If It Gave Us Time

Quietly sipping on the glass of juice that he had collected for himself, Gerard shifted his weight slightly, his eyes glancing towards Isla who was still curled up beside him, her soft snores disturbing the silence which otherwise filled the bedroom. He hadn’t expected to be awake so early, with Isla’s getting back to his place the previous night having kept him up, he had assumed that he’d, much like her, make the most of the opportunity to lay in, but he had found sleep hard to come by, his mind stuck on the look that had been spread across Isla’s face when she had suggested that she was ready for them to move in together officially.

They’d had the conversation numerous times, after Isla had made the decision to move out of the apartment that she and Luna had shared, he’d often bought the topic up and Isla had always laughed it off, insisting that it was still early for them to even think about it, but the look on her face the previous night had been different. It had been serious, something which made Gerard all the more keen for her to wake up.

He knew that there was a chance that she hadn’t meant it, when she had arrived back at his place the previous night, she had been more than a little tipsy, but still he was a little optimistic, even if he had reminded himself numerous times not to get ahead of himself. The mere idea that there was a chance that she had been serious was enough to have a few butterflies in the pit of his stomach.

Taking another sip of his drink, he watched her for a couple of seconds before he let out a quiet sigh, resting his head back against the headboard.

“What are you sighing about?”

Gerard, who’d squeezed his eyes closed in an attempt to shake the butterflies out of his stomach, jumped a little at the sound of Isla’s voice before he picked his head up, glancing down at her as she wrinkled her nose, trying to wake herself up a little more. Watching her for a moment, he breathed out a soft laugh before he lifted a hand, carefully tucking her messy hair back off of her face. “You’re awake earlier than I thought you’d be” he quipped.

Isla smiled a little at the feel of his fingertips before she shrugged, closing her eyes happily. “You’ve been moving around for at least the last ten minutes” she noted “It’s pretty hard to sleep through that” she added.

Gerard scoffed, neatly tucking her hair behind her ear. “You can sleep through anything when you’re hungover” he quipped.

Isla merely flashed him a small smile, something which made Gerard laugh gently before he leant over, gently brushing his lips against hers. Isla jumped, not seeing the kiss coming, but she didn’t hesitate in returning it, kissing him gently for a few seconds before she pulled back, nibbling on her lip gently in an attempt to stifle her smile.

Gerard marveled at her for a few seconds, a little amused by how shy she still looked from time to time, before he cleared his throat slightly. “Hey” he murmured “Can I ask you something?” he added, sheepishly scratching his jaw.

Isla frowned a little, not missing the nervousness in his expression, before she nodded. “Of course” she mused “Unless this is just one of your cheesy flirty jokes. It’s too early for all that” she teased, trying to ease the slight tension which had built around them.

Gerard offered her a slightly tight smile, causing Isla to shake her head, a slightly bemused expression on her face. “What is with you?” she asked “You were fine a minute ago. Have I upset you somehow?” she added.

“Of course not” Gerard replied quickly “We just...it’s nothing” he babbled.

Isla tilted her head, smirking amusedly. “Are you nervous, Piqué?” she chirped.

Gerard laughed, sheepishly pushing a hand back through his hair. “Maybe” he quipped.

“Why?” Isla pressed “I mean, it’s me. If there’s one person you don’t need to be nervous around, it’s probably me. You can ask me anything, and I promise, I’ll try my hardest not to laugh” she added, trying to keep the mood light and playful.

She could see that he was nervous, it was clear in his hesitant smiles that there was something on his mind, and whilst she wanted to know what it was, she didn’t want to push him into talking about it, knowing that they both responded better to one another when they were trying to make each other smile. They both could be stubborn, it was a lot of the reason that they’d fought when they’d been younger, and she knew that prodding him wasn’t likely to get him talking. If he was going to open up, it was going to be because she’d made him feel comfortable enough with her that he felt he could tell her.

Gerard glanced at her for a moment, his blue eyes searching her face, before he shook his head, smiling bashfully. “How much of last night do you remember?” he asked.

Isla smiled impishly. “I remember going to dinner” she mused “And I remember Luna getting drunk within the first hour of us being in the club. I remember her making a bunch of phone calls to Evan and her telling me how much she loved me when I dropped her back at her place. I don’t really remember much after I got back here though. I vaguely remember you being up when I got back, and I think you helped me with my shoes, but not much else. You need more than that?” she chirped cheerfully.

Gerard’s expression faltered ever so slightly, but he quickly mustered a small smile before he shook his head. “Nah” he mused “I was just checking that you had some good memories of last night. It’s not like it’s every day that your best friend gets married. I’m...uh...I’m going to go and make some breakfast, you want some?” he added as he quickly ushered himself to his feet.

Isla blinked a couple of times, surprised by both his sudden movements and his stuttering, before she shook her head. “I’ll come and grab something in a bit” she murmured “I think...uh...I’m going to try and get a little more sleep seeing as I have the day off. I’ll see you later?” she asked softly.

Gerard, who’d made his way towards the bedroom door, offered her a tight smile before he nodded. “Sure” he mused “I’m not going anywhere” he added before he stepped out of the room, gently pulling the door closed behind him.

Isla stared at the closed door a few seconds, listening to the receding sound of his footsteps as they moved away down the corridor, before she turned onto her other side, a quiet sigh falling out of her mouth. “I remember saying yes” she mumbled quietly to herself as she curled up against her pillow.

She didn’t know how to bring it up, without Gerard mentioning it first, she didn’t quite know how to broach the subject, and so she had just followed his lead, not mentioning the conversation for fear that he regretted the way it had panned out. She had meant it, when she had said that she wanted to move in with him officially, it had been the truth, but she worried that his not bringing it up meant that he wasn’t keen on her answer, something which made her stomach twist a little. She had thought that it was news that he’d been waiting for.