Chapter 1: Unclaimed promise
Chapter Text
Isaac thought of it as just another simple favor that he usually did for the others.
When Tanner had won the previous year, Isaac had to fulfill the task of helping him buy a new “car.”
With the money Tanner had won, of course.
When Moonzy and Bear had won, they had asked for simple things like helping them with promoting their social media or even editing a video for them.
And somehow Isaac had never seen the issue with the favor system.
It had worked out every year even though Isaac didn’t enjoy the extra labor. He liked helping his friends, and it wasn’t like they were ungrateful for his favor. They always managed to pay him back in some way for his favor, whether it was actual money or something else. Nobody ever abused the favor or asked him for something stupid.
Isaac had dubbed it his best idea to date.
Until this year.
Yumi had rightfully won, even after being disconnected in the last moments of the video. And as the fans had expressed afterwards in the comments, the win was well deserved.
Isaac had previously felt bad for disqualifying Yumi because of his computer crashing, but a rule was a rule.
After Isaac had transferred the money, it seemed to have been the end of the chapter known as ‘last to leave VC.’ Isaac hadn’t given it any more thought, and it didn’t seem like any of the other members had.
That was until Nick pointed out that Yumi still hadn’t gotten the favor he was supposed to get.
At first Isaac had argued with him that he most definitely had received his favor, but Nick reminded him of how Yumi had become more reclusive, not talking or hanging out with the other guys, so there had been no chance of the favor actually being fulfilled.
Now that Nick had reminded him of Yumi’s presence lacking in most of their hangouts, Isaac started thinking.
He started remembering.
Always declining hangouts. Yumi had become a rare appearance in the kitchen or even in the shared living room. Barely talked to Isaac, barely made his presence known to the other guys. He had still been posting rather routinely on YouTube, but his physical presence lacked.
It made Isaac worry.
When he and Yumi had first started to get to know each other, Yumi was a vibrant, outspoken, and outright hilarious individual. He had become many fans' favorite appearance in every Willy vlog and group podcast. And now he had supposedly gone missing in his own house; he had become a memory of some sort.
In the beginning Isaac had suspected that maybe he had been feeling ill, and that had been the reason for his decline in appearances. But then again, he was openly coughing in Nick's face a few days after he had moved in, so that was out of the question. He also knew that it couldn’t just be because of something any of the other guys had done. Yumi was the type to forgive, even if Larry was screaming and yelling in the middle of the night when streaming, waking the whole house up, including neighbors.
But it was still weird to him that Yumi simply hadn’t asked for the favor to be fulfilled yet. He knew that Yumi loved asking Tanner and Isaac for snacks whenever they went to buy food for the house, but maybe this was different?
He knew that some people simply didn’t like asking for favors, and he wouldn’t judge Yumi if that was his case. Hell, even Isaac hated asking for help sometimes. That was why he did all the editing for the last to leave the VC videos by himself. Even if it took a substantially longer amount of time than if somebody helped him, he liked the feeling of publishing something that was entirely his work.
It was difficult for Isaac to figure out a way to approach Yumi without seeming too weird or out of the blue. If Yumi was going through a rough patch, then Isaac wanted to be there to help him and support him. He knew that sometimes, all you need is a friend to get better, and maybe Isaac could be that friend.
He just needed to find the right moment to ask him about it. He hadn’t noticed Yumi being awake at any of the normal hours of the day, and even less at night. He had debated on just storming into his room with no regard for privacy, pulling him out of his bed, and forcing him to watch some stupid SpongeBob episode with him in the living room. Anything to get him out of that dark dungeon, anything to make him feel better.
A week had passed since Nick had made him aware, and Isaac was growing impatient. At this point Yumi wasn’t even replying to the group chat where they were sending memes and stupid videos, so Isaac made up his mind.
The perfect moment that Isaac was looking for would never come, no.
Isaac had to make whatever moment he had the perfect moment.
The other guys had left for a willy vlog, presumably annoying the hell out of the public, while Yumi obviously had declined with the same radio silence as any other time. Isaac had decided to stay home, initially because he needed to work on the ‘last to leave vc’ video. But as an hour had passed and Isaac had suddenly become thirsty, he decided that he would pass by Yumi’s bedroom, just to check in on him.
With an ice-cold water bottle in hand, he walked towards Yumi’s bedroom. The carpeted floor underneath his feet felt calming as he stood in front of the door to his dear friends’ bedroom.
It had taken multiple knocks before he heard some kind of sign of life from the other side of the door. Nothing he had expected, though. A faint voice seemed to seep through the wood grain of the door, barely audible to Isaac.
“Go away…”
It was two simple words, and yet Isaac couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows at them. Yumi’s voice sounded funny, as if it were muffled into a pillow. Isaac guessed that he hadn’t moved from his bed for a few days, possibly growing roots into the mattress.
The usual closed-off response to Isaac's attempted intrusion would usually charm Isaac. It was funny to him how closed off Yumi was at certain times. Isaac had never blamed him for it. They had come from different childhoods and incredibly different kinds of rise-to-fame situations on YouTube, so it made sense to him that Yumi was more closed off, more private. He liked that about Yumi and respected it even.
But he wouldn’t let him get off that easily.
Not this time.
“No, I’m coming in, so you better be decent!”
Isaac announced and entered his room.
It was dark; only a few lights were on. His computer was turned off, the LEDs in the keyboard emitting a soft glow along with the different LED lights and strips he had decorated the room with. Different rugs and posters plastered on the walls, Isaac taking notice of the one with Yumi’s strawberry logo. It had impressed just about everyone in the group when Yumi had shown them the rug, the incredible work earning a few ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs.’
The sheets were thrown to the side. There were a few boxes still placed by the end of Yumi’s bed, still not fully unpacked into his new room. A trash bag full of stuff Yumi owned that Isaac had carried into his room a few weeks ago was still in the same place he had left it, sitting by Yumi’s closet.
The carpeted floor that had been cool and comfortable in the hall now felt hot under Isaac's feet as he stood in the doorway, letting the light from the hallway shine into the dark room. The extra light contributed to Isaac being able to make out a shadow of a body on the bed.
Yumi was sprawled across his bed, his phone lighting up as somebody had sent him a message. He was wearing a pair of grey shorts and a T-shirt that Isaac could only tell was red from the way Yumi was lying in his bed, with his back facing Isaac. He saw the first movement in a while as Yumi turned his head as he addressed his friend, his eyes wincing at the bright lights from the hallway bleeding into his room.
“I told you to go away.”
