Signed, not yours (Part 1)
Chapter 1- The first draft
Isaiah Jesus x OFC (Delilah Shelby) x OMC (Lucas woods)
Summary: Isaiah Jesus just wants help writing love letters to his crush, Delilah Shelby—but his best mate Lucas Woods didn’t plan on falling for her too. With every word he pens on Isaiah’s behalf, Lucas finds himself slipping deeper for the girl with the golden laugh and sunshine smile. What starts as friendly help turns into a silent tug of war and only one of them can win her heart.
Word count: 5k
Chapter 2
Birmingham Friday
The alarm buzzed obnoxiously loud in the poor ears of Lucas Woods. He was known to have sensitive hearing in his family because the second an atom of a sound came from that alarm, he was already awake and very grumpy that he had to be awake.
“This fuckin alarm I swear…” he murmured as he aggressively clicked the “Stop” button on his phone. Lucas blinked slowly, staring into the corner of his room, trying to fully ground his body into the real world. He was already debating if he even wanted to go, which of course the answer was and would always be no. However, saying no or skipping wouldn’t be an option because if his mom or his older brother, Nolan, found out then well…it wouldn’t go so well for Lucas.
With the only choice he had left, Lucas stood up and stretched as he grabbed his towel. He made sure to turn off the heater because he knew that if that warm water hit his back, he would be falling asleep standing up with a loofa on his ass. Cold showers hurt but he needed to be awake to make sure he doesn’t even end up taking the wrong bus again.
After his shower and getting changed, Lucas grabbed his stuff and headed out the door. “Ahem!…” that sound of angry throat clearing could only be one person—Mary Woods, Lucas’ mother. “Are you forgetting something?,” Lucas looked around for the answer, though of course he already knew what it was that she was referring to.
“I don’t know mom, you tell me if you know” he said playfully.
“You’re not leaving this house until you give your mother a hug, Lucas Peterson Woods.”
Lucas sarcastically rolled his eyes but still walked up to his mother, wrapping his arms around her smaller frame. When he pulled away, his mother had a proud and satisfied smirk on her face.
And now it was time to face Hell a.k.a Campus.
Well you see…Lucas didn’t entirely hate going to class. It was great, it was big, it was nice overall. But hell can’t be called hell without its demons and devils. He hated the people at Campus. Not all of them of course. The only people he liked or could tolerate was his best friend—Isaiah Jesus, anyone who doesn't try to mingle around randomly, or those who sit alone blasting music in their headphones so nobody would talk to them.
Isaiah once revealed to another group of friends that back in High school, people used to make Lucas write essays, love confession letters, homework, you name it. They all asked him because he had the best handwriting, the way he writes always somehow ends up working in their favour.
As soon as Isaiah’s friends heard about it, they started to ask for small favours from Lucas. It started out as just asking him to proofread their essays and get his honest opinions, then it progressed into editing their work and sending out emails to their professors, and even job applications. Lucas had become a ghostwriter. Were they taking advantage of him? Sure. But Lucas always made sure that he would get something out of his service. He was getting paid. The price varied on how long or how much effort it would take to produce the letter you wanted him to write.
This was the origin story of Lucas’ hatred for the people he went to school with. He was even starting to hate Isaiah a little after that incident but at least he’s getting his money’s worth. And Isaiah was his best friend from High school, how could he just throw him away like that?
The moment he stepped a foot into campus he immediately turned up the volume in his earpiece. Walking past through the swarm of students. He could probably name half of them. Those were mostly the ones who had paid for his service.
Isaiah
Isaiah: Yo, meet me at the Cafeteria later
Lucas: Ok
Isaiah: See ya bro 😛
Seen
Lucas searched for Isaiah, his eyes scanning through the cafeteria. After a few seconds of failed searches, Lucas decided to call Isaiah instead when suddenly a heavy hand slammed against his back.
“Lucas, There you are! Been trying to find you everywhere bro”
Lucas brushed away Isaiah’s palms from his shoulder, “You told me to find you at the cafeteria…and besides, we always meet at the Cafeteria. And you never get anything”.
