Needle In A Haystack (EarthMix AU)

Chapter 9 - Chicken casserole

"-and what career path you might want to choose if perhaps higher education is to your wishes. Here is a couple of brochures you can go through, and if something piques your interest, let's talk about it in more detail tomorrow." The teacher smiled before walking around the classroom with a stack of paper brochures from different universities and handing over a several to each desk. Majority of the class just passed the papers along as a lot of Mix's classmates have already talked about working instead, and it was no surprise to him when he noticed his boyfriend passes the papers along as well. Feeling a little guilty, Mix tried to swipe away a particular brochure before Earth could see it, but it didn't escape the eyes of his cousin who quickly snatched the pamphlet out of his hand. "Seriously?" Niam flipped the paper around, smacking Mix in the face with it. "Can't you at least choose something normal like engineering, or IT? You know, manly stuff, not this fruity girly shit? My mom will never pay your tuition once I tell her you want this frou-frou nonsense. Even your oaf isn't gonna study; look!" With rather harsh shove, Niam turned his cousin's head towards his boyfriend, who just leisurely passed the brochures along without even looking at them. As the bell rang, Mix quickly tossed his backpack over one shoulder and dashed out of the classroom to escape his cousin's rude nagging and mocking, leaving the pamphlet behind. Despite Mix cussing him out during the disco night, Niam just continued bothering him at school regardless, but Mix seemed pretty good at ignoring the insults and snarky comments. It was only once he arrived home that Mix realised he has completely forgotten to talk to Earth after school, so it was no surprise when he found himself reading the several texts Earth has sent.

'Did you go home already?'

'Did he hurt you?'

'Are you okay?'

'Please call me when you get home.'

There was something very endearing about the way Earth got so concerned and Mix couldn't help but smile as he dialled his boyfriend's number. He laid on the bed with the phone on speaker phone, but quickly switched it off and placed the phone to his ear when Earth picked up. It felt like he was closer to him that way, and Earth's warm voice tickled his skin when he picked up with a soft "Hello?" Mix sighed. "Hey..."

"Did you get home safely?"

"Mmm. Sorry I didn't wait for you, I just..."

"It's alright. Can we talk? I mean if you're not busy."

"I picked up, didn't I?"

"I meant face to face."

Mix checked the time on screen. Just past 5pm. "Okay...where?"

"Can I pick you up? I'll bring you dinner."

"Really? Okay! When-?"

"You should probably go open the door." Click.

Mix frowned at the screen when the call abruptly ended, and it took him an extra second to realise what Earth's word meant. He quickly stomped outside, jaw dropping when Earth waved at him from his horse's back. "Seriously? Why not a bicycle?" Granted, horse was much cooler than a bicycle, but Mix couldn't possibly imagine parking a huge animal in their little garden. Well, tying her down or something. Earth shrugged. "Just wanted Snickers to have a change of scenery for the day. Hop on, let's have a picnic." He gestured to his backpack and patting the spot infront of him. Mix nervously chuckled. Earth has taken him for a ride quite a few times, but Mix has never just climbed on the horse himself, and he was not about to try it any time soon. When the boy wouldn't budge from his spot, Earth elegantly jumped down, grabbed his boyfriend's hips, and hoisted him up before flinging his own leg over the horse's back and securely hugging Mix's waist to centre him properly. "Where are we going?" Mix asked as he held the inner reins. "River front?" "Nah, let's go to the old mill, they cut the grass there the other day, it's gonna be nice putting the blanket down." Not so confident in his riding skills, Mix let Earth to guide Snickers around, but he slightly panicked when Earth sped up and they galloped, not slowing down until the abandoned mill building came to view.