If It Gave Us Time

Tapping her fingers against the side of her laptop’s screen, Isla let out a quiet sigh, her eyes drifting towards her phone which sat on the coffee table beside the computer. It hadn’t made a sound, since she’d gotten home almost an hour earlier, the phone hadn’t vibrated once, and it frustrated her slightly, even if she had been half expecting it. A small part of her had hoped that Gerard would reply to the texts that she had sent to him after she’d left the café that morning. It had been awkward, the fact that she had stumbled over Serena’s calling Gerard her boyfriend was something which made her cheeks flush a soft shade of pink, but still she had hoped that he’d want to talk about it, something which was contradicted by his not answering her texts.

Listening to the soft sounds of her fingers against the laptop screen, she briefly contemplated reaching out towards the phone, before she shook her head, refocusing her eyes on the screen of her computer.

“Tea?”

Isla startled a little at the sound of Luna’s voice before she turned, sparing the other woman a look over her shoulder. “Huh?” she asked.

“Do you want tea?” Luna repeated “I was going to go and make myself a cup, and I knew you were working in here, so I thought I’d come and ask. Are you still listening to me?” she added, watching as Isla turned back towards the coffee table.

Isla, who’d been sparing another glance towards her phone, blinked a couple of times at Luna’s question before she nodded. “Of course I am” she mused “And if you’re making tea, I’d love some” she added, pushing a smile up onto her face.

Luna glanced at her for a second, not missing that her smile seemed a little forced, before she followed the line of Isla’s stare, frowning a little at the phone which sat on the coffee table. “What’d he do?” she asked gently.

Isla, who’d returned her stare towards the screen of her laptop, shook her head. “I think it was me” she mumbled without looking up “We ran into Serena. You remember her, right?” she asked.

Luna nodded. “I do” she confirmed.

“She came over to say hi” Isla noted “And then she made a comment about my gorgeous b...boyfriend, and I totally screwed it up. I mean, I couldn’t even get the word out of my mouth, and he looked...let’s just say he didn’t exactly look happy when I left. I know it’s stupid, I mean, I like him and eventually, that’s what he’s going to be, but for some reason I just...I couldn’t say it right then. I mean, he’s Gerard, Luna” she added, turning to look up at Luna who’d slipped into the seat at her side.

“What do you mean, ‘he’s Gerard’?” Luna asked gently.

Isla shifted awkwardly in her seat, trying to think of the right words to say, before she shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know what I mean” she mumbled “I mean, I like him, Luna. He’s fun to be around, he always has been, and I really like spending time with him, but he’s just...I’ve known him since I was child and the idea of calling that goofy guy my boyfriend...it’s not something I ever really thought I’d get the chance to do” she explained, grimacing a little at how haphazard it sounded.

Luna smiled a little, amused by Isla’s grimace. “I think it’s cute” she noted.

“Really?” Isla asked.

Luna nodded. “It’s romantic” she mused “You were separated, never having told one another how you felt about each other, and now you’re back together, and your friendship is growing into a relationship. He knows little things about you that no one else does, and you know things about him, and, in my opinion, that’s a pretty adorable love story. Also, I’ve seen you two together. You’re so adorable” she gushed playfully.

Isla scoffed out a soft laugh, her cheeks flushing pink. “You really think so?” she asked.

“Obviously, you’re not quite in the same league as me and Evan” Luna quipped.

“Obviously” Isla teased, rolling her eyes.

Luna merely grinned, something which made Isla shake her head gently before she turned her attention back towards her phone, a sigh falling out of her mouth. “He’s not answering my texts” she noted “My...uh...my boyfriend hasn’t texted me back since this morning” she added, testing out the word hesitantly.

“He will” Luna chirped, her voice warm and reassuring “I mean, unless he’s a complete moron, he’s not going to want to let you slip by over something this stupid” she added, nudging Isla’s side playfully.

Isla rolled her eyes. “He can be pretty stupid sometimes” she mused “I mean, did I ever tell you about the time he confronted an ex of mine? I was, fourteen, maybe fifteen, and I’d been out with this guy a couple of times. I thought we were...you know, exclusive, and then I found out that he was also going out with one of the other girls in my class. When I told Gerard, he confronted him in front of the other girl, made a big scene of it. It was...it was pretty embarrassing” she fussed, a small smile tweaking the corner of her lips.

Luna watched her, marveling at the small smile that had appeared on her face, before she nudged her side again. “You don’t look embarrassed” she quipped “I mean, if anything, you look a little smitten” she added.

Isla shook her head, trying, and failing, to stifle her grin. “He’s an idiot” she mused “But I guess he’s probably always been my idiot” she added.

“You could do worse than an idiot like him” Luna mused “I mean, you do know how gorgeous he is, right?” she added playfully.

Isla scoffed, but nodded her head gently, something which made Luna grin at her before she shuffled back to her feet. “I’m going to go and put the kettle on” she mused “Why don’t we both take a little break from working for a bit? We can put some terrible film on or something and gossip over the top of it. It’s been forever since we did that” she added.

“Forever?” Isla prodded “We did that a week ago when you got back from dinner with your sister” she added.

Luna scoffed playfully. “We’d do it more if your boyfriend wasn’t always here” she teased, playfully stressing the word ‘boyfriend’.

Isla felt her cheeks warm before she shook her head, rolling her eyes. “We’d also do it more if you didn’t spend every other night at your boyfriend’s place” she pointed out with a smug grin.

Luna rolled her eyes dramatically, something which made Isla giggle before she shook her head. “We could have a girl’s night” she suggested “I mean, Gerard’s not exactly texting me back right now, and I am sure that Evan could survive for one night without you. I could go out now, grab a couple of bottles of wine to put in the fridge, and then later we could...” she trailed off as the sound of the doorbell filled the apartment, something which made Luna roll her eyes again before she stepped out of the room.

Isla hesitated for a couple of seconds, listening to the muffled conversation that Luna was having with the person on the other side of the door, before she followed her, stepping cautiously in the hall.

Luna was the first one to hear her footsteps, something which caused her to look up, an encouraging smile on her lips. “You owe me a night in” she teased before she stepped away, making her way back towards her bedroom.

Gerard had turned to look at Isla as soon as Luna had spoken, something which made the blonde shift her feet a little before she shook her head. “Would it kill you to answer your texts?” she mumbled.

Gerard shrugged. “Maybe” he teased halfheartedly.

Isla didn’t want to laugh, but she couldn’t stop it, something which made Gerard smile gently before he gestured over her shoulder, pointing down the hall towards her bedroom. “Can we talk?” he asked.

Isla hesitated for a split second before she nodded, walking down the hall with him following close behind her.