Indoor Picnics { House 2 }

Seamus smiled at Issy when she stepped inside, slipping a smooth arm around her. ”I hope the rain wasn’t too hard on you,” he said. Her comment made him laugh. ”Well, we can still have an indoor picnic. I wished we could have gone to the quad though, but this’ll do,” he said, following her the hall to his room.

He opened the door, revealing the small picnic setup with his TV showcasing a field of grass. Outside, rain pattered against the window. He opened the basket, revealing some fruit and sandwiches, as well as the potato salad his family always made. ”Dig right in, Is. I didn’t slave over the kitchen counter for any rain to ruin our date,” He gave her a boyish smile.

When Issy booped his nose, Seamus shook his head on instinct, his shaggy hair becoming messy in the process. ”Every time you do that it messes up the hair I combed specifically to impress you, not fair,” he said, trying to fix it to little avail.

When she saw the room, Seamus couldn’t help but beam proudly. ”I did. I had to impress you somehow, and I already promised you a picnic.” He said. He walked to his usual seat and grinned at her when she teased him. ”Actually, it did. But that was mostly the room setup. The food itself was pretty quick to make.”

”I know, but I – I want to impress you,” Normally he would have joked about being her boyfriend, cited that as his excuse, but he couldn’t bring himself to. He didn’t feel right referring to himself as her boyfriend anymore. Something about it was just wrong, even if he loved Issy and their relationship. It was like he was playing a role he’d acquired as a kid, and could see no way out.

He smiled when she complimented the setup. ”Thanks. I tried my best. I bet Shyanne would criticize the color scheme or something, though. I can never impress her.” He joked, little did he know though, behind closed doors Shyanne enjoyed their relationship and even envied it.

When Issy joked about making him a plate, Seamus snorted. ”If you want to, be my guest. I’ll be sure to lick it clean.”

Seamus smiled when she kissed his cheek, and settled into his seat. The TV let out ambient sounds of nature. He looked over at Issy when she mentioned Shyanne. ”Aw, thanks. I always worry about it, she can be scary when she’s pissed off at someone. And you’re her best friend. I want to make her happy for you, not mad for you,” but even as he said that, he felt guilty. Shyanne would likely ostracize him when this was all over. It was a worry that bothered Seamus, though he’d never really liked the popular scene and how they picked on lesser students, anyway. People like Wyatt and Shyanne disgusted Seamus, in truth, but he dared not say anything. He just didn’t want to have absolutely no one and, when he lost Issy, he’d have just that: no one.

When she got his plate together, Seamus brought the smile back and tried to act as though his mind hadn’t wandered off. He grabbed the plate and looked at her, taking a plastic fork out of the basket. ”Thanks! You filled it exactly the way I would have; extra salad,” he said. He took a bite of the sandwich – a simple BLT. ”But don’t forget to load up your plate; I didn’t just cook all this for me.”

Seamus exhaled.

”I know, but you and Shy are a package deal. It’s almost like I’m dating both of you,” he joked, giving Issy a small smirk to let her know he wasn’t entirely serious. ”And I know you tell Shyanne about all out dates. Not that I’m complaining, especially when you tell her about the good ones.”

He nodded at her comment. ”you are my best friend, even if I’ve been half replaced by Shyanne,” he said. Once again, he was only kidding. Sort of. Shyanne was Issy’s girl best friend, and everyone knew a girl best friend and a guy best friend were different things. If only the line was drawn at best friend, Seamus briefly thought, but shook the thoughts off. He instead smiled when Issy liked the salad. ”Thanks. Do you think Rian would be proud I’m his brother if he tasted it?” He knew how possessive Rian could be about cooking good potato salad and always joked about it – when Rian was nowhere near, of course!