Yumi mumbled, his head turned away from where Isaac stood. Isaac only took it as a challenge to get Yumi’s attention, taking a few steps towards Yumi’s bed. The room felt hot, and Isaac glanced at the window that was right above Yumi’s desk. The blinds were drawn, and they had been covered with something to block out the rest of the light that came through the cracks of the blinds. Closed as well, Isaac found the reason for the warmer temperature. It felt as if the air was suffocating him, feeling heavy and as if Isaac could reach out and grasp it in his hands.
The ice-cold water bottle in his hand had started to form condensation on the outside, droplets wetting his hand, making the grip on it a mix of sweaty and unstable.
Yumi hadn’t made any new movements; his body was still splayed out on the bed. It looked like he would occasionally wince from the sharp light that still emitted from the hall. If Isaac tilted his head to the right side, he could faintly see Yumi’s furrowed eyebrows and painful expression. If he tilted it to the left, he would be able to observe just how greasy and disgusting his hair had become over the days of his disappearance. Staying in a room this hot without a single shower must be at the same level of torture as waterboarding, he thought.
Isaac gulped, unsure if Yumi was actually in pain or if it was just because he was trying to tolerate Isaac’s presence. On the nightstand beside his bed were a bottle of Advil and an empty bottle of water. Isaac hoped that there were still pills left in the bottle as he took another step closer to where his housemate was lying.
Many words were fighting their way up Isaac's esophagus, digging their invisible claws into the flesh, fighting for first place. Isaac wasn’t proud of the words that ended up escaping before the others. ‘I worry about you’ or ‘Are you okay?’ would probably have been better.
“What’s been up with you as of late?”
Isaac winced as soon as the words hung heavy in the air, sounding as if he was almost questioning him. He watched Yumi’s shoulders tense up as he moved his body to sit upright. The red shirt that had draped his body as he had lied down now stretched and moved in wavy motions as he sat up, revealing a rather funny and edited picture of a well-known president photoshopped onto another well-known president.
Isaac could only imagine what must have been going through his mind the past week and before that that made him spiral like this. He wondered if Yumi had even changed clothes during this period of absence. Sure, a few mounds of clothes had started to collect on the floor, but Isaac assumed that it was clean clothes. As Yumi finally sat upright, Isaac tried to look at his face, to read any emotions off his face. He didn’t have much time to study whatever he was feeling based off of his face, though, as he watched Yumi’s dry lips part and reply to Isaac’s question.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Yumi’s defense seemed useless towards Isaac, as it only made him take another step towards his bed. Yumi had no initial reaction to where Isaac was going, his eyes still closed as he tried to ignore the harsh lights from the hallway, still bleeding into the room.
Isaac noticed it rather quickly now and walked back to close the door, letting his own eyes adjust to the darkness before he walked over to Yumi’s bed again, his knees grazing the edge of the covers Yumi had thrown to the side of the bed. Isaac took note of the contact. The covers had a dull grey color, but the material was soft and airy, not as warm as he had thought.
“Well, some of the other guys have pointed out how avoidant you are. You’re not sick, are you?”
Isaac hoped that they both knew that the type of sick he was talking about wasn’t exactly a cold or a cough, but something deeper and more complex. Something hot soup or a visit to the doctor couldn’t fix.
Isaac took a step back again as if he were dancing on a line with Yumi’s patience that was obviously running thin. Now that both were in the darkness of the room, Yumi opened his eyes as he answered Isaac, brown orbs only lit by the dim LEDs in his room peering up at him with an unreadable expression.
“No, I’m not sick. And there’s nothing wrong with me; is it wrong to just want some peace?”
Isaac shrugged at Yumi’s words, unsure of what to say. He recalled that Tanner had been worried about it being his fault that Yumi had taken a step back from the group activities after the little ltlvc incident that had involved ranking the different group members.
Sure, Isaac had thought that Tanner's ranking had been a joke from the get-go, but from the way Yumi reacted to it, Isaac had talked about it with Tanner afterwards. They had both agreed that maybe Yumi had taken it somewhat seriously, but then again, how serious can a list be? If the list was the reason, then why did he avoid everyone and not just Tanner?
It puzzled Isaac.
“So, nothing is wrong, but you’ve been in your room and avoiding us for, like, a month. Come on, dude, something is definitely wrong.”
Isaac's arms were crossed over his chest as he stared Yumi down, expecting him to give up and tell him what was plaguing his friend. Though nothing came, only silence. Isaac stood like that for a few seconds, encompassed by the silence like the dark void in Yumi’s room had consumed him as well, but a few seconds in the thickening silence was enough for Isaac to grow frustrated with his housemate, wanting an answer, and wanting it now. He could care less about overstepping boundaries at this point; he was worried about his friend, and that was way more important.
“When you said... any kind of favor... did you really mean it?”
Isaac could hear the way Yumi’s dry lips smacked with every consonant he enunciated, their close proximity eliminating any kind of white noise. He could still hear Yumi’s computer blowing air out like it was getting ready for takeoff, but that had become background noise at this point. He was taken aback by the sudden change of topic, not knowing what to say. Was Yumi trying to deflect what really was at stake here? Or was there actually some value behind his question?
“Well, yes. I don’t get why this is relevant to what I’m asking you.”
Yumi visibly cringed and ran his hands through his hair, seemingly unaware of Isaac's worry.
“I’ve been thinking. About what I want the favor to be.”
Isaac scoffed as if he was in disbelief. Did Yumi really think that they could just gloss over the issue at hand?
“But that doesn’t have anything to do with why you’ve been avoiding me specifically, right? Listen, dude, I get it if you don’t like asking favors—no shame in that—but then you need to tell me. We have all been worried sick about you. The way you just disappeared made us all worry for your health, man. You should’ve told us if it was just some issue with a favor.”
Yumi flopped onto his back and sighed at Isaac's words, only making Isaac more pissed off. Yumi’s shirt had crept up, exposing the rim of his sweatpants. The strings were worn out and tied tightly, the metal ends missing. Isaac knew they were missing because he had pulled them off after he had mistaken the shorts for being his, which had ensued a small but lighthearted argument between the two. The LED lights illuminated Yumi’s tired posture perfectly, capturing the dark bags under Yumi’s eyes and the scruff that rested on Yumi’s top lip.
“I have no issues with asking for favors. But you do realize it’s stupid to just say that we can ask for anything from you?”
Yumi’s chest rose and fell as he spoke, closed eyes not paying any attention to Isaac standing beside the bed. Isaac’s shadow was cast onto the wall as the LEDs started moving in ‘strobe mode.’ He started thinking about Yumi’s question. Of course it wasn’t stupid! All the other times he had helped his friends out in ways they probably had been afraid to ask for before the favor system, so why would it be stupid? Isaac hoped that Yumi could see the friendliness Isaac was genuinely trying to portray with the idea of a favor and not just call him stupid because there would be a possibility for the winner to ask him for dumb favors like a house or $100k to put a down payment on a car.
