Chapter Text
Slow people were the bane of Isak’s existence, really. They just fucking mosied along like it was a Sunday stroll in the park. It pissed him off beyond belief. It was a college campus— people had classes to get to and important matters to address. Also, it was neither a Sunday, nor a park, so there shouldn't be any strolling going on at all. People really needed to learn how to walk like they had a purpose.
Of course, Isak was irked by this, and it showed in the way his face was scrunched up into an irritated expression, his eyebrows drawn together in a scowl. He was rolling his eyes practically every five seconds, and he was doing nothing to stop the quiet little annoyed sighs that slipped past his lips.
The next sigh he let out was one of relief, however, as the person in front of him seemed to get the hint or something and veered off to the side, leaving Isak a wide open, clear path to power through.
Except right as Isak picked up his pace, a tall lanky body stepped right in front of him— effectively cutting off his path to freedom.
He couldn’t help the eye roll, and part of him wanted to slam his foot down and throw a small tantrum— he just wanted to get to class!
When Isak looked up he saw a boy (a very beautiful boy, his mind unhelpfully supplied) with his hand outstretched, fingers spread wide, staring right at Isak with his sparkling blue eyes as if he were expecting something from him. It suddenly dawned on Isak that the guy was asking for a high five.
Isak lifted his eyebrow in question— it must be some stupid frat boy on some stupid initiation mission because why else would he be asking Isak for a high five. He was almost convinced that there must be some sort of catch— that it couldn’t just be a simple high five— and the confusion and hesitation must have been written across his face because the boy was suddenly laughing— bright and bubbly— a beautiful smile blooming across his cheeks.
And Isak was just that much of a goner because he didn’t even care if it was some sort of prank— he was not going to pass up a chance to touch this gorgeous boy, even if it was just a press of their palms together.
He lifted his hand and hit his palm against the other boy’s, the soft slap of skin against skin echoing in Isak's ears. (It was just their hands, but Isak couldn't help but wish the sound came from something else.)
When he went to pull his hand back, though, five long fingers laced in between his, squeezing slightly. He looked up in shock, mouth dropping open in a small ‘o’ and eyes going uncharacteristically wide.
Before he could say anything— a protest or cheeky comment, he wasn't even sure yet— the boy grinned widely at him and darted forward to peck Isak’s cheek. “We’re dating now,” he declared matter-of-factly. He attempted to wink at Isak, but his face just crinkled up adorably as he tried, and failed, to close just one eye.
Isak simply blinked back at him, too caught off guard and flustered to think of anything to say back. A peal of surprised laughter did surface, and it only made the boy’s smile grow larger.
“Love you, baby.” The boy proclaimed, flicking his eyebrows up once before he was suddenly gone, waltzing away from a very confused, slightly startled Isak.
He stood, overwhelmed and frozen in place, as he tried to wrap his mind around what just happened.
Just then a solid shoulder slammed into Isak’s, and an angry, “keep walking, there’s not a fucking stop sign,” was filling his ears, effectively bringing him back to reality.
A bitter laugh blurted out of Isak, and he shook his head at everything that just happened. He brushed it off— all of it— and continued on his way to class.
(If he couldn't stop thinking about pretty blue eyes and feeling the phantom pressure of a hand in his own, who could really blame him?)
Isak stuffed his notebook into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder, waiting for Jonas to do the same before they exited the classroom.
It was Isak’s last class of the day, and he couldn't be more grateful that he got to go back to his dorm and collapse in bed for an hour and fifteen minutes while he waited for Jonas’s last class
to end.
The building Jonas’s classroom was in just so happened to be on the way back to the dorms, so Isak walked with him. Jonas was badgering on about something that happened at the party last weekend that Isak missed because he had to catch up on some assignments he’d chosen not to do the previous weekend in favor of going out.
He wasn’t entirely paying attention— too busy scanning through the crowds of people around him. He was totally not looking for a certain tall, blonde, and beautiful boy. That would just be ridiculous— he hadn’t even had a real conversation with him. (He was also totally not disappointed when he didn’t see him anywhere.)
They arrived at Jonas’s building after a few more minutes, and as Isak went to open the door for Jonas— because he was just that lovely of a friend— it flew open and out walked tall, blonde, and beautiful. A pleasantly surprised smile adorned his face as he spotted Isak, and he fluttered his fingers in a half wave.
Isak didn’t know exactly what possessed him to do it, maybe he was just feeling extra confident or something, but he flashed the boy a smirk and gave him a wave of his own as he chirped out a cheeky, “hey, babe.”
He heard Jonas mutter a confused “what?” but ignored it in favor of watching the stunned look unfold across the boy’s features— an amused chuckle rolling off of his tongue.
The boy held the door open, and Jonas strode through it, giving him a quick thanks in addition to a rather quizzical look. Isak, on the other hand, paused halfway through as the boy flicked his eyebrows up, exactly as he did the first time they met.