They both sat down on one of the benches. It had become a routine for them to waste time before class because Professor Jones never actually started the class on time but instead, he would talk about anything and everything else other than what he was teaching. Lucas tried to pretend he didn’t notice Isaiah staring right at him while he was scrolling through his phone. Every time Lucas looked at Isaiah, he’d avert his eyes and awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.
“Okay, what the hell do you want Isaiah? You keep staring at me like I’m your unrequited love or something” Lucas snapped.
“I just wanted to ask you for a favour” Isaiah trailed.
Lucas raised a brow, demanding that he finish his sentence. Isaiah let out a deep sigh, his shoulder dropped as he tried to find the right words to say to Lucas that wouldn’t make him mad.
“I want your help writing a letter to this girl for me”
There it is. Lucas’ jaw slackened, scoffing at his request. Great, now even his own so-called best friend is asking.
“Wow…and here I thought you were actually my friend, Isaiah” Lucas said sarcastically. “I can’t say that I’m not hurt by it honestly”.
Isaiah’s palms dragged down across his face, “Look, I’d never ask this from you like ever in my life, I swear! But I’m really desperate here man…”
Lucas could only roll his eyes at Isaiah, at his request, his stupidity, his existence. Mainly because he thought, why the hell did Isaiah need him to write a letter for a girl? Isaiah was a natural flirt. It was very well known. So when did he get all romantic and suddenly found the urge to write a letter?.
“Fine. But why do you suddenly want to write a letter? Just go up to her and shoot your shot like you always do with every other girl”
The suggestion made Isaiah’s eyes blow wide open and shake his head aggressively.
“Nah I can’t. Like I actually can’t”
“What? Why? Are you suddenly too in love or what?” Lucas asked exasperatedly.
“Cause her brothers are scary bro!”
The silence between them was painfully loud. Did his ears deceive him? Since when did Isaiah care about any of that? This was coming from the same guy whose ex-girlfriends mostly all had strict parents which he completely disregarded.
“And since when has that ever stopped you?”
“Nah, they're actually crazy. Her whole is family actually, I’ve heard all kinda shit about them”
Lucas shook his head. “Who even is this girl?” He asked. The shift in Isaiah’s body language was visible. “Awh man she’s amazing. Her name’s Delilah Shelby and she’s beautiful I’m telling you, her laugh is contagious”.
Delilah Shelby? Lucas has heard of her but he’s never seen her around Campus before. He’s heard that one of her older brothers owns a gin company, the same one that his mom likes to drink. Shelby’s Gin. So she was a pretty big deal then. Still, Lucas was still confused why Isaiah needed him to write a letter. But if he was willing to pay the price for it then why not.
Lucas cut Isaiah off as he blabbered on about something else, “Fine, I’ll write it for you. But you’re going to have to give more than just beautiful here if you want me to write something for you”
Isaiah thought about it for a moment. “I mean…she’s funny and pretty?”.
“Wow, very detailed. Really shows me how much you like her. But I guess if you’re willing to pay then I guess I’ll make something up”
Isaiah’s eyes lit up with excitement. He didn’t think that Lucas would actually take up on his favour. Though he wasn’t so sure about making a payment. They were friends after all, so shouldn’t he get some type of compensation? But he didn’t want to argue any further. Not like you could or should do so with Lucas Woods.
—
After class
The halls were bustling with students. All of them rushed to get out, pushing their way through. Lucas had to hold in his frustration as he tried to make his way out. Isaiah had left right away after class and didn’t even bother waiting for Lucas, as always. Isaiah promised to wait for him at the parking lot. Lucas put on his earpiece in hopes that it would help regulate his frustration as well as control the anxiety being in crowded places.
Everything was going well so far. He managed to maneuver himself through everyone that got in his way and held in his anger when he would get pushed by others.
Until of course, something would happen.
Someone had run past him and knocked him over his shoulder, which caused him to drop his phone. The phone hit the concrete pavement, harshly scrapping it. This was his only phone. And he just got it just a few months ago. He saved up for years to get himself a new phone. An iPhone at that, and he didn’t even have AppleCare. When he went over to pick it up, it was just as he expected—cracked. It made his phone look like fucking spider webs. Lucas was about to snap and give this woman a piece of his mind. But before he could, she stopped in her tracks and turned around. Her eyes widened in horror when she noticed the state of his phone.
