Room to breath

[Theodore Keller]

The funny thing was, Theo would have thought he'd have missed all the basic things the most – food and shelter and being able to take a shower. Of course it felt amazing to stuff his face with cake and stand under a spray of hot water or sleep on a soft matress with clean sheets. But there were so many little things that he never knew he missed so much. It had taken a few days, but he lost that tense feeling of always being on your guard, he hadn't even noticed how stiff his body had been the whole time. Just having a quiet moment to himself felt amazing. He loved Ruby and Cameron to bits of course, but having a little space brought all of them even closer together it seemed. They had all been so sceptic when they'd first woken up in Mount Weather and Cameron had been the hardest to convince that he and his friends were safe. After fighting for their lifes for so long, it was hard to let go of that urge to always look over your shoulder.

Nevertheless, Theo had started to settle in and he was truly hopeful that they could all live a happy life together and make this mountain their new home. He had even started to read, something he'd never been too keen on back on the Ark. Right now, he was sitting in one of the armchairs, his legs flung over one of the armrests, engrossed in a rather big tome. He was so lost in the world stretched over the pages running through his fingers, that he was unaware of his surroundings and let out a hearty laugh, slapping his own thigh as he did so.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

Theodore Keller EXCITED FOR THESE TWO! There were two places in Mount Weather where Isaiah felt the most at home. The first was, of course, agriculture where he worked. There was nothing to him more relaxing, nothing that could make him smile more than sitting under the fruit trees or walking amongst all the other plants that they grew for all different purposes. The second place was the library. That was where Isaiah was now, a day off work and having had the acute purpose of reading anything he could find about space. His eyes had glossed over every book he could find, first specifically on space stations and living in space, but now as he stood up, he closed a book that was purely fiction and had been about a Doctor, Who no one seemed to know the name of. It had been set in space. Walking over to the shelf he had taken the book from, Isaiah placed it back on the shelf. All the shelves were surrounded in glass, keeping the air out and keeping the books from falling apart. A laugh cut through the generally quiet library. It was thick and real, and Isaiah was sure he heard the sound of something being hit along with it. His gaze fell on the man that had been the source of the laugh, an older teenager sprawled out on an armchair. A smile settled on Isaiah's face, enjoying just had lost in the book the guy seemed and finding some humour in how he had made himself comfortable. It wasn't until Isaiah took a couple steps closer, wondering if he could get a glance of the book's cover, that he realised the man was completely unfamiliar. There were a lot of people in the mountain, yes, but Isaiah had lived long enough to at least be familiar with all of the faces. His smile grew, knowing that the guy had to of been one of the Space People, as Isaiah was calling them. The teenagers that were new to Mount Weather. Like Isaiah would miss out on such an opportunity. Plus, he was still genuinely curious about what the laughter had been about. He walked over to the guy. "What's so funny?" he asked first, eyes on the book cover to work out what it was the guy was reading. He hardly needed to read the title to work it out, the cover itself familiar to him. "Oooh, where are you to?" It was a good book and Isaiah could understand why the guy had been laughing like he had.

[Theodore Keller]

The sudden sound of a voice reaching his ears made Theo jump and nearly fall out of the armchair with a soft yelp. It was like coming out of a dream when he was pulled from the pages of his book and he needed a moment to slip back into reality. When he did, he found that he was sprawled over the armchair all awkwardly due to his initial shock and when he saw the grin on the face of the young man who was standing in front of him, he wanted to disappear into a hole in the ground. His cheeks turned scarlet and he tried to compose himself and sat down in his seat properly. He was glad Ruby and Cameron hadn't witnessed this scene because they'd never let him forget it and bring up this embarassing moment whenever they could to tease him.

