If It Gave Us Time

Gently pushing her glasses back up her nose, Isla spared a cautious glance down towards her phone, checking the address on its screen against the address of the house that she stood outside of. It had been a while, after the last time that she and Gerard had spoken, a little over a week had passed, but with her having had the afternoon off of work and Gerard not having training the following day, they’d made plans to spend the evening together, something which Isla was looking forwards to, even if there was a part of her that was still nervous about being around him. Another part of her couldn’t quite shake the excitement she felt at being around him again.

It was going to take time for them to get used to one another again, despite a few moments of being at ease around one another, there were moments where they were noticeably uncomfortable, and Isla knew that it’d take time for things to settle down between them, even if it did mean a lot of uncomfortable conversations or awkward silences. Most of her wanted the two of them to figure out how to be in one another’s lives again.

Double checking the address on the screen of her phone, she took in a deep breath before she stepped forwards, pressing the doorbell a couple of times. Stepping back, she stuffed her phone into the pocket of her jacket before she watched the front door slip open slightly, revealing Gerard who stood behind it, a familiar lazy smile on his face. “I was worried that you’d not make it” he quipped.

Isla rolled her eyes. “We could have met at my place” she countered.

“We could have” Gerard agreed “But it’s more private here. At least we won’t have to worry about your roommate walking in” he added, flashing her a smirk and a wink as he pulled the door open a little wider.

Isla merely offered him a playful scowl as she stepped past him, something which made Gerard laugh before he leant over, wrapping her in a hug that Isla didn’t hesitate in returning. Holding onto her for a few seconds longer than necessary, he relished the familiar sensation of the embrace, before he pulled back, gesturing to the jacket that she wore. “Can I take your coat?” he asked, his voice caught between polite and playful.

Isla smirked a little, like an amusing retort had crossed her mind, before she gently shrugged out of the coat, handing it over to him. “Gracias” she mused.

Gerard offered her a nod and hung the jacket up before he turned back to her, offering her a softer smile. “I’ve cooked” he announced “I mean, I can’t promise it’ll be any good, but it’s edible. Are you hungry?” he asked, his voice growing slightly more apprehensive.

He had been looking forwards to it, since the two of them had made plans through texts earlier in the day, he’d been anxiously awaiting her arrival, but he didn’t want to appear to overbearing, not wanting to scare her off by moving things too quickly. He didn’t know what they were trying to be, he didn’t know if they were trying to figure out their friendship, or whether they were trying to figure out if there was anything more between them, and he didn’t want to put pressure on it, whatever it was. He just wanted to spend time with her.

Isla, who’d been smoothing out the top that she wore, furrowed her forehead for a split second, not missing the apprehension in his voice, before she looked up at him, a small, reassuring smile on her lips. “You learned to cook?” she asked.

Gerard breathed out a small laugh. “I did” he confirmed “And I can promise you, I’ve never given anyone food poisoning” he added.

Isla laughed gently before she nodded her head, pushing her glasses up her nose. “I could eat” she mused.

Gerard nodded before he gestured ahead of himself, showing her towards the dining room. “Go through” he mused “I’ll bring the food through” he added before he skittered away towards the kitchen.

Isla watched him hurry away before she shook her head, smiling gently to herself as she made her way into the dining room.

~#~
“And then you ended up living with Luna?” Gerard asked, a small laugh working its way out of his mouth as he glanced at Isla who was sat opposite him, sipping on the glass of lemonade he’d given to her. It’d felt a little more comfortable, despite the two of them still being a little cagey around one another, the evening had felt a lot more comfortable than the couple of times that they’d gone out together previously, and Gerard had to admit he was relieved, even if they’d both said things which had led to awkward pauses throughout the night, or they’d said something which had caused the other one to flinch. He was still enjoying being around her.

Isla smiled over the rim of her cup before she set it down, nodding a little. “I love my mother” she mused “But she was always talking about my love life, and I had to draw the line somewhere. Turns out, the point to draw the line was when she bought home the son of some random friend of hers and insisted that we’d been good together. I moved out less than two weeks after that” she added, a slightly uncertain giggle falling out of her mouth.

Gerard shook his head. “I’m sure you’d have made a wonderful couple” he teased.

Isla scoffed. “About as good a couple as we’d have made” she announced before she clapped her hand over her mouth, her mind catching up with what she’d said “Gerard...” she trailed off.

Gerard merely offered her a tight smile, shaking his head. “It’s fine” he breathed.

“I didn’t...it’s not what I...” Isla stumbled out “I’m an idiot” she breathed, shaking her head as her cheeks turned a bright red.

“I’m not going to tell you that’s wrong” Gerard teased halfheartedly, sipping on his glass of water.

Isla shook her head. “I’m...”

“You’re not wrong” Gerard quipped, cutting her off “Teenaged Gerard and teenaged Lala...it’d have been a mess” he added, his voice relaxing slightly.

Isla tilted her head. “You think so?” she asked curiously.

Gerard offered her a lazy, one armed, shrug. “You couldn’t go five minutes without telling me that I was an idiot” he quipped “And we both know how much I annoyed you when we were kids. I don’t think we’d have lasted five minutes before we got into a fight and called it quits” he added with a smirk.

Isla glanced at him, admiring his smirk for a second, before she gently reached up, nudging her glasses back up her nose. “I...uh...I actually kind of liked that about us” she stumbled out “I mean, yeah, you were a pain in my ass, but despite that...I always knew I could come to you with anything and you’d find a goofy way of making me smile again. It was an annoying little knack of yours” she added, offering him a small smile.

Gerard’s expression softened. “You thought that?” he asked.

Isla shrugged sheepishly. “It’s sort of why I liked having you around” she admitted “I mean, yes, I had a lot of other friends, but there was always something about you, something that...that made me feel more relaxed, more comfortable” she explained.

Gerard was quiet for a second, allowing her words to hang around them, before he leant forwards, gently reaching for the hand of hers which sat on the table, messing with her unused cutlery. Glancing at her hand, he hesitated for a split second before he lowered his onto it, only to have Isla pull away, the distant sound of her phone disturbing the silence which had settled around them. “I should get that” she mused.

Gerard offered her another tight smile. “Of course” he mused “I’ll grab some dessert” he added.

Isla nodded, offering him a small smile, before she skittered out of the room, something which caused Gerard to shake his head, a little irked that the moment had been ruined.