The Stars That Night [boyxboy]

The Stars That Night {2}

                I knew the boy glaring at us, though certainly not well. His name was Silas, and he was friends with Akira's older brother.

                I'd seen him around, though never talked to him. I knew even Akira's interactions with him were hardly existent.

                I also knew the man who came running out of the backdoor with a fire extinguisher in his hands. He sprayed down the fire, Silas crossing his arms as he watched.

                Raymund Edmon cursed loudly as he sprayed out the last of the fire. He shoved the fire extinguisher into Silas's arms and turned his furious expression on us.

                "Jack Waymire, did you just set my goddamn lawn on fire again?" Ray snapped.

                "It was an honest mistake. No one saw that coming," Jack said with a nervous laugh.

                "I called it," Akira said.

                "No one relevant saw that coming," Jack said.

                Ray pointed at Jack's house. "Go get your father. Now."

                "Shit," Jack hissed, but headed towards his house.

                Ray had nurtured a dislike of Jack since Jack was a kid, because Jack always managed to wreck his lawn. Silas had entered the picture a few years ago, never speaking to Jack but always getting Ray whenever something like this happened and letting Ray deal with it.

                "He wasn't trying to hit your yard, it just went wrong," I said.

                "It always goes wrong!" Ray said, turning that glare on me.

                He was certainly an intimidating man, with incredibly muscled arms and a chiseled look to him. Silas set the fire extinguisher down and stepped up next to Ray, not nearly as intimidating but certainly a work in progress.

                "You can't excuse his stupidity forever. This keeps happening," Silas said.

                "He's not stupid," I said. "He's just...persistent. It was just an accident."

                "He set the lawn on fire again," Silas said. "Let him set his own damn lawn on fire."

                "He usually does," I said. "You put the fire out, no harm done. He'll be more careful next time."

                "There better not be a next time," Ray grumbled.

                The back door opened and we watched as Jack came out with his father. Mr. Waymire was a tall man, neatly dressed and with an impassionate face. He was a quiet man, and though he didn't have the impressive build that Ray did, he was terrifying in his own way. Jack looked extremely nervous as they approached Ray and Silas.

                "Your damn kid set my lawn on fire again, Waymire. How many times does he have to do that before you quit letting him play around with fireworks? I have to keep a fire extinguisher near my backdoor because you can't control him," Ray said, gesturing to his smoking lawn.

                Mr. Waymire looked down at Jack. Jack winced and gave an anxious smile.

                "Look, it was an accident and we didn't..." He began fidgeting with his hands under the weight of his father's look. "I know we shouldn't...It just..." His shoulders slumped. "Yes, sir. I know I'm on extra chore duties for two weeks." Mr. Waymire tilted his head the slightest. "Okay, yea, three weeks. Got it." Another slight head tilt had Jack sighing and turning to Ray. "I'm sorry I set your yard on fire again, Mr. Edmon."