Some Sugar and Honey (Boy X Boy)

Chapter 32 - Precious Memoria

Maddox's actions that day will forever be ingrained into my brain. The fact that he defended me like that took me to a new level of joy. I mean, I will specify that I'm completely aware that the chances of him reciprocating my feelings are incredibly low, but still, I appreciate the kindness behind his actions, despite the fact he could have gotten into serious trouble.

The next couple of days things went by fairly smoothly, at least somewhat. Some people came up to Maddox, joking about his weight and the profession he wrote about, some being more passive-aggressive than others. He shrugged it off, not being as trigger happy as he was before with Jason and Marcus.

     That Friday, during our final period, he excitedly reminded me of the trip to my grandparents. I couldn't help but smile back at him. The joy on his face was the most precious thing to me, it was undoubtedly one of my favorite facets of his persona; his happiness.

--------

That Saturday morning, Maddox arrived at my house. Because I had told him about the forest and lake behind their house, he actually brought his bag with him with a change of clothes, 'just in case', he said.

     We all stayed and chatted for about ten minutes before getting ready and piling into the Versa. There wouldn't have been enough room for all of us to go, so my brother decided to stay home. Maddox was incredibly thankful for that. Still, though, even with there being enough seats for all of us, it was still pretty cramped in the back. No offense to Maddox, but he took up a little too much room, not that I personally minded.

After an hour long drive, we finally arrived at their house. The whole trip was a little awkward, being stuck in such a tight space with Maddox sitting right next to me. Why did I ever want that again? He got along well with my sister, but still managed to sneakily find ways to tease me. It was embarrassing.

     Anyway, we eventually arrived. The area there was heavily wooded, with no real driveway aside from a dirt path. It was really home-y to me. No neighbors, just wide, open area and wildlife.

     We all got out and headed up the path to the front door. When Maddox got out he did a quick stretch between following behind me. As we were walking up the path he whispered to me, "D'you think this was really a good idea?"

     "Hm?" I hummed, not really sure what he meant.

     "I mean, is it really normal to bring a friend along to your grandparents' place? I mean, I've never done it before so this just screams weird to me."

     I blushed, now wondering how weird this really did come off. I mean, I told my parents that Maddox was interested in our grandfather's work which is why they agreed, but overall, did this really just look weird? Damn, I was really regretting this.

     He shoved his hands into his jacket's pockets as my dad knocked on the screen door. After only a moment, my grandfather answered, welcoming us with a grin.

     "Well, look what we have here!" he cheered as he moved back for us all to enter. My dad went in first, followed by my mom and sister who gave grandpa a hug before entering. When it got to me and Maddox, he wore a look of (false) surprise. "Well then, I don't think I recognize this one!" he joked as he roughly rubbed my head. "Think you can fit through the door?" he joked, this one causing some actual embarrassment. I mean, really, 6 foot isn't that tall for my age... is it?

     He turned over to Maddox now, "And you here, what was your name again?"

     Maddox cast his gaze off to the side, this made him look a little unpleasant, not a great first impression.