Theo needed another minute to remember what the stranger had said to him and he just began to stutter and basically make a fool of himself in his opinion.
„Um...well..I'm..I'm just on the part where Mrs.Weasley sends Ron a Howler.“, he explained in a somewhat shaky voice, still not quite there yet. Even though they'd all been inside the mountain for well over a wekk now, Theodore had hardly ever really spoken to one of its inhabitants since he was usually around his best friends and the other Delinquants. He had also never stopped to think how the Mountain Men must be feeling about the Arkers. They could actually see them as intruders who invaded their home. Although judging by the look on the man's face that didn't seem to be the case for this Mountain Man.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

Theodore Keller It was obvious Isaiah hadn't been seen before he spoke, obvious by the way that the teenager jumped at the sound of Isaiah's voice. Isaiah had to hold back laughter but he couldn't stop his smile from widening and his eye from glittering. "Sorry if I scared you," he said, his voice quick to get the words out. He didn't feel that bad but he would still be polite. The guy looked pretty cute as he blushed, moving around in the chair to sit properly. It was interesting seeing someone else looked so shy, when it was often the case that Isaiah was blushing, feeling embarrassed about one thing or the other. He knew how it felt, though, and so he was trying not to laugh or do anything that might make the guy feel worse. He didn't want to be that person. Isaiah was also patient, not fussed over the fact that it seemed to take a moment for the guy to work out what had been asked earlier. When he did speak, Isaiah waited, listening and not feeling the need to judge him on the stuttering or anything, really. The guy reminded Isaiah so much of himself, it was worrying. Not in a bad way worrying, just in a way that left Isaiah both feeling slightly at unease and wanting to protect the guy as well. "Now it really makes sense why you were laughing. I love that part" Isaiah said and suddenly another thought came to mind, "You haven't read Harry Potter before?" If they didn't have copies of Harry Potter up in space, Isaiah would be really surprised. Him and almost every other kid in the mountain had grown up reading it, apparently a long-running tradition from back before the bombs. It would seem weird that people hadn't, and it felt from the laughter like the guy there hadn't read the book before. "I'm Isaiah, by the way," he added. Isaiah grabbed another armchair, pulling it to sit at an angle near the teenager an dropping down into it.

[Theodore Keller]

Although he was still pretty embarrassed, his face still flushed, Theo couldn't help but smile back at the guy whose laugh was quite infectuous. He noticed the dimples in his counterpart's cheeks and knew that he wouldn't be able to hold his own smile back any longer. His hands felt a bit clumsy as he put his bookmark back nside his current reading material and set it aside. Not sure what position to assume, he pulled his legs up close to his chest, hugging them and rested his chin on top of his knees, he'd always been comfortable sitting like this.
Theo still felt quite self-conscious since he wasn't sure if the guy was making fun of him or if he was just amused and being friendly. He often wished he could be as confident as Ruby when talking to people but he guessed that would never be one of his skills. Plus with being inside the mountain now came an entirely different challenge – meeting new people. Of course he never knew each and every Arker very well, but at least he'd been familiar with their faces. The Mountain Men almost felt like they were a completely different species since they didn't have the common background all the Arkers had and Theo wasn't sure how to relate to these other humans he never knew existed. Although up to now, they seemed to be the same as him and his friends, more similiar than the Grounders were anyway.

Theo laughed a bit awkwardly but felt a bit more relaxed when the guy talked about the book he'd been busy reading moments before. He thought he could remember hearing that this story had been some kind of huge thing in the past and he knew that some kids had read it, but it just had never been such a big thing, at least not with him or his best friends.
„I was never that much of a reader to be honest.“, he confessed with a shrug of his shoulders and felt a bit dumb saying it out loud.

