The first time they met was at The Bean and Leaf. It was on the same night that Isaac ran away from home, he'd been living on the streets for a few days now and had scraped up just enough money to buy something to eat. He entered the coffee shop and yanked his coat around himself.
"Can I help you?" The barista asked; a preppy little blond thing with her hair pulled back in a high pony tail and daddy's-little-girl smile plastered on her face. The curly haired street kid looked at the change in his hand and frowned just a bit; he probably doesn't have enough for anything. He opened his mouth but another voice passed by him
"Two poppy seed bagels, toasted, with cream cheese. Two coffees. One extra large and one medium-..." The source of the voice turning it's attention to him "-How do you take your coffee?" He asked and Isaac looked over to see a boy, that comes up to his nose, with tan skin and puppy-dog brown eyes. His jaw is slightly crooked and his smile is lopsided and, no matter how much Isaac tries to deny it, his eyes held a warmth that made Isaac want to smile too. It's to late, this stranger has already ordered the coffee and gotten the milk and sugar on the side. He held up the items he bought as if prompting Isaac to follow him.
Isaac sat down at the table the stranger picks out and laid his pile of change on the he table.
"Here...to pay for the-...it won't cover it all but take it." Isaac said, not meeting the boy's eyes. He could all but feel that lopsided smile grow wider.
"I'm Scott McCall. What's your name?" The boy said instead, as Isaac stacks the change from bigger to smaller.
"I-Isaac Lahey." He answered after a long while of silence. The lanky lacrosse player was deciding wether or not to eat the food provided; it's not like he isn't grateful he just isn't used to such blatant kindness and it's shocked him.
"Well, Isaac, don't you want your bagel? Did I get you the wrong kind?"
"N-no! No...I-it's fine. Th-thank you." He mumbles, still not letting his eyes meet Scott's.
They were there for way longer than they should have, till closing time actually and Isaac doesn't remember the last time he had smiled so much in one sitting. So they didn't reach his eyes, so he didn't exactly feel comfortable but this guy put him at ease. He was a little slow, a little dense but that didn't matter. He had a good heart and Isaac admired that, was even endeared by that.
They parted ways with a firm handshake and mumbles "thank you"s and a whole lot of awkward coughs when the waitress told them, sternly, to get out. They stumbled out and said farewell and went on with their lives.
*~**~*
The second time they met was at The Bean and Leaf, again, only difference was: Isaac was working there and had a nice flat to himself and Scott came in with a pretty girl on his arm and it was exactly one year later.
"One poppy seed bagel with cream cheese, toasted, and a medium coffee." He said to Isaac's back and the curly-haired boy looked up and turned around with a sort of nostalgic smile. His smile faltered ever so slightly when he saw the girl on his arm and her flowing black hair and her honest smile and bright eyes.
"Sugar and milk on the side?" Isaac asked and Scott's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree and he smiled brightly.
"Isaac Lahey?" He asks and Isaac shivers at the way his name sounds so worth saying when Scott says it.
"You remembered...?"
"Dude! How could I forget-" "he talks about meeting you every time we walk by here or in here!" His girl interjects enthusiastically and Scott looks down at her like she's the sun and moon. Isaac can't help but agree, she's flawless from what he can tell and for some reason that makes his heart ache just a little bit.
"H-how have you been?" Isaac asks and he curses how weak and small his voice though he is a, good, head taller than Scott he still feels small under his gaze. And when those brown eyes look up at him like pools of espresso, all bright and deep, his heart leaps into his throat from the force of the butterflies exploding in his gut.
"I've been amazing but look at you! Wait, when do you get off work? We can catch up." Scott says, his mouth forming those words in that way that almost makes Isaac forget what was being said.
"Uh, um, at three." He says noting that it's the same time they met the first time, at three, and he chastises himself for remembering so,etching so stupid. The shorter boy smiles and nods, taking his order and whisking his girl away, leaving Isaac behind I'm a sort of anxious daze.
They met up at three and Scott came alone. Isaac seated himself at, what he has come to call, their table with the same order form the first time.
"You remembered!" Scott exclaimed, sitting down, and Isaac smiled bashfully. They spoke for hours, again, even past closing.
