𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘯𝘰𝘸

alone

Bladee and Carti sat down on a couch halfway across the house. Carti turned his body to be facing the older boy, who seemed a little bit nervous. Bladee fidgeted in his seat and didn't make eye contact with him. Carti reached out and put his hand on his leg.

"Hey, don't be nervous, baby," he said soothingly. "You have nothing to worry about."

Bladee's whole body seemed to relax. He let out a small sigh and made eye contact with the younger man. A small smile rested on both of the boys' faces.

The eye contact lasted just a little bit longer than acceptable for people who would be just friends. Embarrassed, Bladee looked down at the ground. His eyes darted across the room and tried to see if anyone could see them.

Carti picked up on his nervousness again. His face softened and tilted his head a little bit.

"Do you want to take this somewhere else?" Carti asked. "Somewhere more... private?"

He slid his hand up Bladee's leg and onto his thigh. Bladee blushed and nodded. They stood up and pushed past all the other people partying.

Carti headed up the stairs and Bladee followed him. After searching the foreign home for a few seconds, he found an empty bedroom and walked inside. The older boy shuffled in apprehensively, closing the door behind him.

Carti sat down on the bed and motioned to the spot next to him. Bladee sat down gently and smiled up at Carti.

"So, you make music, too?" Carti asked.

"Yeah," Bladee said, sitting up straighter. "I make music with my friends, but I do it by myself, too. The guy you met down there, Lean, he's one of the guys I work with."

Carti smiled. "I'd love to hear some of your stuff sometime. Maybe one day we could hang out and you could play me some stuff live."

Bladee blushed and looked down. "S-sure," he stuttered.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, but the silence wasn't awkward; just a little bit tense.

"So where are you from-" Carti began.

He was cut off by Bladee's lips on his. The kiss was gentle, yet hopeful. Carti leaned in and kissed him back. Bladee pulled away, not wanting it to end, but needing to take a breath.

Carti just stared at him. He couldn't believe the older boy had made the first move. I'm almost always the one who initiates this kind of stuff, he thought.

Bladee looked flustered again. He smiled and looked into the younger boy's eyes. Carti couldn't say a word. He was breathless.

No, literally. Carti was having an asthma attack. He tried to signal to Bladee what was happening. Somehow, he understood. He reached into Carti's pocket and pulled out the inhaler. He shook it up and placed it on his lips. He pressed the button down, and said a silent prayer.

Carti inhaled. After about ten seconds, he took a sharp breath. Bladee sighed and smiled. Everything would be ok.