13 | brownies and butter

People do incredible things for love, particularly for unrequited love.

- Daniel Radcliffe

_________________________

- L I L A -

Isaac stood there with his jaw unhinged, a mixture of emotions plastered on his face. "M-Matthew was kissing another girl?" he stuttered, stepping to the side to invite me in before I shook my head, stepping back so he could come outside. "Why are you coming to me with this, Lila?"

I zipped my jacket up to the top, feeling my cheeks redden with the cold that surrounded the night air. "Matthew had his earphones in," I started, sighing. "My guess is she kissed him, which means I need to know if that girl was Vanessa."

"V-Vanessa?" he stumbled on his words, and if it was possible, his jaw was practically on the floor. "Vanessa doesn't live with her parents, she lives with her uncle. Why would she be here?"

I shrugged my shoulders, shoving my hands securely in my pocket. "I don't know, but the girl had dark brown hair and such strong, electric blue eyes."

Isaac's eyebrows raised, and he positioned his finger on top of his top lip. "Did she have a, like a small red scar here?"

Once I nodded, he released a harsh breath through his nose. "That's the one and only Vanessa Mason," he rolled his eyes and brought out his phone. "Why would he be kissing her? It doesn't make sense. I'm going to call her."

Suddenly, I had a very confused expression on my face, shock leaking into it. "You still have his ex's number, are you serious, Isaac?"

He looked at me sheepishly, and held the phone to his ear, deciding to put it on speaker phone when she answered. "Have you missed me that much?" she spoke, her mere voice annoying me. "I'm surprised you didn't call me sooner, there's something I need to talk to you about."

"Yeah, Vanessa. Why were you kissing Matthew?"

"What? You're here?" she responded, laughing. "I actually forgot how good of a kisser Matthew is. He didn't even attempt to push me off."

Isaac glanced at me with a pained expression and quickly ended the call. "Lila," he mumbled. "You should hear Matthew's side first. Vanessa has a very warped impression of reality."

I yielded a small smile and shrugged my shoulders. "It's not like we're dating. I-I mean, it's not a big deal."

To that, his response was an obnoxious scoff, a look of incredulity adorning his face. "Not a big deal?" he recapitulated. "Of course it's a big deal. You like him and I'm not going to let Vanessa of all people set you apart."

I laughed humourlessly, inhaling hugely. "Shouldn't you be happy, Isaac? If Matthew actually is still in love with her, he's not going to be my boyfriend."

He grinned lopsidely, diverting his gaze from my face. "Lila, I'm celebrating on the inside, but your happiness means a lot more to me than my own."

The smile effortlessly made its way onto my face as I pulled my hands from my pocket, stepping towards Isaac before he took me in his arms, placing his chin on my head. "There's no way Matthew could still be in love with - with that witch. It's probably a big misunderstanding that you just need to clear up with him."

Before I could protest, he placed a soft kiss on my forehead, stepping back and smiling slightly. "You need to talk to Matthew, and I need to talk to Vanessa."

---

Isaac nudged me towards Matthew, slapping a blank look on his face at the sight of Vanessa.

Matthew sat there with a hand wedged in his hair, his earphones dangling over the table as Toby played with it with his paw. "I thought it was you, Lila." He stated, looking up and focusing his gaze on the wall. "I thought I was kissing you, and I would never kiss Vanessa after what she did to me," he paused and tried not to smile. "And besides, I haven't kissed you enough to remember how your lips feel."

That elicited a chortle from me, his facial expression lighting up. "It's fine. I was just worried you knew who was kissing you."

"God no," he replied, looking as if he ate something odd. "I wouldn't go near her willingly."

"You know I can hear you, Matthew, right?" Vanessa spoke up, turning around and regarding me with a cold look. "I'm guessing you're his rebound."

"Shut up." Matthew and Isaac retorted simultaneously, causing an amused look on Vanessa's face as she laughed breathily.

"Oh, a love triangle," she smirked. "I remember when I was in your position, but I haven't got time to waste on you because," she stopped and turned to Isaac. "I need to tell you something really important."

Isaac shrugged and glanced at me. "Stop being a bitch, Vanessa. You're an attention seeker. What you have to say isn't important."

She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows with a smirk. "So telling you that you're a father isn't important?" She watched as a nauseous expression overtook Isaac's face, silence engulfing us as Matthew gasped.

"You slept with my ex-girlfriend?" he exclaimed, an awkward vibe settling upon us. "And what do you mean could be? If Isaac was the only guy you slept with, you would be sure. Unless-"

Vanessa huffed, annoyed. "Yes, I slept with another guy other than Isaac, and why do you look worried? We never slept together."

Matthew sighed and rubbed his temples. "This is too much drama for one day, it's giving me a headache."

Glancing at Isaac, I registered how pale he looked, his body paralysed with shock. "A baby would fuck up my life," he murmured. "T-there's no way I'm the father,"

Vanessa rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue. "Have some sense of responsibility in your life for once, Isaac. I may have given birth to your daughter, and there's no way I'm raising her on my own if she's yours."