Isaiah – it had a nice ring to it and the Arker liked the sound of it, even though he only repeated it to himself inside his mind. He was curious to find out how it would sound if he said it out loud.
„Nice to meet you Isaiah, my name is Theodore, but everyone calls me Theo.“, he introduced himself with another smile, this time much more genuine and less awkward. He held his hand out to the stranger, who felt like a bit less of a stranger now that he knew his name.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

Theodore Keller Isaiah continued watching the other man as he got comfortable, and he didn't let the smile slip from his face. As random as the meeting was, Isaiah almost felt like it was fate. To meet one of the Space People in the library and to find them reading a book that Isaiah had loved as a kid. Isaiah's memory for stories left him able to remember the book, even when he hadn't read it in years. It was nice to also see that the other man was smiling too, that Isaiah hadn't done anything to offend him, which was something Isaiah had been a bit worried about. There was a smile on both their faces however, so there wasn't much reason to worry too much. Isaiah got more comfortable in his own chair, sinking down into the cushion. It was comfortable enough it could probably be used for sleeping. The other man admitted to never having been much of a reader, and while Isaiah couldn't help the way his smile dropped for a moment, he quickly pulled his lips up again. He couldn't imagine a time when he hadn't been reading at every chance he got but he knew that not everyone was like that, and, "It's good that you're reading now." It was, even if the guy was a lot older than most when they first read the Harry Potter books, he would enjoy them just as much. "These're pretty widely read, so you can trust they'll be good. Be warned though, it isn't always laughs." A genuine grin back on he face, only flickered away as he gave his warning, Isaiah leaned forward in the chair a bit, resisting the urge to instead lean back further and rest. The appearance of these new people had only added to the work load of pretty much everyone and agriculture wasn't an exception. It wouldn't be difficult to get an early night, but he might not get another chance like this and it was also nice so far talking to the guy. It was a lot different to the conversation he had had days before with the woman called Clarke. "Nice to meet you, too," Isaiah said, shaking Theo's hand and appreciating the polite gesture. It was nice to see that, especially since Isaiah tended to think highly on manners most of the time. "So, Theo, you're one of the new people here, right?" he asked, and then without waiting for Theo to give an answer, Isaiah spoke again. "Like Mount Weather so far?" There was always the possibility he was so bored that he had come to the library in hopes reading might be something fun to do. Really, that was a large possibility. As much as Isaiah loved his home, he knew how boring the place could really be. He was sure it would have been a lot more interesting and fun in space than being trapped in a mountain.

[Theodore Keller]

Theo didn't know why his heart kept hammering inside his chest or why he couldn't wipe that stupid grin off his face. He pushed any strange thoughts that might be going through his mind to the back of his head and wrote it down to still being embarrassed about his earlier behavior when Isaiah first started talking to him. He was usually quite awkward when talking to people he didn't really know so that was all this was, at least that's what he told himself. He brushed his thumb softly over the pages of the closed book sitting on a small table right next to his armchair as he listened to the young man beside him, his chin still resting on top of his knees.
He gave himself another mental kick when he caught himself thinking about how soothing the other man's voice sounded, but reasoned that any calm voice would sound comforting compared to the constant screams of warning and fear he'd heard daily just a short while ago. Still, he thought that he could really use that hole to swallow him up right about now. He had no idea why he was musing about such things and behaving this way, Isaiah must be finding him a very strange person indeed and he was surely wondering if all space people, as the mountain men seemed to call him and his friends, were this odd.

He felt quite pathetic when he noticed the man's genuine bewilderment at his mention of the fact that he'd never been a big reader. He hugged his legs a little tighter, feeling a bit like a small child being praised by its parents for learningto write its first words. He'd never thought of himself as a very intelligent person, being unable to argue as vividly about serious topics as Ruby and Cameron would sometimes do. He was always too naive and gullible, his friends sometimes teased him about that. It wasn't like he was dumb, he just had a hard time speaking about his opinions or feelings, it was much easier for him to express them in his art – drawings or music, sometimes poems. Still, although it surely hadn't been his intention, Isaiah's reaction made him feel a little stupid and simple. He scratched his head a little uneasily but managed tio put a smile back on his face when the young man leaned forward to take his hand. He resisted the urge to hold on to his warm fingers for a little longer and his smile was more genuine again, his cheeks blushing once more.

