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Parallel in this universe, do we light up our hearts just to watch them burn? Parallel. Are we crossing lines? 'Cause maybe tonight the stars align.
-Parallel by Heffron Drive.
Isak and Even laid in bed on a Sunday afternoon. Even had his head resting against Isak's chest.
“ I say for the next minute, we talk about anything you want ,” Even says.
“Anything?” Isak asks, gently caressing Even’s shoulder.
“Yes.”
“Then, this next minute I'll tell you about all of our parallel-selves.”
1.
Isak had skipped classes. He didn't like to do so, but the need to clear his mind had been bigger than his sense of responsibility. The worst part is that he couldn't even tell what was it that got him so stressed and tired in the first place.
Painting always had relaxed him, which is why he used his day off to spend some alone time with his fragment of The Wall.
It was also Jonas’ and Magnus’ and Mahdi’s fragment because they had all bought it together, but they could perfectly work separately within their respective space of The Wall.
The Wall, for those who don't use Instagram these days, was this large and once completely white wall in one of Oslo’s most visited streets that the Mir Office had offered specifically to street artists for them to decorate it, as a message of trusting every single person of their community.
The legendary street artists had claimed the whole space in a matter of 12 hours after it was inaugurated, but luckily an old friend of Mahdi’s who had bought too much space for just him, acceded to sell them six months ago, 1 meter long for each one.
They were the youngest of the street. While the rest of the guys spent their days there, Isak and his friends started going just after school and on free weekends. At least, they were always equipped with spray and bucket paints to design and create their part of the mural.
Isak sat down in front of his feet of wall. It was a work in progress, that could take a hundred different ways from every of its segments.
On the very top, he had guns and dynamite. It made a transition to burning flames and smoke, that then turned to firefighters along with other elements in representation of different occupations.
Some days he wanted it to be a symbol of conversion and progress, a sequence that ended in something glorious. Other days, he wanted it to make it cyclic so it showed how hopeless and disappointed he was of society.
There he was, blank. His noisy and blurry thoughts didn't let him decide which of the stigmas he would believe in that day, so his mind just wandered looking for the right answer.
“Can I borrow your black?” Someone asked him, shaking him out of his thoughts.
“Uh, sure,” Isak said, turning to hand the spray immediately. The guy was tall and skinny, and definitely, not one Isak had seen much before around the streets.
The guy gladly took the spray and turned to his own section of the wall. Isak watched as the guy went to keep illustrating the wall. He felt incredibly satisfied knowing that he'd somehow contributed to the masterpiece in progress.
“ Alt er love ,” the graffiti said. It was written in letters of all colors with a blackout background. Isak distracted himself, forgetting completely about finding inspiration for his own wall.
He couldn’t name it, but every time he thought the guy would turn and find him staring, he still couldn’t take his eyes off him.
Not that he was attractive –He was simply… interesting. Completely outstanding although he was completely regular. Just a lean body and fine bone structure. Blond but still reddish hair and a cool suave style.
He was so immersed in the view, he came back to reality when the guy started walking in his direction again.
“I think I've worn this out,” he said handing the spray back to Isak. Isak raised his eyebrows in both surprise and acknowledgment as he took it. “I can bring you another one tomorrow.”
Isak was still somehow stunned with the guy’s fresh look, to which he was unresponsive enough to appear casual.
“Cool. I'm Isak.”
“Even,” he answered shaking hands with Isak.
2.
Even wasn’t too convinced that there was a God in the skies, but if there was, He would hopefully help him now.
Isak –or as he used to call him before he learned his name, the Cute Regular Costumer– hadn't visited the bakery he worked at in two long and miserable days.
He had gotten Even’s attention the moment he saw him enter the bakery for the first time. Again, if God existed, that day He illuminated Even to make up an excuse for the guy to visit the local next time for sure.
Last time Isak passed by to buy his usual 11 am croissant, Even had talked to him for longer than he had before and was close to trading numbers with him. Yet he was super confident 99% of the time and Isak made his 1% come out to the light.
