AUG. 9TH, 2017 - WEDNESDAY

ADAM’S POV

“If you sigh one more time, I’m gonna slap you, Adam.” The bottle-blond slowly turned to make eye contact with Matthew and sighed dramatically. “Little bitch.”

“Dumb whore,” he muttered, forehead pressed against the glass of the passenger-side window.

“Why are you sighing?” Matt asked as he pulled into the gas station. “I think you’ve killed a hundred trees since we left the damn house.”

“Just get me two Red Bulls, okay?” Matt rolled his eyes and slid out of the rusted truck. “Make sure they’re watermelon!” Adam called out before he disappeared into the store. With another sigh, the blond fiddled absently with one of his earbuds as he thought about the night before. I never should have helped Perseus. He’ll charm his way into Casey’s life, and they’ll grow old and happy together. Casey would never abandon him, though. Adam prayed that was the truth.

The brunet had said that Perseus gave him a vibe, but Adam feared that he would ignore it and fall for the New Kid with time. Casey wasn’t one to share his affections easily, God knows Adam had to work for it, but if he chose to do so for Perseus, it would be unwavering. And by God did he want that for himself. The genius knew what people said about them. Half their grade already assumed they were dating, but no, they were just friends. Adam had never dated before, but he wanted to. He wanted to find someone that loved him despite the darkened moon on his hip, someone to spend lazy days, and watch stupid movies with. He wanted to date his best friend, while also still having Casey.

The truck door squeaked open, and Matt practically lunged back into his seat. “Alright, before you get these,” he said, gently shaking the two drinks, “tell me what’s up. You’ve been pissy since yesterday, and mom told me to ask.”

“I’m not pissy,” Adam muttered petulantly. He resisted the urge to cross his arms over his chest like a child and instead slumped further into the truck seat.

“Yeah, and I’m not a major dick. ‘Fess up, asshole, what happened?”

Huffing, Adam grumbled, “Casey went on a date last night.” He watched as Matt’s expression morphed to one of confusion and agreed internally.

“Our Casey? Went on a date?” Matt clarified, brows furrowed. “With who?”

“Perseus Schuyler, the new guy we mentioned. They went out on some date, Casey was specific, and apparently, it wasn’t horrible.” The Tolliver boys were silent for a few minutes, and then a flash of red appeared in the corner of Adam’s eye. Matt waved the cans until the blond took them and pulled out of the gas station with his usual reckless speed.

“Why do you care if it went well?” Adam immediately opened his mouth to reply but hesitated. The answer was obvious, but he couldn’t form those words.

He settled for, “He’s my best friend.” Matt hummed as he drove, fingers tapping the wheel.

“Don’t you want him to be happy, though?” His brother questioned. “What’s so wrong with the Schuyler kid?”

The genius rubbed his thumb around the rim of the can, condensation sticking to his skin and mingling with his sweaty palms. “I guess I just want the best for him.”

“I don’t think you’re the best person to decide that, Adam.” Matt dropped the subject for the rest of the ride, but he called out as Adam slid from the cab. “I think you should figure out exactly why you don’t want Casey dating, bro. Therein lies your problem.” The genius frowned at his brother’s cryptic words and tried to shrug them off as he entered Ashbrooke Middle.

As usual, Adam was early and took his seat in the upper corner to wait for his friend. He tugged his earbuds from the inner pocket of his leather jacket and turned the music up until his ears began to hurt. The blond’s leg bounced nervously as he waited for Casey, but the sudden vibration against his thigh distracted him momentarily.

Big Bitch: Annika sent me the numbers and wants you to check em tonight

Adam rolled his eyes and typed out a quick reply.

Adam: Alright, same price?

He got a thumbs-up emoji in reply. Adam pocketed his phone and let his mind wander toward his "job". Being a drug dealer’s personal accountant was technically illegal, yes. Still, it did pay well, Adam thought as he fingered the enamel pin in his pocket. Sadly, it meant that the blond was Annika’s bitch, and there was nothing he could do about it, at least right now.

Pushing thoughts of his unfortunate job out of his head, Adam looked around the gym for Casey instead. He hoped the other boy showed up before his drink got hot, even though he would still drink it. It was another five minutes before he caught a glimpse of a shaved head and couldn’t help the smirk that spread across his lips.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Adam called out once Casey was within hearing range. “For you.” The blond got one of the rare smiles as he sat down next to him and took the offered can.