Isaac had never thought about it that way, biting the inside of his cheek as Yumi’s words swirled through his head.
“Well, I thought that it was a pretty nice addition to the game.”
He bit back, trying to defend the favor system, looking around his room as he felt the conversation come to a halt. Was there even anything to say? Isaac had walked into Yumi’s room worried about his roommate’s well-being, assuming he had spiraled into a hardcore depressive episode, but now he was being questioned about stupid favors.
“No matter what I ask of you, you have to do it… right?”
Isaac looked over again at Yumi, eyebrow raised as his teeth stopped gnawing on the inside of his cheek. He hesitated for a moment, unsure if he wanted to entertain his housemate. He was still not getting why it was so important to talk about that now, when Isaac's question was left unanswered. He shifted on his feet as he answered, the hot temperature of the room making Isaac's forehead dampen. How was Yumi able to deal with this kind of heat, even in a t-shirt and shorts?
“Yeah... I mean, all the other times I’ve done it without problems, so I think it will be pretty easy to fulfill your favor.”
Yumi laughed at him, and Isaac was only a few seconds away from calling him an asshole and leaving. Yumi was really annoying Isaac at this point. He had been so stressed out with editing the LTLVC video, and now he had to deal with this idiot. Isaac blamed the heat for Yumi’s delusional way of acting and furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at Yumi, waiting for him to stop laughing. It was a beautiful sound to him. He loved seeing his friends happy, but this was just too much.
“Well, I know what I want my favor to be.”
“Spit it out.”
Yumi’s laughter came to a stop, and he cleared his throat. He sat up again and looked at Isaac, his eyes glistening in the light of the dimmed LEDs.
“I... I don’t know if I can tell you. It’s really weird, and I think I already know what you would answer if I asked you.”
Isaac scoffed and crossed his arms, starting to question his sanity.
“Just say it, man; I really don’t have the time for this.”
Yumi groaned in annoyance, and Isaac ran a hand through his hair, the curls feeling damp at the root. He wanted to hear what Yumi had to say, and then he had to get out. The room was way too warm compared to Isaac's room, and he started to miss the faint but cool wind that blew from his half-broken air conditioner.
“Well...?”
Yumi sighed and got up from the bed, looking away from Isaac as he spoke.
“I want you to go out with me.”
Isaac paused for a second. Yumi was really getting the better of him at this point. He had been avoiding all of their hangouts, and now he was asking Isaac directly to hang out… as a favor? Isaac didn’t know what to say or do. He could, of course, give Yumi a piece of his mind and scold him for making all the other guys worry, but he sensed that maybe it wasn’t the wisest. If Yumi just wanted some alone time with Isaac, then he would give that to him gladly.
He wanted to see his friend happy and on his feet again. He wanted all of the guys to hang out in the living room, occasionally stoned out of their minds, staring at the lizards climbing the hot walls of their Texan home. He wanted them all to go back to what they were before last to leave VC.
“Okay, sure, I’ll go out with you. If that is what it takes to get you out of this hellhole—literally, it’s as hot as the devil’s asshole in here—then yeah. We miss having you around us, dude.”
Isaac hadn’t seen Yumi’s face the whole time he talked, lost in thought. But as Yumi got up from the bed, Isaac could see a grateful smile spread across Yumi’s lips. Isaac watched as he took a step forward and pulled Isaac into a quick hug. Isaac patted him on the back before he pulled away. The heat in the room compared to Yumi’s body heat suddenly pressing against him made him sweat even more, and he ran his wrist across his forehead to dry some of the sweat off him as Yumi spoke.
“Thank you. And thanks for worrying…”
Yumi had started mumbling halfway through his sentence, so Isaac hadn’t caught the last part, suddenly distracted by his phone vibrating in his pocket. Yumi took another step back from Isaac as they both looked down at where the sound had come from.
“Expecting a call from somebody?”
Yumi asked, walking over to his desk and turning the computer on. Isaac hummed an ‘I don’t know,’ even going as far as to shrug his shoulders, quickly noting that Yumi wasn’t looking at him anymore. He accepted the call from Nick, hearing multiple voices on the other end of the line, and chuckled as he managed to decipher the yelling to Nick announcing their arrival, while Larry and Tanner were yelling about some kind of meme that had become popular as of late. He ended the call and slid his phone down in his pocket, looking over at Yumi.
He was sitting in his gaming chair, legs spread wide as he started clicking at something, opening up a program on his monitor.
“It’s Nick. They’re on their way home.”
Yumi looked back at Isaac and nodded, a small smile still visible on his dry lips. Isaac really had to teach him about the benefits of using lip balm, even though Yumi had called it ‘gay’ once.
“Again, thank you for doing this for me, Isaac. I’m really happy you said yes.”
Isaac nodded and returned the smile. With his hand resting on the lukewarm door handle of Yumi’s bedroom, he spoke again.
“And respectfully, dude, take a shower. Let some fresh air in. Oh, and here, heads up!”
He threw the water bottle in Yumi’s direction, and he caught it, the condensation making it slippery enough for Yumi to lose grasp of it in a few milliseconds. The water bottle made its way onto his desk not so gracefully, and as Yumi thanked him, his shoulders fell, and he smiled rather softly, a sudden glow flowing over his face. Isaac admired it for a second. It looked as if life had found its way inside of Yumi once more. He looked much more alive, much happier. It felt like Isaac had genuinely helped him, gotten him out of whatever hole he had crawled into.
“Alright. I’m glad we’re on the same page… So, do you wanna order some food?”
Isaac smiled as Yumi nodded, already getting up from his chair to pick out some clean clothes to wear. Isaac assumed that he was going to take a shower in a few minutes, which was a decision he was rather grateful for. He probably would never admit it to his face, but he did stink a little. A mix of sweat and self-hatred, Isaac recognized it a little too well.
“I knew your big ass was waiting to ask that question.”
Yumi scoffed and rolled his eyes, flipping him off as he turned his back to Isaac. Isaac's eyes lingered on Yumi as he retaliated. Something about them being able to joke around again made his stomach warm and bubbly, in a good way.
“Oh, fuck off, man. I bet you’re hungry too.”
Isaac grabbed his phone and started typing away, looking for any food places that were close and good enough to order from. Nothing really caught his attention, but he decided to order from some basic burger joint, locking his phone before he finally pushed down on the handle and opened the bedroom door. Light filled the hot room once again, and he noticed that Yumi’s eyes followed his movements as he had now turned to face Isaac again, raising an eyebrow before he quickly spoke.
“Oh, right. I ordered burgers for us both. Don’t worry about paying back; I used a gift card to pay for one of the burgers, so consider that one yours.”
