Break even

Sunday morning, Dae laid in bed groggily staring at the message he had just sent to Evan. Well aware of how little time had passed since they'd last hung out, Dae was concerned he would seem needy or pushy. But he just couldn't help himself.

Realizing that he cared so much about whether or not Evan replied to him, caused him to throw the blanket over his head and groan. If he stayed in bed long enough he could pretend that Evan's silence didn't devastate him. Dae was accustomed to pretending things didn't bother him--he could've gotten a gold star for suffering in silence if such a competition was held.

Moments before his resolve hardened into staying in bed all day, a firm knock sounded on the doorframe. Dae peaked out from under the blanket and was met with a small laugh from Leilani's mother.

"As much as I hate interrupting whatever this is, you know my rule, Dae! No sleeping in when breakfast is on the table. No one misses a meal here." She leaned on the doorframe with her arms relaxed across her chest, but Dae knew she wasn't budging until he got out of bed and joined them for breakfast.

"You got it, Ms. Reyes." Dae physically rolls out of bed and after a moment of straightening his clothes out he held up his hands playfully. "You know I don't ever want any trouble. You scare me."

She cocked an eyebrow at him and he couldn't help but laugh, while she ushered him out of the room. "Boy. Trouble is all you're going to get if you don't just call me Reyna. I've known you for ten years, Dae. No need for such formality."

The two of them share another laugh while walking down the hallway, and out towards the dining room. Leilani is already seated at the table, her hair still a mess and a sassy look on her face. "Next time I'll get him. It's weird when you two get all chummy."

Reyna waves Leilani away before serving food on each person's plate. A vibration from his pocket causes Dae to advert his attention to his phone. The excitement he felt melted away when he saw it was just a junk email. Sighing, he put his phone away and glanced back up to meet matching looks from mother and daughter.

To his surprise, Reyna is the first to speak. "So...what is this, Dae?"

As she motions to his phone with her fork, Dae felt himself blushing and Leilani laughed loudly. Before he could try to make up an excuse, Leilani spoke first, "It's a boy. Dae here is waiting on a text back from a guy he likes. He's been puppy-eyed and sighing since we left Evan's house yesterday."

Reyna's cheeks lifted into a warm smile, "A boy, huh? I hope he's a good one. Because if not, he will have to deal with me. Plus, you deserve a good one, Amadeus. It's been a while since I've seen you like this."

Dae felt his cheeks warm even further but before he could be questioned too thoroughly, Leilani interrupted--no doubt sensing how uncomfortable he was getting. "Wow. Why do I feel like you're more excited when he has someone new in his life?! Not cool, ma!"

*************************************************************

Looking down at his phone one last time, he still didn't have a message from Evan. Frustrated at himself for being frustrated with Evan, Dae shoved the phone in his pocket and turned the corner onto his street.

Lost in his thoughts as he approached his house, his attention was captured by Evan's familiar laugh cutting through the air. Dae risked a glance at Evan's house, to his usual spot on the roof, and saw that Evan was there. But he wasn't alone.

Sitting next to Evan, with long muscular legs hanging off the side of the roof, was a beautiful blonde who could definitely be a model. A pink flush lined the fair skin of the model's cheeks and Dae couldn't stop the jealousy bubbling in his core.

To make matters worse, the blonde noticed Dae first and as a beautiful smile spread across his beautiful face he pointed him out to Evan. Evan glanced up and smiled, immediately starting to get to his feet. "There you are, Dae!"

Evan's smile faltered when he watched Dae not stop and wait for them. Instead, Dae all but ran inside his home and slammed the door shut. The feelings bubbling below the surface only intensified when Dae walked in on his Dad in the middle of a screaming match with someone on the phone.

Needing to escape any more unwanted emotions, Dae ran to his bedroom, clenching his knuckles until they were white and trying his best not to spiral. Shutting and locking the door behind him, Dae closed his eyes and rested against it to try and focus on his breathing.

Before he could get too centered, he heard a soft thump. Opening his eyes, he saw Evan standing against the wall opposite of him, while the model awkwardly hangs through his bedroom window. The bashful smile that spread across the blonde's face was more than Dae could take--he couldn't hate the kid when he had an expression like that on a face that looked like that. "What the hell, Evan?! Tell me this isn't something you do often? Sneak into my bedroom with your boyfriend in tow!"

Dae is interrupted by a smirk on Evan's face and a boisterous laugh from the blonde. Dae turned his attention to the blonde to give him a piece of his mind but saw him hold up his hands in mock surrender. The blonde took advantage of the moment of confusion Dae had to speak to him for the first time. "I promise you, I'm completely straight. But can I just say you're adorable? The thought of Evan with someone else gets you this flustered. I like this one for you."

"What?" Dae felt his jealousy simmer down, his anger retreat, and his mouth go dry.

"I don't know if adorable is the word I would choose, but I like him too. When he's not overreacting." Evan's smirk widened as he shook his head, "Now that we've simmered down, Dae...This is Nikolai. My best friend."

Dae immediately felt like an asshole. But he swallowed the lump in his throat and waved awkwardly to the smiling Nikolai. "Despite what just happened...it is nice to meet you, Nikolai."

Nikolai continued to smile from his position in the window, waving right back at him with such warmth it made Dae feel even stupider. "Please, just call me Nik. And don't worry about it. I feel like this was kinda my fault anyway...I have a no-phone rule whenever Ev and I see each other. He mentioned you might get a little upset about that, but I'll take the blame."

Dae felt his entire body sag against the door, but before he could apologize again, he noticed Evan glancing at him suddenly uncharacteristically shy. When their eyes meet, Evan exhales softly and says, "I thought it was only fair. You know, to break even? You let me meet Leilani, so I thought you could get to know one of the only solid people in my life."

"I'm literally his ride or die, but he doesn't like to admit that." Nik teased Evan as he slowly withdrew himself from the window. He called gently from outside, "I'll just be out here, you two."

Evan kept eye contact with Dae and stepped toward the open window. He hesitated for a moment and then held out his hand. "C'mon. I could hear your dad yelling for hours. I'm not leaving you here alone."

Dae's heart skipped a beat, but he was slowly getting to be okay with that sensation. He stepped away from his bedroom door, lingering only long enough to unlock it, before grabbing onto Evan's hand and slipping out of his bedroom.

And Dae continued to hold Evan's hand until they stepped inside the redhead's home.