See In Him

19

TW⚠️⚠️:
Mentions of Conversion therapy

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Kennith absolutely hated airplanes. He had only been on four in his entire life, and never had he found one without other passengers. There were too many people, it was hot, the seats were too small, it was loud—the list was endless. Most of the time, the destination was never worth it.

While they boarded, Jesse was still quiet. There were chances for little jokes or comments, but he didn't make any when Kennith expected him to. The guy still seemed scared more than sad, and it was only getting worse.

Jesse was seated by the window with Kennith crammed uncomfortably in the middle and Micheal in the aisle seat. On his left, the boy could feel Jesse's arm brushing his. Kennith could feel the germs sitting under him on those unwashed seats. It made him want to gag.

"You comfy?" his father asked. The boy could only glare and say, "Do I look comfy? Who the fuck likes planes? I'm not comfy at all. Stupid."

"Yeah, planes kinda suck, don't they?" Micheal pulled a book out to begin.

"Move your damn leg," Kennith snapped, kicking blindly at Jesse's ankle. This seven-hour trip was going to be a fucking long one. He mumbled an apology.

"You want me to get your audiobook stuff out?" Jesse asked after a moment of whirring engines. "Nah, it's all in my bag," Kennith replied.

"No, your headphones wouldn't fit in your dad's bag. Had to put them in mine. So, you want them?"

"No. But there is something you can do for me instead."

"Huh?" Jesse still sounded tired, but eager to please. He stopped rustling through the bag at his feet in search of headphones. Kennith listened to the soft voice on the plane, the hostesses and hosts ensuring their passengers were comfortable.

"Are they wearing short skirts? Like, those cute outfits that I heard about?"

"What? Who?"

"Those ladies that go up and down the aisles with drinks and shit."

Jesse finally seemed to understand. Micheal shook his head and ignored them.

"Oh... you want me to describe them to you?"

"Is that weird?" His voice dropped low.

"N-No... I mean, I guess I can? I don't know how much I can say."

"Or don't. Jeez."

"They, um... They're wearing, like, knee-length skirts, I guess?"

The boy scoffed and waved Jesse away. "That's all you got? Really? Nevermind."

"I'm sorry." Jesse really, truly wanted to help Kennith with his little fantasy. But every time he looked up at a hostess passing their seats, his gaze ended up wandering to the cute guy at the front. Then, his heart would sink with guilt and embarrassment. The closer he got to home, the more he wanted to curl up and die for even looking at a man.

"It's fine. Dad?"

"No. I am not fueling the fire. I've learnt better than that," Micheal laughed. Kennith moped, crossing his arms. "Wow. Really feeling the love, guys. Y'all have perfectly fine eyesight and won't even share a single description. Figures."

"I'm sorry... But I look at girls' asses just as much as you do, Kennith... not a lot."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I look at ass all the time and I still don't encourage him. Don't make him worse, Jesse. Trust me." Micheal grew quiet towards the end of his reply because a woman approached him with a word of advice that Kennith tried his best to ignore. As she left, Micheal thanked her and cleared his throat. "For example, I could pop a quarter off that one."