Chapter 2: What lingers after
Summary:
Another ordinary night in the house turns into a group hangout when Nick suggests watching a scary movie. As the night unfolds, the atmosphere shifts between laughter, nervousness, and quiet moments that seem to mean more than they should.
Notes:
Oh.. hey y'all!
Now, for those of you who follow me on twitter (@ManaTeeK23) might've seen the teaser I put out for this chapter back in June. I know! That was a long while ago, and I understand the frustration behind the massive delays.
But, here's a disclaimer for those who have read that teaser: The teaser and this chapter are NOTHING alike. Sadly, but it also was for the best in the end.Gotta keep y'all on your toes, right?
Well, I hope y'all love this chapter as well, feel free to leave comments abt how much you hate it, love it, like or whatever.
Chapter Text
Another night in the house called for mindless entertainment, and tonight, Nick had messaged the group chat with the announcement that they were going to watch a scary movie.
Isaac had turned his phone on momentarily to read the message, the light from the screen illuminating his face. He was stuck behind his desk, monitors showcasing the editing process of ‘Last To Leave VC.’ He had barely gotten through the first 20 minutes of the footage, shortening clips and adding blue emojis everywhere possible. The intro alone had taken him one session to make, given that the script had deleted itself because of his expired account that was connected to the document. At least no one else had heard his angry mumbling as he had to rewrite it from memory.
Now, the phone had turned off by itself as he had spaced out. None of the main lights in the room were turned on, only the monitor's light and the LED keyboard in front of him illuminating his tired eyes as he moved the mouse. His eyes followed it as he saved the progress he had made so far, being extra careful not to delete anything important as he closed the program. He turned his computer off shortly after, pushing his chair back with his legs, plastic wheels rolling across the cold floors.
He grabbed a discarded zip-up hoodie that he had thrown onto his bed earlier, zipping it up entirely before he stepped out of his room, making his way into the living room. The TV was already turned on, and Isaac scanned the living room for the current members present.
Tanner and Larry were sitting on the couch furthest away from him, sharing a bag of chips as Tanner played with the remote, flicking through the streaming services Nick had insisted they pay for. Isaac had agreed, arguing that it would be better to pay for all of them so nobody would have to miss whatever show they had watched before they all moved into the house.
Nick was standing close by the TV, trying to get Tanner to stop on a certain movie, loudly proclaiming that he had read the reviews on it and that it would be the ‘perfect’ movie. The other couch was left empty, with a discarded blanket and a bag of multi-colored gummies left on the arm of the couch. Larry was agreeing with Nick, slowly and very comically, leaning over the empty space beside him and the armchair of the couch to grab a gummy out of the bag, only for Nick to exclaim that those were his, and he wasn’t sharing.
Larry retaliated with some grumbly sounds and instead dug his hand into the bag of chips that was placed between him and Tanner, crunching on it loudly to Isaac's annoyance.
He turned his head to look into the kitchen and was quickly aware that, to his current knowledge, Yumi hadn’t gotten out of bed to watch the movie with them yet.
“Yumi’s not joining?”
Isaac asked, making Nick turn his head towards him and shrug. Larry and Tanner gave the same kind of response and shortly after went back to listening to Nick rant about the movie. Isaac could tell that Nick was trying his hardest not to spoil anything about the movie, occasionally stopping to think about what next to say to make Larry and Tanner excited to see the movie.
“I’m gonna go grab him.”
Isaac quickly said, which earned a smile from Nick and a thumbs up from Larry. He made his way upstairs, small thuds echoing through the staircase as he lightly jogged up every step.
Isaac stood in front of Yumi’s door again, suddenly getting a wave of déjà vu. He stood there for a second, looking at the grain of the wooden door. It was painted over in a landlord style of painting, with a few dark stains on the bottom of the door from somebody’s shoes. Isaac could almost tell what kind of shoe it was from the markings from the sole but instead gently knocked on the door before opening it.
Inside the bedroom there was a different view than what he had previously seen. The blinds on the window in front of Yumi’s setup were tied up so natural light flooded the room, the window slightly ajar to let fresh air in. The mounds of clothes that had previously reached Isaac's kneecap at their worst were now collected beside the laundry basket that stood in front of his closet. It seemed like it was significantly smaller than before; the laundry basket was also filled with clothes.
By the setup, in the gaming chair facing away from him, a familiar face was sitting. Scrolling on Twitter, liking and reposting different things. Isaac couldn’t tell what it was he was looking at until he got closer, placing both hands on the top of his gaming chair. He shook it gently only to get a startled shout out of Yumi, his hands letting go of his phone and instead grabbing onto the armrests. His phone landed on his desk rather gracefully, hitting a few keys on the keyboard.
Isaac laughed loudly at Yumi’s startled reaction, expecting Yumi to scold him for scaring Yumi like that. Instead, when Yumi got up and turned around to see that it was Isaac who had scared him, his face softened into a smile, and he nudged Isaac's shoulder.
“Dude, that was not okay! I was so focused on that. Scared the shit out of me.”
Isaac slowly stopped laughing, sticking his hands into the pockets of his zip-up hoodie, tilting his head slightly. He had never seen Yumi react so calmly to getting scared. Every YouTube video he had ever made with a scary video game was basically 80% of him freaking out and then 20% of him actually playing the game. Safe to say he doesn’t like them. Yumi brushed himself off and grabbed his phone that was still leaning on top of the spacebar key on the keyboard, sliding it into his pocket.
“Come on, we’re watching a scary movie downstairs. And you better say yes; I didn’t come all the way here to get a no.”
Isaac nodded his head once backwards towards the door as he spoke, watching Yumi’s reaction to the mention that it was a scary movie that they were going to watch. He seemed less than happy about it; the soft smile now turned into a frown. His shoulders had tensed, seemingly nervous. Isaac couldn’t blame him for that, though; he knew that scary movies weren’t exactly his cup of tea, and being forced to watch one might be one of the worst activities he could be getting into.
“Okay, but you’re gonna sit next to me. If I have to suffer, then so do you.”
Yumi brushed past him, leaving Isaac in his room as he walked downstairs. Isaac turned around, his eyes following Yumi as he disappeared down the stairs. Isaac took another glance around the room. The room looked so much better when natural light was present. He could tell just by the color of the light hitting the wall that the sun was probably setting soon. He could’ve just looked at his phone to be able to tell that, but looking at the sun on Yumi’s wall was better, more interesting.
His bed wasn’t made, but it wasn’t exactly messy either. The covers were thrown to the side like Yumi had just gotten out of bed a few moments ago. The pillow had a clear indent from where Yumi’s head had been. The room felt fresher and more welcoming when it looked like this.
The all-consuming darkness that had been present was now gone. Isaac liked that. He knew that Yumi needed to get out of his room, though, even if it was looking better. He swiftly turned around when he heard Nick announce loudly that they were going to play the movie now, his voice echoing through the house.
