Some Sugar and Honey (Boy X Boy)

Chapter 8 - What He Whispered to Me...

      After we agreed that the basement would be the best place for our discussion, Maddox grabbed a few snacks and drinks (alcoholic and not) before leading me down the dark stairwell that sat completely unnoticed behind a curtain in the kitchen.

      The stairs creaked and groaned as we slowly made our way down.  I could feel some boards shift slightly as I stepped on them making me pause to make sure it was safe.  I'll admit, I'm not a tiny guy so stepping on old, creaky, shifting boards made me paranoid.

      Once we reached the bottom, Maddox flicked on a light switch and the entire room immediately illuminated with a shade of yellow.

"Welcome to the safe space!  Or bomb shelter as my dad calls it."  He shrugged as he moved on.  What I was actually wondering was who called it the safe space, but it didn't seem like I would get an answer.  Maddox set down his boxes of snacks and a small lunch bag that had the drinks next to a small, red bean bag chair.  I chuckled under my breath a little as I began taking in the scene.  It was such a messy space, the only clear area was where I stood in front of the steps.  The bean bag sat right in front of me, next to an old, dusty television.  Exercise equipment that looked like it hadn't been touched in years sat on the far right along with old, dusty chairs and a couple small plastic tables.  A mini fridge sat behind a pile of old junk next to the television.  I sighed a little, good thing I'm not allergic to dust...

"So!"  Maddox flopped down onto the bean bag, a loud 'poof' sound coming from it as he landed.  "Grab some chair or something."  I let out a slight 'ah' as he gave out the command.  I looked around for a non moldy looking chair, failing miserably.  I could hear Maddox sigh and a ruffling sound.  "Never mind, you can sit in this."  He moved over to the steps, sitting down on the second from the bottom.  I felt a little guilty by this, letting out a choked whine.  Well... I debated, he got up and moved so it would be rude not to sit.  I hesitantly lowered myself, realizing quickly that I might have been too tall for the small sack.  Awkwardly, I sat down, feeling extremely uncomfortable.  He wasn't THAT much shorter than me but he somehow managed to make it look comfier than it really was.  

      Maddox reached out his arm, creating a swiping motion, "Bring those over here."  I turned, grabbing the bag and boxes and handing them over to Maddox who set them directly in between us.  If I hadn't been in such an awkward position I probably would have been able to reach them easily but that wasn't exactly the case.

"So,"  he started, zipping open the bag and pulling out a new can of beer.  What happened to his other one?  "You had a lot of questions up there, huh?"  I kind of nodded, kind of because I could barely get my head to move (out of uncomfortable-ness and just because he started a conversation with me).  He grinned charmingly, swirling the can gently.  "Well," he sighed, "I guess I'll just explain whatever comes to mind and if I answer one I answer one."  he looked up to the roof as he spoke, sounding slightly exhausted all of a sudden.  I nodded in response, spreading my legs out far enough that I could sit forward a bit (that and they were growing extremely painful from the position).

      After a minute or two of getting accustomed to the musty room and opening the snacks Maddox began explaining what he could aka wanted to.  "Well..."  he started slowly, attempting to open a small gummy bag.  "I really don't feel like I'm in the storytelling mood..."  he pouted a bit, pulling open the bag with a start as gummies went flying here and there.  We sat in silence for a bit before I let out a small chuckle.  I didn't intend to but I couldn't help it.  

"S-sorry..."  I apologized, my face feeling warm from embarrassment.  He looked at me with wide eyes for a few seconds before chuckling a bit himself.  "Nehh, it's fine."  He set the now empty bag next to him on the stairs.  "I'll get those on our way up."  he crossed his legs as he rested his arms on them.  "Now..." he sighed as he glanced up to the roof again.  "I'll just say... things haven't been going as well as I planned."  He closed his eyes as if attempting to repress a bad memory.  I didn't respond in fear of screwing up again.  A few seconds after, he placed his legs straight, leaning his back off the step behind him.  "You know, that ol' no good group or whatevers, they really aren't the nicest people ever."  He voice grew displeased the longer he spoke, making him sound extremely serious by the end.  I nodded.