Temporary Bliss [boyxboy]

19: Beethoven

Caleb

(Note: also kind of short but I swear we're getting places)

Almost a week later Finn was still not feeling - or looking - too great, but he was definitely better.
When I had announced that I was going out to get groceries, he'd begged me to come with.

At first I'd said no, told him that he should stay home because he was still sick. And I wasn't just making that up, either. The boy needed his rest.

But after some more whining, I finally gave in to his puppy dog eyes, and he seemed unreasonably excited, as though he'd never been grocery shopping before.

"For the love of God, will you please stop tapping?!" I demanded as we were in the car and Finn was prodding the window with his finger.

"Just let me enjoy my excitement for a minute, okay? I haven't been outside in so long!"

I rolled my eyes, "Quit being dramatic. It's been a couple days."

Finn didn't stop his tapping.

"I might buy you some candy if you're good," I said, glancing over at him as we pulled into the parking lot.

"I'll remember that," he promised, finally letting his hands fall into his lap.

I didn't like grocery shopping, really. It was just another thing that had to be done, a chore that had to be crossed off the to-do list. But with Finn around, I reckoned that it wasn't entirely terrible.

He was in an awfully good mood, skipping along the aisles and collecting what we needed. I wasn't quite as excited, but it was fine. Finn was having a good time, and I couldn't deny that he was pretty damn cute when he was like this.

I left him in the aisle with the coffee and tea to wander off and get some chicken.

My eyes scanned all the different kinds there were, before landing on the one I'd been looking for. I grabbed it and turned back around to retrieve Finn.

When I walked into the aisle, I saw some guy standing awfully close to him, not looking too friendly, and my instincts kicked in as I jogged over to them.

The man looked up at me and I recognized him with an internal groan.
What were the freaking odds...?!

"Caleb!" he exclaimed, as though he was pleasantly surprised to see me.

"Everything okay?" I asked curtly, not greeting him back.

"Oh, he belongs to you?" he gestured at Finn, who I'd pushed behind me protectively. The look of distaste on his face made me incredibly angry.

"You know," he started, "I think you need to teach him some proper manners. He knocked into me, made me drop my stuff."

"Did he apologize?"

"Well, yeah. But-"

"Then there's no problem," I said with a nod, "Good day."
I grabbed Finn's wrist and tugged him toward the check-out lines.

"Who was that?" he asked in confusion and I sighed.

"Rick. I know him from... Well, long story short, don't worry about him. He's just the village douchebag."

"Thought that was you," Finn said, smiling cheekily and I smacked the back of his head playfully.

"You're a dick, you know that? Come on, I think I owe you some candy."

When Finn had finally decided on some Skittles, we went up to the cash registers, but not before stopping at the DVD stand, as per usual.
I only briefly scanned what they had, but when I looked up, Finn was standing there with a grin on his face, and a DVD case clasped firmly in his hands.

"Beethoven?" I asked.

"Yeah, I used to love that movie way back, it's awesome. My dad brought it home one day and I was hooked."
He smiled, but it was kind of a sad smile. The kind of smile that made me feel bad for him, because he really didn't deserve all the shit he'd gone through with his dad, not at all.

I decided not to comment on the ridiculousness of the movie, for Finn's sake.

"Get it," I said without thinking.

Finn seemed to ponder it for a second, before shrugging: "Nah. It's cool."
He put the DVD back and I rolled my eyes.

"Just get it. I want you to have it."

"No, it's fine. Let's go," he insisted and pulled me to the checkouts, starting to pile our groceries up onto the register.

I couldn't help feeling the slightest bit annoyed. For once I wanted to do something nice for him and he'd declined?

When we had paid, I gave Finn the bag and the car keys.
"Go ahead, I forgot something," I told him and he nodded, walking out into the parking lot.

I went back to the DVDs and picked up the very same one that Finn had just put back.

As I handed it to the cashier, I had to surpress a smile, because yeah, Finn was turning me into such a fucking girl lately.

But this was nothing unusual for friends to do, right? I mean, not necessarily in mine and Finn's friendship, but it wasn't weird, was it?

I shook my head to myself as I headed out to the car.
No, I reckoned that I was just being a good friend for a change.

---

When we were at home a little later, unpacking the groceries, Finn finally found it.
I was at the other side of the kitchen when he gasped and immediately I ducked my head, avoiding eye contact. I was suddenly regretting buying the movie.

"You... You got it?"

I nodded wordlessly, trying my best not to blush, cause that was definitely not cool.
I went back to putting things into the fridge, taking more time than necessary to avoid conversation.

"For me?" Finn added, and when I looked up, he was biting his lip and smiling at me.

"Uh... No," I denied, coughing uncomfortably, "I, uh, I like that movie too."

I was lying through my teeth, but it didn't matter cause at least it made me feel less sappy.

"You're a fucking liar," Finn grinned and I knew I was caught then, but I kept my cool.

"Am not," I said nonchalantly, "I got it for me, not for you."

It was quiet between us for a few seconds and I turned my back to my best friend, unnecessarily straightening out the cereal boxes on top of the fridge.

"Well... Thanks for definitely not buying the movie for me," I heard the smile in Finn's voice, and suddenly his arms were around my waist.
I tensed up, but didn't make a move to push him away.

Then, Finn was pressing a tiny, barely-there kiss to the back of my neck before he moved off, skipping into the living room while humming under his breath.

He left me standing there grinning like an idiot as I touched my fingers to the spot where Finn's lips had been in disbelief.

I should have been yelling, getting angry at him because, well... He couldn't just do that!
But I didn't, instead I let out a quiet, disbelieving laugh at how insane I was going.

What in the world was this kid doing to me?