Isaac made his way down the staircase, glancing at the guys sitting there. Yumi was sitting on the couch closest to the staircase, almost hugging the arm of the couch, already looking disinterested in the movie and the general hangout as well. Nick was sitting at the other end of the couch, leaving a decent-sized space between the two of them. Isaac plopped down in between them, brushing shoulders with Yumi as he sat down. The couch was big, but just little enough to barely have room for three big guys sitting in it.
Isaac wished he had listened to him when Nick had announced what the name of the movie was, now totally confused by the start of the movie. He quickly caught on though, getting comfy as the movie slowly began. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Nick, who was on his left, was deeply invested in the movie, almost at the edge of his seat, so to speak.
If he glanced over at Yumi, though, it was a totally different story. His shoulders were tense, and his arms were crossed over his midsection, clearly a sign of discomfort and how unpleasant Yumi genuinely thought the movie was, even though it had just begun.
Larry and Tanner, like the two big babies they were, were already goofing around, making scary noises and nudging at each other, trying to scare each other. Isaac smiled and quickly focused on the movie again, noticing that it was a bit more explicit than he had initially expected.
Halfway through the movie, Isaac was honestly impressed with how Yumi had managed to stay for so long and watch it. Yumi had loudly complained after he had gotten scared multiple times, which Nick had teased him about, calling him a big baby. Yumi wouldn’t reply to Nick’s teasing and would instead slowly but surely inch closer to Isaac.
It reminded him of when he was younger and had been scared to watch scary movies with his family, so he had hidden behind his brother's back, too scared to see what was really happening on the TV. He couldn’t blame Yumi for the way he was acting. He hadn’t gotten up and walked off yet, so that was certainly progress, or at least tolerance.
It was during a particularly gory and horrifying scene where a close-up shot of an actor getting their head chopped off that Yumi had, in an instant, grabbed onto Isaac's hand, which was nestled into the pocket of his zip-up hoodie. There wasn’t much space in the pocket, but Yumi’s hand had made its way inside, interlacing fingers with him. Isaac had looked over at Yumi for a second, surprised by his sudden action.
He knew Yumi as the type that wasn’t exactly too affectionate with his friends; short hugs and pats on the back were the only thing he had gotten out of him yet. Sure, he himself was more like Tanner and Larry, where personal space was just a myth, but still considerate enough to give space to those who needed it, of course.
But this sudden action was new to him.
Isaac blamed it on the movie, guessing that it was probably too graphic and too scary to deal with, happy that Yumi had quietly and rather sneakily reached out for some kind of comfort. Isaac squeezed his hand gently, and it seemed like Yumi’s shoulders fell, a different posture than what he had before.
Even though his palm had slowly started getting sweaty, interlaced with Yumi’s, Isaac hadn’t let go of him. Whenever the movie had gotten particularly scary, Isaac would’ve rubbed his thumb on Yumi’s hand soothingly, hoping that it had the same kind of effect on Yumi as it had on Isaac when he was a kid, hiding behind his brother.
Yumi had continued to move closer to him, shoulders pressing against each other as the movie finally ended. Much to Isaac’s surprise, Yumi didn’t let go of his hand right away. The credits started rolling, and Isaac looked over at the other guys, noticing that they seemed just as surprised by the goriness of the movie.
“I swear to you guys that the reviews did not mention that scene with the blood eagle.”
Nick's words made Isaac chuckle, and he shook his head gently, grabbing hold of the remote that had been placed between him and Nick. Yumi let go of his hand then, seemingly pulling it into his own lap to wipe off the sweaty handprint Isaac had contributed to.
“I think it’s time to watch something that’s maybe a little bit happier than whatever that was.”
Isaac spoke and quickly exited the credits, pulling up YouTube on their TV to find some video that would lighten the mood. Some random SpongeBob compilation would be good enough for the time being as the guys started cleaning up. Larry grabbed the empty wrappers and bags of different snacks they had emptied during the movie. Nick and Tanner had gotten up from their spot on the couches multiple times to grab snacks as well as drinks for the whole group, passing them around while watching the movie with eyes as big as teacups.
Isaac watched as the guys started making their way to the kitchen, deciding that they were hungry for something different than just pointless snacks and drinks. Ordering food, like usual.
Isaac looked over at Yumi, who was still sitting in the same curled-up and defensive position as he had been sitting in before the movie started. He was now fiddling with the hand that had been holding Isaacs, trailing the lines in his palm.
“You good?”
Yumi looked over at him, his eyebrows pinching together as he chuckled apologetically.
“Yeah, just... way too fucking scary! I don’t get how you guys can just watch that shit and be fine with it. I swear the blood eagle wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg for me. That other scene when that girl got run over and you could see her eye… yeah, hell no-”
“You guys want food or what?”
Isaac turned his head to look at Tanner and Larry standing on either side of Nick, looking down at his phone. Nick was looking at them, pointing down to the phone with his left hand.
“Yeah dude, just order some shit.”
Isaac replied and turned his attention back to Yumi, who was now slowly but surely untangling himself from the tense position he had been sitting in before.
“Oh trust me, that movie was a lot, even for me. I swear those clips were pulled directly from LiveLeak; there’s no way that actual kids could watch that.”
Isaac agreed with Yumi’s opinion on the movie, glancing over at the TV. SpongeBob was in the midst of saying something random to Squidward, who was looking pretty pissed off. When did he not ever look like that? Silence fell after that, Yumi seemingly not wanting to say anything else. Isaac looked over at him again and then down as he grabbed his phone, opening it and starting to scroll on Instagram.
“I hope it was okay that I…”
“Yeah dude, no problem. I mean, if you hadn’t reached for me first, I might’ve done that myself. Hope you didn’t mind the sweaty hand, though. Pockets get pretty hot when two hands are in them.”
Isaac looked up and smiled at Yumi, hoping that he understood that Isaac genuinely didn’t mind. Knowing that Yumi was comfortable with Isaac enough to reach out for him like that and hold his hand meant a lot to Isaac. He really wanted Yumi to open up and get comfortable around him. He wanted to know how he could help Yumi to really break him out of whatever hole he had placed himself in.
But as he looked up at Yumi and smiled, he noticed that there was a faint blush across Yumi’s face, and he was looking at the TV instead, suddenly invested in whatever SpongeBob was doing with Patrick now. Was Yumi really that embarrassed about it? Well sure, holding hands with a friend might be a bit uncommon, but in the circumstances they were in at that time, Isaac really didn’t think anything of it. He wasn’t embarrassed about it at all.
“Yo! The food will be here in 20 minutes. Y’all better be hungry ‘cause I ordered a bunch of shit besides just burgers.”
