Social Norms (Synacky)

Chapter Forty

Brian woke up in the night suddenly, heart thundering in his chest. He had heard a sound, he was sure of it. He paused, waiting, listening, and then he heard it again. Tap tap tap.

His head whipped toward the window, and he cautiously, slowly pulled the curtain aside.

There was no one initially outside, it wasn’t possible, but he looked at the ground fifteen feet below, and saw Zacky gently toss another pebble, which hit the window with a soft tap.

He sighed with relief, and Zacky smiled sheepishly and waved. Brian slipped out of his room and slunk down the stairs to the front door. “Zacky!” he whispered loudly, and Zacky ran around the side of the house.

“What are you doing here, it’s the middle of the night?” he asked, rubbing his hand over his face.

“Can I stay with you tonight?” Zacky asked, and that’s when Brian noticed the real state Zacky was in. His face was sad, so sad, and he looked even more tired than Brian felt.

“Oh, um, yeah, come on.” Brian opened the door wider for Zacky to enter, and said, “We gotta be quiet, everyone else is asleep.”

Zacky followed Brian up to his room, and he shut the door softly behind them. “So what happened?” he asked, climbing into his bed and motioning for Zacky, who took off his shoes and socks and pants before sliding under the covers at his side, taking up as little space as possible. Brian frowned, pulling Zacky close to him.

“I um, I told my parents about us.” Zacky buried his face in Brian’s chest, and Brian instinctively wrapped his arms around him.

“And?” he asked quietly, pressing his lips to the top of Zacky’s head.

“They kicked me out. Well, my dad did.”

Brian glowered, “What?” he asked, “They kicked you out?”

“Just for the night, it’s not a big deal.” Zacky shrugged. “He just got mad, that’s all.”

That wasn’t as bad as Brian had thought, but it was still horrible. “What?” he repeated, “No way. Your dad made you leave the house in the middle of the night because you told him we were dating?”

“It wasn’t the middle of the night, then. It was like ten or so. I went to the park first, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep there, so I just debated for a few hours and then came over here. It’s happened before. He just has a… temper, sometimes.”

Brian’s heart broke for Zacky, and he tilted his chin up so he could kiss him softly. “Oh, Zee.” He whispered, kissing him again. “Baby, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, I should’ve… done it differently or something.” Zacky pressed his lips against Brian’s neck. “Thank you for letting me stay with you tonight, I really needed this.”

“Don’t worry about it, Zacky. You can stay with me whenever you want.” Brian ran his fingers through Zacky’s hair, peppering his face with kisses. He tucked his fingers under Zacky’s shirt and, with Zacky’s nod of ascent, he slipped it over his head.

Brian smiled softly as he traced over a black fingerprint still left behind on Zacky’s torso. It was hard to make out in the dark room, but it was there.

“I tried to scrub it off…” Zacky murmured, “But I didn’t want to break the skin.”

“I hope mine stays forever.” He whispered, taking Zacky’s hand to place it on the white handprint on his chest. “I want to remember that forever.”

Zacky smiled, then turned onto his back and snuggled into the blankets. “You hung your painting up, I see.”

“It’s a masterpiece.” Brian replied, “I love it.”

Zacky smiled, tilting his head to kiss Brian’s jaw. “I thought you would.”

They filtered into comfortable silence, and Brian began to doze off, when he heard Zacky whisper, “I want to dye my hair.”

“What color?” Brian asked, fingers curling in Zacky’s hair absently.

“Purple. Just the top though. And under it will still be black.” He smiled softly, although his eyes were closed in pleasure from Brian’s movements. “Maybe that’s too far?”

“No.” Brian replied, playing with Zacky’s hair. “I think it’ll be beautiful. Besides, purple is the best color, anyway.”

“Purple?” Zacky asked, voice getting sleepy. “Oh yeah, I guess purple is your favorite color. You picked it for the painting I have at home.”

“Yeah.” Brian smiled softly as he stared down at Zacky, whose breathing was becoming slow and steady as he dozed off. He kissed Zacky’s temple, running his fingers softly down Zacky's cheek, and he jerked himself from sleep, blinking a few times.

“I’m awake, I’m awake.” He sighed, looking up at Brian. “I’m not falling asleep.”

Brian laughed, pressing a kiss to Zacky’s forehead. “You don’t have to stay awake, Zacky.” He ran his hand down one of Zacky’s arms. “You can go to sleep. I’ll have to admit, it is pretty comfortable here…”

Zacky made a small noise of agreement, mumbling, “What time is it?”

“Like 4:15 or something.” Brian replied, “You’ve had a really long night.”

Zacky nodded. “But I don’t want to go to sleep yet.” Brian could barely see the blush dust across Zacky’s cheeks as he whispered, “I’m scared.”

“Why?” Brian frowned, “I’m right here, I’m holding you tight. There’s absolutely nothing to be afraid of. And you, you’re seventeen, you can handle anything that might have you scared.”

“Not the nightmares.” Zacky’s voice was small and vulnerable. He sighed and closed his eyes again. “I can’t handle those.”

“Zee… they’re not real, they’re never going to happen. They’re just figments of your imagination that try to scare you, but they don’t mean anything. They can’t hurt you.”

“They were real.” Zacky whispered. “They were very real.”

Then Brian realized they must have been memories. He kissed Zacky’s neck and whispered, “We can make a good memory right now, to cover up that bad dream.” He trailed his lips down Zacky’s neck to his collarbone. “How does that sound?”

Zacky tried to keep from reacting, but Brian saw the shiver than ran down his spine. “I-I don’t know…” he murmured, gasping as Brian bit down lightly on his shoulder. “I-I don’t think so.”

“You sure?” Brian trailed his fingers down Zacky’s chest, tucking them into the elastic of his boxers. His fingers ran over that strange, smooth scar.

He was surprised when Zacky flinched, yanking away. “Yes, yes, I’m sure.” He answered, voice rushed, “Please don’t, Brian.”

Brian pulled away, resorting to running his fingers through Zacky’s hair again. “Okay.” He whispered, “I’m sorry.” Then after a moment, “Good night, Zacky.”

Zacky’s voice was barely audible as he replied, “Good night.”