“Thanks, now what do you want?”

“Tell me about your date?” Adam didn’t particularly want to hear about his romantic evening with Perseus. Still, he hoped that it would help figure out his feelings. Casey hummed as he drank nearly half in one go, most likely because he didn’t sleep well if Adam had to guess, and then shrugged.

“We went to the park, had a picnic. Talked.” The blond frowned at Casey’s vague answer and tapped his fingers against the unopened can in his own hand.

“Talked about what? Was the picnic good? Did he walk you home?” Adam knew he was “interrogating” the other boy. Still, he considered it was all in the name of being a protective best friend. Casey stared at him for a moment, his expression thoughtful.

“We discussed dumb stuff like our favorite color, the picnic was fine, and no, he didn’t walk me home,” Casey said succinctly. Hm, no more and no less than what I’m asking. Something must have happened.

“But it wasn’t good enough for a repeat?”

“Nah, I’m better off single, I think.” Adam nodded his understanding, but in reality, he didn’t agree. Casey would be a good boyfriend to someone; he was loyal, protective, and surprisingly sweet, almost like the human version of a pitbull. “How was your night? You went to the mall with Matt, right?” Like with spending his weekends with Casey, Adam and his brother would go to the mall every Tuesday since it’s the one day a week he didn’t have football practice. It was their brotherly tradition, so their mom didn’t try and force them to hang out at home.

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“The usual,” he replied, tugging the enamel pin out of his pocket, “this is for you, though.” Casey took it slowly and turned it between nimble, elegant fingers. The boy had callouses on individual fingers from holding paintbrushes or pencils. Still, the rest of his hands were shockingly smooth but not soft. No, nothing about Casey Boyd was soft.

“You know you didn’t have to.” Adam rolled his eyes and smiled as he took a tiny sip of his own Red Bull, grimacing inwardly. The blond preferred regular Red Bull but knew Casey wouldn’t accept it if he didn’t have one as well. Thankfully, they had an unspoken agreement that Adam would hand his over once Casey finished the first one, so he never had to drink too much. The genius much preferred strawberry to watermelon anyways. The two were quiet, not needing to fill the lull in the conversation, and Adam continued to watch out for Perseus.

Speak of the devil. The confident New Kid strode through the double doors with what could only be described as a downright arrogant smirk. One that seemed to broaden when his odd-colored eyes settled on Casey. Adam unconsciously scooted closer to his friend as Perseus climbed the bleachers and forced a smirk to his own lips.

“Good morning, Casey.” Rude. “May I join you two?” Casey looks to Adam, who shrugs, not wanting to outwardly look like the overprotective best friend. Case is a big boy; he can handle a teenage crush. Despite his attempts to reassure himself, Adam tried to subtly watch the two interact.

Casey’s head was turned toward Perseus, obviously listening to whatever the hell he was saying, but his body was angled toward Adam still. His fingers twisted the ring on his left hand, and his leg bounced, a nervous habit from when they were kids, so the blond slowly inched his hand closer to his friend. Due to how they sat, Perseus couldn’t see him cross pinkies with Casey when he sat his hand down. The bouncing slowed to a stop, and the brunet swiped his thumb from ear to jaw. You’re welcome, Case.

Adam tuned out the pair’s conversation in favor of turning his music up, not wanting to intrude. Still, he offered his nearly-full can without looking up from his phone. Something settled unpleasantly in the blond’s stomach like lead, but he couldn’t put his finger on it; he didn’t like it though. Adam did his best to keep his eyes away from the other two but couldn’t stop himself from glancing at their interlocked fingers every so often. Casey was unnaturally warm and it seemed to radiate throughout the genius’s entire body. Yet, when the brunet stood to leave, it receded as if chased away. How weird. Not that Case isn’t strange anyways.

Standing as well, he caught the tail-end of their conversation. “I’ll see you in science, Casey, until then.” Adam’s nose wrinkled but refrained from commenting until Perseus was out of earshot.

“You were right,” he started as they marched down the hallway, “he is too perfect. Like, weirdly perfect.”

“Right? It’s not natural, no one is like that.” The two walked side-by-side, their shoulders brushing with each step, and Adam felt infinitely lighter than he had before when they stopped at their locker. “I’m not sure I want to go on another date.” The blond’s heart skipped a beat as he grabbed his books and cleared his throat when he realized he was staring.

