Rainbow Connection, AFTG ✔️

1.2

PORTER
CHAPTER TWO

Porter kissed Kevin Day when he was eighteen years old.

In the Nest -- Castle Evermore's name for the EAU Raven's basement dormitories -- every piece of furniture was black, along with the walls. If the shadows didn't swallow you whole, the reminder that an entire stadium was above you would surely make you choke. He didn't remember much about who he was when he was a child outside of the Nest, but he didn't think he was claustrophobic. He was now.

Kevin shared a room with Riko from a very young age. They dormed together, in the Black Hall of the Nest, though oftentimes three people stayed in the two-person dorm room; Riko and his boyfriend, James, were constantly sleeping in Riko's twin-sized bed together.

On Kevin's side, he had a board of postcards from various places, and below, he wrote why he went there. It was mostly games, but there was the occasional interview or photo shoot. Porter had been studying the postcards the day it'd happened. He'd been sitting on his knees on top of the desk, not wanting to bend over the desk to reach for the cards (with his small arms? are you kidding?). The one in his hand at that moment had been Los Angeles, and the exact words he'd said were, "I forget you're famous sometimes."

"If I'm famous, so are you." 19-year-old Kevin didn't look that different from the current Kevin. The most noticeable difference was his clothing; Ravens didn't wear colors beyond black and red, and even with that exception, it was almost always black. Kevin didn't live by that rule now that he was 20. Another big difference was his left hand, which back in the day hadn't been scarred over by a violent break.

Porter had laughed (something so rare in the darkness), and somehow (somehow, Porter says, as if he doesn't remember every single detail of his short time getting to hold Kevin's attention) they'd ended up both sitting on Kevin's bed and discussing their dating history. Neither of them had ever dated, obviously, since no Raven had the freedom to focus on things other than Exy. Porter had taken to teasing Kevin for never kissing a girl -- as if Porter could even speak on that front -- and they'd kissed each other for as long as they could without the risk of being caught by Riko.

That was the week that Porter realized he was unequivocally gay. In the time he'd spent with the Ravens before that, he never realized he had another option besides women. Then he kissed Kevin, and he quickly realized women couldn't compare.

Kevin was a one-track mind though. Exy was his end-all-be-all. Porter, even with all the emotions he had to give, would never compare, and he knew that. Logic didn't deter the anger that rose in his chest when he was ignored, even if he knew Kevin couldn't act as if things had changed. They'd kissed for the first time in June. By December, Kevin had run off into the night with a broken left hand to join David Wymack's lineup of Palmetto State's Fuck-ups.

In between that allotted time, they were explosive. Porter was passionate and Kevin was cowardly. Porter had dreams, and Kevin accused him of having a death wish. Porter wanted so much, and Kevin wanted nothing -- nothing to do with him, at least, nothing except confusion and heartache. Between their experimental kisses and slipping hands under each other's shirts, Kevin could be harsh, and Porter could be stupid. Porter pushed Kevin's limits, and Kevin hated that he didn't hate him.

Their biggest fight had never been resolved. Most of Kevin's angry shouting, Porter took to heart and admitted he was right; because even if Kevin was an asshole, he was often right. Either that or Porter really was just weak when it came to Kevin, which he often was. The last fight had been just before Kevin vanished from the Nest though, and Porter never got to kiss his frown away.