AUGUST 13TH, 2017 - SUNDAY
CASEY’S POV
He smelled bacon. Casey opened his eyes and stared up at the pale grey ceiling that was closer than usual while on the top bunk. The basement was nearly silent save for the low hum of electricity that was everywhere, missing the familiar sound of Adam’s breathing.
Casey slid down the ladder and shrugged on his NASA hoodie, plucking at the front as he made his way up the stairs. The sun was barely up, but footsteps could easily be heard as he moved through the hallway. Adam and Mrs. M were in the kitchen; Adam still in his flannel pants and tank-top while she was decked out in clothes that definitely belonged to her partners.
“Okay, so you’re going to want to dip the bread in the egg mixture and make sure you coat each side evenly,” Mrs. M advised. “Be careful and slide it slowly into the pan, do not drop it unless you want oil on your hands.” Casey leaned against the doorway and watched the blond follow the instructions.
Once the bread was safely in the pan, the brunet spoke up. “I didn’t know you wanted to cook.” The younger boy tensed slightly and then turned his head to smile.
“Since I quit piano lessons, I’ve been tryna find a hobby.” Adam plated one of the pieces and then offered it to him. “Let me know if I should stick with it?” Casey took the proffered fork and took a bite of the French Toast, the taste of syrup and cinnamon bursting across his tongue.
“Maybe less syrup?” Adam saluted as he monitored the other pieces and then grabbed another pan.
“You want to make the eggs?” Casey raised a brow.
“You don’t want me anywhere near your food, Adam. You got this.” The blond rolled his eyes but began to crack the eggs nonetheless. While he cooked at the stove at his mere 5’2”, Casey studied his best friend. The incident with Wes had been on his mind almost incessantly since Mr. Hale had stepped between them, but he wasn’t sure why.
Life had come full circle with Casey returning the blond’s lost books, yet it felt completely different. Looking up at his best friend, Casey knew that something had changed in the past five years. The two boys had grown together both physically and emotionally, and Adam was the one constant in the ongoing shit-show that was his life. The blond didn’t say the words, but he knew in his heart that he loved his best friend.
Watching Adam laugh with his mom hit the older boy with a pang of longing. Casey would never be a Tolliver, but he would cherish the moments he shared with them.
~_~.~_~
ADAM’S POV
Adam was not known for being subtle, not with his platinum hair or above-average intellect, so he assumed Casey knew he was being watched. The blond was cooking with his ma while studying his best friend in the living room when she turned to him.
“Do you know much about Casey’s parents?” He couldn’t say that he did. Adam had only met the elder Boyds once nearly four years ago when the two first became friends. Casey’s father, a dark-skinned man with the same sharp jaw, had glared down his nose at Adam while his mother stared with what he would learn was disdain. His ma cleared her throat, drawing the teen from his head.
“No, he doesn’t talk about them too much-” which is true “-why?” Ma chopped the potatoes, adding them to the sizzling pan with a soft sigh.
“Casey has been coming here every weekend for three years. He has been out of state with us to reunions, has been on family vacations-”
“Because he is family,” Adam interjected, his tone sharper than intended.
“Yes, he is, but isn’t it weird that we have never met them?” She proposed. “Aren’t they curious as to who watches their son every week?” Given that Casey’s parents were rarely in this city or even address him as their son, Adam doubted it.
He settled with, “I don’t know.” The genius knew that his friend spent weeks alone, albeit with a stipend, and it weighed on Casey. The older boy walked around as if he carried weights, and Adam wondered what a carefree Casey would look like. Maybe he’d smile more.
~_~.~_~
“Why did you quit playing the piano?” It took a moment for Adam to respond. His stomach was full, eyes drooping as time progressed, and he felt content beyond words. Lying on the bottom bunk, side-by-side with Casey, the blond wished the night wasn’t nearly over.
“I didn’t love it anymore,” he murmured. “Sometimes you just lose the passion, I guess.” Casey hummed softly beside him, the action vibrating through where they connected.
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“Why cooking then?” Adam shrugged.
“It’s easier to give someone cookies than it is to play them a song. Lot quicker too,” he added. “Plus, it’s something I can do with both my mothers. Ma cooks, and mom bakes, god knows they should never swap.” The two shared a soft chuckle.
“Do you want to be a dad?”
“What?” Adam turned his head to look at Casey, brows furrowed at the odd question.
“Do you want to have kids? Progeny, spawn, whatever you want to call them,” he repeated, still looking up at the top bunk.
“Never really thought about it. I don’t really like kids, though, so I’m gonna say no.”