Theo nodded as the guy asked him whether he was one of the new people and he let out a shrug and a sigh when he asked about how he liked this new place all of them were staying at.
„It still seems like a dream you know? I mean, out there we had to fight every day to stay alive – find food and shelter and keeping an eye out so we wouldn't be killed by Grounders. It's just sad that not everyone in our group got to be here.“, he explained and his forehead was creased in a frown for a moment as he thought about those who didn't make it.
„I guess I still have to get used to not expecting another attack on my life any moment.“, he added with another grin and chuckles as he leaned back into the armchair.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

Theodore Keller Well, this post is sorta a rollercoaster. Was written over 2 nights so I hope it isn't confusing. There was something about the guy in front of Isaiah that was grabbing his attention, and for some reason Isaiah felt like it was more than him just being one of the Space People. He had spoken to them before, to Clarke in those earlier days and to others. Words here and there. There was something different about this particular guy, whether it be the slight awkwardness or the goofy grin or the fact that Theo just looked plain adorable. What it probably was, was the place in which he had come across the guy. Even if Theo wasn't really a reader, even if this was the first book he'd ever picked up by choice, it was still in the library of all places and that was still a favourite place of Isaiah's. He was sure anyone would seem so much better in the room that smelt of books. Isaiah was quite focused on watching Theo and all he could hope was that it didn't look that way. He noticed the way Theo's thumb lightly brushed over the book he had been reading, and his mind wandered the way it did sometimes. The way that Isaiah tended to ignore and put down to having read too many books or his hormones that hardly seemed to have calmed since he'd become an adult. One thing that Isaiah also noticed was the way that Theo's smile slipped from his face at Isaiah's comments and his mind began to twirl and his own smile dropped, almost in a panic as he tried to think of what he had done wrong and more particularly, how he could fix it. Books aren't for everyone. Harry Potter isn't too dark. I like your smile. All the possibilities running through his mind, none of them making it to his mouth. In the end it didn't matter as the boy's smile returned and Isaiah's followed suit. Although his eyebrows lifted just slight as he saw colour appear in Theo's cheeks. It was sad in a way to hear the words that Theo spoke, to hear how hard it had been outside of Mount Weather, especially with all the dreams that Isaiah had of the world. But he knew the negativity was only because of the Outsiders, whom he'd learnt were called Grounders by the Space People when talking to Clarke. "I could sneak up behind you and give you a scare for familiarity sake?" Isaiah suggested, a playfulness to his tone. After a moment his smile became more sincere and he leaned further forward, placing a hand lightly on Theo's knee. "You are safe, don't worry. Nothing's gonna hurt you in here. Apart from a few paper cuts here and there." After a moment, Isaiah felt the awkwardness of his positions and moved back to his arm's relief, although he sort of missed the contact when he did so. He was a fan of contact, finding it helped when he couldn't always find the right words or say them with the needed confidence. When he leaned back into the armchair, Isaiah sank down into it, his eyes closing for a moment before they opened again to settle on Theo. "These chairs are way too comfortable for a place you're supposed to be productive in," he said, just sinking further down into the cushion. Isaiah knew a few things about these Space People, and because of that there were topics he knew he'd rather avoid. There were always safe topics, however. "So, if you didn't read, what do you like to do for fun?" That was a safe topic, one that wouldn't lead onto a depressing topic. At least he hoped it was. It wasn't that he didn't want to talk about things, it was that he couldn't imagine Theo would.