And then, after Even had had the guts to explain his minor crush situation to his boss (so he would have mercy with Even and let him have his break whenever Isak arrived), he’d been missing two days straight.
The bell rang above the tempered glass door and there Isak was, walking into the bakery. It seemed like if he'd invoked him; Even looked up and silently thanked the universe for his luck.
“Hey,” Even offered with a warm smile drawn on his face.
“Hi,” Isak said with a smirk. “One croissant, please.”
“Right away.”
Isak paid his meal and left the change in the tips jar.
“Thanks,” Even said. “You know,” he continued, stopping Isak from going to sit. He quickly glanced at the clock behind the counter. “My break is in about five minutes and I’m hungry. Mind if I join you to have my lunch?”
“I'd be my pleasure,” Isak answered.
Even guided them to a back and private section of the bakery special for employees. It had three small round tables and they sat at the most secluded one, even when there was no one else in the area.
Time seemed to stop and their light conversation flowed easily and at some point, Even realized that Isak had finished his croissant yet he hadn't left like he always used to do regularly.
They were in the middle of sharing a giggle when a tall and short-haired girl entered the place and greeted Even with a kiss on the lips.
“Isak, this is Sonja, my girlfriend.”
3.
A month or so ago, Isak had met in the rink a handsome guy named Even, who he no longer was questioning he liked.
After he learned his name, Isak couldn’t help but to google his name and watch all the youtube videos uploaded of his fantastic skating performances. The guy was a genius on ice and God did it struck Isak’s heart.
However, he was confused. For moments, Even seemed to be really into him, but the next he could perfectly talk about her girlfriend if the case wasn't that she was around kissing him constantly.
At a party after their last practice, things got so fucking intense. See, Isak was making out with Emma just as Even was with Sonja and in the whole moment, they didn't break eye contact.
Isak didn't think someone else had noticed but in their own inexistent code, they had been the ones kissing each other.
Isak could perfectly recall how his stomach had pooled down and how hard he had to focus to avoid getting lost in Even’s gaze.
That was what built up one of the most anxious moments in Isak’s life.
Isak was at the portable bar of the house garden starting to clean up.
Even approached to help and started talking, casually (or maybe not at all) mentioning things with Sonja weren't in their best timing -something produced by her medical condition.
“Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that.” He actually was, because it couldn't be easy to love someone so much to handle that kind of health troubles and go through them together.
Even started giggling.
“What's so funny?” Even just shook his head and continued to laugh. “Are you kidding?”
“I actually didn't think you'd buy it.”
“This is something serious we're talking about!” Isak reclaimed, giggling anyway.
Even stopped the laughing and just smiled, taking a short step closer to Isak. Isak turned serious too, getting once again hypnotized by Even’s eyes.
“Surprise!” Noora, a friend of Isak, interrupted, barely giving them time to distance themselves.
It had been frustrating, but maybe it wasn't meant to happen.
Still, he ignored everything and there they were at a supposed double date at Friday’s.
“Can you actually try not to drink so fast?” Sonja scolded Even.
“And can you actually try not to behave like my mom?” Even asked back.
Sonja rolled her eyes and excused herself to the restrooms quietly.
“I’ll make sure she’s okay,” Emma said and followed Sonja.
“So, uhm, would you like to go skating?” Even asked, grinning widely.
“What, are we just going to leave them here?” Isak questioned.
“You know this double date is going terribly,” Even pointed out, completely chill.
Isak shrugged. "The ice rink closed at 6,” he insisted.
“The owner is an old friend of mine. I know where he keeps a spare key.”
Isak surprised -and couldn’t resist the offer. “Oh. Well then, let’s go.”
Once in the empty building, they looked for their skates in their lockers and put them on.
“It's freezing in here,” Isak said, while still tying his skates.
“Yeah. Here,” Even took from his locker a sweater and handed it to Isak.
“Thanks,” Isak whispered. He put on the sweater, absolutely adoring the subtle smell of Even that it emanated every few moments.
