September 21, 2022
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Mile 0
"You might wanna come check this one out, Alec." Came a voice from across a damp hall.
Alec reluctantly hurled himself off of his bed, making sure he didn't knock over the candle he had perfectly balanced at the foot of his bed. It was a relatively large candle in size, labeled Citrus Lava. It wasn't lit, but Alec had plans on lighting it that night. Alec limped across the hall, which was moist from the Louisiana weather. He took a painful step and winced, glancing down at his ankle. He had taken what Carlie had titled a "gnarly wipeout." Which, essentially, translated to: He tried to jump across a ditch and had ended up sinking his teeth into some dirt. It had left a pretty nasty scar, but the scar was nothing compared to the shock that had come afterword. It was so bad that he had to literally lie down in the middle of a road, writing in pain. Alec recalled having to tune out Brian's voice, which pretty much consisted of the words "Pussy" and "Klutz." While Alec, and many others, did not consider him to be much of a klutz, he couldn't sit there, writhing in pain with a bloody knee, and tell Brian that he wasn't clumsy to some degree.
"I... I could have sworn..." Lucie turned from the doorway to face Alec, who had stumbled his way through the hall. Lucie's normally bubbly voice had now sounded concerned and a bit frightened. Her pale blue eyes were wide with, from what Alec could gather, fear.
Alec arched an eyebrow. "Could have sworn what?" Alec hobbled over through the living room over to his younger sister, who had her hair up in a neat brown bun. Their mother had always told her that it was a "shade lighter than chocolate." Alec had agreed with the statement, though in part to his grand affection towards chocolate.
"I could have sworn I heard a yell. From the neighbors' house." Lucie pointed, though Alec could clearly see that the house Lucie was pointing at had no cars parked in the driveway. "I was just watering the plants, and I definitely heard a lady scream. I looked up from the plants and tried to see through the window, and I know I saw somebody through it."
"And I know I see somebody in my way." Echoed a voice from outside the doorway. Though he could not see who it was, Alec knew, from the voice as well as the attitude, that it was Brian.
"Oh, you could at least try to make your presence enjoyable." Lucie rolled her eyes, stepping inside the house to make room for Brian.
"I do try. I enjoy my presence quite a bit." Brian said nonchalantly as he made his way inside, shutting the door behind him and greeting Alec's cat, Charlie. Charlie mewed as Brian lifted him up bridal-style. Just the way he likes it, Alec thought. Brian had clearly been in Alec's house enough times to know pretty much everything. He knew how to get Charlie to like him, he knew what kinds of food they usually had, and he clearly knew how to get under Lucie's skin.
Lucie scoffed. "I'll be in my room. Come get me when the likeable guest gets here." She left no room for responses, as he door had been slammed shut immediately after she finished talking.
Brian placed Charlie on a leather couch and proceeded to wipe the black and white cat hairs off of his dark jacket. He then took a seat on the couch, turning his face to flash Alec a smile. "So... how's your knee?"
Alec blinked. While he did not have any interest in Brian, it was impossible not to notice Brian's beauty. He had golden blond hair that went down to the nape of his neck, and dark brown facial hair. His eyes were green- but not like a pine green- it was more like poison ivy, piercing through Alec as he stared at him. He had a pointed nose and dimples, which were currently visible through Brian's sly smile.
"It's not the greatest." Alec sighed, turning his gaze on Charlie, who was occupied in Brian's lap. He didn't want Brian to comment on Alec's tendency to stare. "I'm still limping and making weird noises when I get up out of bed." He said through a cued grunt as he sat down on the couch next to Brian.
"That sucks..." Brian said, not looking up from Charlie, who now had his furry head rested on Brian's chest. He sounded as if there was more to what he was going to say, but had decided against it.
"Yeah." Alec said with a skeptic look on his face. He may be able to control what he says, but that never matters. Alec's face will do all of the talking. "I tore off the bandages Carlie's mom put on, but the scab was still there. I guess I underestimated how slow it takes for stuff like that to heal." Alec found himself rambling, but when he looked up, he noticed Brian meeting his gaze, though he could not nearly decipher what he may have been thinking. Brian's poker face had always puzzled Alec, even after three years of friendship Alec could hardly ever tell what the guy was thinking.
Though it may have only been a few seconds, Alec could have sworn up and down he and Brian stared at each other for at least a minute. Brian opened his mouth as though he was going to speak, but was cut short by the banging of the front door.
