Peaked in High School

Weekend at Bernie's

Everett smooths his thumb over his partner's freshly shaven jaw while he's distracted looking at the road in front of him.

"Why do you keep petting me?" Beau asks with a chuckle, not breaking eye contact with the highway that they are currently speeding down. Used to Beau's chaotic driving, Everett has learned to relax and not clutch onto the edges of his seat when there is a 55 MPH speed limit sign in their vicinity.

"I just can't believe you actually shaved. You seemed really attached to your facial hair," he explains while tracing a finger above Beau's naked upper-lip.

Beau pretends to bite his finger, causing Everett to finally retract his hand and playfully slap his shoulder.

"I wasn't attached to it, it was attached to me." He smirks at his own smart-ass response. Rolling his eyes at this, Everett sits back in his seat. "That was an awful dad joke," he declares while trying to suppress his own laughter. What can he say? He's a sucker for a dumb joke from a hot guy—he's only human, after all.

The day has been odd so far. They left not too long ago to make their way to Columbus where Finn and Mrs. Coleman reside. Beau has been trying to seem nonchalant all day, but he's definitely tense about the whole ordeal. Wanting to calm his partner's nerves, Everett has been doing his best to distract and uplift the anxious man.

"Better to have dad jokes than to have a joke of a dad," Beau deadpans, effectively bringing the mood right back down. The driver has his left elbow resting on the window of the car with his head leaned on it as he steers with his right hand. Even with sunglasses on, Everett can see how tired and stressed he looks.

Sighing, Everett responds, "You're not wrong there. Do you want to talk about the visit? We haven't spoken about it yet and I don't want you to bottle up your emotions before seeing him again."

"He's an ass."

"Beau."

"What else is there for me to talk about, snook? Everything I have to say about him is what you and Finn already heard the other day. He was a shitty father who fucked with my head and bullied Finn," Beau contends as he switches into the left lane, lays on the gas and moves back into the right lane to get ahead of a car that he seems to have deemed too slow.

Turning the volume on the radio down, Everett tries gently pressing the topic some more. "Do you know what you're going to say to him?"

There's a beat of silence.

Beau straightens his posture and puts both hands on the steering wheel. "I haven't stopped thinking about what I'm gonna say since I agreed to this shit show," he admits.

Everett grabs his right hand and squeezes it in an attempt to comfort him.

"I think it all depends on what he says. It pisses me off that he's still in control like this, but he's gonna be the one who decides if we're cool or not. I've played a million scenarios in my head and honestly anything can happen at this point."

"Just remember, your mom and brother will be right there with you the whole time. You're not alone," Everett consoles.

Squeezing Everett's hand, Beau looks at him before quietly asking, "And you?"

"And me."

-

After ten minutes of circling the blocks nearby, Beau finally finds a legal place to parallel park the car in a spot not too far away from the apartment. His arm is draped across Everett's shoulders as he guides him through a sketchy alleyway leading to the address of the apartment that Finn sent them the other day. The front door is locked, so Beau calls his brother to come let them into the building.