The Unexpected [Boy x Boy Romance]

Chapter Ten: Exploration

It wasn't a surprise that Derek's grades plummeted again after the whole... Incident. It was easy to see that he was depressed, and that was dangerous for someone like Derek. He never thought before he acted - he was a loose canon. Who knew what he'd do? Donnie tried desperately to keep his companion in good spirits, and still tried to help him out with homework and such, and it worked more and more as the days went by, but it was still pretty evident Derek was struggling. Donnie hated to see him struggle, but this was just something he had to work through. On the bright side, Derek did agree to going a counselor. It was a school counselor, not Aiden, but someone more well equipped to help out in situations like this. So, things weren't as terrible as they could have been, but there was still danger in the situation.

Which is why Donnie had planned a special day for the two of them. Something to get Derek's mind off of this mess, to get away from those awful, nagging feelings. It was just going to be a day of fun, in a safe place where they could be open with their relationship and not have to worry about ridicule. Or bumping into anyone from school. Well... Most likely they wouldn't bump into anyone they knew. The city! Fun and full of adventure! And, for the most part, a safe zone. Who could complain?

"Come on, Derek, get off your ass, it's time to go!" Donnie chided, pulling the sheets off of Derek's bed, as well as Derek, who had been hiding under there for what, the millionth time that day? It didn't even look very comfortable. He was fully dressed and wearing his shoes.

"Come on, man, I know you're still bummed and maybe not up to doing anything, but I really think this might be good for you. It's just one day. And we can leave any time you want. Just gimmie a chance to try and cheer you up, okay?" He checked the time on his phone and sighed inwardly. "Plus, we're burning daylight." It was already 10:45, and it took a good hour and a half to get there.

Derek didn't move. Instead, he just grunted defiantly. He reached a groping hand out, obviously trying to find the blankets, which were on the floor and nowhere near the searching extremity. Instead, it grabbed onto Donnie's hand. Donnie gripped tightly to Derek's hand, and forced him into a sitting position. "Come on," he said again, this time more in a quiet, calming tone. Donnie sat down next to the other male and leaned into him, placing a sweet kiss to his cheek. "Let yourself have a good time. Please? Let me just do this for you, okay? I'll buy you whatever you want, we can go wherever you want, we can eat whatever you want... It'll be a great day, and if it isn't, I'll let you punch me in the nose, how about that?" To that, Derek rolled his eyes. Finally, a reaction! How did Donnie know that violence would do the trick! Derek looked to Donnie incredulously, his thick, toony eyebrows raised. "Ohh, you know I could never ruin that pretty face of yours," he hissed mockingly, placing a rough kiss to Donnie's lips. Donnie smirked slightly at the aggressive action. It was nice. "Well," he began, returning the kiss with one of his own, and this time adding a little nip to Derek's bottom lip, "If you say so. But... That'd be the only time you'll ever be able to land a hit on me, since, you know, you suck at fighting. This is your decision, though. If you wanna skip out on that opportunity, then that's fine with me." He shrugged slightly. "I'm sure the whole deal would be out of the question anyway since you'd be too busy enjoying yourself." Derek rolled his eyes. "Whatever, man. We'll see about that. Get your shit together and let's go." Oh, of course. This was a challenge, now. Why wouldn't it be? Giving an eye roll of his own, Donnie got to his feet and followed Derek out of the room. The two gathered up whatever it was they needed, and were on their way out the door.

The ride was surprisingly short. Maybe that was because they couldn't keep their hands off of each other. They were constantly poking, prodding, pinching, and laughing. If Donnie could have, he definitely would have kicked Derek's butt. But of course, that'd have to wait until he was done with all of this driving.