Isaac turned to Damien for a brief second, turning back to the window with a small smile. Seems like his thought was true. He didn’t know how much Damien liked him though but to know that he did was just enough. After a bit longer, he turned back to Damien.
“Nervous? Never had another dude in your car before?” He smirked a bit when he spoke. Take it as it is, Isaac wasn’t entirely sure why the other boy was acting like this. What effect did a person like him have on Damien…? He honestly didn’t know which part of him was ‘attractive’. Whatever the reason was, it didn’t really matter.
He took his phone out, looking through the news and smiling satisfyingly. The police didn’t quite know where to start with the investigation. It’s been one week since the debut of the ‘Ace of Hearts’ killer and a total of five corpses with nowhere to start was a treat.
The media helped a lot as well as not many people believed the claim that the killer could be from the college, saying things like—
”Intellectuals wouldn’t do something so cruel!”
”False claim, very unlikely.”
”Baseless accusations, not believable.”
…
They only made Isaac smile more.
"Oh, uhm yeah, I have, it's just nothing, I just can't get my mind off of these murders. It's really weird to me." He said with a shrug, "Not that I can do anything about it, it's just kind of nerve-wracking you know? But that's it really." It wasn't exactly a lie, he had been thinking about those murders a lot, mainly just feeling bad for the families. But as he had told himself earlier, now wasn't the time to talk about that, or brood about it, the fact that Isaac had sort of requested to have lunch with him should make him happy enough, and the what the guy had said just a few seconds before should of made Damien pretty happy, which it did, but also extremely awkward too, which was just a fact of life for the poor guy. "But uhm, on a lighter note." he said as he pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, "You hungry? It's my treat!"
Isaac immediately waved his hand softly when Damien spoke that this was going to be his treat. As if he would allow that.
“No no, you drove me here. It’s gonna be my treat! Plus… I did get quite a stack of cash from my part time job last night,”
That much was true. Although not very smart. He would have to lie again if Damien asked him what part time job he did. Probably some sort of peaceful thing like pet keeping.
“Come on, you don’t wanna be late for class now, do you?”
Damien grumbled a little bit, crossing his arms, he started to say something, maybe complain about that, but he couldn't up with a decent argument, "Uggghhhm fine." He locked the car door and began to walk into the restaurant. "Where do you work at? I don't think you ever told me where." Actually, he didn't know too much about Isaac, other than what he knew from what he had told him, or what he had figured out. Hearing Isaac teasing him again, he pouted a little and waited for a table. "I mean, I work at the library, but you've seriously never told me what you do." He tapped his foot impatiently, his playful self returning. He felt a lot less awkward and a bit more relaxed now.
“Mm, just a random hole-in-the-wall tutoring place. Pays pretty well though,” Isaac answered innocently. It was as if lying like this was his second nature. He glanced inside the place, noticing the building line and pulled Damien inside, holding his hand as he did.
“I’m not getting in trouble for going to class late again,” he mentioned, dragging himself and the other boy to the line. Once in it, Isaac didn’t exactly let go of Damien’s hand. Mostly because he’d forgotten to… and that it felt kind of nice.
Damien nodded, "Sounds nice." He wasn't going to ask any more questions., it seemed as though Isaac didn't really want to talk about it, so like with many things, he just stayed quiet. But that silence didn't last too long, he let out a surprised yelp as Isaac pulled him into the restaurant, and even with his caramel-colored skin, you could tell that he was obviously blushing, "Oh, uhm okay." He mumbled in response as the line began to move and more people got in line before them. Soon they were seated and they were waiting for a waitress to come. But his cheeks were still light pink. He fidgeted with a straw wrapper as he began to scan through the menu, hoping that the waiter or waitress would come soon. The nervous bubble in his chest began to form again, and he felt awkward and nervous again, just like earlier, but worse this time. "So uhm, what are you going to get?" He was yet to decide himself, there were sooo many options, and that was getting him a little stressed out.
Isaac hummed softly as he scanned the menu, smiling softly at the man when he looked up.
“Well… sadly ‘you’ aren’t on the menu, otherwise I would’ve definitely ordered that. Guess I’ll go with the double cheeseburger with onion rings then, you?” He raised a brow at Damien as if nothing had happened. Was the teasing on purpose? Definitely. He was just curious as to how Damien would react to being teased like that.
