5

♦𝕭𝖑𝖆𝖐𝖊♦

I sat in my usual spot on the couch in my living room, stuffing my face with chips.

"Why do you think he hasn't called yet?" Ace asked.

I just finished telling him that earlier today I stopped by Isaiah's house and saw their ladder propped up against it. Deciding to get a little payback for him sleeping on my couch with only briefs the other night, I tossed the ladder on the ground and left him stranded.

"Don't know. Maybe he didn't have his phone or he wasn't even up there." I shrugged, not really caring.

"Isaiah would have called one of us by now fuming if he was up there. You know he can clear the jump to the pool to get down, we used to do that all the time. What if it was his mom up there instead?" He stated.

"No way, Olivia is terrified of heights and ladders. Not a chance it was her. Plus Isaiah said he was heading over there to clean them when he left here earlier." I remember one time, a few years ago when Isaiah was in class, she called me to change a light bulb that went out in her kitchen. The woman can't even handle a step stool, let alone a real ladder.

"True." Ace laughs. "Mayb-" Ace gets cut off by a booming knock on the front door.

"Ah, speak of the devil." I joked. Swinging the door open I'm met with a pissed off Isaiah.

"You heartless bastard." He spits, bumping my shoulder as he storms into the house. God, touchy much.

"Oh don't be such a baby, you're fine." I snorted.

"Yeah, yeah I am fine. And you know why?" He grits out, his eyes spitting fire at me. I've never seen him this angry before. What the fuck is up with him?

"Woah, chill guys." Ace speaks up sensing the sudden tension in the room. Anyone could feel it, the room got heavy and dark real fast.

"What the fucks your problem, Isaiah. It's not that big of a deal." I argued, ignoring Ace's comment on 'chilling'. I'm pissed that he's pissed for no reason.

"I wasn't up there, Blake!" He yelled.

"The fucks the issue then?" I grab an empty can of soda off of the table and angrily throw it in the trash. I hate fighting with him, we mess around all the time, but this is real. He's actually pissed at me and I don't have a God damn clue why.

Like Ace was saying earlier, Isaiah could just jump into the pool, he'd be pissy because his clothes got wet but not like this. This is more.

"You didn't see the look on her face, Blake. Fuck, I want to punch you so bad right now." He sneers.

Her? What the fuck is he talking about? The only her at that house right now is Olivia, and no way would she climb that high. Maybe she got upset that I threw the ladder on the ground? But that really doesn't sound like Olivia.

"Ok, deep breaths. Let's calm down and you can tell us what's got you so riled up, Isaiah." Ace is now standing off to the side of us. Ready to step in if one of us decides to throw hands.

"Old man Jones hired a girl to mow his lawn. My mom decided to get her to clean the gutters since I've been slacking, and that asshole" He yelled pointing a finger at me. "stranded her up there for hours." He hissed.

Oh crap, that's definitely not the outcome I was expecting.

"Shit, is she pissed? I'll pay her for the time she was stuck up there." I wince. Last thing I wanted is for Olivia to get sued, it was supposed to be all in good fun.

"No, she's not pissed." He sighed, plopping himself down on the couch, in defeat he rests his face on his hands.

Okay, why the fuck is he being go dramatic then? I'll admit it was a shitty thing for me to do, but I didn't know she was up there, and she's not even upset about it. So what's the big deal?

"Again, I'm not seeing the fucking problem." I draw out. Ace shoots me a look telling me to calm down. He knows me better than I do sometimes.

"Let me rephrase. Why are you so upset about it if she wasn't?" I try. My fists clenched at my sides.

"If you just saw the look on her face, Blake. Her eyes were puffy and red, she looked so panicked. I was worried she was going to have a panic attack right in front of me." He spoke as if it was hurting him a little to think of the moment again.

Shit, I feel my own heart tug a little. I really didn't mean for any harm to come out of it. I should have fucking made sure that it was Isaiah first.

"All from being stuck up there?" I ask, worry leaking into my voice.

I shouldn't be worried, I don't even know her.

"No, she said something about needing to be somewhere. My mom said when she was talking to her earlier she mentioned something about it too. I guess it was really important." He mumbled.

