"Lookit her!"
"She's a hotty, huh?"
"Why dontcha go talk to'er?"
Kaden slid lower in his seat, in the booth, in the small cafe he and his 'friends' were at. David, Anthony and Mark were sitting with him, David next to him and the other two on the opposite side. They had spotted a pretty red head sitting a few booths down, sipping coffee and texting, and had immediately decided he should ask her out on grounds that he didn't have a girlfriend.
Which was total BS, seeing as David was the only one among them who did have a girlfriend.
Plus, he didn't really care for her. No, he was more interested in the boy sitting in the booth just past her. He was reading a book and drinking something from a mug, his charcoal-colored hair lightly brushing his cheeks.
"C'mon dude, go talk ta her!" David pressed, elbowing his friend in the ribs. Kaden sighed, "Fine."
"Yes!" Mark and Anthony high-fived, making Kaden roll his eyes, "You guys have to leave though."
"Whaaat?" Anthony whined.
"You have to leave. I don't want you cramping my style. I'll text you later and let you know how it goes."
"Aw c'mon!" David groaned, "That's not fair, bra."
"Shut up and leave already."
Whining and groaning the whole way, the boys finally stood from the table and walked out the door. They each gave him a thumbs up from outside before heading down the sidewalk towards the college.
Kaden stood and walked toward the girl...
Walking past her and sitting down across from the dark-haired boy. "Yo."
The boy stopped reading and looked up, seemingly surprised at his sudden guest. He sat the book down and smiled, "Hello."
"I'm Kaden." He introduced himself, holding his hand out for the other to take. The boy smiled, "Douglas." He said as he grasped the hand, shaking it.
"Nice to meet you." Kaden said smoothly, handsome smirk making it's way across his face as their hands parted. Douglas blushed and cheerfully replied, "You too."
Kaden leaned on the table, "I've seen you around campus. What's your major?"
"Medical. You?"
"Computer Science."
"Oh, that's neat!"
"Yeah, it's pretty interesting. So are you training to be a doctor or what?"
"I was leaning toward Radiology."
"And that is...?"
Douglas smiled and took a sip of his hot chocolate before diving into the first decent conversation he'd had in quite some time.
***
Kaden was glad he and Douglas hadn't scheduled any classes the rest of the day. They stayed in the cafe and talked for several hours, ordering food and drinks when they needed and jumping to different subjects.
Sadly, it was nearing six o'clock and the cafe would be closing.
"I guess I'd best be going." Douglas said as he slipped his book into a bag at his feet. Kaden smiled, "We should hang out sometime."
The freshman blushed, "You mean, like a date?"
Kaden's friendly smile turned into a smirk, "You could call it that, if you like. How about it?"
"Uh, s-sure."
"Awesome. Can I get your number?"
Douglas nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket, Kaden doing the same. They exchanged numbers and agreed on a time.
Kaden stood and walked out with Douglas. "Since you live on campus, could I walk you to your apartment?"
"If you want." Douglas smiled.
They made small talk as they headed to the apartments. When they made it to Douglas', they bid each other farewell and Kaden headed for his dorm.
***
"Dude, you're gay??" David said, stunned, from where he was sitting on his bed. Kaden gave him an odd look as he ran a comb through his wet, shoulder length brown hair, "We've been best friends for five years, I thought for sure you'd figured it out by now."
"How was I supposed to! It's not like you ever had a boyfriend!" David said, using his arms for emphasis. Kaden rolled his eyes and sat down on his bed, "I was dating Ralph for like, seven months, and Lance before that."
David paused, thinking it over. "... Is that why you were hanging around them so much at the time? And why they suddenly stopped hanging around after awhile?"
"Duh."
"But... but... You dated Stacy Wilson Senior year!"
"No, I agreed to act like her boyfriend so her ex would leave her alone."
"But-"
"Face it, dude," Kaden said as he laid down, "I'm gay. Get over it."
David turned off the light and laid down as well, "I'm not sure how comfortable I am sharing the same room as a gay man." He whispered. Kaden snorted, "You've been sharing the same room as me for two years. I'm not gonna sneak over at night and rape you. And anyway, I have my eyes on Douglas, remember?"
"Yeah..."
"Besides, you're bigger than me. If I tried, you'd probably just flip me over and butt-rape me as 'punishment.' Freak." Kaden said, smiling when he heard his best friend laugh.
