Quarter Mile

Relief

"We can wait here until the rain stops."

They were sitting in the jeep in Dakota's driveway. Dakota had driven home from the lake while Beck calmed himself down in the passenger seat.

It was four thirty, meaning Dakota's mother would be home. The two boys walked up the stairs and opened the front door.

"Mum! I'm home," Dakota yelled, closing the door behind Beck.

"Oh Duh! Just in time!" She exclaimed, turning from the kitchen and walking into the hallway. "What do you wa—" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw the blonde boy standing beside Dakota. "Oh, sorry I didn't realise you were bringing someone over, Dakota. I would've cleaned."

"It wasn't planned," Dakota explained, shooting his mother a look as if to say 'don't ask questions.' "Mum, this is Beck."

Beck extended a hand out to Dakota's mother.

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Adams," he said as she shook his hand.

"You can call me Charlotte," she said. "And it's nice to meet you too, Beck. I've heard a lot about you."

"All good things, I hope," he grinned at Dakota. He rolled his eyes and looked away as he felt his cheeks turn red.

Charlotte spoke again. "I was going to ask what you wanted from the grocery store for dinner but if Beck is staying we may as well get takeout. How does that sound?"

"Sounds good, Mum."

Charlotte started to turn away but looked back at them with a confused look on her face.

"Why are you two soaked? Have you been out in this rain?" They both laughed in sync.

"We went swimming," Dakota explained.

The two boys headed upstairs to Dakota's room. The rain was still relentlessly pelting down outside.

"You can borrow some of my clothes for now," Dakota said while handing Beck a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

"Uh, thanks," Beck said quietly. "Do you have a hoodie I could wear?"

"Yeah, of course," Dakota replied with a smile, shuffling through this closet until he found his biggest one. Beck was relatively taller than him. "You can change in the bathroom."

Beck shuffled to the bathroom, dripping water onto the carpet. He closed the door behind him and let out a long exhale. It had been a long day. He had confessed his feelings to Dakota and recounted the horrific memory of the car accident. Parker was the only other person who knew what Beck had been through, but somehow he already knew he could trust Dakota with his life, as he did with Parker.

Dakota affected him in ways he couldn't understand. All of his fear and anger subsided when he was around him, and for a moment at the lake, all of Beck's angry thoughts dissipated completely. But then, just like that, they were back again, more fierce than they were before.

He changed out of his wet clothes and quickly replaced them with the clothes Dakota had let him borrow. The sweatpants were slightly too short, cutting off just above his ankles and the hoodie only just reached the waistband of his pants. He didn't mind. The clothes smelled of Dakota and that made him happy.

He hung his wet clothes up on the towel rail in the bathroom and opened the door of the bathroom. Dakota was standing shirtless, facing away from him. He hadn't heard the bathroom door open. Beck watched as Dakota's back muscles tensed when he lifted his arms to slide the t-shirt over his head. The cloth hung loosely around his shoulders for a second before he pulled the bottom of it down to cover his tan back. Beck watched as his fingers swept through his damp hair, brushing it out of his face.