Guilt washes over me in waves as he continues. "She looked so fucking panicked, dude. She was all fidgety and couldn't look either of us in the eye, kept glancing across the road where her car was like she couldn't get there fast enough. God, she was so fucking tiny too, seeing her like that just made me feel like shit." Yeah, yeah I feel like shit too and I didn't even see her tiny panicked body.

Fuck, just thinking about it makes me feel like such a dick.

"Maybe she was on drugs?" Ace chimes in. Fucking bastard thinks he's funny.

"No, it didn't look like it to me. She just looked so worried." Isaiah grumbles. "If I just would have cleaned the fucking gutters in the first place this never would have happened. Fuck, she's around our age too, but I wouldn't have guessed it if my mom wouldn't have told me. She was just so small and shaky and panicky, and if I wouldn't have procrastinated like the fucking idiot I am it would have all been prevented." His nostrils flared and he gripped his knees tightly.

Shit, I really fucked up. "I'm sorry man, I should have checked before I left. I wasn't thinking it through." I mumbled, guilt setting heavy in the pit of my stomach for both my friend and the stranger.

"Nah, man. I told you I was going over there to clean them. You couldn't have known. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that." He sighed. Ace sat back down now that Isaiah and I weren't giving off 'I'm gonna kill you' energy.

"If you were already on your way over there, why did your mom hire her?" I question.

"God, after I left here I called my mom. She said she hired someone already, but that I could make it up to her by stopping by the dinner she was at. I didn't know she hired a girl who would get blown off the roof if a gust of wind blew. I would have gone by and helped if I knew." He grunted.

Isaiah has a sister that is two years older than him, he was always protective over her because she was clumsy. But I haven't seen him act this way over a girl since she moved away for some hot shot job in Seattle.

"I followed my mom back to the house so I could grab some clothes. We didn't think she would still be there, but my mom called out to her after she noticed the girl's car was still parked in front of the old man's house. Her shaken form peeked over the edge asking us to put the ladder back." The ladder I fucking took as a joke that's turned out to be anything but funny, I add mentally.

"She wasn't mad at all. Makes it fucking worse if you ask me. After I put the ladder back, she fucking thanked me, thanked me! Genuinely too, I was the one who got her in the situation in the first place and instead of being all angry, she says thanks because I didn't leave her up there all night. Is she trying to make me hate myself? Like the fuck?" He yells as he stands and throws his hands up in the air, pacing the living room.

"You guys are dicks." Ace scolded.

"We know!" Isaiah and I both growl out.

"Don't get fucking mad at me then, gosh." Ace grumbles.

I run my hand down my face in frustration. Somehow this girl that two of us have never even set eyes on is messing up our whole dynamic, while making two of us feel like complete shit.

"Fuck, do you think there is anything we could do?" I ask. I need to somehow make this right.

"She said she would be back tomorrow to finish the job. I don't know when though, but I told my mom to call me if she shows up. That way I can help finish and apologize." After being stuck up there for hours, she's still going to go back to finish the job? What kinda fucking saint is she.

"I'll go with you, it's not even really your fault. I should be the one to apologize." Nervously scratching the back of my head at the thought of having to apologize to someone I've never even met before.

"I'll go too." Ace chimes in right after me.

Isaiah and I snap our heads to look at him with furrowed brows. "Why?" We both question at the same time.

"Because I wanna see you two beg on your knees for forgiveness from a puny girl you made cry." He says plopping a chip in his mouth with a grin. "Probably a once in a lifetime experience." He shrugged.

It better fucking be.

⇼♢⇼♢⇼♢⇼♢⇼

"What do we get her?" Isaiah looked at me with slightly panicked eyes. I shrug and look around the massive store we stopped at.

We just got the call from his mom saying that the girl showed back up. The plan was for Olivia to keep her talking until we got there so we could finish the gutters ourselves. Then on the drive Ace suggested that we stop and buy her an apology gift.

I've never fucking bought an apology gift for anyone let alone a girl I've never meet. What do you even get a girl? Picking up a pack of pre-made sushi from the deli display case I was next to, I held it up for Isaiah to look at.

"This?" I question. Girls like sushi, right?

He looks at it before nodding his head yes.

"Oh my God. You guys are fucking useless." Ace grumbles. He yanks the sushi out of my hand and throws it back in the case.

