I'll Share With You My Heartbeat

seventeen

There was something harbored in the walls of Lennon's home. Kieran liked to call it magic, simply put. His senses have been dulled in his state of body, but everything in this apartment felt amplified. The beat-up armchair with claw marks was cozier than it looked. The colors burned a brighter hue. Whatever was on the stove smelled a lifetime better than just—

"Stupid noodles," the chestnut boy whined to no one in particular, "Why won't you boil?"

Kieran stood behind him, chest to the boy's back as he reached out and turned on the electric stove. "I dunno—"

Lennon jumped at his voice, then again at the ravenhead's hand that appeared out of the blue.

"—maybe you should turn the stove on first?"

The chestnut boy's entire complexion turned bright scarlet. "Kieran!" he exclaimed, swatting at the ravenhead like he was chasing away a housefly, "I have a doorbell!"

A breathy laugh escaped the ravenhead, shifting his weight onto the countertop. "Sorry. It's fun to surprise you, Len."

Lennon glared, hands on his hips. But the pout on his lips proved that it was all bark no bite. "If I didn't know better, I would've thought you were trying to scare me to literal death."

"Don't be dramatic." Kieran moved seamlessly around the kitchen, positioning himself by the window and smiling cutely at the few cactuses that were placed there. "You knew I was coming. You always do," he said softly, turning to face the boy again, "I guess you were a bit too busy with... not cooking?"

"I thought the stove was on," Lennon peeped, fingers pinching the back of his neck sheepishly, "This might take a while."

Kieran made a beeline towards him, running his translucent fingers along the chestnut boy's still-bandaged arm. Lennon shivered, meeting the intensity of his eyes.

The ravenhead's gaze focused and unwavering, and whenever it fell on Lennon, the boy could feel butterfly wings against every patch of skin. He blamed it on the ghost and not his feelings.

A smile pulled at the corners of Kennon's lips, perfectly comfortable. "Take your time," he told him, before gesturing to his past wound, "When was the last time you changed your bandages?"

Lennon was still frozen in place. He willed his mouth to form words. "I'm supposed to change them?"

The ravenhead cocked his head to the side, eyes questioning. "I can do it for you later," he offered innocently, "before we head out for the other photoshoot location you wanted to show me."

Truth be told, Kieran had no medical experience whatsoever. Do people need to redo their bandages every once in a while? Sounds reasonable. Was it the perfect excuse to be closer to the boy? Absolutely.

"Oh, um," Lennon answered, thoughts scattered, "Actually, I was thinking maybe not."

Misunderstanding that Lennon didn't want his help, Kieran's expression changed. "Oh it's okay. You can do it yourself."

"No I mean—" The heat on his cheeks reached his ears. "You can do the bandaging for me. I'm just thinking we not go on a photo shoot today. We can stay in." He stirred the noodles, avoiding Kieran's confused eyes. "And I know you don't want to be around but—"

"Woah wait." Kieran closed the distance between them, craning his neck to study Lennon's face. "Me not wanting to be around?"

Lennon tilted his head up automatically when the ravenhead nudged under his chin. "That day in the parking lot. I know you think you're wasting my time when it's not about helping me win that contest."