Damien blushed harder and looked back down at the menu, "T-thank you?" He barely managed to squeak out before finally deciding what to eat, "Uhm, I'll try one of the turkey burgers, it sounds good. And maybe just some fries." He said, chewing at his lower lip again. He wasn't crazy this time, Isaac was definitely flirting with him, but where did all of this come from? In class Isaac didn't talk much to him, and although Damien didn't really try to get his attention, the times that he did, Isaac barely gave it to him. What had changed between yesterday and today? We've had somewhat good conversations before, but for him to sort of ask me out, and know where I go out to eat too? Maybe he likes me better than what I thought.
Isaac noticed the sudden yet subtle change in Damien’s expression and can’t help but smile at him. He then raised his hand just enough for the waiter to see.
When the waiter came over, Isaac placed their orders and thanked the waiter. Now they just have to wait for the food to arrive. He set his elbow on the table, leaning against his own palm as he continued look at Damien.
“Say, Damien. Do you like horror movies?” Isaac asked out of the blue. It was a weird question to ask since it had nothing to do with whatever was happening… but it was one he wanted to know.
"Uhm, kind of, I guess. They're interesting, but if I had the choice, I'd probably not pick one to watch, I'd just wellpick something less scary, I guess. I mean it depends on the movie though, if it isn't that scary then I'd be fine." He said with a shrug. He took a sip of his water and looked back at Isaac, "What about you? Do you like them?" He drummed his fingers against his leg, waiting for Isaac's response. "Or, what other movies do you like? Doesn't have to be horror or anything, just any movies in general. Personal, I kinda like Disney movies, although a lot of people think that they're dumb."
“I watch a lot of horror and thriller whenever I have time. I know it sounds ridiculous but whenever I’m stressed, I usually watch them to free some of said stress.” He claimed confidently. Isaac looked out the window for a brief moment as he exhaled.
“I find the stories inside the horror and thriller movies interesting because of how nonsensical they are,” he regarded with a sincere smile.
“And no, Disney isn’t dumb, this I know,” he commented with a small laugh.
Damien nodded along, "Oh, I guess that makes sense, but to me, I think I'd get more stressed watching one. Especially some of the ones I've seen." He said with a slight shudder, "I mean, the ones I've been okay with are ones with death, if that makes sense, I mean, I know that they aren't really dead, so it's okay, but the ones where you know, it gets into your head, and you just scared, I don't like, not too much at least." He smiled a little bit about the Disney comment, "Thank you, I mean, I just love the movies and parks you, know, not in a weird way, just like you know my inner child I guess?" He shrugged a little, not sure if it made sense to Isaac, "But, uhm, yeah." He mumbled then checked his watch, "Gosh, I hope our food will come soon, I'm really hungry, even with those two granola bars. I had earlier." Then his phone buzzed, as he fished it out of his pocket, he sent an apologetic look to Isaac, then checked his text. As he expected, it was his friend's group chat that he basically just found himself in. As he scrolled through the texts he noticed that they actually noticed that he wasn't there. Oh, uhm, I went out to lunch with a friend. Then, of course, came the question who? He sighed, and decided to not respond to that. "Sorry." He said sheepishly.
Isaac snickered softly at Damien’s action went someone texted him. Golly, the boy was a treat.
“Don’t worry, take your time,” he stated, himself getting out his phone. From outside, it would look like he was strolling through Instagram or Twitter, but clearly not, considering how much he was smiling.
He was catching up on the latest news about the murders and how the police were going crazy about who and where the murderer is now. He’d heard conversations from the other tables, some of which were talking about them as well and how some of them believed that the murders happened at random and to random people…
That. That was most definitely not the case. He had a reason. One… he wasn’t willing to share just yet.
After he done responding to other random texts, he put his phone back down on the table, and looked up at Isaac, "Okay, so sorry about that, my friends like to spam my phone with stuff." He said with a shrug, "It's annoying, but I turn off notifications something important actually happens, then the get mad at me." He shrugged a little bit as though it was normal. Adjusting his glasses he noted that Isaac was on his phone, "Oh, I'm sorry, I uhm, let me know when you're done." It was just in his nature to constantly be polite, no matter what, even if people got annoyed, he really couldn't help himself. "One thing though, what do you think about the murders? It's kind of scary you know?"