Nick’s voice made both Yumi’s and Isaac’s heads turn in the general direction, Isaac peeking over the couch.
“Knew your fatass couldn’t resist.”
Isaac replied, only to get a huge scoff as a reply. The three guys walked back into the living room, sitting down on the spots they had sat in before.
“Watch it, half of it was some random shit Larry and Tanner wanted. So no, I’m not the fatass this time, idiot; those goofballs are.”
Larry shook his head lightly and started polishing his invisible halo, which made Tanner try to assist him in the cleaning of Larry's halo, which then evolved into the two of them goofing off totally, pretending to be singing in a choir like some kinds of saints. Isaac rolled his eyes and leaned back into the back pillows of the couch, pretending to ignore them for the time being.
The three of them, Isaac, Nick, and Yumi, started scrolling on their phones each, only waiting for the food to arrive. When the food finally arrived, Nick sent Larry and Tanner to collect it at the door as a punishment for making him order so much food.
When they finally came back, the different wrappers were spread out in between the guys. Larry and Tanner were hoarding a bag of their own ordered food, which Larry admitted was some Mexican candy that he wanted the guys to try.
The burgers that Nick had ordered were delicious, and Yumi thanked him for buying food for all of them. They had all continued to eat and talk about random things until Isaac started yawning and insisted on going to bed rather soon. He felt completely knocked out, not only because of the scary movie but also because he had spent so much time prior to the movie editing ‘Last To Leave VC.’
“Think I’m gonna call it here, guys. I am absolutely drained.”
Isaac said, wiping some dressing off of his lip with a napkin he had found in the bag the food had come in.
“Think I’m gonna go too. Never gonna watch a movie with you idiots again. Way too graphic! Way too much…”
Yumi’s voice sounded vulnerable, as if he genuinely had been completely overwhelmed by the violence he had been a witness to. It’s a bit weird, considering what kind of games he played, besides scary games. Isaac was about to ask him when ‘Insane Siege Moments pt. 372’ was going to come out but realized he might take the question literally instead of understanding what kind of joke Isaac was making.
Isaac threw the used napkin into the bag as well, along with the wrappers from the burgers and fries he had eaten. Nick had insisted on sharing the fries but ended up surrendering them to Isaac, as he had eaten the majority of them as Nick had finished his burger. They weren’t finished with their drinks yet, so Isaac left those alone as he grabbed the rest of the trash and walked to the kitchen, stuffing the bag into the trash can.
Their kitchen was a mess. Pots and pans stacked in the sink after Tanner’s failed attempt at making some kind of dish he had seen on TikTok. He hadn’t cleaned up his mess, even after Nick’s long rant about mold and diseases that he was growing in the kitchen. The counter by the fridge was sticky, probably the result of somebody spilling their drink on the countertop. Isaac could rule out a few people in the house that he knew for sure only drank diet sodas.
He walked back into the living room and leaned over the backrest of the couch to grab his drink that was placed on the coffee table in front of the couch. Standing beside the couch, he took another sip of his drink and looked around.
“Right, I’m going to bed, guys. It’s so late. Larry, are we going to try that Mexican candy tomorrow?”
Isaac asked, getting Larry's attention as he mentioned his name.
“Yeah, Nick and I were talking about making it into a video. There are sweet things, but also spicy things, so just be aware; it might be like that ‘world’s hottest chip’ thing all over again.”
Isaac groaned jokingly, which made Larry nod knowingly, the both of them remembering how that went. Yumi had finished his drink and had walked into the kitchen while they were discussing ideas for the WillyVlog. When he came back, he said goodnight to everybody and turned to Isaac to say a specific goodnight. Isaac returned the smile Yumi had on his face when he said goodnight.
“Alright guys, I’m going too now.”
Yumi was halfway up the stairs as Isaac said goodnight to the others as well. They shot each other an unplanned but mutual glance before Isaac turned the corner behind the stairs, heading to his own bedroom.
Chapter 3: Burning Man
Summary:
Another night in the group house turns out to be more exciting than Isaac had expected. Sticky counters with different kinds of candy scattered across them, loud chatter echoing through the house, and one mysterious box make their entrance in the video the guys are filming. Can Isaac handle the challenge?
Notes:
Hey y'all...
Some personal issues got in the way of publishing this earlier, so I'm sorry about that.
A quick reminder that every chapter is important! I don't want to make filler chapters and waste y'alls time, so be sure to pay attention to what's going on. Sometimes it's harder to tell what's really happening...Anyways I really wanna thank y'all for almost 100 hits. I know the fandom (especially this part of it) Died out a while ago because of many different reasons, and I really appreciate all the familiar faces I've seen return to read this and leave a comment. Every single interaction is appreciated.
Love y'all and enjoy.
Chapter Text
When Isaac stepped into the kitchen, they were already halfway through the video. Different packs of food were strewn across the left side of the kitchen island, all of their own trash pushed to the right side so the video would look more presentable. One ring light was set up since the kitchen did have some weird lighting situation going on. Nick was standing in between Yumi and Tanner, who were talking to the camera about the candy they had just tried. When Isaac had stepped into the kitchen, wearing a white tank top and some blue and white cybersigilism-looking sweatpants, Larry turned, focusing the camera on him.
“Dude, you just came in time for the last candy we were gonna try. Where have you been, man?”
Isaac shrugged and took a few steps closer, scanning the different empty wrappers that were left on the kitchen island. He was only able to recognize a few wrappers that belonged to candy he knew was very popular. He shot a questionable look at the wrapper that was standing up, with a pickle wearing a dress and a wig printed on the front of the packaging.
“Mommy… pickle…?”
Isaac lifted his forearm and pointed at the weird white packaging. As he got closer, standing beside Tanner, who was on the right side of Nick, he noticed that there was still some pickle juice inside. No pickle in sight, but a lot of questionable red dust around the packaging. Just on the other side of the sink was a row of different spices lined up along with limes and lemons and what looked like an old bottle of chamoy.
“Oh yeah, we saw this lady on TikTok that put all kinds of spices and shit on a pickle and ate it. We wanted to try it as well.”
Isaac nodded as Tanner explained, informing him about the other kinds of candy they had tried. Some of the names were in spanish, which Larry tried to help them pronounce correctly, and some of them were straight-up candy they had just randomly ordered.
Yumi, who was standing on the left side of Nick, had something that looked like a red sheet made purely out of sugar folded in on itself multiple times in his hand, occasionally taking a bite out of it. His lips were a deep rosy red color, which Isaac guessed was from the spices they had been consuming but also from all of the Red 40s that probably were in the food. Yumi wasn’t the best when it came to spices, he argued as he took another bite of what Isaac learned was called ‘Slaps.’
“Alright, so Isaac just came in time to try the last candy that we bought. Now, this isn’t just any kind of candy. We saved it for last because it really does pack a punch.”
