Black Licorice and Butterscotch // Dennor

Embarrassing Emil

Mathias and Lukas got out of the car in stealth mode, the two of them crouching as they approached the clearing in the woods all local teenagers knew well. 

Although the late sunset of Norwegian June meant that they were practically sneaking around in broad daylight, they still crept with the intensity of a set of robbers in the dark. There was something stupidly entertaining about acting like they weren't visible when Mathias very clearly stuck out like a sore thumb in the woods. 

As they approached the smoky clearing where a group of kids had lit a fire, Lukas recognized the voices of a few of the teens. Those were definitely Emil's friends. 

The pair tried desperately not to make noise as they slowly walked towards the campfire, stepping carefully over sticks and piles of dead leaves. Lukas looked over at the Dane, who was now making frantic symbols with his hands that were difficult not to burst out laughing at.

Lukas mouthed a 'what' and Mathias motioned for him to get closer as he leant against a large tree that shielded him from the clearing. Lukas snuck over and slid behind the tree with Mathias, the two standing uncomfortably close as Mathias crouched down to get closer to Lukas' face. Lukas clenched his jaw as he could practically feel Mathias' lips against his ear.

"We gotta make a game plan" he whispered. Lukas looked up at him with a confused look on his face. 

"What do you suggest?" Lukas asked quietly. 

"Well are we going to scare them? Embarrass him? What is the play?"

"Shame is a strong motivator in this family" Lukas whispered back lightheartedly, "I say we go the embarrassing route."

"Oh you got it" Mathias shot back with a wink, his proximity to Lukas making that far more seductive than he was anticipating. The two blushed slightly and back away from each other, with Mathias clearing his throat and Lukas turning to head back to the tree he was previously hiding behind in order to run from the tension. 

The two continued creeping forwards on the trail until they were only 5 or so meters from the campfire. Lukas looked over at Mathias on the other side of the path to see how he was planning to attack this next. To Lukas' surprise, Mathias stood up tall, puffed his chest out, and began walking straight towards the group of teens. 

Panicked, Lukas jumped out from the tree he was hiding behind and followed meekly, not entirely sure what Mathias was going for here.

"Oh wow what a coincidence!" Mathias exclaimed loudly, staring at one of the teenagers he assumed was Lukas' brother. "Looks like your brother is here!"

"Over here" Emil stated montonously, raising a hand in the air as the other teens began to snicker. Mathias looked over at Emil with a slightly taken aback expression before returning to his typicaly confident demeanor. 

"Hope nothing illegal is going on here.." Mathias exclaimed, somehow giving the energy of someone's divorced father desperately trying to connect with his son's friends. This ambush was not going as anticipated. Lukas was pretty sure this was actually making Emil more cool. The teen wasn't embarrassed in the slightest. 

"Is this the guy who gave you his number?" Emil suddenly asked, turning towards Lukas with a grin on his face. "I was not expecting him to look like he hauled lumber for a living." 

The two adults' faces flushed red, eliciting even more laughter from Emil's cohort. Lukas could see Mathias fighting with himself to figure out what to say next. Little did the Dane know, no one was going to be able to combat Emil's dry sass other than Lukas. 

"Alright just get in the car you're coming home"

Emil snorted. "Um, no."

His friends laughed again. Mathias looked like he was getting increasingly more uncomfortable at the boldness of the teen.