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mocha

WALKING AROUND SCHOOL in Isaac's jacket made me think it would've been better in my Elmo shirt.

It was almost like his jacket was a magnet for attention. All around me, students were whispering and staring.

"Isn't that Hensick's jacket?"

"Why does she have it?"

"Who even is she?"

"Is she new here?"

I held my eyes to the ground, making my way towards my locker quietly, my heart pounding in my chest. I swallowed thickly, willing myself to stay calm despite the muttering mumble of voices that seemed to follow me through the fluorescent corridors.

By the time I reached my locker, Riley and William were already there. After four lessons without them, they were the only people I was looking forward to seeing.

"Hey, Aspen, how was – Woah is that–"

I snapped my eyes up to Riley, cutting her off with a newfound fire.

"Yes, it's Isaac's jacket, whatever. Seriously, how are these people even realising its Isaac's? How popular is he?"

Riley stared, speechless, as William nibbled on an apple, his head in some other place. She raised her brows at me in surprise.

I sighed and opened my locker, pushing my books in before hiking my bag higher on my shoulder and turning to face my friends.

"Sorry," I muttered finally. "I'm just sick of everyone whispering about it everywhere I go. It's just a jacket."

"Just a jacket? It's Isaac Hensick's jacket, actually," Riley pointed out. She quirked a knowing brow at me. "That makes it a big deal."

I pursed my lips, annoyed that she was right. Isaac was from a different world – even his clothes were more popular around the school than me. I shook my head at the thought. It didn't matter. We weren't even friends.

I was overthinking it.

"So," Riley's enthusiasm began to return. She bounced on her toes, her blonde ponytail whipping the air behind her. "What happened? How'd you get his jacket?"

I opened my mouth to reply when she let out a loud gasp, her hands flying to her mouth.

"You didn't steal it, did you?"

I blinked, opening my mouth to explain what had happened at the café only for her to cut me off once more, her bright grin growing even wider, stretching over her cheeks. Her eyes glimmered with mischief.

"Oh, Aspen, you're bad! I'm finally rubbing off on you! What do you want to do next? Fire crackers in the gym? OH! Steal his," she lowered her voice and wiggled her eyebrows, "underpants?"

"Riley!" William shouted, spitting apple everywhere. "That's a great idea!"

"William!" I exclaimed, slapping a hand to my forehead. "God, even you?"

"Hey, what can I say? The boy's attractive," William shrugged.

"True that," Riley grinned, throwing an arm around William's shoulder.

I snorted at the pair, rolling my eyes as we began to make our way outside for lunch.

William's cheeks instantly turned red as Riley clung close to him. I smirked at them, trailing behind. He could fanboy over Isaac all he wanted, but he made it incredibly obvious that his heart belonged to Riley, even if she couldn't see it herself.

Riley chattered obliviously about something Lacey had done over the weekend while William continued to redden, his eyes wide with adoration as he watched Riley ramble. It was adorable.

We hiked around the grassy oval to reach our usual spot under the large shady tree, the breeze cooling our faces. I let out a sigh as I took my seat, unzipping my bag and pulling out the sandwich I had bought earlier from the cafeteria. Riley and William sat ahead of me, gossiping about Arthur Andrew's latest catch.

As they spoke, my eyes drifted past my friends towards the oval where Isaac's friends, Sebastian and Arthur, sat at the edge of the grass – Isaac strangely missing.

I turned to face the old school building where I had run into him the other day. Would he be there again today?

Suddenly, a furious looking Lacey ran from behind the old brick wall, tears streaming down her face as she let out cries of anger and loud sobs.

I stared at the building, no one else noticing the drama that had just occurred on the far end of the courtyard. Or maybe they were just ignoring it. Was this a regular occurrence?

"Aspen? Where are you going?"

I widened my eyes at William's voice, realising I had stood from my seat and begun walking towards the building. I looked down at the sandwich in my hand and looked back at them.

"Ah, cafeteria," I replied smoothly. "Wrong order."

"Okay," William shrugged, accepting my excuse before turning back to Riley and their little gossip session.

I sighed in relief and continued walking; my friends not even realising I was headed in the opposite direction of the cafeteria. As I reached the building, I took in a deep breath, the smell of cigarette smoke already evident in the air.

As I rounded the corner, Isaac came into view. He sat on the floor, his head leaning against the old brick wall. He wore a weary expression, his eyes closed, and his shoulders sagged in exhaustion. A lit cigarette sat between his lips. He looked almost peaceful.

Sucking in another deep breath, I clenched my fists and built my confidence, before walking over to him and sitting beside him, leaning my back against the wall. The gravel crunched beneath my feet, but Isaac paid no attention to it – probably expecting Lacey or one of his friends.

"You know, smoking is bad for you," I pointed out, alerting him of my presence.

His eyes snapped open and he looked at me in surprise. "Aspirin? What are you doing here?"

"I saw Lacey run out of here, wanted to make sure you were okay," I held up half of my sandwich. "Sandwich?"

He blinked, pausing slightly before saying, "Sure."

I allowed him to take half of the turkey sandwich, unwrapping my own half and taking a small bite out of it. I watched him take a puff of his cigarette, blowing out the smoke as the sandwich lay in his other hand. He reached the cigarette towards me.

"Do you want?" he asked, gesturing to the cigarette.

My heart raced, and I stumbled for words, "Uh, no. No, thank you. I – I don't like cigarettes."

He nodded slowly, putting out the cigarette on the wall and leaving the butt beside his leg on the floor.

"No, I – uh," I stuttered out. "I didn't mean you had to put it out. I don't mind, I mean –"

"Aspirin," he chuckled quietly, interrupting my rambling. "I'm not putting it out because of what you said. I'm putting it out, so I can eat your sandwich."