[Theodore Keller]

Theo couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so abashed while talking to someone. Sure, he got embarrassed pretty quickly and he was never overly confident when being around someone other than his best friends, but this felt different than mere nervosity. He didn't really want to admit it, not even to himself but this strange sensation inside his stomach came suspiciously close to butterflies swirling around in there.
Somehow, he appreciated the library even more now. Since he'd met a new possible friend here. He'd first discovered the room when he'd been in need of a break from the rest of the group. They'd huddled together after the initial shock of being released from their individual quarantine rooms, but once he'd been quite confident that the people who'd taken him and the others, Theo needed some space to himself. He'd traced the lined up backs of the alternating thick and thin tomes with his fingertips, feeling a fascination he'd never known before. Back on the Ark they'd mostly had scholastic books on practical things such as medicine or mechanics. He'd also never found the books back home to effuse such a pleasent smell of old paper that he'd come to appreciate more and more. Ever since getting lost in the world of the first book he'd opened in this room, he'd spent many hours sitting in the very same armchair he was lounging in now. Cameron and Ruby had started teasing him a little, calling him a bookworm, but he didn't care.
Maybe it was because he needed to escape the real world now more than ever, after everything he'd been through that his passion for reading had been awoken. He could just drown himself in the words and pages and forget about the nightmares that haunted his sleep for a while.

It was good to meet someone who seemed to understand the bower of stories and Theo found that he didn't seem able to wipe that goofy grin off his face anymore, but maybe it didn't matter that much anymore. If he'd learned anything over the last weeks, it was that life could be cut very short and that everyone should make the most of the the time they had. So maybe he could just let his guard down once in a while and show his true feelings without being ashamed. So why shouldn't Isaiah know, that the teen was happy to meet him? It wasn't a bad thing after all.

Theo couldn't help a laugh escaping from his mouth as the dark-skinned young man offered to give him a fright so he might feel a bit less foreign inside the mountain. He clasped his hand around his mouth, muffling more laughs as he couldn't seem to stop and needed a while to recompose himself. It was a good feeling to be able to laugh this freely as he hadn't had many opportunities to be carefree since coming down to earth.
What really shut him up was his heart skipping a beat when Isaiah placed his hand on his knee. His touch felt comforting, almost caring as he assured him that no harm would come to him at this new place that the other called home. The teenager was about to place his own hand on the other's when Isaiah reclaimed his limb, leaving Theo disappointed and already missing the warmth of his skin.
The Arker leaned his head back with a nod and a smile as he brushed one hand over the velvety fabric of his chair's armrest.
„Tell me about it! I've lost count of how many times I dozed off in this armchair!“, he replied with a chuckle and let out a yawn as if prompted by his statement.
He shrugged his shoulders when Isaiah asked him about the sort of activities he usually enjoyed for amusement.
„Well, our stay on earth hasn't really been about fun so far, but back on the Ark, I would mostly hang out with my two best friends, but I usually just follow their lead.“, he admitted, feeling another surge of embarrassement about revealing that he tended to play by everyone else's rules. But a second later he pushed that self-conscious thought to the back of his mind and gave Isaiah another one of his best smiles, dimples in his cheeks and his eyes squinting the way they always did when he smiled genuinely. „What sort of things do mountain kids do for fun?“, he asked with a cheeky grin and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