Isaac looked up and kept his phone when Damien called him.
“The murders? Yeah… I suppose they can be a bit frightening for some but honestly? I’m not that scared by it.” He claimed with a shrug. Soon after, their food would have arrived. With a ‘thank you’ to the waiter, Isaac looked at the food with a warm grin.
“Then again, it’s not like we’re gonna be unlucky enough to be the next victims? Right?” Isaac asked with a raised brow, before he started eating his food.
“Mm! It’s good!”
Damien nodded along to what Isaac was saying, "Y-you're not?" He stared at him in disbelief, he was going to continue, but his food came. After taking a bite out of the giant burger, he continued, "I mean, to think that possibly anyone could be the killer, and that you could possibly be the next victim is terrifying, at least to me it is. He said with a grimace, "I mean, I hope we won't be that unlucky, but it still scares me." He shuddered a little bit, "And plus the way they die." He trailed off noting again how Isaac sort of changed the subject, "Oh, yeah, the food is good, I'll have to start coming here a little more often."
Isaac raised a brow at Damien’s expressions. As much as he wanted to please Damien by returning to the subject, he couldn’t risk the chance of accidentally spilling the tea here. After a certain bite of his burger, he sighed.
“From what I can gather, it seems like none of the murder victims have been reported to be within our age range. Most of them, excluding the second victim, were between the ages of twenty five to thirty five. All had families and were fairly wealthy. If we go through the list,” he went on, not noticing the small crowd that gathered around him as he spoke.
“The first victim was drowned with the Ace on his cheek. Age thirty one. Second was a forty-two year old female who worked a secretary job, explosive hidden under her car and Ace on her burnt car. The third was poisoned and left in an alleyway to rot, air hostess age twenty seven with the Ace of her torso. Fourth was a police officer, twenty five, was shot through the head and the Ace covering the bullet hole. The latest fifth victim was a businessman of thirty five, decapitated with the Ace on his lips… EH?!” Once he finished, he’d finally noticed the crowd. Some of them looked at him with surprise, some looked amazed, and some… well, they just stared.
”Hey, young man,” a police officer walked up to Isaac and pat his shoulder ”Do you want to be a detective? With a memory like that, surely you’ll be successful,” he spoke with a small laugh.
“Ah- I wouldn’t think so. I just… remember things people don’t tend to remember, that’s all. Plus, this case seems to be very interesting to me. But thank you for your suggestion,” Isaac turned and replied to the policeman with a smile as he and the crowd dispersed. He nearly had a heart attack. A little lower had the policeman patted him would the man found the murder weapon he’d brought with him. A kitchen knife. He returned to his food, not wanting to think about what had just happened…
Damien listened to Isaac, then tried to get his attention as a crowd became to form, "Isaac." He said in a pointed whisper, but he didn't seem to notice, "Isaac." He said again, "People are listening now. . ." He grumbled a little bit, giving up on trying to get him to stop talking. He sighed a little bit, now just focusing on what he was saying. He would nod a little bit trying to make sure that Isaac knew that he was paying attention. Then when the police officer came over, he looked down at his food, just quietly eating his burger. The second the crowd dispersed he looked up at Isaac again, "So uhm, wow. You really do know a lot about this case. I guess you've been doing your research." And with that, he tried to drop the subject, "You good? You look like you've seen a ghost or something." And he did, he looked really pale, and slightly nervous, which Damien wasn't used to seeing on Isaac, "Uhm if you want to, we could get our food to go and I can take you back to the dorms." He waved over a waiter before Isaac could answer, it seemed as though maybe he wasn't feeling good or something, and Damien is the kind of mother hen he is, he wanted to make sure that Isaac was okay.
Isaac looked back up at Damien.
“Huh— oh, no no! I’m fine just… I thought I was getting into trouble for being too loud or speaking too much that’s all.” He claimed. Thankfully, the knife didn’t move from where he’d placed it on his arm.
