Date 5

It had been exactly one week since Isaac and Jackson went to the movie theater together and ever since then they haven't talked to one another. Isaac tried texting Jackson a few times, but the younger Whittemore would never reply to him, he attempted to talk to Jackson in class, but again, no luck, so he decided that he might as well give up on trying to understand what the hell happened. Of course Isaac knew that the kiss had surprised Jackson, it had even surprised himself, but he thought that they would have to do was talk about it; Isaac would explain that he had acted by impulse, that it wasn't meant to happen, that he had no feelings besides friendship towards Jackson, even if that was a lie, he would do that for the sake of their friendship, but he never got the chance to do so. Isaac thought about cornering Jackson sometime, but he wasn't sure that was the right thing to do, he just hoped sometime soon Jackson would cool off and talk to him.

By the time Isaac's classes were over for the day, he felt exhausted, not physically, but emotionally. It just wasn't the same for Isaac without Jackson. There was no one to make snarky remarks about the teachers, no one to call him Lahey in a tone that was both cold and warming, no one to save him from his loneliness. Isaac went from Jackson Whittemore's best friend back to the school's ghost; he would cross the rooms alone, sit alone in class, have lunch alone, it felt like he had no reason to go to school at all, even Chris had noticed it, though the Argent didn't really know the reason behind all of the gloom Isaac seemed to be on, but still he tried to talk to the boy and understand what was happening, which was the reason why right now Isaac didn't feel like going home.

Isaac visited the library, the arts room, the gym. All of those were his favorite places in the school, but they didn't provide him the joy they used to and Isaac didn't know what to do, or where to go to feel like maybe there was a chance of him getting better. Leaning against the wall on the back of the school, Isaac lit up a cigarette. Lately he had been smoking more than the usual, it was like the nicotine was the only thing able to calm him down, even if it was just slightly and when Isaac finished this cigarette, he felt an urge to drink coffee, what led him to the coffee shop where Jackson and he had their first encounter since he arrived in London and where they to almost every day after class.

The coffee shop was crowded, but somehow Isaac still felt alone, he wanted the coffee, but he didn't want to be there, not without Jackson. Reluctantly, Isaac dragged himself to the table he and Jackson usually shared and sat down, elbow propped to the table and the side of his temple resting against his fist as he stared into the nothing. Not long after he sat there, the waiter arrived to ask for his order, which was an extra-large cup of black coffee with no sugar to match the sourness of his soul.

Isaac had been distracted, taking small sips from his drink and playing with the straw when he heard the voice, more specifically, Jackson's voice. At first Isaac thought he was daydreaming, never would he think that Jackson would go there that day, but them he saw him, in all his glory, wearing his casual clothes and the leather jacket giving him the bad boy look; Isaac felt his heart thump against the confines of his chest.

Jackson was laughing, talking on the phone and totally not paying attention as he made his way across the room towards where Isaac was sitting, thing is, Jackson didn't see Isaac there, he barely took the time to scan the room around him before going to the table he usually shared with Isaac. It all was noticeable when he finally arrived and the table and bid farewell to whoever he was talking to, only to find himself face to face with Isaac. Jackson's eyes widened as he locked gaze with Isaac, but that was just for a second, once he collected himself he pulled his cold neutral mask back on.

"What are you doing here?" Jackson asked; voice all sharp and a coldness lingering to the end of it like venom dropping from a snake's mouth. Isaac didn't know how to react or to respond, so he went with the obvious. "Having a coffee." Isaac's voice came out way weaker than he intended it to sound, but still he couldn't help it, that is how he is. Jackson eyed Isaac suspiciously prior to turning on his heels to make his way out of the coffee shop, but Isaac's voice made him stop.

"Jackson, wait up. Can we just… um… talk about it?" Isaac asked in a low voice tone, causing Jackson to turn his body once again to stare at Isaac, one of his eyebrows raised as if he was questioning what there was to talk about. "About the kiss…" Isaac completed and that was enough to set Jackson off. "Shut up, Lahey." Jackson's voice was loud and harsh, the way he said Isaac's last name wasn't the same as usual; it was like Jackson was talking about something disgusting and not worth his time. "I'm not a fag like you. What did you think would happen after that? That we would make it a thing and start dating? That I would become your boyfriend?" Jackson continued and Isaac just flinched because the tone of voice Jackson was using reminded him of the tone his father used before hitting him. "Even if I was a fag, why would I want you? You're just some ridiculous friendless loser. Do you want to know why I was friends with you? It was because I pitied you, nothing more. Look at yourself, you're not good enough to anyone, your father didn't like you, no one in Beacon Hills High did, Erica replaced you with Boyd, Derek threw you out of his house, not even the way-too-nice Scott McCall thought you were worth his time, hence why he didn't care to ask you to stay in Beacon Hills, it was a relief for him to get rid of you and I bet it won't take much longer until Chris grows tired of you and throw you out, too. Understand something, Lahey. You're not worth anyone's time or effort."

By the time Jackson was done talking, Isaac had copious tears running down his cheeks. He thought he had been hurt before, but nothing compared to the way he felt right now. Isaac felt like had torn his heart into shreds. Isaac could attempt a response, or a fight, but instead he just rose from his seat, leaving a bill to pay for his coffee and walked past Jackson, he had no energy to deal with it at that given moment.

Isaac wanted to go away, to disappear, but it was like Jackson never grew tired of being a Pandora's box, always surprising him. Isaac was halfway through the exit when he felt someone grabbing his arm and turned his face to look at Jackson. Isaac thought Jackson would continue to humiliate him in front of everyone, but that's not what happened, no, instead Jackson leaned forward and kissed Isaac, a brief kiss that Isaac broke off in a matter of seconds prior to throwing his fist against Jackson's jaw, making the younger Whittemore step backwards and lose his balance.

"You're a fucking idiot, Jackson." And with those words, Isaac walked away from the coffee shop, leaving Jackson behind and raising his hands to wipe the tears from his face as he did so. He never wanted to see Jackson again.