Theodore Keller ISAIAH HAHAHA The laugh that had first attracted Isaiah to Theo now only sounded more cute as he laughed at Isaiah's joke rather than the book he had been reading. Isaiah's face settled into an amused smile as he watched Theo lose himself in the laughter and he was almost disappointed when the guy was finally able to compose himself again. From the little things Isaiah already knew about how life had been for the Space People outside of Mount Weather, he really found himself glad to see Theo laughing like that. Still, it was somewhat nice that he had stopped laughing when Isaiah turned serious. The moment felt...nice. Especially with the warmth of Theo's knee under his hand. It would have been a nice moment to stay in longer if such a thing had really been possible. At the same time, Isaiah didn't want to make things weird. And he already felt he could have been. Isaiah didn't particularly blame Theo for following the lead of his friends in what to do with his time, Isaiah could honestly be quite similar there. When he was with his friends, he usually did just follow their lead, although he also did a lot more when he wasn't with those friends. "They sound like they must be really fun people," Isaiah said, trying to both compliment Theo friends and Theo himself with the words. He wasn't sure how his brain had come to thinking that comment would do both things but he didn't particularly want to overthink it either. "Especially if following their lead got you here," he added on. Gosh, why was he saying that? Maybe Isaiah hit his head on something, maybe that was why he was saying stupid things. Maybe Theo liked space. "Unless you really liked living on the Ark," he muttered as an afterthought. As Theo smiled brightly and asked what "mountain kids" did for fun, Isaiah's eyebrows lifted just slightly. The grin, the eyebrows, the way the question was asked...Isaiah found himself blushing, unable to stop the colour as it settled into his cheeks. "Um, ah, we..." Isaiah trailed off, making some unidentifiable gesture with his hands. He was not meaning at all to try and be suggestive himself but his eyes widened as he realised that it could sound that way. "Um, we read books. There are concerts and stuff. Parties. Adults tend to have more formal things and teenager try to sneak around a bit, as much as they can." Isaiah shrugged as the word vomit finished, sinking further into the chair, unable to do anything but avoid looking at Theo. He stared at the ceiling instead, counting out the tiles as he waited for whatever reaction he would get to the thing he just did.

[Theodore Keller]

Theo had noticed that Isaiah's and his armchair were standing close enough together that both boys' arms were almost touching when they were both placed on their arm rests. While he listened to the other young man talk, he was also testing how far he had to stretch his fingers to 'accidentally' brush his skin. It had somehow felt like a rush when Isaiah had put his hand on his knee, like being pricked by a thousand needles or getting an electric shock, but in a good and exciting way. The Arker couldn't wait to feel his touch again, it felt as if he was an addict after his first fix.

Next thing, Theo caught himself just staring at Isaiah's lips as he was talking and worse, imagining how soft they were – what the hell was wrong with him? He should really be focusing on what the Mountain Man was saying and not be musing about how his mouth might feel on his. Wait, what? He seemed to be doing it again, but then he was distracted from those highly inappropriate speculations when he noticed how Isaiah seemed to take his turn in blushing and stammering nervously.
Theo smiled and finally, he couldn't stand that tense electricity that he felt sparking between them anymore. He made his hand bridge the distance between them and made it rest casually on top of Isaiah's as he leaned towards him a little.

„Sneaking around does sound like a lot of fun!“, he said with a crooked smile, trying to help Isaiah relax a little as he knew what it felt like to be the one who got embarrassed.
„The Ark could be a rather uptight place what with all the rules and laws. It could be quite hard to find some fun to do sometimes.“, he added, his hand still resting on top of Isaiah's and now his fingers wrapped around the other's as well. It was such a good sensation to feel the warmth of his palm against his fingertips, that he didn't care if holding hands with a practical stranger might seem awkward, or at least for now he didn't mind what it could look like.
After all, Isaiah had been the first to seek physical contact with him, so why shouldn't the Arker take his turn, but just be more bold this time and not break the touch so quickly?

„Do you know if there are any concerts or parties planned at the moment?“, he proceeded to ask casually, as if it was the most normal thing in the world that he'd entwined their hands with one another. He wasn't sure what the Mountain Men's standards for physical contact were, maybe this wasn't even a big deal at all. Theo guessed that he'd probably find out pretty soon if holding hands with a random guy was frowned upon in their society or not.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