“Oh god…I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that. Oh god, I’m so terribly sorry” she apologised profusely, swinging her arms around frantically.
Lucas’ jaw tightened, “Yeah, well sorry’s not going to fix my phone”
“I know, I’m sorry. I’ll get you a new phone I promise!”
Was she serious? After taking a good look at her, it seemed like she genuinely was going to get him a new phone. Lucas sighed as he pinched on the bridge of his nose.
“Look…there’s no need to get me a whole new phone. It’s just cracked. Just pay for the broken screen”
The tension in her entire body began to relax, “Oh okay. Y-yeah of course. You should give me your number so we can find a date to meet and fix your phone” she said as she handed him her phone.
He pressed his number on the phone and passed it back to her.
“What should I save your name as?” She asked.
“Lucas,” he replied.
“I’m Delilah by the way. And again, I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll fix your screen.”
Delilah? Maybe it was a different Delilah. But he had to make sure that this was the same Delilah that Isaiah had a crush on.
“Delilah Shelby?”
Her eyes brightened at the mention of her name. “Y-yeah. How did you know?” She laughed awkwardly.
Lucas shrugged, “Heard about you before, that’s all. Anyway, don’t forget to get back to me”
Delilah nodded her head at the reminder, “Oh right! Yeah no, I won’t forget to do that. I have to go now Lucas. And once again for the millionth time, I’m so very sorry. Okay bye!” She said hurriedly as she sped away once again, disappearing into the distance.
So this was the girl that Isaiah fancied. Isaiah’s taste is definitely very unique, he thought to himself as he made his way to the parking lot, holding his now cracked phone in his hands.
It was easy to spot Lucas. Isaiah could easily see that furrowed brow from a mile away. He waved his hands at Lucas so that he would see him.
“Yo Lucas, what took you so long?” He asked. That’s when he noticed the cracked phone that Lucas had in his hands. “What the fuck happened to your phone?”.
“Nothing, someone bumped into me and made me drop my phone but it’s okay, I have it all in control”
Isaiah left it at that, not wanting to further anger his friend. “Anyway, about that letter”, Lucas stopped him before he could finish his sentence. “Before I write it for you. You have to at least talk to her before you start writing love letters or else she’s going to think that you’re a weirdo. As if you already aren’t”
“You’re probably right about that…”
Lucas scoffed, “When am I never”
“I’ll do it tomorrow then” Isaiah said.
“Or you could just text her,” Lucas suggested.
Isaiah stopped in his tracks, looking at Lucas as if he was speaking in another language. “And how will I do that? I don’t even have her number”. Lucas rolled his eyes at Isaiah’s genuine stupidity.
“You could ask for her number, dumbass. But that’s not going to be a problem because lucky for you,” he said as typed something in his phone.
Ding.
Isaiah felt his left pocket vibrate. He reached for his phone and went to check what Lucas had sent him.
Isaiah let out a loud and dramatic gasp, “No way. No fucking way. You actually got her number! How did you retrieve such sacred information bro?”
“I have my ways” he said nonchalantly as he continued walking, leaving Isaiah speechless.
“I’m going to cherish this, you have to help me text her properly later, please!” Isaiah begged.
“Are you going to walk or not?” Lucas asked with an annoyed tone.
Isaiah beamed with joy and he immediately ran towards Lucas who was already all the way to the bus stop. He could not stop staring at Lucas, watching him with a sheepish expression as he listened to the songs in his earpiece. Lucas closed his eyes to block out Isaiah.
“Could you stop staring at me?”
“What would I do without you?” Isaiah teased.
“I don’t know. Die probably” Lucas replied coldly.
—
The moment Lucas got home, all he wanted to do was melt into his bed after all that had happened today. His clothes were pulled off right as he entered his room and tossed his bag across the floor. Even if he wanted to rest he couldn’t, not when his cracked phone was staring right at him and somehow seeping into his mind even as he closed his eyes.
And just as he was about to finally accept the fate of his phone and get some shut-eye, his phone lit up with a notification.
