"I just..wanna get it outta my system...you know?" The tan boy sighs to his older brother, who was cooking a meal in the kitchen. "The best way to do that is to be yourself, you know" Hero says, not looking up from the food he was making.
"I've heard it..and i try to be me! Listen, there's only two Kel's." Kel says, kicking his feet that were dangling off the counter top. "There's the Kel that everybody knows and loves! The Kel that's optimistic, kind, and always full of energy! Then there's the other Kel...the Kel that has other emotions other than just happiness all around.."
"Yeah, and maybe you need to let Basil see that side of you! I've seen it, it's not too bad." Hero says with a smile as he walks over to a cabinet and grabs something out of it.
"But..Basil is so fragile..and i get crazy when I'm emotional!" Kel says with a whine. "You may be right, but he's also a nice guy! He'll forgive you if you do something and it goes south." Hero reassures his worried brother.
"But what if..." Kel says before stopping, shutting himself up. A quick pause fills the space between the brothers.
"What? It's rude to stop talking mid sentence, you know" Hero says, breaking said silence.
With a hesitant voice, Kel finishes what he was saying. "What if..Basil..still has...you know...a thing for Sunny.."
More silence.
Hero was thinking of what to say that would make Kel think positively, but Kel took his silence the wrong way. "Yeah...he does..doesn't he..?" Kel says quietly with a sad tone; yet he still manages to let out a small chuckle.
Kel always found a way to have a laugh during even the worst of situations. That's just how he was raised.
"Kel.." Hero looks up from the vegetables he was dicing to check on his brother. He sets his chopping knife down and walks over to his brother. He leans up to Kel's body that was perched on the counter and gave him a hug, patting him on the back. "Kelsey... look at me.." Hero asks his younger brother.
Hero called him Kelsey and not Kel. He only ever does that when he's worried or mad, and by the tone of his voice, he wasn't mad.
Kel lifts his head and looks at Hero. They make eye contact and Hero's brows are furrowed. "Listen, Basil might still like Sunny, but that doesn't mean he can't like you too. It's normal to have multiple crushes."
"I know..but what if he likes him more and what if don't stand a chance against Sunny!" Kel says with that same whine from earlier. He seems to be lightening back up.
"Kel, I know this may sound weird coming from your brother, but I think you are very handsome, kind, and a delight to be around. And if Basil doesn't find those things attractive, well then what can you do" Hero says with confidence, trying to get that same confidence enforced into Kel.
There was another set of silence.
"Thank you..Hero," Kel begins. "That helped."
YOU ARE READING
Nights Without You ٭ Cactiflower
Romance⟬Cover art by me!!⟭ Kel has always loved Basil-or for at least as long as he could remember. He tries to get advice from everyone, but it's just all the things he's heard before. "Be you" and "just talk to him" gets hard to hear after a while. One d...
