Old wounds

"Before all of this shit happened..." Evan started, rubbing his own arms for comfort, almost attempting to make himself smaller; making himself take up less space, "Cam wasn't so bad...He was actually...kind of sweet."

Dae felt a tinge of jealousy but kept his mouth shut tight. Knowing the asshole's name--and that he was 'sweet'--wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear, but he knew that what he wanted wasn't important right now. Dae nodded slightly and Evan let out another deep breath.

"When we first met, I didn't really think much of him other than he was cute, and a jock--so probably out of my league." A small laugh escaped Evan before he lazily popped a piece of popcorn into his mouth and then continued, never taking his eyes off the television screen, "He would say hi to me almost every day, offer me gum or snacks, and sometimes even steal glances my way when something funny happened in class. Cam would pay so much attention to me and it made me feel...noticed.

And then we needed to pair up for some projects in a few of our shared classes, and each time he would pick me. After that...After we were required to be alone with each other, his softer side would come out...He would say pretty words and make me feel a certain way until we both voiced what we wanted...And that was each other." Dae watches Evan's Adam apple bob as the redhead waited to see how that was received.

Dae nodded slowly, and gingerly placed a hand on Evan's shoulder. The redhead tensed up for a second and turned to look at Dae. Dae offered Evan's shoulder a small squeeze and finally spoke, "Again, I'm sorry I reacted to that so poorly the first time. And whatever happened next, you have to know it isn't your fault. You know that right?"

Dae searched the redhead's eyes for a few long seconds, trying to see some recognition in the words he shared, but Evan broke eye contact and stared intently at the television screen again. Dae's heart broke by the action, but Evan's words mended the break a little. "I...Yeah...I know...Thanks, Dae. It's just really hard to remember that some days."

Evan shook his head as if trying to clear the negative thoughts from his mind in the present moment, and gently placed his hand over Dae's. Electricity traveled through Dae's body on contact and, despite the redhead ripping open his old wounds, Dae couldn't help but hope Evan had felt it too.

Another small, sharp breath from Evan seemed to hint that he had. But the two boys just let the moment sit between them before Evan spoke once more. "So, anyway...that flirtation we had continued to grow, all while we helped explore each other's bodies... And then one night, Cam proposed...using his phone...to record us and--"

An upbeat pop song tore through the air suddenly, and Dae took a moment to pry his gaze away from Evan who'd gone rigid after starting to talk about the video. From the corner of his eye, Dae could've sworn he'd seen Evan let out a sigh of relief. The redhead pulls his hand off of Dae's and Dae could feel the ghost of it there as he forced himself to look at his phone.

As the screen lit up, he could see a total of six messages accompanying the missed phone call from Leilani. Grabbing his phone quickly, he pulled down his notification bar and Dae's heart sank a little. All six messages were from her as well and usually, she capped out at four texts total.

Dae's phone lit up with another call from his best friend, and his heart was wrenching in two different directions. Then Evan's voice broke through his thoughts before he even had time to think about spiraling, and the redhead made the decision for Dae. "Answer it, you goober. She may need you, and we can finish the rest of this later."

Dae offered a small smile to Evan before nodding once and picking up the phone.

"Hey, Lei. Are you alright?"