Just Different

Chapter 15

Rob almost flew out if his seat when the final bell rang. He had to go meet Brad now. Emotions were flooding him and he was becoming nervous.

Brad was standing by the flagpole, just like the day he had taken Rob out to eat. It wasn't rainy today though. It was still cloudy and humid, but the rain had ceased.

"Hey Brad," Rob breathed as he approached his friend. Brad looked up and Rob and grinned.

"Hey! Ready to go?" Brad nodded his head over to the street. Rob nodded, giving Brad a soft, small smile.

"I have an Xbox at home. We can probably play like Halo or something. Or we can just hangout in my room, watch a movie or whatever." Brad stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I'm fine with whatever," Rob said quietly. Brad laughed and shook his head.

"C'mon it's up to you. You're my guest." They laughed and crossed the street. "But if you want to know the best option, Halo is pretty fun. We can play in forge or maybe try the campaign in legendary."

"In legendary? I don't think I can even keep up with the easiest difficulty," Rob laughed.

"I can't either, and Mike gives me so much crap for it! But we can still probably try." They neared a house and Rob was surprised how quickly they got there.

"You live so close to the school," Rob giggled. Brad laughed and nodded.

"Good thing too. I sometimes sleep in." Brad took a key from his lanyard and unlocked the front door. "Ma, I'm home! And with Rob!"

A lady emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. "Hello," she smiled and hugged Brad. She held out her hand towards Rob, introducing herself.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you. Brad seems to really like you." Rob blushed. If only she meant it in the way Rob wanted.

"Ma," Brad said shyly as she laughed. "Where gonna go play on the Xbox."

"I'll call you over when the food's ready."

Brad motioned for Rob to follow him. The crossed the living room and made their way down the hall. Rob's heart was fluttering. Picture frames of Brad filled the walls. Even baby pictures. Brad opened his bedroom door.

Rob chewed his lip. His breath caught in his throat. He was in Brad's room. He clutched the strap to his backpack, Brad's scent surrounding him. Rob began to feel slightly lightheaded from the exhilarating moment, but he shook it off, not wanting to look weird.

"You can just set your bag down here by mine," Brad said as he set his bag by the foot of his bed. Rob put his bag down as Brad walked across the room towards his desk to turn on the television and grab the console controllers.

"Here ya go." Brad gave Rob one of the controllers. He sat down on his bed and patted the spot next to him. Rob sat down slowly and settled down as Brad set up the game.

"We can 'warm up' on forge for now," Brad started. "Mike and Joe have higher ranks than I do and I have to beat them!"

The two boys laughed softly. Rob stared at Brad, a habit that he wasn't keeping under control. Then he noticed a scarred bump on Brad's cheek.

"What happened here?" Rob asked softly, his fingers reaching up and brushing against the spot gently. His hand recoiled when Brad jumped in surprise at the touch.

"Oh, erm, Farrel kinda whacked me," Brad chuckled. Rob frowned. He thought Chester would try keeping Dave and his friends under control. Maybe Dave just didn't want to listen either.

"I'm sorry."

"Oh no, no. It's cool. It be bad of me to say I should be used to it by now though." The game started and the pair began playing against each other. "Ph--Dave wasn't always like this either."