Theodore Keller The warmth of Theo's knee was nothing when compared to the warmth that came from having their hands touching. Isaiah honestly didn't know what to do at first, the movement so seemly random to him that his gaze met Theo's in nothing but confusion. Saying that, Isaiah didn't think this was bad. Not in the slightest. And that was probably a problem. This was one of the Space People, a teenager, and Isaiah couldn't help the nagging thought that to allow anything to happen would be taking advantage of the guy. But if Theo was the one initiating it, was it really Isaiah's fault? How could it even be his fault if he wasn't the one making the contact, trying to start things happening? Isaiah still wasn't sure about this, not in the slightest, and it wasn't helping his warm cheeks or generally embarrassed state but he didn't pull his hand away from Theo's. At Theo mentioning that sneaking around sounded like fun, Isaiah couldn't help but laugh himself. The memories of his childhood spent finding all the hidden parts of the mountain only proving what Theo said. "I used to sneak around the mountain, find all the places we aren't supposed to be," he said, once he managed to calm his laughter. "It's fun." And so is this, Isaiah couldn't help thinking, extremely thankful the words didn't even come close to touching his lips. Without really noticing it, Isaiah himself had also leaned a bit forward, putting himself just the slightest bit closer to Theo. There was something in the air, something that left Isaiah feeling alive. It was the best way to describe it and he could only pin it down to Theo and the hand in which was being held by the younger man. Isaiah didn't want to admit that. Maybe it had been that touch on Theo's knee that had started this. Maybe it had been Isaiah's fault, even if he had only meant the touch in the most innocent of ways. "It'll be a bit easier to find some fun here." By this point, Isaiah just felt like giving up on making sure he didn't sound suggestive. Everything that came out of his mouth now held a meaning in Isaiah's ears that he hadn't originally intended. Isaiah looked away from Theo again, hoping to get his head together, decide what to do. It hardly took a moment or two for his body to react over his mind, his hand turning over to hold Theo's hand back, seeking the warmth that it gave. The sparks of electricity that seemed to move between their hands. "Uh, should be a concert on tonight," Isaiah said, unsure if he was even right. His brain was just a little fogged up, stuck between a state of being way too interested in a boy he had just met and knowing just how wrong that could be. How had this situation even come about?

[Theodore Keller]

Theo leaned his head against the armchair on the corner closest to Isaiah and looked at him with a peaceful smile. He began blinking more rapidly as he started feeling sleepy. He'd been able to sleep more peacefully ever since coming to Mount Weather, feeling a lot safer than when he was still outside with the other Delinquents. But somehow he felt that he would have an even easier time getting some rest with Isaiah sitting next to him, as if he made him feel safe and protected.
But the Arker didn't want to seem rude and just doze off while they were talking and holding hands, so he lifted his head back up even though he was reluctant to give up that comfortable position.

When he heard the shuffling of some feet and hushed voices, Theo's first instinct was to let go of Isaiah's hand. But he didn't want to come across as immature or as if he was ashamed of holding on to him and he caught himself quickly enough not to let his doubts be shown in his gestures.
Isaiah's next words made him forget all about his insecurities anway, talking about how easy it was to find some fun in Mount Weather. Theo couldn't be sure, but he thought he detected a slight hint of flirtation in the young man's tone.
„Yeah, some people wouldn't believe it, but I happen to think the library can be a very fun place!“, he stated in a rather bold, almost teasing kind of voice.

The teenager had no idea where this air of confidence came from. Sure, he'd had his crushes back on the Ark, but he'd hardly ever been brave enough to them and whenever he'd found the courage to make that first step, he'd always felt awkward. Maybe it was easier to be bold around Isaiah because he didn't know him or his reputation for being strange and awkward. Theo could just be whoever he wanted to be around the boy because there was noone who was going to tell him that he was too strange to hang out with. Plus, his experiences on the outside had maybe toughened him up a little and encouraged him to make the most of each moment.

„Were you planning on going?“, he asked in regards of the concert, maybe sounding a little too nosy. It felt like an eternity since he'd been to a concert or any other kind of social gathering. Potentially going with this new friend of his was even more alluring than the event in itself.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs

[Isaiah Riggs]