"How old is she?" he responded, finally looking up at Vanessa with such intensity. "How old is your daughter?"

"She's 3 months old."

Isaac then laughed out loud, looking relieved all of a sudden. "The only time I slept with you was a year and a two months ago. If she was my daughter, she would be around 5 months old." He laughed again, holding his hand to his chest. "You should probably contact the other guys, maybe you'll find the match then."

At the sound of my snort, she gave me an icy glare, a bitter look on her face. "Fine," she sighed, pursing her lips. "Do you have Jason's number? The one that moved here to live with his mom?"

Isaac scoffed and pulled out his phone, reading out Jason's number. 

Once she left the bakery, Isaac grinned widely at me, swiftly lifting me in the air and spinning us around. "Lila, I'm not a teenage dad!" he cheered, staring up at me with clear blue eyes. I looked at the gap between my feet and the floor, Isaac clearing his throat awkwardly as he placed me back on the ground.

Matthew clenched his fists, his jaw taut. "A year and two months ago," he repeated, his voice low. "I broke up with Vanessa a year and two months ago, which means you slept with my girlfriend right after I broke up with her."

Isaac frowned and glanced at Matthew with a regretful look. "It wasn't right after you broke up with her. I-it was at a party a couple weeks after, a-and-"

A gasp fell from my lips when Matthew's fist came into contact with Isaac's cheekbone. It wasn't a direct hit, but he put enough pressure to send Isaac to the floor. "Whatever, I don't care anymore, but forget about us ever being friends again. I want nothing to do with you."

Fearing that he was going to hit Isaac again, I held onto his arm, inwardly praising that the bakery was practically empty; only four other people were there, excluding Maia. When I heard him sniff, my gaze locked onto Isaac, seeing a tear fall down his cheek. "Matt, please," he begged, breathing in shakily. "I'm sorry - it was the night my sister died, and I needed someone. Vanessa and I were talking and I let my emotions get the best of me."

Matthew's breath hitched in the back of his throat, his grip on Toby's leash loosening. "You could've had anyone but the girl I was in love with, Isaac. I loved Alex, and was upset with her death too, but I never would've done that to you."

Isaac swiftly wiped the tears from his cheek and touched his cheek with tentative fingertips. "I really am sorry, Matthew; I'm sorry for everything."

Matthew sighed harshly and stepped towards Isaac. "I was always there for you. Even after she died, and you have never been a good friend to me. Time and time again, you have went behind my back and fucked me over. I thought of you as my brother, Isaac, I always have. But now, you mean nothing to me."

Isaac stared up at Matthew with a broken expression, standing up and directing his gaze to his shoes. Maia approached him with an ice pack. "Here, this'll help with the bruise." She mumbled quietly, giving it to him to place on his face.

He thanked her before taking it in his hands.

Matthew sighed and put his jacket on, heading towards the exit. I glanced back at Isaac before following in Matthew's pursuit, grabbing his arm. "Matthew? Are you alright?"

"I just need to cool off, would you come with me?"

_____

Matthew took a seat on the bench and unclenched his fist painfully. "I should never have hit him," he spoke quietly, rubbing his knuckles. "Why do I feel guilty, Lila?" He leaned back, taking his lip between his teeth, closing his eyes quietly. "It's like I always choose to get know the wrong people; I choose people who have no consideration for my feelings."

Breathing in silently, I sat beside him and noted him opening his hand in the space between us. Pretending not to notice it, I cleared my throat. "I-I never knew Isaac lost his sister."

Matthew withdrew his hand and pushed them into his pockets, giving me a sad smile. "Alex meant a lot to Isaac," he admitted, creasing his eyebrows. "Her death tore him apart and it changed him - was I wrong with what I said about him meaning nothing to me?"

"I can't make that decision for you, Matthew," I answered, wetting my bottom lip. "It's your choice whether you and Isaac can be friends again. Don't build your friendship on guilt."

We then sat in silence for a couple of minutes, Matthew tucking his chin into his chest and taking deep breaths in and out. The one person I couldn't stop thinking about was Isaac. I was aware that he was an absolute jerk to Matthew, but I sensed pure sincerity in his apology. From my knowledge of what happened, it just seemed like Isaac had a tendency to do a lot of stupid things whilst under the influence of alcohol, things that badly affected Matthew.

"Lila," he mumbled in a breathy tone. "Would we ever be good together?"

His question took me by surprise, making me actually think about how it would feel for Matthew to be my boyfriend. "I wouldn't know until we at least tried," I murmured, tilting my head to look at him. "I'm not good with relationships, though. Call me paranoid, but you'd get pretty bored of me if I become your girlfriend."

He chuckled and shook his head. "I don't think I could ever get bored of you, especially with all your sarcastic remarks. I like you, and I don't think my feelings are going to get weaker."

Placing my hand on his cheek, he curled his hand around my wrist and kissed my palm. "We can take it slow, we have all the time in the world." Shuffling forward, he dipped his head and brushed his lips against mine before smiling and claiming them.

We have all the time in the world.