“And yeah… I did do a lot of research about the murders, mostly because of how interesting the case is,” he laughed out his answer. Although… he did wonder what Damien’s dorm looked like. He’ll find out eventually though. He eventually finished his meal, sighing softly as he wiped his hands and mouth.
“I’ll have to come here more often,” he chuckled softly as he raised his hand to call the waiter so he could pay for the food with the money he got from his ‘part-time job’.
"Oh, uhm, alright then." Damien said with a slight shrug, "I mean if you don't feel good, I don't mind vouching for you at our next class." He didn't finish his food, deciding to save it for later, knowing he'd be hungry either later tonight, or he could have the rest for lunch tomorrow. He noticed that Isaac started to pay for his food, and he started to say something, "Hey, uhm you don't have to cover me, I-I can pay for my food." It felt sort of weird to not pay for himself, or pay for others, having gotten so used to it. "Well, uhm if you pay for this, I pay for dinner, okay?" He said with a smile, "Please?" With his friend group, he normally covered for other people even though they had money to pay for themself. It was just his nature, and his friends were willing to leech off him. And when it came to dates, or whatever this was, he normally would cover his part of the bill. So he hoped that Isaac would understand that. "Now uhm, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to the restroom, I'll be back in a second." He just needed to wash his hands, and maybe just relax for a second. For some reason, he felt really nervous around Isaac, even though he knew that nothing was going on.
Isaac nodded when Damien said he’d pay for dinner… partially because of manners but mostly because he knew that the coupons were already a large discount of thirty percent in themselves. Calculating the pricing in his head, more likely than not, this was more expensive than the dinner they were going to together. He paid the waiter with a tip so much that even the waiter was surprised. He waved his hand dismissively as the waiter thanked him multiple times.
He waited outside for Damien, wondering where this night would take them. A ding came from his phone as he looked at the message he was sent…
”So, it is 19:30 this evening?”
He gritted his teeth with annoyance as he quickly typed out his reply.
”With the money, yes. Do not be late.” he then kept his phone, not risking Damien coming out and seeing the conversation.
As Damien walked into the restroom, he stopped over at one of the mirrors and just studied himself. He sighed softly, and looked down, and began to wash his hands. Once done with that, he quickly cleaned his glasses, then walked out of the bathroom. He didn't see Isaac at the table, so he figured that he was outside. He headed out of the restaurant, and saw him standing by the car. He made his way over there, then tapped him on the shoulder, "Ready to go?" He unlocked the car then climbed into the driver's seat. "So, are we heading back to the campus?"
Isaac gave him a suspicious look as he entered the passenger’s seat beside the driver’s.
“You wanna go somewhere else?” He asked. In his mind, several scenarios played, most of which ended up with them spending the night together which he didn’t want to think about just yet. More because of its unlikeliness than anything.
“Yeah. Let’s go, class starts in fifteen minutes,” he mentioned, buckling his belt and sighing.
“…or do you really wanna go elsewhere… somewhere we could be alone… just the two of us together…?” He asked, looking down as if he was embarrassed. On one hand, he was but he just wanted to see how Damien would react to him saying something so implying.
Damien's cheeks turned a dark shade pink, although Isaac probably couldn't tell, "I. . .uhm. .." He stammered a little bit, not sure as to how to respond to this. He looked down at his feet, the car still not starting, "Uhm, do you have anything you need to do?" He wasn't sure if Isaac actually meant what he was saying, or if it was just him teasing. He didn't exactly mind what he was implying, well, he did, he was just surprised to hear him say that, "I, uhm, I .. . .w-well." He sighed, feeling oh so awkward, "A-are you just m-messing with me?" He said looking over at Isaac, that's pretty much what he expected from him, the guy couldn't possibly be interested in him.
Isaac turned to look at Damien straight in the eyes, leaning just a bit closer to the man.
“What if I say I wasn’t…? What if I say that I wasn’t just playing around…?” He spoke with a naturally sincere tone as if he really meant it. He did. But he was definitely not that interested in Damien just yet. This was probably because they were still technically friends as well but… his body didn’t quite listen to what his mind was saying.
Quite instinctively, his body leaned closer to Damien to the point where Isaac’s breathers landed themselves against his skin, possibly tingling them slightly.
