Before Everything [Book 2.5] (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter Five: Cold Brew

"I'll be back before midnight," Dean called out with a wave of his hand and walked out the front door. He faintly heard his father and his grandmother respond, but he was too excited to be able to make out what they had exactly said.

He practically sprinted outside and jumped in Mark's car, which was parked in front of his house. Reese laughed at him from the front seat and turned around to look at him as Mark started the engine.

"Someone's a little excited," Reese mused.

"Hell yeah, I am. I've been looking forward to this ever since Mark showed me last year's photos..." Dean replied and took off the thin sweater he was wearing, leaving only a plain white T-shirt with a heart etched onto the pocket on his chest.

"Which flag is that again?" Reese asked. Mark looked at Dean through the rearview mirror.

"That's the pansexual, right?" Mark replied. Dean nodded and pulled his shirt down a little, and then shoved the sweater in his backpack.

"It feels like the most accurate right now," Dean muttered. Mark nodded with understanding and Reese smiled at both of them. He didn't really get any of this, but he could practically feel how content Dean was.

"What did you tell your family?" Mark asked him as he drove out of their small town and headed to Portland.

"That we are going to spend the day together in the city. Explore, have fun, watch a movie and then come home," Dean replied.

"Won't they find out that Pride is today?" Reese asked back.

Dean shrugged, not really caring about whether they found out or not. Even if they did, his dad would never ask him about it. The fact that he had been dating Julie in High School had made him believe Dean was straight so unless he introduced to him a boyfriend his father wouldn't give a second thought about his sexuality. And Dean was okay with that for now. He didn't feel like explaining his sexuality to his dad or his grandma. He didn't feel like explaining himself to anyone actually.

The drive to Portland was a fun one. Reese was in charge of the music selection and all three of them sang along to almost everything he put on. Mark's favorite song ended up being Alibi. He asked Reese to put it on more than once, and Reese seeing his friend finally being genuinely happy complied without a word.

Mark found a parking spot a couple of minutes away from Waterfront Park. He didn't want to get closed in by all the people and they needed a few moments before the wonderful chaos ensued. While Reese and Dean remained seated, Mark jumped out of the driver's seat and went to sit next to Dean.

"Do you want something rainbowy or want me to use the pansexual flag colors?"

"I don't... know..." Dean muttered, noting the matching rainbow hearts on Mark's and Reese's cheeks. Suddenly, Mark's gray eyes glimmered with an idea.

"Hold on, I got it," he said and took out a palette of eyeshadows.

As Mark started drawing on him Dean remained silent, not wanting to interrupt and looking over at Reese who was smiling at both of them. Satisfied with what Mark had done on Dean's left cheek he started working on his right and Reese cleared his throat.

"I'm going to get some coffee. What do you guys want?" he asked while cracking his neck.

"Iced Latte but decaf," Mark said and leaned back, letting go of Dean so he could also respond.

"Iced Americano," Dean replied happily and Reese got out of the car. "Decaf?" he asked Mark before Mark went on with the makeup.

"I don't need the caffeine to spike up my anxiety. The crowd's gonna be enough for that," Mark said. Dean squinted at him.