Delilah
Delilah: Hey, it’s Delilah again
Delilah: Do you want to talk about the date to go fix your phone?
Lucas: Sure, how about this
Saturday?
Delilah: Sounds good! How about 2pm?
Lucas: I’m okay with that. And you’re going to pay for it? Mind you, I don’t have AppleCare so you’ll have to pay for the full cost of the repair.
Delilah: Yep don’t worry I’ll settle it all, I mean…I have to anyway. I broke your phone 😭
Lucas: Yeah you did.
Delilah: I’m sorryyyyy :(
Lucas: This Saturday, just remember that.
Delilah: 🫡🫡
Seen
At least that much was settled. Now Lucas could finally let his mind and body rest. Just 30 mins would suffice. That would be enough rest before he had to complete another task—write that letter for Isaiah.
But there was one more problem.
Isaiah didn’t specify what he wanted Lucas to write in that letter. Did he expect Lucas to just wing it? That wasn’t quite his style. When Lucas writes letters or emails for others he needs the full detail. The tone. Are you happy, sad, or pissed? How happy or pissed are you? How much does this person mean to you? Etcetera. Without the details that he needed, Lucas could not produce the letter yet. Lucas needed to ask Isaiah how he wanted the letter to be written.
But not right now. Because right now was beauty nap time for Lucas and that time was sacred and not to be disturbed in any situation.
—
Unfortunately for Lucas, 20 mins later, his phone started to ring relentlessly. Lucas glared at the name of the person who was calling him—Isaiah. He answered the phone, putting it on speaker.
“Hello?” Isaiah called out.
“What” Lucas groaned.
“Lucas! I’m texting Delilah right now, what should I say?”
Lucas furrowed his brows tightly, “What do you mean by that? Just say what you always say with other girls I guess”
“Nah I can’t do that. I told you her brothers are crazy, what if they see her texts…”
Lucas didn’t even bother finding a response for that idiotic comment.
“Just say hi or something. If she asks where you got her number just be truthful about it”
“Say hi, be truthful. Got it. Alright…I’ll go text her now. Wish me luck” Isaiah said before hanging up.
After the call, Lucas was left staring up at his ceiling and unable to go back to sleep no matter how long he’d close his eyes. Suddenly, it hit him that he didn’t manage to ask Isaiah more about what he liked about Delilah and how he wanted him to write the letter. At this point, he was already too lazy and exhausted to call back and ask.
So he decided that he would just do it on his own. He’d already met Delilah so he would just go off based on his first impressions. And he knew Isaiah well enough to know how he would write a letter. Lucas sat up and stretched his limbs, blinking away the crust around the crevices of his eyes. He took out a piece of paper and a pen from his bag, placed it on his study table and began writing.
Dear Delilah
Too stiff? It definitely was too stiff if it was coming from Isaiah.
Yo Delilah
Yeah, no. Too much like Isaiah.
Hey there, Delilah
The pencil stops writing for a moment. Lucas blinked, rereading what he’d just written down. “That’s perfect”.
Lucas snickered at his own creativity as he continued writing down. Something told him that she would really like that sneaky little joke. After careful planning and erasing, Lucas was finally done with his draft. Now all that was left is to write it again with nicer handwriting, with no mistakes.
Hey there, Delilah.
What’s it like in Birmingham?
If you think me writing letters is cheesy then you’re probably right.
But I figured it’s easier to put things on paper than to fumble around in front of you like an idiot.
I guess I just want to let you know that I think that you’re such a fun person to be around.
Try not to cringe too hard.
—Isaiah from Business
Lucas leaned back in his chair as he scanned the letter once more. The letter was complete. Now all that’s left was to make sure Isaiah had texted Delilah. Lucas wondered how bad her brothers could be that Isaiah would hesitate that badly. It’s not as if this would be the first time Isaiah would encounter a scary family member.
Lucas was pulled away from his train of thought abruptly when his phone buzzed with three rapid notifications. There was no way Lucas could mistake who it was. Isaiah sent a text message of himself chatting with Delilah followed up with a “Oh my god she’s so cute”
Lucas clicked on the sent image and it seemed like they had a decent conversation. Double texting and even using emojis. That was just something Lucas wouldn’t do.
