LAYERS

Little Brothers Boyfriend

Mint pulled her keys from her pocket as she approached the front door of her apartment. Ashley trailed only three or four yards behind when Mint shoved the keys into the door and threw the door open, tumbling into her living room.

Ashley arrived merely a few seconds later, stumbling through the front door, wheezing through his teeth.

"I won!" Mint announced breathlessly, laughing with victory from the floor of her apartment.

Ashley sighed the best he could with empty lungs, accepting his defeat as he stepped over Mint to reach the kitchen. He pulled a cup out from a cabinet, mourning the loss of his green tea. It had gone missing while they were running.

After filling the cup to the rim with water, Ashley sat next to Mint on the floor. He tilted his head down to look at her.

"How are you so fast?" He asked between pants. "I could barely catch up."

"I wouldn't say I'm fast," Mint said. She flipped herself onto her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows. "Think you're just slow."

They both allowed themselves a moment to catch their breaths, interrupted when Plum called out from the front door they'd neglected to close.

"Mint, Max is gonna stay the night-" Plum paused and looked around the door frame inquisitively. "Hey, why's the front door open anyway?"

Ashley quickly processed the presence of Plum and decided to keep his back turned to the door. Making eye contact wouldn't do either of them good, made evident by the myriad of previous attempts at connecting to the boy. All which have failed.

There was a certain pattern that Ashley recognised, and he didn't wish to push his luck.

"Sorry, Plum," Mint said, sitting up. Though not as bad as before, her lungs were still lacking the normal amount of oxygen, and she took in a breath before continuing. "Max, could you shut the door behind you?"

Sounds of shoes hitting tile immediately followed Mint's request, succeeded by the door being firmly shut. The new set of foot steps faultered, and an apprehensive, "Gene?" stuttered from the mouth of an unfamiliar youthful voice.

The tone caught Ashley's attention, and he looked over his shoulder to see who had spoken.

No further investigation had been necessary, as a boy Ashley did not recognize was standing next to Plum. Despite being petite, the boy stood just above Plum. More noticeably, his shoulders were hunched defensively, and his butterscotch brown eyes were wide as they stared at Ashley. This must be Max.

Max relaxed immediately upon Ashley making eye contact with him. It was clear Max was expecting someone else, and not Ashley's soft looking self.

Ashley rose from where he had sat on the floor, and held out his hand for Max. "Hey, I'm Ashley. I'm staying here temporarily," Ashley explained timidly. "It's, uh. It's nice to meet you." He finished his sentence with a smile. It was intended to come off warm, but Ashley had a suspicion it appeared more awkward than anything.

Max took Ashley's hand with a surprisingly solid grip. "Ah, well. I'm Plum's boyfriend-"

"Max," Plum interrupted as kindly as he could. However bad Plum didn't want to be rude to the boy he loved, he needed to get his point across. He did not want Max interacting with Ashley.

Not wasting any time, Plum nodded to the hallway and began to walk to it.

"Coming," Max replied. Plum's uneasiness was apparent, and Max didn't wish to upset Plum any further.

"It was nice meeting you, Ashley," Max said as he followed Plum down the hallway, disappearing into what Ashley assumes would be Plum's room.

It was still for a few minutes before Ashley decided to start a conversation again. "Do I-" Ashley hesitated, keeping his voice low. "Do I look like Gene? Is that why Plum doesn't really like me?"

Mint didn't reply immediately. She stood up, wiping her hands on her pants. "I don't think so personally; you're both very different people. Same hair color, I guess."

Quite obviously uninterested in continuing the conversation, Mint quickly changed her expression to something cheerful. "So, what do you want to do for dinner?"

"Uhh." Ashley stalled awkwardly. "I don't really know..."

Ashley had only been with Mint for a day, but it already felt as though it was normal. As though he had been living with the strange girl his entire life.

"I could order a pizza and we could watch a movie or something," Mint offered, pulling her phone from her pocket. "Sound good?"

"Yeah." Ashley smiled. "I'd like that."