Hiding in plain view (open)

Isaiah shook his head, smiling a little bemusedly.
"No, I didn't. Did you?"
He glanced at Willow and bit his lip, chuckling at the sight of her.
He hadn't felt this happy in a while. An easy job with a decent employer, The Lord of the Rings to read later, and... Aster. Things were looking up. He adjusted his bandage and stretched his arms a little.

"Yeah, but we never have much of a chance," Isaiah agreed.
He stopped walking as they came to the front of his house.
"Well... thanks again," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and looking downwards awkwardly. "For the job and the book and everything." He looked back at Aster, into his eyes, and said earnestly, "Really."
He hoped he would see Aster again, but he almost doubted it. He looked at the other boy almost nostalgically as he prepared himself to go inside and bring the Whitman's the money he had earned.

Isaiah started to respond and stopped when Aster turned and left. He stood outside of the shack for a moment, watching him walk away.
School tomorrow. Aster said he would see him at school tomorrow. So this wasn't just some odd, random fluke. Aster might actually want to see him again. Isaiah shook his head to clear it; to bring himself back to reality. He had to go inside and bring the Whitman's the money from the butcher.
Mr. Whitman took it and gave him a suspicious look. "Why are you smiling like that?" he asked him. "Like you have a secret or something."
Isaiah shook his head quickly. "Nope, no secrets," he said, and quickly went back to his small part of the shack in a back corner by a window, with the Lord of the Rings. He sighed contentedly, looking forward to school in the morning.

Isaiah stepped out of the tiny house just as Aster paused in front of it. He grinned. "Hey, Aster."
He had finally taken off the makeshift bandage, and his hair, the color a little closer to blond than it had been yesterday since he had washed it, flopped over his forehead. His clothes were cleaner and neater, even if his shirt was still a little bit too small and his jacket's sleeves a little frayed.
He looked at Aster as he stepped onto the street. He looked a little different, but nice. Very nice. A moment later Isaiah noticed he was staring and quickly looked away, cheeks slightly pink, but he was still smiling.

"Didn't finish the book yet," Isaiah said. "I'll have see you another time and give it to you then." He smiled a little and glanced at Aster, noticing the ponytail and how it emphasized his high cheekbones.

Isaiah nodded. "It'll probably take me longer, I'm not very fast." Isaiah started walking too, not even sparing a glance for the small house behind them. As long as he didn't get into any fights with his peers, which happened occasionally, he was happy to go to school, in spite of the fact that most people avoided him. It gave him something to do that wasn't hard work. And the heating was better than at the shack.
"Oh, yeah, you're right," he agreed, matching his pace to Aster's.
He wondered why he had never really noticed Aster at school, but wasn't surprised, because after a few years of trying to be friendly with people hadn't worked, Isaiah had been a little isolated, not taking much notice of the people around him. Now, he wished that he had taken notice.

Isaiah was perfectly content to be walking next to Aster in the pleasant weather on his way to school. He'd almost forgotten all of the troubles that had been plaguing his mind for a while. Even the dull throbbing near his temple had subsided. He was glad his hair was long enough to hide the wound, even though it had finally closed up a few days ago.
They approached the rather rundown, but still serviceable, school building. Other people walked in ahead of them. Isaiah usually sat towards the back of his classroom, enjoying the fact that many other people separated him from the teacher, so he wouldn't be called on or made a spectacle of. He didn't know where Aster usually liked to sit, or if he even wanted to sit near Isaiah, and he bit his lip, glancing at the other boy as they got closer to the doorway.