“You really don’t want to?” Adam inquired as he stepped back, but wasn’t sure what answer he wanted.

“Percy’s nice, but-” Casey huffed. “-I don’t think I want nice. I want fun and romantic and familiar. Something about him made me nervous, Adam. I couldn’t be with someone who I didn’t trust.” The genius hummed his acknowledgment and thought about his reply.

On the one hand, he didn’t want Casey with Perseus for some reason, but on the other, he wanted his best friend happy. Thankfully, Perseus doesn’t seem to make the brunet happy. Thank fuck for that. I don’t think I could watch him moon over Casey all day, or vice-versa.

Before Adam could vocalize his thoughts, another voice joined the fray.

“Good morning, faggots.”

“Good morning, tiny dick,” Adam replied without thought. Wes froze mid-stride and slowly turned around to face the two boys.

“What’d you say to me?”

“Are you deaf as well as stupid?” The blond couldn’t help taunting him. Adam watched Casey tense from the corner of his eye and took a step in front of him as Wes advanced forward. The other boy was a head taller than both and well built, but neither backed down. Once close enough, he reached out to shove Adam hard enough to send the blond into the lockers. The metal dug into his back, pain blossoming along his shoulders, but his jacket absorbed most of the blow.

Casey sprung forward and pushed Wes back without hesitation. “Don’t touch him.” His voice was low, and it sent an unbidden shiver down Adam’s spine. The quarterback’s eyes widened, and then he was in Casey’s space, chest to chest as if asserting dominance.

“Woah, boys, back it up!” Adam saw a figure push both boys back and recognized it as Mr. Hale. Casey jerked away when the teacher’s hand pressed against his chest and stepped back to stand protectively in front of the blond. “I know neither of you will tell me what’s going on, so I’ll let you off with a warning this time since it wasn’t physical yet. Off to class, you three.” Casey lowered to pick up the books Adam had dropped when Wes shoved him and gently pressed them into the genius’s hands.

Looking down at the brunet, it was like Adam was seeing him for the first time. They had come full circle with Casey still protecting him from Wes, but this time it was different. They were different. Both had grown and changed, but looking into Casey’s familiar blue eyes, it seemed that simultaneously nothing had changed. Their hands brushed as he took the books, and Adam found that he relished the contact for some unknown reason.

“Thanks,” he murmured. Casey dipped his chin and motioned for him to go first, following behind like a loyal puppy. Adam stepped into Algebra and took his seat beside Perseus, his emotions swirling around inside him like a hurricane. Anger at Wes, gratefulness for Mr. Hale’s diversion, but mostly confusion for the way Casey made him feel.

Math was a welcome distraction, not that it challenged the genius, but it gave him something to focus on. Ms. Trent displayed the day’s notes on the smartboard. Adam began writing, the methodical scratch of pencil on paper lulling him into an almost meditative state.

“Adam, could I ask you a question?” The blond didn’t look up from his notebook.

“Shoot.”

“Are you and Casey close?” The writing stopped mid-sentence, and Adam finally looked up to meet Perseus’ eyes. His brown eyes. When did that happen? Has he been wearing contacts?

“Not gonna lie, that’s a dumb question, dude. Obviously, me and Casey are close.” The New Kid didn’t seem satisfied with his answer, so Adam expected the next one.

“How close?” The blond huffed and stole a glance toward Ms. Trent, who still sat at her desk. Convinced she wouldn’t be looking their way, Adam tugged his phone from his jacket pocket and unlocked it.

Tilting the screen toward Perseus, he said, “this was our family vacation last year to Boston. That’s Casey to my left, standing behind Nana Rose and smiling. We’re close.” That silenced the New Kid and allowed Adam to return to his notes; this time, there was no distraction. Adam was acutely aware of Perseus’ presence and of the heavy gaze that settled on his skin for the duration of Algebra.

After, as students filled the hallway, Adam stopped the other boy outside the door. He waited until Casey stepped out of Mr. Hale’s room and turned his head toward Perseus.

“Casey was my first friend, he’s family, and I would do anything for my family,” Adam stated plainly. “So, if someone were to hurt him… well, there’s no force on this Earth that would be able to stop me from making sure they suffered.”