affection

twenty three

monday

keys clatter to the ground, linda sighs and picks them up, only to toss them to the side. they land on the cabinet, the first one on the right by the door; the same door that's littered with scratches and patches of peeling wood.

two pairs of footsteps make their way upstairs somewhere, the other two pairs stay put. right by the door, next to the cabinet.

kai's mind wanders, while linda is busy emptying her pockets and taking off her shoes.

"i know you're still drinking." he states, plainly but quietly.

linda falters, "i'm not drinking."

kai says nothing, but reaches a steady hand towards the cabinet door, then grabs one of the two bottles from inside.

"they're old." she says, exhaling deeply.

"i watch you pour them into your morning coffees."

she finally seems to give in, and slumps her shoulders tiredly. "you can't just give up in one day, kai. you wouldn't understand, you have to cut down, and i am."

this time, kai falters. he knows she's lying, he knows his mom more than she knows herself. besides, this has happened before. the lying, the cutting, the relapse. he knows it's hard, but it's hard for him too.

she expects him to go on, to rant like he has done in the past, to lecture the disappointment.

instead, he just shrugs. he puts the bottle back, and grabs his skateboard before heading back outside. she could say she's surprised by this reaction, but she knows he's tired of it too. she finds it harder and harder to predict him each day.

"are you heading to school today?"

kai shakes his head, "nah. don't feel like it."

instead, the boy goes to a familiar place. his worn, scuffed shoes hit against rough concrete, pushing off and sinking his feet back firmly on the tape on his skateboard.

beads of sweat gather on his hairline, matting his locks to his forehead. the dim streetlights flicker, kai feels the humid air climb all over his tanned skin. his shirt ripples through the air as he cuts through, skating from ramp to ramp.

kai's lost in thought when his foot slips, ankle twisting slightly in the wrong direction. his palms collide with the ground, and he ends up rolling over twice.

did it hurt? yeah. did that matter? absolutely not, he gets back up and continues on. he wipes his hands from the bloodied grazes, and stares at the new cuts on his knees.

he skates until the sun sets so high in the sky, it's scorching. he figures at last, it's time for a break.

he star fishes out in the middle of the park, the concrete beneath him is warm too. he watches his chest rise and then fall again, then shakes his head to free his hair from his forehead.

suddenly, his phone chimes in the pocket of his shorts. he reaches a hand down his leg to to giant pocket, and has to squint to see his screen from the beaming sun.

kai grins as he sees who it's from.

'omg, my mom said the date with her coworker went well. looks like we'll be twinning soon.'

'twinning?' he types back fast, palms damp with sweat mixed with some blood from the fall.

his boyfriend replies instantly, 'yeah, both our moms with have new boyfriends.'

'btw, i'm not @ school today, gotta train.' kai types, smiling as he adds the boxing glove emoji on the end.

he rolls over onto his elbows now, the ground very quickly becoming uncomfortable and hard, but he ignores it. calloused hands tap the ground as he waits for a reply, kai momentarily rests his head on his arms, then uses them to wipe the sweat and hair from his face.

a sigh escapes his lips while his mind wanders to what he'll do with his time today. no school when all of your friends are at school, usually leads to a pretty boring day.

'ok, i'll tell cooper to find u after school. bee's coming to mine after classes.'

'we can all meet at urs at 8?'

it takes another minute before elliot replies, and when he does he can't stop himself from smiling.

'yea (:<'

kai pushes himself up from the ground and slides his now warm phone back into the side pocket of his shorts. he adjusts his shirt too - it was all caught up, exposing a sliver of tanned flesh above his waist.

he dawdles creating a plan for the rest of the day, and figures he'll grab some drinks from the closest convenience store, and then take a slow walk to the gymnasium he trains at. it's already the afternoon, so he should only have to waste a few hours doing nothing until cooper joins him.

but of course, on the way to the gymnasium, he'll simply have to sneak through the corridor and conveniently land himself by elliot's last class of the day.

he wouldn't be able to help himself from taking a peak through the door, just to watch.

and of course, elliot would never know. he's never noticed the million other times kai has left his last classes early to watch his studious boyfriend in his own class.

his oblivious boyfriend.

...
wc: 900
please vote!
i love the idea that elliot has no idea how obsessed kai is with him