Theodore Keller Sorry this reply took a few days! Isaiah agreed so much with Theodore, that the library could be a very fun place. It was hard to miss the teasing tone that the teenager used and Isaiah, as much as he probably should have stopped this, instead grew excited at the sound of it. His smile grew and he didn't think he could ever think of the library as anything but fun. It was full of books, drenched in the smell that was intoxicating, as intoxicating as the presence of Theo was becoming. The guy was only managing to make himself look cuter with each thing he did, in how he had laid his head on the corner of the armchair and given that smile that looked happier than anything Isaiah had seen in his life. Isaiah fell hard and he fell fast and boy, was he falling at that moment. "It seems even more fun now," Isaiah said, his voice quiet, his blush darkening if that were possible.  Isaiah felt anything but confident, a great contrast to the guy sitting on the armchair next to his. Theo had a growing air of confidence, in the way he spoke, in the hand that now held Isaiah's. It only added to the awkwardness and that cute, goofy smile that Isaiah had noticed at first sight. There was nothing Isaiah loved more than a good smile, but the confidence, that boldness was definitely competing for that title. In his own move of boldness, Isaiah squeezed Theo's hand, meeting Theo's gaze as he did so. He knew exactly the sort of message that it would sent and Isaiah was growing to care less and less. There was obviously some sort of connection, chemistry between them that could be felt even in the air. Could it really be wrong? Isaiah asked himself, still finding a pause and uncertainty to answer. For a moment, Isaiah was confused about what Theo was asking. He was so lost in his own thoughts and the sight of Theo's blue eyes, he had almost forgotten that he had mentioned a concert. But, speaking of the concert, "Um, well, I'm not sure if there's . . . It could be a party. Or something else." Isaiah shook his head, trying to get his thoughts together, and broke his eyes from Theo's in doing so. "I just heard people talking about something." Wasn't Isaiah doing a great job at this? He took in a deep breath. "Whatever it is, I'll be there, um, especially if you are." His words came out fast, muddled together and Isaiah felt the urge to pull his hand away from Theo's and run and hide. He didn't do that, only avoided Theo's gaze, somehow still feeling shy even with how obvious it was that Theo was feeling something similar to Isaiah.

[Theodore Keller]

Somehow it seemed like the two of them had switched roles somewhere along their conversation, or maybe it was more accurate to call it flirting. At the beginning, Theo had felt like a nervous wreck and he'd had the impression that Isaiah had been quite confident with his words. Now the other boy kept blushing just like the Arker had done before, it just looked all the more beautiful on Isaiah's darker skin tone, the colours just blending together instead of just being red blotches like they were on Theodore's cheeks. The boy felt torn, because he wanted the Mountain Man to feel comfortable and at ease around him, he knew how bad feeling embarrassed could be after all. On the other hand, the young man just looked so good with the soft red in his face that he didn't want it to go away.

In his mind, he just laughed at his two best friends who'd been teasing him for spending so much time surrounded by books, delbing into another world every other day. Now the joke was on them because he'd met someone more charming than he'd ever thought he would. When he'd first realized he was in no danger in this new place he and his friends had found themselves in, he'd just thought of the mountain as a safe haven where he could actually survive. He would never even have considered the possibility of meeting someone to flirt with much less someone he could dream of having a romance with.

The Arker felt like his heart grew to twice its size when Isaiah spoke his own thoughts, saying that the library seemed like even more fun now. He bit his bottom lip because he couldn't stop grinning happily, but the corners of his mouth were still as high up as they could go and he raised his hand to pinch his lips.
A moment later, his chest was close to exploding to let his ballooning heart escape as he felt Isaiah give his hand a little squeeze.
Had he dozed off while reading some kind of soppy romance novel and this was all just a sweet sweet dream? Or maybe he was even still reading and all of this was just a figment of his vivid imagination. This couldn't actually be happening, he'd never been this lucky before.
The squeeze of the young man's fingers had given Theo yet another boost of confidence and he started softly brushing his thumb over the Mountain Man's skin.
Isaiah's flirtatious answer made him want to wave his hand in front of his head to fan some fresh air into his face, but he just kept on grinning his goofy grin back at him.
„It's a date then?“, he asked boldly, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

Tag: Isaiah Riggs