"The sushi here is trash. After all you've done to that poor girl you want to give her food poisoning too?" He mumbles, pinching the top of his nose. "Follow me, you jackasses." He glared at us disapprovingly then walks away.

⇼♢⇼♢⇼♢⇼♢⇼

Ace ended up having us buy her a small teddy bear with a shirt that says 'I'm sorry', a small bouquet of some purple flower that's supposed to mean regret and a candle that smells like rain.

I don't think Isaiah caught on yet, but I know Ace picked the scent 'rain' because she was cleaning gutters and gutters are for rain.

He also had us get a gift bag that says 'sorry I was a jerk' written in bold letters across the front. He really knows how to drag a guy through the dirt.

Apparently a bunch of fuck ups shop at this store, I really wasn't expecting to find actual apology gifts at a grocery store.

pulling into the driveway at the house, I noticed a small beat up red car parked out front, the same one that was across the street yesterday and my gut started to turn.

"Fuck, I'm nervous." Isaiah voices my thoughts. Nodding in agreement I gulp down a bubble that gets stuck in my throat.

How exactly does one introduce themselves to a girl who you made cry before she even met you? A knock on the car window snapped me out of my thoughts, a scowling Olivia was right outside my door.

"Hi, Olivia." I say nervous as I open the door, she could probably sue me for trespassing yesterday, but I know she won't.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Blake." Ouch, that stings a little. Or maybe a lot.

"Oh, fuck." Ace whispers from the back seat.

"I'm sorry. I really didn't mean for this to happen." I apologize. right now would be a good time for a time machine to exist. Then I could go back in time and fix all this.

"Well don't tell me, tell that poor sweet girl you picked on." She mumbled, crossing her arms and taking a step back so I could get out.

"Where is she, mom? I thought you were going to keep her busy until we got here?" Isaiah asked as he also stepped out of the car.

"She's on the roof. I tried to keep her talking but she was eager to get it finished. Came her apologizing for leaving before the job was done. I tried to reassure her that it wasn't her fault but apparently she feels bad for her unprofessional behavior last night." What?

"Really? She was anything but unprofessional... even asked if she could leave and finish today instead of just taking off." Isaiah emphasizes genuinely confused at this point.

We were kinda hoping she'd be pissed at us today, we're used to being around pissed off girl fighters at underground matches, not someone sweet like her.

"Yeah, way to go, boys. Ruining her night then made her feel bad about it, real gentleman you lot are." I wince again and grab the gift bag from a very uncomfortable looking Ace.

He looks at me with the 'why the fuck am I being dragged into this' look. He doesn't talk much, unless it's just the three of us hanging out. Then he's a talkative jackass.

"Let's go help before she finishes up." I look over at Isaiah and see him looking nervous as hell. The fucks is he so nervous about? I'm the one who took the God damn ladder from her.

"Yes. Hurry, she's rinsing out the gutters so she's almost done already." Olivia says as she grabs both Isaiah and I's shirt and drags us to the back where the ladder is.

Setting the gift bag on a chair next to the pool, I give Isaiah one last look before I take a deep breath and start climbing up the ladder. Thinking through what I should say to her once I get up there I decide on 'I'm really fucking sorry I left you stranded yesterday. I thought you were my jackass of a friend Isaiah. I apologize for getting you involved in our petty fight." Yeah, that sounds good.

Grabbing the last step on the ladder I pull myself up high enough that I can see over the roof and meet the wide panicked eyes of a stunning girl.

Fuck, she's the one I made cry? This world really is a fucked up place.

One of her hands is placed over her heart as the other holds the hose she was using to rinse. "Oh my gosh, you scared me... I thought someone was taking the ladder again." Her sweet mouth speaks and my whole body freezes.

The fuck? What is someone as cute as her doing cleaning gutters, that should be illegal, she could get hurt... or stranded by a dick like me.

"Why the hell did you stop? Chickening out, Blake?" Isaiah laughs from the middle of the ladder. Oh, right... I'm supposed to be getting on the roof.

Taking my eyes off the girl I start to climb onto the roof. "Careful, don't slip. It's a pretty far drop." The girl voices her worry for me, only making me feel like more of an ass.

I don't deserve her worry.

