As We Know It
Chapter 3Sometimes Isaac thought that his brothers were caught up in their own little worlds, unaffected by anything around them. Well, he had always known that about Taylor, but with Zac it had been a little different. For instance, Zac at least pretended to listen to him when he was having a problem - he could usually even remember the girl's name and everything. It was one of the things about his younger brother that he was fondest of - it was the little things that counted, really.
But as they ducked into the little diner across the street for something to eat that afternoon, even Isaac could tell that something was amiss. Taylor seemed just a little more distracted than usual, and he crossed his arms as he slid into the booth, his expression sullen and unfriendly. He glanced around anxiously as though he was expecting something to pop out at him at any moment.
"Don't bolt out of here so soon," Isaac said, in something of a lost hope to ease the tension a little. "You've been jumpy all morning. What, are the cops after you or something?"
Cops?" Zac said, only picking up on the last few words of the sentence, but seeming alarmed nonetheless.
"Uh huh," Taylor said, clearly having heard none of the sentence, and continuing to look towards the door. A kindly looking waitress approached their booth, a familiar smile on her face. She had the kind of face that made you feel like you'd known her your whole life, and that with any odd gossip she could pick up on you, she'd sell you out in a second. Isaac couldn't help but admire that in a person, really. No sooner than she had put the menus down on their table, Taylor reached over to get her attention.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, but have you noticed anyone come in here at all today that was... well, a little odd looking?
"What do you mean by that?"
"Well, he has kind of lightish brown hair, about six foot, dressed in white?"
"Add the permanent confused expression, and you might as well be talking about yourself," Isaac laughed, which Taylor pointedly ignored.
"Waiting for someone, dear?" the woman asked.
"I... not exactly," Taylor said, abashed.
"Of course not," she said, sharing what she seemed to think was a very secret smile with Taylor, proceeding to then wink. "I'll let you know if I do. Can I get you boys anything?"
Her eyes drifted over to Zac, who hadn't even reacted to the exchange, his attention focused on the window they were seated against. Isaac wasn't exactly sure if he was looking through it or simply staring at it - either one would have made sense with how Zac had been acting all morning. Isaac smiled at the woman apologetically.
"Just a few more minutes, I guess."
Isaac looked over at Taylor again , whose attention had already drifted elsewhere.
"Seriously, are you waiting for a date or something?"
"Mmm," Taylor said, glancing around. Isaac sighed and looked towards Zac again; he hadn't moved, and Isaac reached over to poke at him.
"So Zac, what are you doing later?"
"Hmm," Zac said, not looking away from the window. Isaac rolled his eyes to himself and cleared his throat with as much drama as he could put into it.
"Laura threatened to throw my guitar out the window last night," Isaac said, casually but increasingly annoyed.
"Yeah," Taylor said, as though inferring it was his turn to respond.
"And I've decided to get a tattoo of a unicorn on my lower back, she thinks that's sexy. I'm also dyeing my hair red for the tour and putting it up in spikes."
"Mmm," Taylor and Zac said in unison. Isaac drank his coffee slowly. Their waitress walked back over and gave them another smile - it faded slightly when she saw Isaac's agitated grimace.
"Are you guys ready to order?" she asked. Isaac looked at the others, who didn't seem to notice she was there.
"Sure," Isaac said, pushing his menu towards the end of the table. "What's the special today? Liver and onions? Well, Taylor here mentioned how much he wanted that. He's going to have the veggie lovers platter." He motioned towards Zac.
"Oh, and I‘ll have the bacon cheeseburger. Thanks."
"Right," the woman said, unsure, but jotting everything down as he spoke. Isaac glared at Taylor as soon as she was out of sight and leaned across the table, snapping his fingers inches away from his face. Taylor gasped sharply and jumped, startled.
"Hey, cool it."
"Were you planning on joining the rest of us at some point today, or were you busy looking for your bird friend outside?"
"Funny, Ike."
"I've been pretty hilarious all afternoon - not that you'd notice or anything." Isaac said with as much of a menacing glare as he could muster up. It seemed to work well enough; Taylor and Zac both looked down at their hands with something resembling guilt, like they had been caught doing something they shouldn't. Isaac knew that look well enough - being the oldest, the responsibility usually felt to him when they fucked up.
"Sorry I've been so out of it today, it's been a long morning."
"Well, we can just call it a day early if that'll help," Isaac offered in his most genuine, concerned big brother voice. It was mostly a lie - he was actually getting a little tired of them at this point.
"I'll feel better once I eat something," Taylor said, reaching down for his menu and realizing it was gone.
"Some service this place has," he scowled to himself.
With Taylor and Zac mostly drifting back towards reality, they tried their best to talk about tour plans. It didn't do much to improve Isaac's mood. Touring the country and sharing a bus with the two of them was hard enough on a good day; after today, he had the sinking feeling that he was going to be little more than a glorified babysitter who occasionally played guitar.
When their waitress approached the table again with a tray of food, Taylor's expression finally brightened. His eyes followed the cheeseburger hopefully as it landed in front of Isaac.
"And for you," she said, putting the other two plates down on the table. "I haven't seen your friend yet anywhere, sorry dear."
"Oh," Taylor said, a blush spreading to his cheeks. "That's all right."
Isaac smirked as Taylor looked down, away from the woman's knowing smile, his expression turning sour as she walked away and he finally looked at his plate. Zac had beaten him to the punch and poked at the food with his fork, as though he had never seen a vegetable before. And from Isaac's own judgment from knowing Zac his entire life, that seemed pretty possible.
"What the fuck is this?"
Isaac took a long sip of his coffee and peered at them over his mug. He silently considered his options as a solo artist.