The Life And Death Crisis [TicciDrowned AU]

[Six]

The song is "Not Warriors" by Waterparks!

As it turns out, spray paint is a lot more fun than Toby originally thought. He isn't very good at the whole art thing, but the fun, swirly abstract mess he's made on the wall is decent. Ben's artwork has overlapped his a little, but it looks pretty cool. It gives it a nice, almost multi-dimensional effect.

Ben slides down the ladder, grinning and a little sweaty, then flops onto the paint-spattered grass. He sighs, content, as it cools his skin. "Come lay down, princess." He murmurs, eyes closed, and Toby hesitates for a moment before he lays down beside him.

Before he can even get comfy though, Ben is lacing their fingers together and tugging him even closer with a frown. "You're so far away." He complains, squeezing Toby's hand, and if this keeps up, Toby might just have to kiss him and see what happens.

If he's not careful, Ben might be the boy that crushes his little gay heart.

The boys don't stay long, just enough to relax a little, then pack up their things. "Keep up, princess!" Ben shouts, sprinting ahead, more assimilated to the uneven terrain than Toby and therefore able to walk more than four steps without having a near-death experience.

"Trying- calm your tits."

Eventually, they navigate their way back to the parking lot they met up in and Ben kisses Toby's cheek before he leaves. The brunet tells himself that it's simply platonic, but his cheeks bloom with colour like vibrant pink rose petals despite it. Yeah, this boy will be the one to break him.

-

"Toby, hon, can you fetch Lyra?"

Toby looks up at his mom and shrugs before hauling himself up off of the couch and wandering up the stairs. From the middle step, he can hear her talking, which means she hasn't snuck out to meet up with mister high school dropout. "Ma wants you." He says, knocking gently on her bedroom door. "Sure thing." It's a peaceful exchange. Shocker. They start down the stairs together, bumping each other with their hips and shoulders as they go down, each trying to make it down first.

Lyra gets there first, surprise, surprise.

While the two have their little tête-à-tête, Toby wanders into the kitchen, settling against the fridge and pulling his phone out of his pocket. Ben's texted him a bunch of heart and skull emojis. That's so fuckin edgy, man.

He responds with his own set of emojis, then abandons the device on the counter while he scours the cupboards for munchies.

He's so fucking gone for Ben. The guy's cute, and sweet, and funny, and really just a great guy all around. But Toby can't help feeling a little reserved about it. In a town like this, it seems almost like Ben cosied up far too quickly. His friendship means the world, of course, but that doubt isn't just going to go away because the friendship means a lot.

What a fuckin mess.

--

Y'all,
I'd like to apologise for yanking you around so much with updates and such. It's quite impolite on my part, but I'm really doing my best. Most of this chapter was written prior to my third vanishing act, and you can definitely see where the split is. The next chapter will be much better, and much longer. Thanks for staying on the ride, even when it got bumpy.
- XOXO, Gbe