“What do you want to do after high school?” The brunet asked. His voice was quiet and inquisitive, and Adam found himself drifting off. Casey’s voice was still soft enough for him to be considered pre-pubescent, and the blond wondered how deep it would go. “Are you goin’ to sleep?”
“Uh, no, just thinking. I don’t really want to go to college, and I know you don’t either,” Adam said, “but I guess I don’t know where that leaves me.” Adam had purposefully not thought about what he wanted to do with his life.
“I don’t know what I want to do. I don’t exactly have a lot of talents here.”
“Tiktok.” Casey finally turned his head to look, confused.
“Bitch, what?”
“Join Tiktok, become an e-boy,” he joked, knowing the brunet would never. Casey stared at him for a second, expression unreadable, and then huffed.
“I’d rather be a YouTuber than on TikTok, more interaction.” It was Adam’s turn to be confused.
“I’m sorry, did you decide to become a YouTuber and not tell me?” Casey rolled his eyes and leaned into the genius. The action had his heart stuttering and Adam tried not to think about it too hard.
“No, I just ended up down a rabbit hole one night doing some research,” the brunet explained. “I don’t think I’d make a good YouTuber anyways.” Adam rolled his eyes and pulled the blanket tighter around himself, settling in as Casey began to recount the facts he had found.
~_~.~_~
Adam woke up in a cocoon of warmth which was unusual in his basement bedroom. The teen sleepily opened his eyes and tried to stretch his arms, only to realize his right arm is wedged between his body and Casey’s. His head rested on Casey’s shoulder, one of his arms trapped under Adam’s head, and the other was still asleep. The blond assumed he had fallen asleep mid-fact, but that didn’t explain why the other boy hadn’t gotten up. Nonetheless, Adam took the chance to study his best friend without his usual mask in place.
Without windows, the only light came from a hundred glow-in-the-dark stars that he and Matt had glued to the ceiling when he was nine and the string of fairy lights that came only a year ago. Casey looked his age of fourteen, his features sharp yet still soft with baby fat, and Adam knew he would be an attractive young man soon enough. Freckles dotted the bridge of his nose as shadows danced across his cheekbones, and the blond found his attention drawn to the other boy’s lips. Parted as he slept, Adam absently wondered what it would be like to kiss him. He froze. Oh dear god...
“Why are you staring at me?” The genius startled when Casey’s eyes opened and tried to scoot back.
“Why are you in my bed?” He retorted without any real bite.
“Well, someone,” Casey began, flexing the arm underneath Adam’s head, “decided to fall asleep on me. I didn’t want to wake you up.” The words were kind, and the blond knew he would make someone else very happy one day. Adam sat up, allowing the other boy to slide off the bed, and watched as he stretched his arms upward.
Casey shuffled into the bathroom with clothes from his drawer while the genius stripped in the closet. As he dressed, Adam tried not to think too hard about the boy in the other room. He had never thought about kissing his best friend, even though he knew Casey was obviously attractive, so this was a new experience. I don’t like it at all.
“Adam, breakfast!” His brother’s voice helped drag the teen from his newfound internal pining, and he finished pulling his sneakers on. The brunet was out of the breakfast in under eight minutes, obviously envious, and began lacing up his black boots on the couch.
Adam styled his hair meticulously in the mirror for nearly fifteen minutes before deciding it was good enough. In the kitchen, Casey sat at the island, munching a piece of toast. At the same time, Matt spoke loudly of the next football game on Friday, brown eyes meeting the blonds almost immediately.
“Quit boring him with sports, Matty; you know he doesn’t care.” His brother rolled his eyes and flicked a spoonful of egg at the blond.
“Don’t be an ass, Addy. I’m sure your boyfriend doesn’t mind.” Casey didn’t seem to notice, but Adam paused as his mind processed the title. “Hurry up, you two; I’m leavin’ in ten minutes.” The blond wolfed down a plate of eggs and potatoes, loaded his dishes into the dishwasher, and kissed his mom’s cheek on the way out.
Unlike before, Adam’s insides twisted when Casey opened the truck door for him, something his brother notices with a barely-contained smirk. All three sat shoulder to shoulder in the small cab, but the young genius felt his best friend more clearly than before. The brunet always radiated heat like a portable furnace, Adam’s personal heater when the seasons grew colder, but now it felt almost stifling.
The noise turned to static in his ears. Adam had crushes before then, cute girls who smiled at him at the mall or old friends from Boston, but never on someone who was such an integral part of his life. Matt pulled up to the middle school gym, the truck rumbling as they shut the door behind them, and the blond squared his shoulders. Waiting until Casey was out of view, Adam turned back to his brother.
“I think I might have a crush on Casey,” he let out in a rush, “great talk, see you after school!” Without waiting for a reply, Adam ran both away from and to his problem.