If It Gave Us Time

Gently pressing the front door closed, Isla rested her forehead against it for a couple of seconds, a small, aggravated sigh falling out of her mouth. It hadn’t taken her long, with Luna having arranged for her to meet her date at a café which wasn’t too far away from their apartment, it had only taken her a few minutes to get back home after she’d left Gerard, but it hadn’t been enough time for her to get rid of the knot in her stomach, something which irked her.

She didn’t want to be upset, with the amount of time that had passed since she and Gerard had last seen one another, she knew that still being upset about what had happened between them was silly, but she couldn’t help it, no matter how hard she tried. A small part of her couldn’t quite shake the bad feeling that had arisen in her stomach when she’d looked up at him.

Squeezing her eyes closed, she took in a couple of deep breaths before the sound of laughter reached her ears, something which made her jump slightly before she turned around, her eyes settling on Luna who stood behind her, a slightly amused grin playing on her lips. “It can’t have been that bad” she quipped lightly.

Isla scoffed quietly before she shuffled away from the door, pulling off of her jacket. “You wouldn’t be saying that if you’d seen it” she countered.

Luna tilted her head, watching Isla quietly for a few seconds, before she shook it, a frown on her face. “Was he that bad?” she asked “I mean, it was pretty last minute, so I don’t know too much about him, but Sofia seemed to think he was nice. What was wrong with him?” she pressed curiously.

She was surprised to see Isla back so soon, even despite her hesitation about going, she had assumed that she would at least give the date a chance before she attempted to leave, and she wanted to know what had gone wrong.

Isla, who’d moved to pull off her shoes, stilled for a second, thinking over what she wanted to say before she shrugged, offering Luna a halfhearted smile. “I guess he just wasn’t my type” she quipped as she attempted to step past the other woman.

Luna, however, was slightly quicker, stepping into the doorway to stop Isla getting past her. “It’s got to be more than that, Isla” she mused “I know you, even if he hadn’t have been your type, you’d have stuck it out just to be polite, so for you to be back here now, he must have been a pretty awful date” she added, her voice caught between teasing and curious.

Isla was quiet for a second, her eyes staring down towards her feet, before she gently shook her head, a weak smile briefly pulling up the corner of her lips. “I didn’t think so once” she mumbled.

“What?” Luna pressed.

Isla glanced at her, briefly contemplating explaining what had happened, before she shook her head. “It doesn’t matter” she replied “It just didn’t work out, Luna. Thanks for trying” she added before she ducked under the other woman’s arm, quickly making her way back towards her bedroom.

Luna watched after her for a second before she jogged after her, making her way into the room before Isla had a chance to push the door closed. “What’s wrong with you?” she pressed quickly.

Isla, who’d moved to change out of her sweater, jumped in surprise at the sound of Luna’s voice before she shook her head. “Luna...”

“You’ve had bad dates before, Isla” Luna interrupted sharply “A lot of them from what I remember. So what’s so bad about this guy?” she pressed, her voice softening a little.

Isla blinked a couple of times, surprised by Luna’s interruption, before she shook her head, gently pushing the frames of her glasses back up her nose as she moved to sit down on the side of her bed. “I knew him” she admitted softly.

“The guy I set you up with?” Luna pressed.

Isla merely nodded, something which caused Luna to frown. “And that’s such a bad thing?” she pressed gently.

Isla let out a soft sigh, her fingers still messing with her glasses. “It’s going to sound stupid” she mumbled “I mean, it’s been years, a lot of them, and it really shouldn’t have upset me like it did but...but it did and I had to get out of there” she stumbled out quietly.

Luna watched her for a second, mulling over her words, before she padded towards the bed, settling down beside Isla before she took her hand, offering it an encouraging squeeze. “What happened?” she asked gently.

Isla shrugged, moving her fingers so that they messed with the ends of her hair sheepishly. “We were friends when we were kids, best friends even” she mumbled “And Geri...Gerard, he moved away when we were teenagers. I knew what would happen, I knew that things between us would...that they’d change, but he promised...let’s just say, things didn’t end spectacularly between us” she added, shaking her head ruefully.

Luna opened her mouth, briefly contemplating asking what had happened, before she shook her head, instead opting to merely squeeze Isla’s hand gently, something which made Isla shake her head again, a weak smile on her face. “You’re not going to tell me that I’m being stupid?” she mumbled “That something which happened so many years ago probably shouldn’t get me so upset still?” she added, her voice caught between teasing and curious.

Luna smirked playfully. “Would you like me too?” she quipped.

Isla shrugged, her eyes staring down at her feet. “I kind of know it already” she mumbled “I mean, we were kids and it probably shouldn’t have mattered as much as it did to me, but when I saw him...part of me wanted to hug him and another wanted to punch him the face” she added.

Luna tilted her head. “You didn’t, did you?” she asked playfully.

Isla shook her head, allowing a silence to settle over the two of them for a few seconds before Luna cleared her throat, something which caused Isla to turn her head slightly, looking up at her friend. “Gerard” she murmured “Did you used to...?” she trailed off, watching as a soft blush spread across Isla’s cheeks.

Isla shook her head, knowing precisely what the end of the question was. “It never quite happened between us” she mumbled “I mean, I thought...maybe...just before he left...but it didn’t” she added.

Luna offered her a look, preparing to ask another question, before the sound of knocking at the front door filled the air, something which caused her to roll her eyes. “I’ll get that” she mused.

Isla rolled her eyes playfully, briefly contemplating making a comment, before she nodded her head, something which encouraged Luna to push herself up to her feet before she left the bedroom.

Quickly making her way down the hall, she reached the front door before she pulled it open, her eyes widening a little as Gerard, who stood on the other side, looked up from his phone. “I’m...uh...” he stumbled out “I’m looking for Isla. Is she here?” he asked.

Luna blinked a couple of times before she shuffled out of the doorway, gesturing up the hallway. “The second door on the right” she replied.