Gentlemen Don't Ask Questions

I didn't see Isabelle until after lunch the following day. I was happily sitting down the back of the small class, sketching away. Art was the only class where I felt like I could be myself, where the teacher loved me and all of the other students valued my opinion and asked for my input.
Isabelle walked in and stopped beside my bench, but didn't look at me. I couldn't tell whether she was ignoring me or just hadn't seen me, and I shocked myself by realizing that I actually cared. I cautiously watched her over my satchel as her eyes scanned the room, before they settled on Ms. Smith. She pulled a note out of her jean's pocket and handed it to the teacher, before she was given some art supplies and told to pick a seat. I continued to watch her as she sat beside Jamie. I wasn't one for labels, but Jamie was the very definition of freak, and he loved it that way. I could see his lips moving and Isabelle's expression changing from one of interest to annoyance. She pulled her rucksack up off the ground and stood up, looking for another seat. My heart sped up when her green eyes settled on mine, and she gave me a toothy grin and she moved down towards me.

"Hey, Gerard. This seat taken?"

"Work away," I smiled back,
"What did Jamie say to you?"

"Something about me being a conformist or some shit like that."

I let out a snort of laughter as I shook my head and turned back to my work. We were preparing for starting on our portfolios, and for the past couple of weeks had just been drawing random things that we thought we would include in it.
Isabelle just sat silently beside me for about five minutes, before she pulled out some paper and started drawing her watch. I was watching her out of the corner of my eye, before I put down my own pencil and watched her.

"Don't laugh," she said without moving her eyes up from her work, and that just made me grin.

"It's...great."

"It's shit," she sighed as she put down her pencil and looked at me with her eyebrow arched,
"I can't draw to save my life. The music class is full, so I have to wait until after Spring break until I can start it. Art was the only class that had any places."

I couldn't help but laugh as she held up her page, showing me a drawing that looked like a monkey had did it. She sighed again before she looked over at my page, her eyebrows raising. The smile was quickly wiped off my face as I anxiously waited for her to tell me what she thought of it.

"How long have you been drawing?" she asked as she reached over and picked up my satchel.

"I don't know...since I was a kid," I mumbled, my body jittering with nerves as she flicked through all of the pages.

"These are amazing. You must be the best in the school. I wish I could draw like that."

I could feel my cheeks flushing as she smiled at me, her grin becoming more Cheshire like when she noticed the reaction she had caused.

"Have I made you blush?" she teased as she handed me my work back.

I cleared my throat and went back to drawing, trying to divert her attention off of me.

"So, you're into music?"

"Yeah, it's what I want to do in college, I think."

We spent the entire class talking about what bands we liked and what concerts we wanted to go to, and before I knew it, the bell was ringing.

"I've French next, what do you have?"

"Spanish," I replied as I carefully put all of my things away.

"I'll see you at lunch then?"

I smiled back at her and gave her a nod, it being a rare occurrence that anyone wanted to have lunch with me. By now, she would have been Krista's next victim, but I think the entire school knew that Isabelle wasn't someone they wanted to fuck with, despite her sweet demeanor and dimpled smile.

++++++

I anxiously shifted from foot to foot as I waited for Isabelle outside of the cinema theater. She had been in town for two weeks and, for the most part, everyone got on with her, and I guess that's what surprised me the most; she made a ton of other friends but she still wanted to hang out with me. Usually I would have been ditched by now.
She had complained that there was nothing to do in Jersey, and I offered to bring her to the cinema, the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could put my brain into action. She had just smiled and told me what day suited her and what she wanted to see, and for the first time in a long while, I was excited for the weekend.
She was five minutes late, and I was beginning to think that maybe this was a cruel joke on her behalf, but then I saw her strolling down the pavement, taking her sweet-ass time.

"Change of plan," she smiled, not even saying hello,
"My sister and her posse are heading to this movie, Krista included. Do you wanna go get milkshakes?"

I just nodded and followed Isabelle's lead, the very beginnings of me becoming her puppet. We didn't speak as we walked through the town, finally settling on an old dinner. We got out milkshakes and sat down, and for the life of me, I couldn't switch my brain on, couldn't think of anything amusing or interesting to say.

"You don't mind coming here instead of the cinema, do you?"

"No," I sighed as I swirled my straw in my glass,
"I hate Krista."

"Me too. She's a cunt."

I started coughing on my milkshake, causing an amused look to dance across Isabelle's face.

"Don't tell me you're one of those who gets offended by the word cunt? It's the same as calling someone a dick or an asshole."

I could only stare back at her, not quite sure what to say. I'm not going to be a hypocrite and say that I didn't swear, because I cussed like a sailor, but I had never called anyone a cunt. Not even Krista.

"Oh, get that horrified look off of your face," she laughed at me as she leaned back in her seat,
"It doesn't hurt anyone. Cunt, cunt, cunty, cunt, cunt. See?"

"Jesus, Isabelle, would you keep it down?" I hissed at her as I nervously looked around me, which just made her laugh even more.

"Gerard, you're so innocent."

"I am not," I childishly replied, frowning at her.

Her green eyes crinkled as she continued to laugh, and I felt myself grinning with her.

"What else is there to do in this town?"

I tweaked my lips as I wracked my brain.

"What do you do normally?"

"I go to gigs," I shrugged,
"No one big, usually just a friend's band in someones basement. But it's fun."

"I heard Jersey was the Mecca of music."

"My friend's band is playing next Friday, if you want to go with me?"

"Yeah, it sounds fun."

We talked about music for the rest of the evening, until we were told it was closing time, and I bashfully asked her if she wanted me to walk her home. While I tried my hardest not to, I liked her, but I was thankful just to have her as a friend, so I was doing everything in my power not to let her know. The last thing I wanted to do was scare her off. I was getting used to having someone to sit with at lunch time, and, most of all, was grateful that she brought people with her to lunch. Majority of the year considered me to be a loner, and to like it that way, but I hated it. Whenever she brought a new friend with her to meet me, they all seemed shocked to find that we had something in common, be it art, or music, or even a hatred for a teacher. It nice, finally making some friends in school.
Apparently, her house was a fair enough distance from mine, but I didn't notice the journey as we talked and teased one another.

"Well, this is me," she smiled as we stopped on her front porch.

"I had a really good time."

Fuck, stop speaking like it was date.

"Me too. And I'm holding you to that gig-date next Friday."

My cheeks started to burn once again, making Isabelle grin that Cheshire cat smile.

"So, Gerard, are you going to do it?"

"Do what?"

"Kiss me?"