Isaiah climbs up after me and looks at me with his nose scrunched. Probably wondering why I'm not saying anything.

"What are you guys doing?" She quietly questioned, slightly tipping her head to the side. Her bright green eyes peered up at me and her golden brown hair blew softly in the wind. Fuck she's adorable.

"Uh, we uh." What the fucks wrong with my mouth? Her brows furrowed in confusion but I can't seem to make any words come out of my mouth.

Isaiah takes a step forward and turns to me. "What's th-'' he begins to question, then a full blown smirk takes over his face. His head snapping between the girl and me.

"No fucking way! You like h-" He starts to yell but I quickly slap my hand over his mouth. Dragging him close to me I lean towards his ear.

"Shut the fuck up or I'll throw you off the fucking roof." I warned him quietly so she couldn't hear. Isaiah was about to spout some nonsense. I don't like her, I don't even know her. He slowly nods his head in understanding, I drop my hand and take a step back.

Looking over to where the girl was I see her leaning over the roof talking in a low voice to someone below. "You know them? Ok. No they're just standing there, one of them looks pissed though... are you sure they're friendly?" She whispers.

Fuck, I've done gone and scared her now. Good job, Blake.

"Yes, darling. They're supposed to be helping you though." Olivia chimes up. The gorgeous girl in front of me nods and turns around, our eyes lock. A look of panic crossed her face for a second as she flinched in fright, not expecting us to be paying attention to her now, causing her feet to shift and her body to start sliding down to the edge of the roof.

Shit, shes gonna fucking fall. Rushing forward I grip her upper arm and yank her towards me. Grabbing the hose out of her hand I toss it to Isaiah.

"You almost fucking fell off the Goddamn roof! Are you trying to kill yourself? What the fuck are you doing working up this high anyway!" I hissed out.

What the hell was Olivia thinking hiring this little thing to climb all the fucking way up here?

"Uh, I-I was just cleaning the gutters, I didn't mean to do anything wrong. I'm sorry." Her green eyes widened with panic.

Fuck I keep making it Goddamn worse.

"Just get down." I level out my voice to try to convey that I'm not mad at her. Just fucking pissed at myself.

"What?" She asks, taking a nervous gulp. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "Just go down, back on solid ground. Isaiah and I will finish this." Her nose scrunches up just like Isaiah's does all the time, except it's actually cute on her. Isaiah looks like an idiot when he does it.

"It's ok, I just have that small section left." She gestures to the left of us. Stepping around me and towards Isaiah she reaches for the hose, his eyes meet mine and I send him a glare telling him he better not fucking give it to her. He sends me a thumbs up as he lifts the hose way over his head.

"Sorry, Cupcake. Can't let ya have this. Why don't you just go down with my mom and we'll finish this up real fast, ok?" He says sweetly, sending me a knowing smile. Fucking bastard, who does he think he is calling her Cupcake?

"But..." Her face morphs into one of complete confusion. I can't help but stare at her, she's so dainty and her intoxicating green eyes are looking at Isaiah like he just asked her to solve a riddle.

What the hell is someone like her doing cleaning gutters on her own, she at least could work for a company that values their employees enough to send people in teams. If she fell and no one was here to call for help... Shit, I don't even want to think about it.

I'm gonna have to give her company a piece of my mind, after I get her off this roof that is. Why isn't she on the Goddamn ground yet?

"No buts. Get your ass off this roof right now." I grumble out, causing her eyes to slightly widen more at my tone. And by the glare Isaiah is shooting me, I can only assume my attempt at using a calming tone didn't work.

"Don't worry about him, Cupcake. He's just a little moody today. My mom is waiting down there for you with a cold glass of water, so why don't you go talk with her while the big idiot over there and I finish this up." He speaks in a tone so gentle it almost makes me want to vomit. But he's making her feel more comfortable, something I apparently can't do.

"Ok, if you insist." Her sweet voice all but whispers out.

"I really do." He sends her a bright smile, one she accepts and offers a small one in return.

Goddammit I want her to smile at me.

'Cupcake' makes it down the ladder and Olivia hands her the glass of water, just like Isaiah said.

"No. Fucking. Way." Isaiah blurts out. I whip my head and shoot him a nasty look.