The Chaotic Interim (boyxboy)

Chapter 3

"What do we do with Carson?" Josiah whispered.

The movie had finished a few minutes ago, and Ayden had already stood up after carefully moving Carson’s legs off of her lap. The brunette had fallen asleep roughly a half hour after they started to settle down.

Thinking, Ayden tapped her lips with her chin as she studied her best friend who was still sleeping in her boyfriend’s lap.

“We’ll just let him sleep here. If he wakes up later and wants to go home, then I’ll take him,” the blonde said quietly. “But he probably won’t.”

Josiah nodded and then started to work his way out from underneath the sleeping figure. The older guy gently grabbed Carson’s shoulders--he was now laying on his back due to rolling over in his sleep--and lifted him up into a sort-of sitting position so he could slide off of the sofa. Once he was standing, Josiah slowly laid him back down, making sure Carson’s head was on the sweatshirt.

When he was done situating his friend, Josiah turned to Ayden for a quick kiss. They linked their hands together and walked through the apartment, not flipping on any lights until they got to Josiah’s bedroom. Ayden dropped her boyfriend’s hand and walked over to the bed, while Josiah went for his closet to get an extra blanket.

On his way to the door, Josiah turned right as Ayden tossed him one of his pillows.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

To this, Ayden only nodded and gave a small smile. When he returned to the snoozing body on the couch, Josiah set the pillow on top of the coffee table so he could shake out the blanket. He laid out the fabric over Carson, made sure it was covering him completely, and then reached for the pillow. Once again, Josiah lifted the younger boy up slightly--this time just his head--so he could fit the pillow underneath.

Even after all of this, Carson was still sound asleep. He didn’t snore, but Josiah could hear his heavy breathing that always indicated he was going to be out for a while. Josiah turned around and powered off both the DVD player and the television. He sent one final glance at his friend to make sure he was still sleeping comfortably, and then he was on his way back to his room.

Ayden was waiting patiently underneath the covers by the time Josiah returned. She had swapped her sweater out for one of her tank tops she kept in Josiah’s dresser, and her jeans for a pair of her boyfriend’s gym shorts.

Josiah shut his bedroom door behind him and turned off the light. Ayden had already turned the lamp on that was sitting atop the nightstand, so he used that light to cross the room without tripping over anything.

“You know, I’m kind of worried about that kid,” Josiah said distractedly as he pulled his shirt off over his head.

Ayden sighed and watched unseeingly as her boyfriend stripped down to his boxers. “Yeah, I know. I feel the same way. I just want him to be happy, Joe.”

The bed dipped as the larger boy crawled into his own bed. He snuggled underneath the blankets and scooted closer to the blonde. Josiah kissed her on the cheek before relaxing with an arm draping over Ayden’s stomach.

“He will be,” Josiah said firmly.

He really believed it, because he knew it had to be true. Carson couldn’t be their tag-along forever, even though Josiah didn’t mind in the slightest. Sooner or later the brunette was going to meet someone he really liked and fall hard for him. And when that happened, he wouldn’t be able to spend as much time with his best friends. That thought made Josiah a little sad as well as delighted for the other boy.

“But when?” Ayden asked, looking up into sage-green eyes. “I know Carson would never say it, but he really needs someone he can be close to on a level like you and I are.”