not as strong as you think i am (i'm no superman) [dalkenzie]

Chapter 7

A/N: apologies in advance this may seem like another short/dull/filler chapter, but again I wanted a little buildup to the vital part of this section and reassure this story's not dead yet. I do have the majority of the ending written out that should be worth another couple chapters or so, it's just a matter of stitching the scenes together. Cheers xo

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MacKenzie sighed under the cooled locker room spray trailing down his skin. Gym had been the last class today, so he could afford some extra minutes to linger and unwind.

Even if it was a matter of life or death, one wouldn't get a straight answer out of him of if the day had been any better. The grumbles and whispers hadn't been heard- at least not within his earshot- but people outside of his friends circle were still avoiding him.

Mack bit his lip. He'd had another quick talk with Mr. Owen near the end of lunch break about how he, and in a sense Dalton as well, was supposed to take being alienated like this. In the end, it had basically been the same advice he'd received when people treated him differently after coming out; if he didn't worry about impressing those people then there was no need to worry about impressing them now. That also made sense on a fundamental level, but it didn't mean it easy.

After MacKenzie had dried off and dressed and was en route to his car, his phone shook with an incoming text. "Hm?" He tapped the screen to see it was from Dad. Did some emergency pop up-

-nope. He and Mom were likely to be a little later because of a traffic reroute but they were fine and he could have dinner as early as he felt like. Mack chuckled a bit and pocketed the phone. Even with this new level of communication, they were still letting him think for himself on some things.

He'd been home for about an hour and a half, absorbed deep in a biology paper when his stomach began growling. "Ah, dangit-" That happened when he got caught up in work, not thinking about eating until the last minute. And since he was the only one here right now- Hmm, maybe...

He dug out his Home Ec binder stuffed with recipes and idly flipped through until one dish from a few months ago caught his eye, vegetables seasoned a particular way and baked on a sheet pan to be served with chicken.

Sure, why not.

MacKenzie turned the shuffle on his phone on for background music as he went back and forth through the kitchen, tasks and tunes providing something to focus on. First it was a matter of prepping the chicken with a honey and salsa mixture from another recipe, then letting that slowly cook as he rummaged through the vegetable bins and cupboard of cooking staples. At least he couldn't complain like some students over there never being anything edible in the house.

His Home Ec grades were passable but he didn't consider himself a cook even with how often he was home (hence a silent prayer every time he looked in on the chicken). Depending if anyone was with him, it often just felt easier to order pizza or heat leftovers.

A wistful smile touched MacKenzie's face; even if he'd been concentrating on this cooking so not to be worrying over Dalton, thinking of him happened anyway. Because damn, that boy knew how to work an oven. It had to be an Italian thing. He could usually be counted on to gift cookies for a friend's birthday, or when during family holidays MacKenzie would pop over for a quick hello, his boyfriend would be at the stovetop mixing something that smelled so good it was magical.

He leaned his head against the cooled freezer door and sighed. Dalton was special in so many ways, from little gestures to a big heart, he deserved to know that people cared about him as much as he cared about them...and that included MacKenzie.