eyes widened like he just realized they completely forgot to look through the menus. He looked at Jess. "Do you know what you want?"

"I'll just take a cheeseburger." Jess said, turning his attention to the waitress. "Everything on it but no lettuce or onions."

She nodded and wrote somethings down on her notepad. As Jess was talking Isaac had picked up the menu and grazed through one section. She turned to him and raised her eyebrows expectantly.

"Uh, the chicken strip basket."

"Okay, chips or fries for the side?"

"Fries." Isaac answered immediately. She nodded and scratched a few more things on the paper before picking up their menus and walking off. Isaac turned back to Jess and chuckled. "I forgot we needed to look for food for a minute there."

Jess smiled. "I noticed. Too caught up in my beauty?"

"Yeah, pretty much." His voice didn't sound like a joke. He had a soft smile on his face and he was staring at Jess with his intense eyes.

Jess blushed a little but tried to pretend he wasn't. "Right. Well, luckily for you you're dating a boy who gets the same thing pretty much every where he goes."

Isaac chuckled. "Lucky for me. Now want to answer my question? What makes a good plot?"

"Unnecessary complications." Jess hummed with ease, taking a sip of his drink. "Like usually it's problems that could easily be solved with some communications. Oblivious characters or stupid fights are a regular."

Isaac smiled. "So, if we don't have that does that mean we don't have unnecessary complications?"

"We don't really have a whole lot of complications at all." Jess said with a shrug. "Realistically, that's great for us. However if we're talking books it would probably make for a boring book."

Isaac rolled his eyes. "I think we would have a great book."

"Of course you do." Jess smiled. Isaac was just cute and they were having a cute conversation in a cute diner. They were having a very cute date and Jess couldn't keep the smile off his face for too long.

"You're cute when you smile."

Jess focused back in to where he was. Sitting in a diner across from the boy he loved. His lips tugged up into a bigger smile. He was smiling so much his face hurt. "First you said I was pretty when I smiled, and now I'm cute."

"You're both. You're a lot of things. Attractive, cute, hot, pretty, beautiful. The list goes on."

Jess looked down at his lap and tried to fight off his blush. He was losing the battle. His face felt warm in embarrassment.

"Shut up."

"What?" Isaac chuckled. "You don't think so?"

Jess didn't answer. No, not really. He didn't want to say it out loud though. Isaac didn't need his insecurities driving him down.

"Hey." His voice was incredibly soft when he spoke again. His shoe bunoed against Jess and forced the other boy to look up. His eyes were soft with sincerity in a way that only suited him. "I mean it, every word. In my eyes, you're the prettiest boy in the world."

Jess's heart beat fast in his chest. Everything in him wanted to explode that moment. He didn't duck his face to hide the blush because that would hide the smile too. He wanted Isaac to see him smile.

He believed him then.

It was an insane thought that a couple months ago he never would've thought to be true. Someone seeing him and thinking he's the most beautiful person out of everyone. That thought would seem ridiculous. Yet, nothing in Isaac's eyes indicated that he was saying anything but the truth.

Isaac really thought that. His eyes really portrayed Jess as beautiful. It made Jess smile a bright smile. He smiles like that a lot around Isaac.

"Good." Jess hummed quietly. "It'd be awkward if you didn't think I was pretty while I look at you like you're the only person in the room. Because, to me, no one else in the room can matter as long as you're there."

Isaac smiled wide. "Really?"

Jess just nodded. He then glanced around the room, reminding himself of where they were. He nudged his foot against Isaac's. "We're turning into that cheesey couple now."

Isaac processed the words for a moment before groaning. "Oh no, we are."

After another moment of thinking, he shrugged. Instead of blush or feel embarrassed he gave Jess a smile. He didn't care. Jess had to remind himself of that. Isaac didn't care.

Isaac was in love with him.

"That's okay though." Isaac shrugged. "I don't think I mind being the cheesey couple if its with you."

Jess grinned. "See? Cheesey." He paused then. "I love you."

Surprise flickered in Isaac's eyes for a moment. It didn't stay long. A smile lit up his face. "I love you too."

As if paid to be perfectly timed, the waitress returned. She held their food and sat it down gently. She offered then both a kind smile. "Sorry it took a bit longer, there was a mishap with another customer's food that needed to be taken care of and delayed us."

They both shared a look and shrugged. Isaac gave her his charming smile. "You're fine, we didn't even notice."

Admittedly they hadn't. At least, Jess hadn't. It was hard to focus on anything other than Isaac when they were around each other. Hell, that applied even when they weren't. It made it extra hard when Isaac was staring at him intensely and telling him he was beautiful.

"If you could have anything in the world, what would you want?" Jess said simply, hoping to start back up idle conversation.

