A Collection of Short Stories

Watching (Tythan)

The curly haired male watched on, arms crossed, leaning against a tree. His grey beanie was pulled down, having been tugged down several times in frustration. His gaze followed that of a young, blue haired male, perhaps only a few years younger than himself. He certainly did look young. Maybe it was his lack of facial hair, or blue, modernly styled hair, or maybe it was the way he acted-curious, energetic, and full of wonder. But all that curiosity, energy, and wonder was put into the red haired bastard-Mark. It wasn't like Tyler hated him, or even disliked him-they were friends after all. No, it was the fact that Ethan's attention was only ever on Mark. It was like Tyler didn't even exists when Mark was around, and he could always very clearly see the admiration Ethan had for Mark. Jealous, he would have said, if the word didn't seem so foul to him. 
   "Mark!"
   Tyler glowered, tensing as he watched Mark spray water on Ethan with a toy water gun. He laughed, running, waving his free hand in the air, other hand holding another toy gun. He always laughed so cheerfully with mark. Tyler sighed, then turned, striding towards the house. He was done torturing himself. Maybe it was better to ju-!
   "Tyler!"
   Looking back, he glanced down to find Ethan standing a few feet away, gun held out in front of him with both hands, a nervous smile on his face. The corner of Tyler's mouth quirked up as he faced Ethan completely. And just like now, Ethan always seemed to have a knack for making Tyler stay at the last possible second.
   "Ethan? Are you pointing a gun at me?"
   The blue haired male chuckled, shifting. "Yep!"
   Tyler raised a brow, smirking now. "What? Think you're so manly now that you've got a gun to my chest?"
   Ethan chuckled again, shaking his head. "Nope," his gaze never left Tyler's intense, blue stare.
   "Shoot him, Ethan," Mark called from the other side of the pool. "Do it!"
   Ethan laughed as Tyler slowly shook his head. "Don't do it. You'll regret it-!"
   Ethan fired at Tyler, the water soaking his shirt and splattering on his cheek. Tyler flinched back, quickly wiping it off his face as the two males howled with laughter. Glancing up, Tyler smirked, then swept Ethan off his feet, striding towards the pool.
   "Tyler, no," Ethan protested, hanging onto Tyler's neck, but kicking. "Not the pool!"
   He stopped at the edge of the pool, held Ethan out, then let him drop. Ethan only had time to gasp before he hit the surface and sank down. There was a large splash the soaked the edges of Tyler's pants legs. He laughed, watching as Ethan kicked himself up to the surface, sputtering and wiping his wide eyes.
   "How dare you?" He laughed, then grinned, holding out a hand. "Help me up... Please!"
   Tyler could very plainly see the trick, but merely smiled. He found it adorable, the way Ethan thought he could be stealthy, and be able to prank people. Shifting his weight to unbalance himself, he stooped down, and took Ethan's cool hand. Just like he thought, Ethan yanked him down next to him, and he gave out a little yelp, just to give Ethan just a bit more satisfaction. 
   The water rippled, and moved around Tyler as he fell gently to the bottom of the pool, slowly waving his hands to keep him there. He watched as Ethan got out, kicking the water as he did so. Tyler closed his eyes, and allowed himself to stay in this peaceful place, Ethan's face in his mind, innocent, happy. He was like a child, endearing. Everything about him was simply breathtaking, and cute. He was awkward, yes, but that was what made him cute. Every nervous chuckle, every embarrassed blush... It was almost as if Ethan wasn't used to others attention, or didn't exactly know how to interact. Adorable, to Tyler. Everything was adorable.
   ... Perhaps watching was the best thing to do. Perhaps, just so Tyler could continue to see Ethan be just the way he is now.