Bad Habits

A Promise Is A Promise

"Koda, I'm not arguing with you about this, not today," Parker says sternly.

Dakota stares back at him with a gleam in his eye as he says, "but I don't want you to."

"I don't care if you don't want me to. I'm going to wether you like it or not." He moves to stand but his wrist is grabbed tightly by Dakota, stopping him from walking away. "C'mon, Koda. Don't cause a scene."

"I'm not letting you do this," Dakota says, his hand still gripping the black-haired boy's wrist.

"Dude," Parker mutters, "it's your birthday. I'm paying." And before Dakota can protest again, Parker slips his wrist out of his grasp and hurries off towards the bar so that he can pay for their meal.

Dakota sighs as he leans back against his chair, eyes wondering over the various plates that once held Japanese food, most of which have been picked clean.

"Alright," Parker says, startling Dakota as he rubs his hands together. "Let's rock 'n roll."

Dakota shakes his head as he stands. "Don't say that."

Parker looks at him with an inquisitive look. "Why?"

"Because," Dakota says as he starts walking towards the door of the restaurant, Parker in tow. "You sound like a basic white dad."

Parker bursts into laughter before they even get out of the door, causing a few of the people in the restaurant to send glares in their direction. Dakota offers an apologetic look back to them and grabs the wrist of a still-laughing Parker and drags him out into the cool, night air.

"Dude, shut up," Dakota says, softly shoving Parker by the shoulder, letting out a laugh of his own as Parker stumbles forward, almost tripping on his untied shoelaces. "What are we doing now, anyway?"

"We're going to celebrate! You only turn 23 once, Koda," Parker exclaims as he does a weird dance in the parking lot, earning a few confused glances from strangers passing by. "But first," he stops dancing and throws his arm around Dakota as they walk back to the car, "you have to open your birthday present."

Dakota rolls his eyes. "I told you not to get me anything."

"And when have I ever listened to a word you've said?"

"You have a point," Dakota says.

"C'mon, son," Parker laughs. "Get in the car."

~

"Okay, close your eyes." Parker holds up three fingers once Dakota's eyes are closed and says, "how many fingers am I holding up?"

"I don't know, Parker, I can't see."

"Perfect, hold out your hands." Dakota obeys, slightly cautious, though, because he knows how mischievous his best friend is.

"Don't do anything weird," he warns and receives a laugh in response. He senses Parker shuffling around in their small, two-bedroom apartment, presumably going to get the present he went on and on about all the way home from the restaurant.

Though their apartment is small, it's enough. There's plenty of space for the two boys. They'd moved in together during the summer after they had graduated from high school.

Dakota, Parker, Eli and Harvey had all walked across the graduation stage together and they'd all held a small celebration in honour of Beck, who hadn't been there with them.

Shortly after the New Year, Parker and Dakota had moved to Massachusetts. They'd rented out a very small and dingy one-bedroom apartment — it was all they could afford while Dakota was at Harvard and Parker was working in a small corner-side convenience store.

Dakota had been accepted into both Harvard and Yale, but he decided to go to Harvard to major in computer science. But mid-way through his first semester as a freshman, he had turned to alcohol as a way of coping with his loss of his first real love. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop thinking about Beck, and that affected his grades, his attitude and his ability to function day-to-day.

The one thing it didn't affect though, was his friendship with Parker. Every morning after a night of hard drinking, Dakota would wake up and Parker would be there; water, painkillers and Gatorade in hand, ready to tackle Dakota's everlasting hangover with him.

Parker knew he was struggling, knew that Beck leaving was affecting him more than he let on. So he stuck by his side, picking up each stray piece of Dakota's heart and holding it in his pocket until the day he decided to love again.

Dakota had dropped out of Harvard not long after he'd started and then he and Parker had packed up their lives once again and headed to Connecticut. There, they'd moved into their comfortable two-bedroom apartment and Parker had started his new job as a bartender.

Dakota feels a small, light box drop into his hands as Parker says, "okay, open."

His eyes flutter open and they land on a white box wrapped tightly in a red ribbon. Untying the ribbon, he looks up at Parker, who doesn't meet his gaze, only looks down intently at Dakota's hands, bottom lip between his teeth.

The ribbon falls away and Dakota opens the lid of the box, revealing a small ring. It's simple; a thin, silver band with the words 'a promise is a promise' engraved on the inside.

"It's a promise ring," Parker says, a smile on his face.

Dakota grins. "Are you in love with me or something?"

"Yes, Koda, I'm in love with you. Will you marry me?" Parker asks, grinning back at the boy sitting on the couch. He shakes his head. "No, it's a promise ring. It means I promise to always be here for you, through thick and thin, good and bad. We're brothers, Koda, and always will be."

Dakota's grin melts into a fond smile. "I love it."

"Here," Parker says as he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a thin, silver chain. "I figured you probably wouldn't want to wear it as a ring so you can put it on this chain and wear it as a necklace."

Parker takes the ring from Dakota and threads it onto the necklace and holds it up. His face suddenly drops as he stammers, "o— or you don't have to wear it at all."

"Parker," Dakota says as he takes the necklace from his hands and hooks it around his neck, letting the ring fall against his chest. "I love it."

He stands and embraces the boy in front of him, Parker's own arms slipping around Dakota's waist.

"I'm glad, Koda," Parker mumbles into Dakota's shoulder. "I promise I'm going to help you get through this."

He's referring to Dakota still desperately holding onto the thought of Beck coming back. Dakota feels tears prick at his eyes at the words, but he quickly blinks them away.

"Happy birthday, baby boy. Now let's go celebrate."