Isaac looked at him in thought. His eyes danced around Jess's face for a few seconds before a small smile slipped on to his face.

"I already have my whole world with me, what else could I want?"

Jess's heart beat picked up at the words. His face felt warm and he knew his ears were red. He stared back at Isaac and waited for it. He waited for the teasing tone to return to his voice or for him to burst out laughing and declare he was only joking.

It never happened though. He didn't do any of those things because he wasn't joking. Jess knew he wasn't joking and that made the feeling in his chest greater.

Isaac was his everything. He knew that. He had known that since before they started dating.

Isaac made him happy. He glowed when he smiled. His laugh was contagious like no other. His eyes were kind and his voice was soft. Isaac was his happy place. A place he felt safe. Being around him made Jess's shoulders relax and his chest feel light.

"If you're gonna say that.. mean it." Jess said quietly. He looked down at his food. "Don't say those things and get my heart swooning if you don't mean it."

Isaac bumped their feet together again. Jess looked up and he was smiling. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it Baby. You're my world."

Jess let himself blush. He smiled at Isaac. "We're being cheesey again."

Isaac chuckled. "You started it this time."

"Alright, true." Jess nodded and picked up his cheeseburger. He had a mountain of fries on his plate that he knew he wouldn't finish. Although, considering the way Isaac had already eaten half of his mountain he would probably help Jess out.

"Is the food okay?" Isaac asked after Jess had taken two bites of his sandwich.

"Yeah." He nodded. "I like it."

"Okay." Isaac smiled a little.

They finished eating pretty quickly. Jess had been correct in his earlier prediction, he wasn't able to finish his fries. Isaac ate the rest of them for him. Afterwards, Jess paid. He had to convince Isaac to let him.

"Park?" Isaac asked when they walked out of the diner. Jess nodded.

"Sounds fun. Are we watching the sunset again?"

Isaac gave him a bashful smile. "I'd really like it if we could."

"Of course we can." Jess opened the car door. "I like watching them too, so I really don't mind."

"Okay. Cool." Isaac grinned and they climbed in the car.

Isaac's hand rested on his thigh the whole drive over. Once they reached the park they parked in the center parking lot. Jess surveyed their surroundings to take in the people there.

It wasn't really all that busy. There was a family with three kids down by the lake and a jogger was running down a trail that went into the woods. Jess turned over to look at Isaac with a grin.

"Can we go over to the swings?"

Isaac chuckled and nodded. "Sure."

Jess smiled and hopped out of the car. Isaac followed after him and Jess intertwined their hands and dragged Isaac towards the closest swing set to them. Once he got closer he let go of Isaac's hand in order to spin around and plop down on the swing.

Isaac smiled and walked forward. He grabbed the chains to Jess's swing and leaned forward. He looked down and Jess looked up to meet his gaze.

Without a word, Isaac leaned down to kiss him. The kiss was filled with so much passion. For Jess, time paused for a moment. The only things his mind could focus on was the cold feeling of metal under his hands and the sweet kiss Isaac was delivering to his lips.

When they pulled away Jess kept his eyes closed. He wanted the moment to last just a little bit longer. He could still feel Isaac's breath on his face so he knew the other boy hadn't gone far.

"God, I love you." Jess whispered as he opened his eyes.

Isaac was smiling widely down at him, still looming over his swing. He moved his hands from the chains to instead cup Jess's face and leaned down to kiss him again. This one was shorter but just as sweet.

"I love you too."

"Good." Jess grinned. "Now move so I can swing."

Isaac laughed and complied. He stepped back and aside so Jess could swing. Instead of standing over his boyfriend, he went over to sit on the swing next to him.

Jess kicked off the ground to started off swinging. He moved back and forth and Isaac copied him.

In that moment everything was perfect. Jess let himself smile wide and he allowed the laughter and giggles to slip out. It was like there was a bubble surrounding them. The two of then were the only ones in the world that mattered.

Jess's life was getting better. He knew that, he could sense it. Isaac wasn't the only reason for that, but he was definitely the kick he needed to get hid life together.

He no longer trudged around the school halls like it was just a chore he had to survive through. He didn't have to plaster on fake smiles whenever friends or associates approached him anymore. He didn't feel alone in this world anymore.

He had people now. People that were on his side and were there for him. He had people that actually cared for him.

He had a person he loved and that loved him back.

His mental health was getting better. He had friends and a boyfriend now. He didn't get the sickening feeling of sinking to rock bottom anymore. He didn't feel like he had to carry all his burdens alone.

He was okay. Everything was okay.

And it all started thanks to Isaac Johnson.

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The next chapter will be the last! Oh my gosh I'm so excited.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!

Love you ♡

- Z