***
"Hey, gorgeous. Ready?" Kaden asked as Douglas let him into the apartment. "Almost." Douglas said as he disappeared around a corner, only to return seconds later with a hoodie.
"What's that for?"
Douglas shrugged, "In case it get's cold later. I never leave home without a hoodie."
Kaden laughed and walked Douglas out to his car, where he graciously opened the passenger door for the other man. Douglas blushed and gave a small smile before slipping inside.
They chatted about this and that all the way to dinner.
Douglas was surprised when they pulled into a homey looking restaurant.
"I know it looks unimpressive," Kaden said apologetically, "But I promise they have some of the best food you've ever eaten."
And he was right. Fifteen minutes later, when a plate full of hot food was set in front of him and he took his first bite, Douglas was amazed at the taste. "This is amazing!"
"Yup. I eat here as often as possible." Kaden grinned. He reached into his pocket to check his wallet to make sure he had enough cash to cover the date expenses (he only used his credit card when he had to) and was horrified to discover that he was not there. He checked his other pocket to find that it, too, was empty.
"Shit." He whispered, remembering leaving it in his other pants after changing clothes after classes that day.
"What's wrong?" Douglas asked, concern evident in his voice and on his face.
"Nothing..." Kaden reassured quickly. He quickly thought up a plan and excused himself from the table, heading into the bathroom. He pulled out his cell and dialed David, praying he was still near the dorms.
"Yo."
"David? Dude, I need a huge favor."
"Out of condoms?" Kaden could practically hear the grin on his face, "NO. Can you bring me my wallet? I left it in the pants I was wearing this morning. They're in the dirty clothes bag in the bathroom."
"..."
"Hello?"
"Dude, are you serious?"
"Yes I'm serious! Get it for me!"
"Okay okay, geez. I'll get it for you. Where are you?"
"The Skyline, like five minutes away from the apartments."
"Okay. Be there in ten."
"Awesome. Thanks."
"Anytime."
Kaden put the phone away and headed back to his table.
"You okay?" Douglas asked when he returned. Kaden nodded, sitting, "I forgot to turn off the lights in our dorm room, so I had to call David."
"Okay." The smaller male smiled and took another bite.
Ten minutes later, Kaden was completely horrified when David knocked on the window next to their booth, wallet in his hand and a huge grin on his face. He gestured to the wallet with his free hand, "I got your wallet!" He called, voice muffled by the glass.
Kaden groaned and face-palmed, "Oh my God..."
Douglas giggled, "You could have told me you forgot your wallet."
"No. Way. I was not going to use that lame 'I left my wallet in my other pants' excuse on the first date." Kaden said as he stood. He hurriedly went outside to snatch his wallet from David's hand, giving him a dirty glare before going back inside.
Douglas giggled as he and David exchanged friendly waves before the older boy departed. "He seems nice." Douglas commented as he let his hand fall back to the table. "More like incredibly embarrassing..." Kaden muttered darkly, poking at his food.
Douglas laughed.
After dinner, they head to the theater.
"Oh, I'd love to see Zombieland!" Douglas suggested as they stood outside the theater. Kaden gave a small laugh, "Sure, that sounds great. Never would have pegged you for a horror fan, though."
Douglas pretended to be hurt, "It's not a horror, it's a comedy! Besides, I'm in Medical, remember? Blood and guts have never phased me."
Kaden chuckled and purchased two tickets for the movie, leading Douglas inside with a hand on his lower back.
***
Kaden was slightly surprised at how immune Douglas was to gore, the younger boy having never batted an eye the entire movie.
It was kind of a turn on.
"I had a nice time." Douglas said with a smile as they stood outside his apartment. "Me too." Kaden agreed.
They stood in silence, each unsure of what to do. Finally, Kaden leaned forward and gave Douglas a gentle kiss on the forehead. The younger boy blushed and giggled, "You're sweet."
"You're beautiful." Kaden said smoothly, attractive smirk on his face. They bid each other good night and Kaden walked back to his car.
Six months later, they moved into Douglas' apartment together.
Four months after that, Kaden met Tynan.
One month after that, he began cheating on Douglas.
Almost five months later, Douglas was curled in his bath tub, pain rocketing through his body, his world slowly growing dark as he wondered where it had all gone so wrong.
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