affection

six

monday

the car shakes as it goes over a bump in the road, painted asphalt cracks in response. elliot peers over to the seat beside him, jake sits quiet playing a game on his phone while his mom hums to the radio from the driver's seat. he sighs and takes out his own phone, deciding to text kai.

'srry, can't wait for u after ur detention today bc my mom's back :D'

fingers hesitate as they rest on the edge of this phone case. he waits just a moment before typing once again.

'but if u wanna stay tonight, just come over later. idk when i'll be home tho. guess?'

he watched three bubbles appear to indicate a reply, but it vanishes in a second before reappearing.

'do u want me to?'

elliot frowns, why wouldn't he want kai over? they're always hanging out, why would this be any different?

'ofc, but only if u want, don't feel pressured or anything'

'we barely spoke today.'

blonde hair falls over tanned shoulders from the front seat, the sound of a loud voice almost scares elliot.

"how's bee, anyway? haven't seen francis in a while..."

he studies her face in the mirror. her eyes briefly meet his before returning to the road. "fine, i think he got a new job, that's why they moved back here."

"that's lovely, we should arrange a little catch up or something, it would be really nice to hear from them both again."

elliot nods, smiling before his eyes find his phone once more.

'please stay. i wanna talk to u.'

his heart warms, then aches. he hopes kai will come over so they can talk- or even not talk. he doesn't mind just sitting in silence, as long as they're together. but he's secretly afraid that he won't, he's afraid things are changing in both of their lives and he's afraid there's nothing he can do to slow it down.

'that doesn't sound good.'

'its about my dad. it's kinda serious.'

two minutes pass, then another before kai finally replies, and he lets out a breath.

'be there at like, 7/8.'

they head into a mall, entering a dozen shops. his mom buys the two new shoes and backpacks as well as something to eat. a guilt gnaws at elliot's brain, and the more he thinks about it, the worse he feels.

"mom, i gotta say something." he blurts. his words die out the second they're spoken and he hopes she didn't hear.

"what's the matter, eli?" he cringes at the childhood nickname.

he hesitates, "can kai stay over tonight?"

"sure, haven't seen him in a while either. how is he?" truth? no idea.

they return to browsing shelves of clothes, stacked on top of each other. his fingers trail over the fabrics, stopping on a shirt with some band on the front.

"he's great, mom. he started boxing." he didn't know what else to say.

she grins, "still getting into trouble."

"obviously."

hours pass, elliot watches starts from outside his window. a noise startles him but vanishes when kai sits himself down beside him. they chat casually for a while, sharing that it's been almost a while year since they started dating. kai slowly reaches down to entwine their hands.

"what's bothering you, li?"

he contemplates for a while, one that feels like forever. "my dad's cheating on my mom. i don't know what to do...he told me he'll fix it, and not to tell anybody."

"is this like...the first time he's done it?"

elliot snorts. "jake's my half bother, same dad but different moms. guess."

kai chuckles softly, "i don't really want to give you family advice, mine's a mess."

"things just feel so...wrong. i'm so conflicted. please just suggest something, anything, because i have no idea."

there's a short silence before he speaks up.

"what would you do?"

kai tuts, his eyes scanning the sky as if it'd give him an answer. it doesn't. "i would give him a time limit."

"huh?"

"like...give him, i don't know, say ten days. ten days to tell her what he did or you'll do it yourself."

elliot thinks on this for a moment, observing his features as he does so. eventually, he shrugs with a small smile. "that sounds reasonable, i guess. can i steal your idea?"

kai laughs, elliot adores it. "no, i've copyrighted it."

"well then, sue me, because i'm using that."

there's another silence when the laughter dies down. this one, much longer and more comfortable. this one, feels a lot like home, like normal, like how things were before they began maturing. elliot tries so soak in it, capturing it to remember when things return to how they've been recently.

"i know i've been quiet lately, i'm sorry. my own family is, um, weirdly happy? it's kind of freaking me out. well, aside from my dad that's...that's a different story."

"it's okay." he smiles. "i get it. you can tell me your stuff when you're ready. i know it's harder for you and all those walls you put up."

kai grins at this, "you're the first person to like, actually get me. thanks."

"you're welcome."

...
wc: 830
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i'm super sorry this took so long. i've been unmotivated!