They walked to and stepped in together on the rink, immediately starting to fool around over the ice.
“I’ve seen how good you are,” Even said. “You know, when we practice and everything”.
Isak giggled, a little flustered. “Please, you’re a freaking star.”
“I bet you can keep up with me anyway,” Even replied with a challenging tone and pulling Isak by the hand.
Even guided them through the ice, just skating from one corner of the rink to opposite. He suddenly ran too fast and Isak almost slipped but Even, with complete balance and calm, caught him by the waist and then kept his arm around Isak’s stomach.
They looked into each other's eyes and seconds turned into hours. Even had the guts necessary to finally plant a soft and short kiss on Isak’s lips. When he pulled back, Isak was smiling.
“I think I deserve another chance to prove myself.”
Isak sped off on the rink, taking Even with him. They reached the reel and Isak supported on it, leaning in to kiss Even.
Even kissed hungrily, as if he’d been waiting for it to happen for ages.
Isak was overwhelmed in a good way by the intensity of Even’s lips, trying but failing to keep up with his quick pace.
They noticed a little girl standing from outside the rink, yelling for her dad. Their first instinct was to run, and they didn't bother to take their skates off.
4 .
Laying on that ridiculously ornamented bed with Isak, Even started to actually believe everything was a dream.
Silk sheets underneath his bare skin, soft against his hands as he supported himself on it to kiss Isak beneath him. Somehow, doing that was still a new feeling and he couldn’t get enough of those damn lips.
Maybe it was the fact that they had finally made love, or that Even had never slept so well with anyone else before -which reminded him: he'd even broke up with Sonja after he met this boy-, but the constant was Isak and Even was sure he was magical.
He was soft, delicate, vulnerable. Isak was still innocent, returning Even’s kiss slowly and passionately.
The cortina canopy was around them creating a slight shadow over their bodies, so close to each other they were sharing not only kisses, but space and warmth and comfortableness and-
“Prince Isak?” One of Isak’s bodyguards asked through the double bedroom door.
“Yes?” Isak screamed back as he put his index finger across Even’s mouth.
“Do you want us to serve you something, Your Highness?”
“It’s all good, thank you. I’m gonna cook myself today.”
“Oh. Bon appetit, Prince Isak.”
Isak took his finger off Even’s mouth.
“Doesn’t he know I’m here?” Even whispered.
“He does but we both pretend I have some sort of privacy,” Isak giggled.
Even smirked. “So.What do you want me to cook you?”
“You can cook, huh?”
“And very well.” Even sat on the edge of the bed and put on his underwear.
“Can you make me a tortilla?” Isak asked.
Even smiled and kissed his forehead. “Of course, baby.”
He turned on the stove of the mini kitchen in Isak’s bedroom. Isak also got up and put on his pajama. He turned the radio on and a familiar voice was playing on it.
“Is that Ed Sheeran? Last thing I heard from him was Thinking Out Loud.”
“I’m in love with the shape of you,” Even sang along immediately in response to Isak. “We push and pull like a magnet do,” he turned to Isak and kept singing looking him in the eyes. “ Although my heart is falling too, I’m in love with your body…” He pressed Isak against the kitchen counter and kissed him languidly. Oh I, Oh I, Oh I, “I’m in love with your body,” He squeezed Isak’s sides and Isak smiled.
0.
“Does that song make you think of me?” Even asks, smiling widely. He's no longer resting against Isak; now he's been listening to him on his side for give-or-take two hours.
Isak shrugs from his sitting position and has also a grin drawn on his lips.
“Maybe. I think it's a really good song, for sure.”
“Me too,” Even agrees. There’s a short moment of silence and Even throws Isak a look that Isak already knows it means. “And… what if next minute I show you how that scene was going to end?”
Isak leans in over Even and cups his chin.
“You know we're really hormonal, right?”
“Don't act like hormones aren't a great excuse.”
Isak laughs and as they start a kiss, he automatically relaxes for whatever comes next.
He doesn't think his Sunday afternoon could go any happier than this.