He held up the triangle of turkey on bread, unwrapping it and taking a bite from it.

"Oh," I chuckled awkwardly, my ears turning hot, embarrassed at my misunderstanding.

He sent me an amused smirk and we sat in silence for a minute. I chewed my sandwich and stared at the ground, ignoring the growing blush on my cheeks and how quickly my heart raced. My mind raced as I tried desperately to think of things to say, when Isaac finally spoke.

"I smoke because of stress."

I quirked a brow at him in confusion. "Stress from school?"

Isaac laughed, looking at me with a gentle expression in his eyes. He shook his head, his tousled brown waves falling over his eyes as he stared at the sandwich wrapper in his hands. "Yeah, something like that."

I scrunched my brow, thinking of what he meant by that. What else could he be stressed about? "Lacey?"

Isaac was quiet for a while. "Sort of, I guess."

This only made me more confused. The two had been dating for just over a month – longer than any of his usual flings. And yet, there was constantly drama between the two.

"What do you mean? Do you not like her?" I paused to consider, my brows furrowing. "Why don't you ever call her?"

Isaac let out an awkward chuckle, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck. "Does everyone know about that?"

I nodded unsurely, feeling as though I'd slightly offended him. "It's sort of like cable for lunch time."

He laughed at my joke, lightening the mood and scrunching the empty sandwich wrapper into a ball. His laughter died off and we were left in silence once more. He threw the ball in front of him, landing among weeds and stray plants surrounded with litter and cigarette butts.

"It's a little more complicated than it sounds," he sighed, closing his eyes. His jaw set, and the air felt tense again, all at once.

I stayed quiet, allowing him to continue whenever he was comfortable. A moment passed and I picked at my nails, trying to ignore how my heart raced sitting beside him.

Finally, he said, "Don't get me wrong, I really like her."

My chest panged unconsciously at his words. I blinked. Maybe I was just feeling sorry for Lacey. He liked her, yet it seemed like he never showed it to her – at least from what I could tell from their daily lunch time drama.

I suddenly felt like an intruder, invading in Isaac's business and personal dramas which I, along with half of the student body, watched most lunch times. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat at the thought, but Isaac continued.

"We were just getting too..." he paused, "Err, close."

I watched him. His eyes were dark, his expression grim. His usual smirk was missing from his lips. It was strange seeing him so grim when he was usually a bubble of flirtatious mischief, relishing in my own discomfit.

In fact, it was strange enough seeing him so quiet. It was almost like I was back in the café, watching him so absorbed in his own thoughts, the dark expression on his face unwavering – watching him from the outside.

I processed his words, not completely understanding his situation. "But you're dating, isn't that what's supposed to happen?"

"We're not dating." Isaac hesitated, his eyes drifting to the gravel ground.

I blinked. I wasn't the most experienced when it came to dating – in fact, I had no experience at all – but from what I'd seen and heard around the school halls, it sure looked like Lacey thought they were.

Noticing my silence, Isaac released an awkward chuckle, running a hand through his hair. "I don't really date."

I laughed at this. "You've dated half the girls in the school."

"I don't date them," his voice rose and grew defensive, almost cold, cutting my laughter off.

I swallowed, my laughter dying down. He sent me a sharp stare and a lump grew in my throat.

Right. He didn't date them, he just played around with them while waiting for the next girl to appear. I clenched my fists. I'd somehow forgotten who I was speaking to.

He was Isaac Hensick.

I knew he was a player. He was infamous at Alum Creek Public for his reputation with girls, but he seemed different from the rumours when he spoke to me; when he watched over me as I slept, when he bought me a coffee, and gave me his leather jacket.

But he was always famous for his games, renowned for being the 'It Boy' of the school – the boy every girl wanted. He was unattainable.

He had a reputation to uphold, after all, didn't he?

I clenched my teeth. I was just a wall flower. What was I expecting?

How had I forgotten?

An uncomfortable silence settled between us, the sound of his friends playing on the oval in the background.

He glanced at me, his voice still cold when he said, "You should go, your friends are probably wondering where you are."

I looked at him, not really wanting to leave but the expression on his face showing he wanted to be alone. Unattainable, I reminded myself, and I stood.

"Thanks for the sandwich," Isaac said as I got to my feet, his eyes focused on the gravel floor. "And for checking on me."

I shrugged, my voice growing distant. "No worries."

I began to walk away, still processing the information that Isaac had just revealed to me. I should have known he wasn't serious about Lacey – about any of the girls he snuck around with.

I pulled his leather jacket tighter around me, inhaling his scent. How many girls had he lent this to? Did he really just take me as another girl he could tease and play around with? 

I unclenched my fists, shaking my head as I reached the small hill Riley and William sat on. They had fallen silent, their brows furrowed as they watched me walk out from behind the old school building.

Riley's face broke out into a grin of realisation. "Let me guess, Isaac Hen –"

"I don't want to talk about it," I snapped, falling to sit beside William. I sighed, leaning my head on his shoulder. Riley's eyes widened, and she scooted closer to me.

"What happened, Asp?"

I pursed my lips. He had been so kind this morning, offering me his leather jacket, that I had forgotten who he was – Isaac Hensick, the most popular asshole of the school. I was glad I realised it before I became too attached.

Yet still, I sank into the leather jacket, the smell of coffee staining the leather, and found myself missing him.

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a u t h o r ' s  n o t e

Thank you so much for 300 reads! You guys are the best! And all your votes and comments make my day <3 I get so happy when I see you guys have commented or voted or even just read this story, thank you sooo much!

Btw I'm running out of coffee names for each chapter lol so comment your favourite hot drink/coffee order! There's 20 chapters to go so I need lots of ideas hahaha