Algid (#TronnorAU)

Chapter 21: The other side of the field

-"... At what time are they getting here?"—asked Troye, as he poured some more milk into the cereal bowl.

-"Probably in a few minutes or so."—answered Connor, taking the last gulp of warm coffee from the cup Troye had served him earlier—"Grace sent me a text saying she was out about fifteen minutes ago, so she might be here anytime now."

It was the morning after.

Connor and Troye had woken up around eight. Well, technically. Neither of them could really sleep well that night. And who could blame them? It was starting to show, with Troye's constant yawning and Connor's eye bags, which were now more prominent and darker than usual. He probably shouldn't have been drinking coffee, but that was an impossible task for him in the mornings. They hadn't run into anyone, since Troye's parents had apparently gone out somewhere and his siblings remained asleep upstairs. Troye had found a little not on the kitchen counter from his mum, telling them there was bacon and eggs in the fridge as well as juice, coffee and milk. Troye didn't take it as a good sign, because, as he explained Connor, his dad usually took out his mum on mornings when she was upset about something. And that maybe meant they didn't like the mess from last night's party. Troye had taken a shower and changed into some clean sweatpants and a shirt, and Connor had gotten back to his same clothes from yesterday. They were smelly, of course, but he didn't mind, knowing that as soon as he got back home he'd be able to shower and change. That, and he didn't really care either.

-"Well look at it this way."—Connor said, giving out a sigh and trying for once to keep up the positive attitude—"It was fun, everyone had a good time... and besides most of the mess is gone anyway. I mean, we did clean."

And it was true; Connor had helped Troye clean most of the backyard and the living room, but the bathroom and the hallway was a whole different story.

-"Yeah, yeah, you're right..."—Troye trailed off, once again yawning—"And, thinking about it... it could've been far worse. I mean, they could've found something linking to Joe's booze incident..."

-"Oh that would've been hilarious!"—Connor chuckled.

-"Are you kidding me!? Forget about detention for two weeks; I'd be grounded for two years! My parents would never let me even consider do another party again..."

It was impossible not to laugh at Troye's apparent breakdown. It was obvious he couldn't really care any less about not being able to throw a party again, it clearly wasn't his thing. And it wasn't Connor's either, so at least he didn't see any harm in that.

-"Like that would kill you."—Connor remarked.

-"... Shut up."

-"I mean it though. You don't strike me that party kind for just a second. I bet you would much rather watch movies or play with your band... or... well I don't know..."

-"... Play video games?"—Troye asked tentatively, raising an eye brow.

-"Well, I guess?"—Connor said—"I mean how would I know? I have never played video games in my life. If they're fun, well, then I don't see why one wouldn't—"

-"Wait."—Troye said, going serious, and placing both hands on top of the table—"You're saying you've never played video games before?"

Connor hesitated. Saying he had never done so in his life wouldn't be entirely true, because he remembered Brandon and Dustin loved playing video games and dragged him into it a lot. But things changed the second he became a foster kid. He hadn't had the luxuries of video games in many, many years.

-"Well, no, not really. At least none of the new ones."—Connor said—"But it's alright, I don't see what's so cool about it..."

-"Dude, you don't know how MUCH you are missing out!"—Troye exclaimed—"Whenever Tyde and I are bored, we play Call of Duty on his PS4 and we compete to see how many times I can kick his ass!"