Everything in Lucas’ to do list had been crossed off for today. Tomorrow he would have to meet with Delilah to get his phone fixed. Lucas was too tired to let his head be swallowed by unnecessary stress. All he had to do now was get some sleep and meet up with Delilah tomorrow just as they promised.
—
Saturday
Lucas stood in front of his mirror staring at his own reflection, thinking about the plans that he had made last night. Listing off each one because it brought him comfort.
“Meet Delilah, fix my phone, go home…” he chanted to himself as he got ready. Lucas liked routines and when he has his day completely planned out and can get quite irritated when something interferes with it. He was going to make sure that everything went according to his plan.
But knowing his luck, he knew to expect some sort of problems. Not much he could do about that though. Taking a deep breath and long exhale, he left the house.
As he approached the Apple Store Lucas stopped in his steps. The place was way bigger than he expected. And he would be lying if he said that it didn’t scare him. His eyes scanned the area and that’s when he saw a familiar face standing in the midst of the crowd. When Delilah spotted him, she gave him a big energetic wave, slightly hopping on her tippy-toes so he could see her better.
“Lucas!”
Lucas picked himself up as he walked over to her direction, trying to maintain his composure. Delilah immediately caught on his discomfort just from how much he was tensing his eyebrows and jaw.
“Why are you tensing so much? What, are you nervous to be seen with me?” She teased.
His facial muscles softened almost instantly when she pointed it out. He didn’t even realize how nervous he had been to be in a place like this.
“A little. I hate big places like this” he admitted.
Delilah shook her head, “You’re just like my brother, hates big crowded places and furrows his eyebrows 24/7”
Before Lucas could come up with a smart response, Delilah grabbed his arm firmly and pulled it with her as she walked through the sea of people. They made it to the entrance and if the outside was bad, the inside was horrible. Terrifying even. People were walking and talking in all directions. There was no way to escape or block anyone in a situation like this. “What is this place…” Lucas thought to himself. Forget his phone, he did not want to be here at all.
“Come on, pretty boy, we’ve got a phone to fix,” Delilah said, pulling Lucas to the counter.
“Hi there! See, I broke my friend's phone screen. Is it possible for you guys to fix it by today? Also he doesn’t have AppleCare but that’s still okay right? Yeah—okay just wanted to make sure”
Delilah spoke with confidence. He was slightly amazed at how her words naturally flowed from her mouth and how her body moved with such fluidity. It didn’t seem like she had what she wanted to say all planned out in her head but instead it was already on the tip of her tongue. Even her laugh seemed natural. He wondered if she was always like this or if she just switched sides when it came to social situations. Either way, it was still impressive. She impressed him.
“Lucas! Fortunately for you, they said the condition of your phone is not so major and can be fixed in about an hour, so…let’s go!” Delilah said excitedly.
Lucas looked at her confused. “Go…where?”.
“Well if we’re going to wait here for an hour we might as well go out and get something to eat because I’m starving”
“Why can’t we just wait here until it’s done?” He asked.
Delilah groaned. “You don’t actually want to wait here for a whole hour do you?”. Lucas' eyes dropped down to her face. She had that face of an impatient child. It reminded him of his nephew when he didn’t get what he wanted.
“I don’t see a problem with it. You’re just impatient. But fine, let’s go get some food. I haven’t eaten anything yet anyway” Lucas said as he exited the store.
Delilah rushed out the door, trying to catch up with Lucas. As they walked side by side, Delilah’s eyes caught sight of an ice cream shop and instinctively began running towards the direction of the place.
There was another problem.
Lucas doesn’t like ice cream.
Lucas fiddled with his fingers as he watched Delilah already ordering what she wanted. She looked over her shoulders, “Lucas, what did you want?”.
“Vanilla, just vanilla” he blurted out.
They were handed their ice cream cups and found a spot to sit near the window where they could see the street. Lucas scooped his ice cream and hesitantly took a bite, wincing as the cold of the soft cream hit his teeth.
“What’s wrong?” Delilah asked.
“I-uh…I don’t really like ice cream actually” Lucas admitted.
