Toxic [Boy x Boy]

Chapter 4

>>Kale<<

I was kind of sad to drop Dustin home after school, picturing him spending his Friday night alone with his head tucked sadly in some huge textbook like usual. But he was the same smiling teenager he'd been every other time I dropped him home this week so I wasn't too worried for the kid. He'd even sent me a cute little wink when Jay wasn't looking.

Jay still wasn't going home today - still not ready to face his dead yet. While Dustin was glowing, Jay had been mopping around my house all week, ignoring everyone and probably going through some sort of withdrawal from still not having his phone back. I was treating him to some frozen yogurt, willing to take the risk of my mother beating me with a wooden spoon for giving Jay dessert before dinner if it meant he'd cheer up a bit.

"Have you been spending lunch in the music room?" I asked to break the silence that surrounded our table in the froyo shop. I'd bought Jay two large cups of the stuff, one full of sweets and all the unhealthily things while the other was overflowing with fruits. The question and the dessert seemed to do just the trick in boosting up his mood. He was plowing into the treat as he delved into a detailed, hilarious story about how he'd gone down to the music room to try out Mr. Cage's new amp - which he explained was for the electric guitar to get plugged into - and they got so lost in how great the speaker sounded compared to the old one that they didn't hear the chorus teacher screaming at them about the volume until she had tugged the chord out of the guitar. He and the music teacher had shared a look before plugging the guitar back in and playing her out of the room. Even though I was laughing at the recount of events, my laughter was not even close to the amazing sounds coming out of Jay's mouth. His head was knocked back and I'm sure the rest of the shop was staring at him but I was too captivated by the sight to check. It was moments like this that always reminded me why I loved my best friend so much. It was also why after treating him to dessert I also drove us to the record store willing to buy him a couple. He didn't have a player but I did and he was at my house so often that it was basically the both of ours.

By the time we made it back to my place, the strong smell of spices and spaghetti sauce filled the air heavily. I hadn't even realized we had stayed out until seven. Luckily, we ate dinner late in my house or my mom would have killed me for missing what she thought was the most important meal of the day. My mom was always big on family - even though ours was very small - so having a big dinner at the end of the day with all of us at one table was really important to her. She also favored Jay over me so when we walked through the door he was enveloped in a huge hug while I was left to lock up behind us and leisurely take off my shoes.

"Here, Aria, let me help you." Jay, ever the kiss-ass, offered, taking the plates from my mother as she went to set the table. She grinned at him sweetly, a look I never got from the tiny yet fiercely scary woman. She glared over at me as she dramatically thanked Jay. "Thank you, honey. At least someone helps me out around here."

I shied away from her piercing glare, afraid that if I looked too long I'd loose my ability to see. If I was intimidating looking than my mother was terrifying. She had her own sleeves of colorful ink and long black hair with more piercings than I wanted to know about. She was also freakishly strong for a woman that was only 5'5".

"Kale, can you knock on Hunter's door and tell him that dinner's ready?" My mom asked and I shrugged, "Sure-"

"No!" Both our heads snapped over to Jay at his outburst and he blushed. "Um no," he tried, softer this time, "I can do it." He quickly volunteered but for some reason my mother seemed adamant on making me get him. It was no secret that Jay had this huge crush on Hunter but what was gonna happen if he just knocked on his door? Even I, the admittedly jealous and possessive best friend, was willing to let him do it.