Night Vale is (not) real [WTNV]

2.

Follow your heart. It's in the styrofoam cooler on the back of that pickup up ahead. Step on it. You haven't much time.

Cecil was ecstatic. Today was Saturaday, and he was going on a date. WITH CARLOS! Ok, well, he hadn't exactly called it a date. Just that Carlos was going to show him around town since he was new. But it was still him all day together with Perfect Carlos.

Cecil had fallen in love with the scientist instantly. With his strong jaw and those strong teeth and his oaky skin and his hair. Oh his dark curly perfect hair with little tips of gray by his forehead. Just ... everything. Everything about Carlos was perfectly imperfect. He liked that.

"I heading out, Austin!" He called down the hall.

"Abby! For the last time, it's Abby!" He, oh sorry, she shouted from her room. Abby poked her head out of her room, obviously a little ticked off at Cecil's mistake. "Try to get that right next time, Cecil."

"Sorry, Au...Abby. Abby." He corrected. "I just don't understand why you advertised yourself as a boy in a new town when you identify as a girl."

"Because I'm proud of the fact that I'm transgender, like you're proud of being homoromantic."

"I'm homosexual, not homoromantic."

"You're 16! How do you know your sexuality already?"

"How did you know you weren't a guy?" Cecil retorted, and Abby stayed silent. "It's just, I don't feel anything when it comes to girls. But around some guys I just wanna shove them up against the wall and ..."

"Ok, Cecil, that's a little too NSFW for me. Don't you have to go meet a future boyfriend or something?"

"Yes, I do. Thanks. Is, uh, mom ...?"

"No." Abby interrupts. "She ... went out again." Cecil doesn't say anything to this. He simply mouths 'Oh', grabs his phone and some money from the kitchen table, and leaves. He doesn't let out a breath until he's on his bike riding to the address Carlos had texted.

Did he mention he had Carlos's number?

<(•)>

"Thank you again for showing me around Carlos. I really liked this tour and the food here is really good even if I'm only having a salad. A salad is very hard to mess up but still I think it tastes good. But there's so many things that I could do here like the bowling alley and roller rink and the pool. Even though it's closed, I'm excited about it since we really don't have a pool in my old town. Sorry, am I rambling again?"

"Yes, you have." Carlos laughed. The two were finishing up the town tour at the local diner, the one Cecil had spotted on the drive in. Carlos was having a burger while Cecil simply ordered a salad. He wanted to avoid wheat and wheat by-products as much as possible.

"Sorry." He blushed.

"It's fine." Carlos assured him, making Cecil smile. "When you talk it's really ... captivating. Especially when you talk about what you're passionate about."

"Oh. Thanks." Cecil felt himself blushing again. "So, obviously I talk a lot and you probably know a lot about me. What about you?"

"Um ... well, I want to become a scientist when I'm older."

"I can tell by the lab coat." Cecil said as he gestured to the lab coat that hung loosely over Carlos's red plaid shirt. Or maybe it was flannel. He could never tell the difference anyways.

"Oh, this?" Carlos rugged at the sleeve. "It's just a gift from my mom for my birthday."

"Your mom seems nice. And you talk about her a lot when I'm not talking so much. What about the rest of your family."