Meant To Be (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 6

Chapter Six: Strings

 

Sleeping on the sofa was probably not the best idea Nate had ever had. He rolled over for the fourteenth time that hour and stared blankly into the dark living room. The last remaining candle was flickering, almost dead. Not only was he absolutely freezing due to the lack of electricity but he was also aware that he was far too tall to be lying on the small sofa; his legs dangled over the armrest and his head was almost at ninety degrees. He looked like an abandoned Tim Burton design.

Realising that he wasn’t going to be sleeping any time soon, Nate sat upright and ran his hands through his tousled red hair. It was starting to get a little more shaggy than he liked, tendrils tickling his neck and flopping into his eyes now and then. He sighed and leaned back whilst pointing the remote at the TV. After almost a minute of nothing happening, he realised the TV was never going to turn on without electricity and smacked the remote against his thick head.

As he sat in the darkness with nothing but his own thoughts to occupy himself he found his mind drifting to Alex. He’d only known the guy a week or so but he felt somewhat protective of him, like he needed to look out for him. Maybe it was because he was younger? Was he thinking of Alex as a younger brother because he’d never had one of his own? He shook his head, no not a brother.

“What then?” he whispered into the empty room.

“You know, talking to yourself is one of the first sign of madness.”

Alex stood in the shadows of the doorway, a blanket wrapped around his bare shoulders and a pair of pajama bottoms hanging off his waist. Nate jumped a little and then smiled,

“So I’ve heard.”

The younger lad moved towards the sofa and, after Nate shuffled over a little, sat beside the redhead. He didn’t seem as closed off as he had been but he still made sure to sit as far away as the small couch would allow. Nate leaned back and yawned loudly,

“Couldn’t sleep?”

Alex nodded, “Yeah, you?”

“I know now that a sofa is not meant to be slept on.”

The blonde smiled and relaxed a little more, involuntarily moving slightly closer to Nate. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself and shivered.

“Cold?” Nate asked as his own body seemed to catch up with the temperature. Goosebumps speckled his arms and naked torso.

“I’m alright,” Alex looked into Nate’s green eyes, “I’ve slept through worse.” He smiled suddenly, a brightness entering his eyes, and a slight blush tickled his cheeks. “Sorry, its just… I feel so lucky you know? I thought I’d be alone forever after…” The smile faded and he subconsciously traced his fingers down the scar on his chin.

“Alex, how did you get-“ Nate stopped himself, suddenly aware that he was about to ask about the scars that mottled Alex’s body. Surely he wouldn’t want to talk about something so personal so soon? Nate gathered his thoughts and continued with a little more tact, “How did you get that scar?”