“Later, babe.” He said coolly, tilting his chin towards Isak in greeting before he let go of the door and began to walk away.
As soon as he was gone, Jonas rounded on Isak. “Who the fuck is that and why the fuck are you calling each other babe?” He demanded. Suddenly, he stretched his arm out and hit Isak across the chest as a thought dawned on him. “What the fuck— did you get a boyfriend without telling me?”
Isak just laughed and shook his head. “Trust me, if I got a boyfriend you'd be the first I tell,” he assured. “Nah, he's just some guy I met around campus earlier today. He just walked up to me, high fived me, and said that we were dating— he didn't mean it though, it was just a joke. I mean, we don't even know each other.”
Jonas quirked a thick eyebrow suspiciously, as if he didn't entirely believe Isak. “You don't know each other… yet you're still calling each other babe?”
“I saw that it was him and thought it’d be funny. See if he even remembered it.” Isak shrugged. It wasn’t that big of a deal, so he wasn’t sure why Jonas was so adamant on making it out to be one.
“Alright, whatever you say, bro,” Jonas replied. “He’s uh… He’s pretty good looking though,” he added on second thought, waggling his eyebrows suggestively towards Isak.
This time, Isak was the one to hit Jonas. He rolled his eyes. “Nothing’s gonna happen, I don't
even know his name!”
That changed about a week later, though.
Isak and Sana were sitting under one of the big oak trees, all of their biology notes spread out around them. Isak was leaning up against the trunk while Sana sat next to him, the biology book open in her lap as she flipped through it, searching for the right page.
“Do you remember what page cellular respiration is on?” Sana asked, looking up from the book to Isak.
He shrugged his shoulders and tilted his head back against the tree. He could feel the autumn sunshine streaming through the branches, warming the sides of his face. He closed his eyes, soaking it up with a content smile on his lips.
“You’re no help, you know that?” Sana chastised, shaking her head. She was sporting her own smile though, and Isak could hear it in her voice.
“You love me, Sanasol. You wouldn't be able to function without me,” Isak retorted. He didn't have to open his eyes to know that Sana was rolling her own at him.
“Keep telling yourself that, Isabell,” she responded before going back to her quest for the diagram on cellular respiration.
Isak opened his eyes, deciding that he might as well make himself useful and help Sana look for the right page. Once his eyelids peeled back, however, his eyes landed right on tall, blonde, and beautiful— whose eyes found his immediately— the curve of his lips softening right away.
“Hey, babe.” Isak called out, winking at the boy and giving him a small wave as he swept past Isak and Sana’s spot.
He laughed airily in response. “Halla, lover,” he replied, waving back at Isak, who was, admittedly, a bit disappointed that he didn't stop to chat. He must have been on his way to class.
“See you later,” Isak called after him, sinking his teeth into his lower lip to bite back the grin threatening to overtake his face. He didn’t take his eyes off of the boy as he sauntered towards his building.
“You’re dating Even?” Sana’s stunned voice startled Isak out of his reverie and his head snapped towards her. “Since when?”
Even. He had a name, and it was Even. How beautiful.
“Isak, hallo, I asked you a question,” Sana snapped, folding her arms over her chest.
“I’m not dating him,” Isak offered as an explanation, and Sana narrowed her eyes at him. She even shut the biology book, completely abandoning it in favor of turning all her attention to Isak so he could explain himself.
“You just called him babe, though. And he called you lover,” Sana pointed out, and well, she got him there.
So Isak launched into a condensed explanation of the events that led up to him and Even addressing each other as though they were a couple. When he finally finished his spiel, Sana burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” Isak asked quizzically, and Sana just shook her head.
“You two are idiots,” she responded, a knowing smirk gracing her lips. Isak furrowed his brow at her and sat up from against the tree.
“What do you know that you’re not telling me?”
Sana pulled her water bottle from her backpack, uncapping it so she could take a swig— and prolong answering Isak, most likely buying herself time to come up with some bullshit answer. She met his eyes over the rim of her bottle and Isak gave her a look. Well? Spill it!
She just set the water bottle back down and placed the biology textbook back into her lap, reopening it so she could continue her search. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said simply, dropping her eyes to read.
Sana never spilled, and if Isak was being honest, he kind of forgot that she supposedly knew something about this that he didn't.
He went about his daily life, and every time he saw Even in the quad, or the halls of his building, or even the cafeteria, he would lift his hand and call out a cheerful (and sometimes flirtatious— sue him) “hey, babe.”
It definitely earned him some weird looks from his friends the first few times before he explained it to them. He’d even had a few of his classmates— some of whom he rarely ever spoke to— come up to him and ask if he was really dating Even.
One day Isak and his friends were sitting in the cafeteria, picking at the less than appetizing food while Magnus went on about how bullshit it was that he couldn't get into the frat party that had happened this past weekend.
