"Did I do something wrong?" Isen asked worriedly.

You looked up from your homework to meet his amber eyes in confusion, "no, what makes you think that?" The two of you were hanging out in his room trying to finish homework for the night.

"You pulled away from me after we got scolded," he mumbled under his breath, as if saying it softer would make it not happen.

Recognition clicked in your mind, "oh. No, I'm not mad, Blyke and Remi don't know yet, and, well, I guess I'm nervous as to what they'll think about this." You looked to the side and bit your lip as you thought about it more, "mostly Blyke."

"Blyke won't notice a bit of handholding." Isen tried to coax, "it sucks not being able to hold your hand during school," he let his head rest on the papers in front of him and looked up at you with puppy dog eyes.

"Blyke's not stupid." You argued in response, but it was hard to deny your boyfriend's puppy dog look, especially since you were also feeling it. He made you feel safe and warm, so to hide it for most of the day was hard.

"Hekindofis."

"Isen!" you scolded him with a shocked look on your face while he laughed. You sighed and fidgeted with your pen, "it pains me too," you told him quietly, "but I just don't want to ruin the friend group, what if it makes it awkward?"

Isen spun his own pen in his hands and you noticed it was the same pen he bought at the mall a couple days ago. "I'm pretty sure neither Remi nor Blyke care."

"Yeah," you sighed and shifted in your seat nervously.

There was a pause and then some sort of recognition dawned on Isen's face. He straightened up in his seat before asking, "are you uncomfortable?"

"No!" you loudly responded, "I love you, you know that."

He grumbled darkly as he looked to the side, "it doesn't seem like that."

That hurt. And you tried to blink away tears, "well what do you want me to do?" you asked heatedly.

"Why are you so adamant about keeping it a secret anyways?" he questioned, his voice also rising to match your own heightened emotions.

The words burst out of your mouth barely a second after he finished his question, "because I'm scared!"

"Of what?" his sharp voice made the argument sound more like an interrogation.

"Hurting you, or getting hurt myself. If an argument happens, it's easier if it's just between the two of us instead of involving others!"

"Why would it involve others?" he looked entirely bewildered by your argument, as if it made absolutely no sense.

"Like this!" you shouted and gestured wildly to the two of you seated opposite of each other at a table with your homework sprawled on it, "if Remi and Blyke knew, then they'd start meddling, and then it just becomes huge drama that I don't want to be a part of!"

A look of understanding dawned on Isen's face again as he looked at you breathing angrily, "for the record. I don't think they'd meddle with it," he continued in a much quieter tone than what the two of you were using against each other. "And," he gave you a friendly smirk, "they're our best friends. They'd notice something was up even if we didn't tell them we were dating."

You sighed and calmed down your breathing, "I'm sorry. You're right. I was just being irrational."

"Hey," he reached across the table to take your hands, "it's okay to be scared. Relationships are scary. I'm also sorry."

You looked up at him bashfully, "what did I do to deserve you?"

"Well clearly you did something right." He answered back with a grin.

You blinked, "did you just use my own words against me?"

"Maybe," he sang with a smile on his lips.

"Get over here so I can kiss you, you big dork." You laughed as you leaned across the table.

☆☆☆

The four of you were sitting together at lunch again. Blyke, as usual, was eating loudly, but Remi and Isen both seemed to be preoccupied with something. "All right," you put down your sandwich and looked at your two friends, "I can tell something's up. What is it?"