Nick explained and turned around, putting his hand down a bag that Isaac deemed familiar. It looked like the bag that Tanner and Larry had been hogging when they were watching the movie last night. Isaac watched with eager eyes as Nick revealed what it was that he was holding in his hands.
“We have the world’s hottest gummy!”
Nick exclaimed, placing the small gummy packaging on the kitchen island. Larry brought the camera closer, focusing on the writing on the front. On a wooden background, almost looking like a barrel, were two huge words written in what looked like a font that was filled with fire or lava.
“Lil’ Nitro! It has… 9 million Scoville heat units, which means it’s 900 times hotter than a jalapeño!”
Nick read on the back as Larry showed the camera the small red gummy that was wrapped in clear plastic inside. Isaac instantly took a step back, hands raised in defeat.
“Yo dude, I am not doing that. I’ve seen how people react to it; it’s really bad. And last time when we ate that chip, I couldn't taste anything afterwards.”
Nick groaned and started opening the packaging, pulling the small red gummy out of the plastic packaging as well, letting it rest on top of the cardboard box. Tanner and Yumi seemed to take a step back as well. Larry panned the camera between the guys as they talked.
“It’s like I can feel the heat radiating off of it; it’s like it has some kind of aura.”
Tanner joked, pretending to shield himself from the gummy’s powerful ‘aura.’
“Come on, Isaac, it’ll be fine! Listen, rock paper scissors, right? If I win, then you have to do it alone, but if you win, then I’ll eat it with you.”
Nick extended his hand in a fist, signaling that he was already ready to go. Isaac looked at him, nervousness bubbling in his stomach. He wasn’t so sure if he was ready to sacrifice his taste buds one more time just for a stupid willy vlog. He had been excited when Nick had mentioned that he was going to make a video about different kinds of candy, but he had never foreseen that this would be the part of the video he would feature in.
“On Mom?”
Isaac asked, extending his hand in a fist as well. Nick nodded and slowly moved his hand up and down, signaling they were starting.
Rock…
Paper…
Scissors…
Shoot!
Isaac looked down at their hands. Isaac’s was a pair of scissors, while Nick’s was a rock. That meant that Nick had won the first round. Isaac’s stomach tightened, and he gulped, quietly eyeing the gummy that was still on the top of the cardboard box it came in.
He noticed that everyone was watching them now, excited to find out if Isaac was doing it alone or with Nick.
Rock…
Paper…
Scissors…
Shoot!
Isaac was almost too afraid to look down at their hands, not wanting to lose again. This time he heard Nick groan in defeat before he looked down. He had won this time. Paper beats scissors. Isaac looked up at Nick's face. They were tied now, 1-1.
“Okay, this time speed round, do it on the count of one.”
Nick said, already raising his hand to go another round. Isaac raised his hand as well, genuinely hoping that he would win again.
One!
Isaac looked down this time, a sense of defeat settling in his stomach. He had lost. Rock beats scissors. He was starting to get more and more nervous, being careful not to show it to the other guys. He knew that if they knew, they would definitely tease him endlessly about it. He needed to keep up appearances, even if that meant stomaching the intense butterflies he was feeling from the rather intense game of rock paper scissors.
“Okay, this could make or break it. Either Isaac is eating it on his own, or I’m gonna end up joining his suffering.”
Nick turned his face to look at the camera as he explained once more to the viewers. As he did, Isaac noticed that Nick was closing his fingers into a fist. That’s it; Isaac knew what Nick was going to play now. There’s no way he didn’t subconsciously show what move he was going to play. Isaac knew he had to play paper. Paper beats rock; Isaac has another chance.
Rock…
Isaac raised his hand, looking at Nick.
Paper…
Nick had turned to face him again, a smile spreading across his lips. The other guys were still eagerly watching, Larry leaning in over the kitchen island to make sure he caught the game on camera. Tanner had moved behind Nick to watch, standing just beside Yumi, who was watching with a nervous look. Isaac hoped that both of them were grateful that they didn't need to eat the world's hottest gummy.
Scissors…
Isaac looked at his hand, already moving his hand down, his fingers stretching out to symbolize the paper.
Shoot!
Nick erupted, cheering loudly, jumping up and down. Tanner grabbed onto Nick's shoulders and jumped as well. When Isaac looked at Nick’s hand, it wasn’t a rock. Scissors. Nick had fooled him! Or maybe he had fooled himself. He was too busy with the idea of consuming a 9 million Scoville gummy to really think about the psychological tricks of rock paper scissors. Yumi wasn't cheering Nick on like Larry and Tanner were; Isaac took note of that.
“Okay, but maybe he doesn’t need to do it, guys; it’s a stupid gummy anyways.”
Yumi protested, still holding onto the white stick that the ‘slaps’ was on. Nick turned to look at Yumi, pointing at the gummy.
“Oh, he’s eating that! Come on, it’s probably not even that bad; you can spit it out even if it tastes like dookie.”
Isaac gulped and looked over at the gummy again. Alright, he could do that. He could play it as cool as possible and just walk off when it got to be too much. The fans would love to see a bit of drama anyways. Isaac reached over the kitchen island from where he stood, taking the gummy. He held it between his thumb and pointer finger, studying the glossy red color. It looked like a normal gummy, and Isaac convinced himself that it couldn’t be that bad. Larry had walked around the kitchen island and was now standing beside Isaac, zooming in on the gummy.
The chatter of the other guys faded out as Isaac brought it to his nose, taking a quick whiff. It didn’t smell that bad, so Isaac shrugged.
“Fuck it.”
He said and popped the gummy into his mouth, chewing loudly to show the guys that he was actually eating it. The other guys started cheering, shocked that he had just popped the whole thing into his mouth.
“Dude, I would’ve cut off a piece! I didn’t actually mean that you had to eat the whole thing!”
Nick exclaimed, looking over at Larry to make sure that he was recording everything. Isaac looked over at Yumi, who was looking at him with pitiful but curious eyes, the same way Tanner was looking at him. They were all just standing there, watching Isaac eat this gummy.
As soon as he swallowed, he opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out to show everybody that he had swallowed, and the guys continued to stare at him with their breaths stuck in their throats. They were waiting for the spice to kick in, and so was Isaac.
It had started on Isaac's tongue. A hot, tingly sensation that spread throughout his mouth, clawing at his gums and making his throat hurt. He started to cough and looked at Nick with a raised eyebrow as Nick suddenly spoke up.
“Is it hot?”
Nick asked, still watching Isaac as he opened his mouth to speak.
“What do you think, idiot?”
Isaac said, making the others laugh. His nose was starting to run, and he was getting so hot, even if he was just wearing a white tank top and sweatpants. But it was getting worse by the minute, and soon he was pacing from one side of the kitchen to the other, trying to work with the fire that was spreading in his mouth.