Isak hadn’t seen him at first, since he’d been approaching from behind, but Jonas kicked his ankle underneath the table and nodded his head in his direction. He was about to turn around when a hand clapped down on his shoulder, and a deep, smooth voice filled his ears, effectively startling him.
“Hey, baby,” Even greeted buoyantly, giving his shoulder a light squeeze before letting go. Isak nearly let out a whine at the loss of contact, but he managed to hold it in. Boy, would that have been embarrassing. He instantly brightened though, all of his features softening as his eyes landed on Even’s smiley face.
“Halla, babe,” he reciprocated, his voice tender and full of affection. He heard Magnus let out a snort somewhere behind him and then a quiet ouch, what the fuck was that for? as Jonas landed a kick against his ankle this time. Isak could only imagine the shut the fuck up look Jonas was shooting Magnus.
Even had a warm grin on his face as he looked at Isak, and he flicked his eyebrows up once as a goodbye before continuing on to dispose of his dirty plates.
Once Even had passed completely and had disappeared around the corner, Isak turned his attention back to his friends— only to find them sitting there with shit eating grins on their faces— Magnus even looked like he was about to explode. It was no surprise that he broke the silence first.
“What the fuck!” He exclaimed excitedly, staring wide eyed at Isak, who just gave him a questioning look. “There’s no way you’re not dating him— I mean, you two have got to be banging at least,” he squawked incredulously.
Isak rolled his eyes at Magnus. “We’re not. Dating or banging. I’ve never even had a real conversation with him,” he clarified.
Mahdi placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward on them. “Okay, okay, so you’re not with him— but you want to be, right?” he asked, curiosity leaking into his voice.
Isak couldn’t help the flush that rose to his cheeks at the question. Of course he did. He barely even knew Even, but he certainly wanted to get to know him— there was no doubt about that.
“I, uh, I mean… yeah.” There was no use denying it. All the boys would be able to see right through him if he tried to.
The boys let out a collective whoop and Jonas reached out to slap Isak on the back a few times, a huge grin on his face. “Why don’t you ask him out instead of just saying hi to him?” He suggested.
At first, a frown etched itself into Isak’s features, and he quickly shook his head at the idea. But the longer he thought about it— the more he mulled it over and considered it— the better the idea sounded. He stopped shaking his head, a contemplative look on his face now. “You really think I should do that?” He asked, looking back at Jonas with wide, questioning eyes.
Jonas bobbed his head encouragingly. “Absolutely.”
“There’s no way he’d say no to you, Isak,” Mahdi chimed in, flashing Isak a reassuring grin.
Magnus nodded enthusiastically, “He’d be stupid to! You’re hot as fuck, Isak!” He exclaimed. “Plus, I bet you’re pretty fucking awesome in bed.”
Isak nearly choked on the bite of his sandwich he’d just taken. The rest of the boys blinked at Magnus, who just shrugged his shoulders. “What? He probably is!” he defended— and well, Isak wasn’t about to discount that statement. (He was weirdly flattered that Magnus seemed to think this, but a tiny bit concerned that he’d even considered it before.)
Feeling adequately pumped up with confidence running through his veins, he sat up a little straighter at the table, taking a glance at each of his friends before declaring, “fuck it, I’m gonna ask him out the next time I see him.”
He didn’t.
It went on like this— hey, babe from Isak and hey, whatever term of endearment Even felt like using today from Even, every time they saw each other— for nearly five whole months.
It wasn’t until after winter holidays that they finally saw each other in a setting other than their paths to class, but it took a good two weeks before they finally said something more than just hello.
On the first day of the new semester, Isak had walked into his Intro to Philosophy lecture and had taken a seat somewhere in the middle— arguably the best section to be seated in because this way he was neither directly up front or too far back to hear. He’d been busy pulling out his notebook and fishing around for a pen to use when someone else had plopped down right next to him, their backpack falling to the ground with a loud thud.
Isak stiffened at the noise and sat up, ready to launch into a mini rant about how it’s like the number one rule that you don’t pick a spot right next to someone unless the lecture hall is full, and this one is practically empty! What the hell? Do you not know the etiquette of choosing a seat? It was almost eight in the morning— it was too early to deal with this shit.
But when he turned towards the culprit, he was pleasantly surprised to find that it was none other than Even himself.
He was so taken aback to see him there that he sat and fish mouthed at the boy for a good few seconds before finally finding his voice. “Babe,” he blurted, “halla.”
(If he sounded a bit breathless, he’d blame it on the fact that he totally sprinted to class).
(He’d gotten there at least fifteen minutes before class even started, but no one had to know that).
“Hiya, sweetie,” Even beamed before he turned to gather his own supplies for the class.
That was the only thing he said to him all class period.
And all throughout class the following day.
And the day after that.
And every day for the next two weeks— they only exchanged pleasantries and nothing else.
To be quite honest, it confused the hell out of Isak— Even confused the hell out of Isak.