Delilah’s body perked up, tilting her head slightly. “What? Then why didn’t you say anything? If you did, I wouldn't have gotten you ice cream”.
Lucas waved his hand at her. “It’s okay. I’m already eating it. It’s not bad, I just hate how it feels on my teeth”.
She nodded, though she felt slightly guilty that she had made Lucas eat something he wasn’t fond of. A thought slowly came to her mind as she swallowed her ice cream. “Oh! Right, your friend texted me last night…” she said suggestively.
“Oh yeah? Which one” He asked without looking up from his ice cream. “Isaiah, said that you gave him my number. Never said you could give my number to anyone. You’re lucky he’s cute and definitely my type”.
“And what’s your type? Flirty and dramatic?”
“Playful and confident. And cute”, she added. “But confidence is always important”
Lucas shrugged, seemingly unimpressed with her answer. “Seems pretty vague,” he said. Delilah didn’t disagree with his comment. “True, but not everyone can embody it perfectly or naturally”.
Lucas couldn’t argue with that. I mean he already saw the best example of her statement happen right in front of him. Before he even realised how deep he was in his thoughts, he’d already finished his cup and he even slurped the remaining melted bits. Surprisingly, he was able to get through the way it felt against his teeth. Their conversation had become a distraction. One that worked so well that it even made someone like Lucas forget that he doesn’t like something, Is this what it felt like to be comfortable with someone? Though it was too soon to say so for sure, either way, he did feel proud that he was able to make small progress for himself. And Delilah was the one who helped him get to that stage.
Delilah’s phone lit up, “Oh! Your phone, it’s been fixed. Have we really been talking that long?” She laughed at herself.
Lucas hadn’t realised that as well. Actually, he found himself not realising a lot of things throughout the day with her. Like how fast time went by, how he enjoyed being outside as much as he didn’t want to admit it.
“Lucas, come here. I need you to see that I’m actually going to pay” she hollered.
Towering over her, he stared as she tapped the card on top of the reader, the machine didn’t take long to accept the payment. “Here you go, you’re all set” the employee said as they handed the newly repaired phone back to its rightful owner, Lucas held his phone closer to his eyes, carefully observing it. There were no traces of the cracks like yesterday.
Lucas took his phone and was headed to the exit. “Ahem!” Delilah cleared her throat, looking at him with the same expression his mother gave him whenever he’s forgetting something. Confused with what he did wrong, he raised a brow.
“Say thank you”
Those few words made Lucas go quiet. He looked at her as if she was crazy for making him say it. Truthfully, he didn’t want to. But he was being put on the spot so now he felt like he had to.
“Thank you” He said flatly.
“Thank you, who?” She prompted.
“Delilah”
Delilah clicked her teeth frustratedly, “No, not me. The employee that fixed your phone!”
“Oh. Thank you” He corrected himself, facing the employee.
A deep sigh left her lips. He didn’t say it in the right tone that she had anticipated but she at least his heart was in the right place. His stoic and cold demeanor didn’t faze her one bit. She’d seen this her whole life growing up with Tommy, her second older brother was the exact same way, so she felt that she naturally knew how to handle and tackle someone like Lucas Woods. And if she squinted her eyes just slightly she would be able to see a glimpse of Tommy Shelby through the blurry lens of her vision.
Delilah stretched her arms up with a satisfied sigh. “Mission accomplished, Phone fixed, ice cream devoured, and you even learned to say thank you. I’m proud of you, Lucas.” She teased. Lucas rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth betrayed him with the tiniest smirk. Delilah gave him a playful nudge with her elbow. He brushed past her as they headed down the street.
“You’re lucky you paid for my phone, Shelby. Or not I wouldn’t have been tolerating you this whole time”. She skipped to keep up with him, laughing.
“Oh, I know I am”
Lucas shoved his hands into his pockets and stared ahead, he tried not to think about how much he didn’t hate this—being around people. Maybe it only applied to people he found tolerable, he concluded. Both of them said their goodbyes. It was awkward and stiff, mainly on his part, but it was effortlessly warm on hers. She waved as she walked away.
Lucas stood there for a second. Thinking to himself.
Then he muttered under his breath,“Yeah… the letter’s going to be a killer”.