The guys, especially Yumi, urged him to drink some milk or eat some ice cream, but Isaac wasn’t giving up so easily. He wanted to see how long he could last. It all became too much when his gums and throat started itching. It reminded him of the time he had an allergic reaction as a kid. The panic settling into his brother and parents, the crying, and the worried voices of his parents emerging from the memory as they tried to work out what Isaac had eaten that had made his face swell up and his throat itch.
Isaac turned around on his heel and walked over to the fridge, pressing on the button to the ice cube dispenser. Ice cubes rushed out of the tiny chute in the door, Isaac catching most of them. He started stuffing them into his mouth, the ice cubes slowly melting, soothing the fire that was burning in his mouth. He had put quite a few ice cubes in his mouth at that point, still holding two in his hand.
It was like his body was on fire as well. Isaac could tell that the other guys were getting increasingly more worried, watching him stuff his face with ice cubes. Nick was about to say something to Larry, which made Isaac speak up. He didn't want the video to end yet; he wanted to show the guys that it was okay to keep on recording.
“Dude, it’s basically like Taco Bell but better.”
Isaac joked with his mouth full of ice cubes, earning relieved laughs from all of the guys. Soon enough the ice cubes started to melt, and with his mouth full, water started dripping down his chin and onto his tank top.
Disgusting, to say the least. When some of the ice cubes had melted to a smaller size, Isaac stuffed one of the less melted ice cubes he was holding into his mouth, filling the space that had been given up. Water was soaking through the front of his tank top, turning it almost see-through from how much water was escaping his mouth. He could feel the fabric sticking to his pecs and the top of his abdomen. Tanner called him gross and laughed, which Nick agreed with, and went to the bathroom to get him a proper towel so he could drool into the towel instead of making a mess of himself like this.
Isaac laughed and made a goofy face at the camera, knowing that they would have to blur his face anyways. It made Larry laugh, and he tried to interview Isaac, asking him questions about the gummy and how spicy it was. Isaac made weird sounds, given that his mouth was still filled with ice cubes, and after the make-believe interview, Larry put the camera down after that, concluding that the video had ended, and all Nick needed to do was an outro. Larry started to pick up all the wrappers the other guys had opened and eaten from, collecting a huge ball of wrappers in his hands.
Isaac looked over at Yumi, who was surprisingly enough already looking at Isaac before he had even turned his head. He watched as Yumi’s eyes flickered down to the huge wet patch on Isaac’s tank top and then made eye contact with Isaac. Isaac couldn’t tell if the reason Yumi’s face was turning pink was because of all the spice the guys had been consuming or because he was embarrassed with Isaac and his antics. Yumi didn't hold the eye contact for long, obviously looking down at the wet patch again. Isaac could feel the lukewarm drops of his saliva mixed with water trail down the inside of his tank top, touching his belly button.
He decided to joke around to lighten the mood and walked over to Yumi, giving him a tight hug and pressing the wet patch on his tank top into Yumi’s chest, hopefully getting him wet too. He swayed them from side to side, earning a loud chuckle from where Larry was standing, watching how annoyed Yumi was getting by the second. Isaac could feel the wet patch grow, Yumi's shirt catching onto the water like a sponge.
“Dude!”
Yumi exclaimed loudly in his usual annoyed tone and pushed Isaac off, and Isaac laughed, watching as he had left a small wet patch on his shirt. Isaac spit the ice cubes into the sink and laughed again, now not so hindered by the spice. Sure, it was still itching and burning, and it felt like Isaac was running a fever, but the worst seemed to be over now.
“Sorry dude, that’s just how it is. It'll dry, don't worry.”
Isaac said dismissively and helped Larry clean some of the mess up before he turned to look at Yumi again, noticing that he seemed off. Isaac scanned him with his eyes from top to bottom. His face was pinker now, and he was looking away, seemingly more occupied with whatever was on his phone. His shirt was wet, evidently from Isaac drooling water onto it and rubbing his own wet tank top against it. And…
“Oh, sorry, man, didn’t realize I had dripped onto your shorts too. I swear I couldn’t close my mouth with so many ice cubes in it; I was just salivating everywhere.”
Isaac spoke with a lightheartedness and chuckled, hoping that Yumi would accept his half-assed apology.
"What?"
It was just one small drop on the front of Yumi's shorts, and it was only that visible because Yumi's shorts were a lighter color, the spot being a darker greyish color. It made it really stand out. As soon as Isaac spoke, Larry turned his head as well to see what it was that Isaac was talking about. Isaac caught Yumi’s attention immediately when he mentioned Yumi's shorts, making Yumi look down at his own shorts and then up at the two guys who were now aware of the spot.
It seemed like Yumi opened his mouth to try and say something before he closed it and moved to the other side of the kitchen island, so the lower part of his body was hidden.
“Don’t worry about that. I’m gonna go edit in my room. I’ll, uh… I’ll see you guys later.”
He quickly excused himself, and Isaac watched Yumi leave the kitchen with furrowed eyebrows, turning to look at Larry.
“Dude, was I totally out of line there? Did I miss something? What was his issue?”
Larry tied the plastic bag that was in the trash can and pulled it out, looking at Isaac.
“At this point, what isn’t his issue? He’s probably just mad about his clothes because he washed them this morning.”
Larry answered, and Isaac grabbed the roll of plastic bags, tearing one off and stuffing it into the trash can. He walked with Larry to the front of their house, helping him dump the three garbage bags they had accumulated due to forgotten food and old deliveries into the bigger garbage bin outside.
They were both standing at the entrance to their house, looking out at the neighborhood they lived in. Isaac smiled as he eyed the sun setting in the distance. Red and orange hues settling on glossy roof tiles and cemented driveways, bleeding into the mundane colors of the structures in the neighborhood. A few kids down the block were going inside, a woman standing at the entrance of her house just like Isaac and Larry were.
He looked in the other direction, noticing that the smog of the city covered just enough of the night sky to only make the moon somewhat visible. It was shining through the smog, though, as if it was determined to let its presence be known. Isaac could feel from the light breeze making its way through the neighborhood that his tank top was slowly but surely drying off, the wet patch not sticking to his body anymore.
“We really live in such a beautiful place. We really got lucky with finding this house.”
Larry broke the silence, looking in the same direction as Isaac.
“Yeah, you’re right. Out of all the people that had rejected us, I’m glad this place was available and that the seller was desperate enough to let some YouTubers buy it.”
Larry chuckled at Isaac’s words and opened the front door, and both of them went inside.
Isaac couldn't help but think about how Yumi had walked out of the kitchen. He really hoped that if Isaac had overstepped, Yumi would forgive him.