BOYS OF SUBURBIA [boy x boy] [Wattys 2018]

✗ FIFTEEN ✗

Sebastian was sure he was dreaming about the sound of something tapping until he heard somebody shouting his name.

"Oi, Sebastian!"

Sebastian woke with a slight jerk, ruthlessly plucked from his dreamy subconscious. His surroundings were the darkness of his room, with his head stuck to the page of his science textbooks and his drool pooling on the lined page, smudging the notes he wrote in black ink a few hours ago. Sebastian swore, a soft note of "fuck", wiped his mouth free of the embarrassing drool, and sincerely hoped no ink ended up on his face as he made his way over to his windows.

He turned the blinds and peered through the white folds, his line of sight training down to the sidewalk where a small vinyl gate fenced the walkway into his townhouse. A boy in a black hoodie and jeans was leaning on a lamp post, staring up at Sebastian with distinguishable brown eyes- and Sebastian's heart skipped a beat, damn it.

Well fuck me, Sebastian thought to himself. I'm so fucked. He hated himself for falling for that idiot. Niko made it clear he wasn't the least bit gay and went as far as insulting Sebastian for it. Sebastian shouldn't have even considered giving him a second chance to let him make up for it. A smarter person would've walked away without hesitation but his heart screamed louder than any intellect.

Sebastian rubbed his eyes tiredly and wrenched the window open. As expected, the cold air slammed into his face and he made sure his voice was loud enough for Niko to hear and quiet enough so his parents won't come barging in.

"Niko," Sebastian hissed, "What are you doing here? And why-"

"I'm making it up to you," Niko replied plainly, with a mischievous smile that tugged on Sebastian's heartstrings. Suddenly, the cold air felt hot and suffocating and Sebastian couldn't breathe. He just wanted to kiss that smile off his face. Stop it, scolded Sebastian at himself, and Niko revealed: "I'm taking you to see something."

"What?"

"It's a secret."

"You're not making this any better."

"Just come down here, will you?"

Sebastian knew it was stupid if he said yes. He was stupid if he said yes. "Fine, give me a few minutes."

Niko's triumphant, cheeky knew-you-couldn't-resist grin caused Sebastian to hate himself for agreeing and his stomach flutter in a pit of anxiety. Sebastian closed the window and changed out of his pyjamas, trading his boxer shorts for jeans and a comfortable sweater, grabbed another hoodie because it felt fucking cold outside, and headed out of his room.

He soundlessly crept down the stairs and saw that Violet's door was slightly open. She must've snuck out too. For some party, or whatever she went out for- Sebastian didn't want to know how much of a good girl she wasn't. As he reached the bottom, he heard sounds coming out from the living room. Shouting noises, from Greg and his mother. The telly blared over the argument.

"You can't take out their savings- it's theirs- the same-"

"Shut up, Juliet! I told you I'm going to invest it-"

"You mean to pay off your gambling? I told you not to-"

"Don't be such a condescending cunt, you-"

"How dare you, you self-righteous-"

Sebastian slowly steadied his pace as he took a peek into the living room from the hallway that led to the stairs. His mother was a dark-haired, green-eyed woman, red-faced with mouth open in fury, as Greg's beetroot-coloured cheeks indicated he had been drinking due to his excessive expletives in his vocabulary as he yelled while his mother was fewer X-rated but just as fierce. Sebastian waited until their backs were turned from the gap that opened to the hallway and another threshold, which was the gateway into the conjoined kitchen and dining room.

Sebastian waited for them to be so engrossed that he quickly dashed towards the foyer and wiggled on his shoes, realising how that Violet's heels were missing from its usual spot on the top shelves. Of course. He worked the door and stepped his body out into the world.

Niko was leaning on the lamppost, looking way too good to be true. Sebastian walked out onto the sidewalk and skillfully climbed up the fence, swinging his legs over the gate and jumped down onto the path where Niko immobilised from his spot and greeted him with a smile and a bottle of cheap wine.

"What's the occasion?"

To which Niko cheekily responds: "You."

Sebastian rolled her eyes, though he couldn't deny the rush of heat that warmed his face. "Cut that shit out. Seriously, what's the occasion?"

"'Secret," Niko whispered, putting a hand to those lips Sebastian desperately wished he could kiss. "Come on, let's go."

Niko guided Sebastian to his car parked by Fraiser Street and with a quick fiddle of the keys, he unlocked the car so they could escape the bitingly numb cold that froze Sebastian's fingers. Niko gave him the cheap bottle to hold as he started the car and proclaimed:

"Have the first taste," Niko grandly pressed the bottom onto Sebastian's chest. "I stole it from that shady arse liquor store."

"Stinky Mike?" laughed Sebastian, twirling the bottle in his lap.

"Where else?"

"Whatever, I'll save it for whatever 'special' place you want to show me."

Niko shrugged. Despite previous displays of his assholeness, Sebastian still found himself inevitably drawn to Niko. Bathed in darkness, Niko looked like somebody Sebastian should run from. And that made Sebastian stayed. Niko played some Avenged Sevenfold shit on the radio, the screaming verses pouring out of the speakers in muted undertones.

It was probably contradictory how physically beautiful someone could look once you get past their actual appearance. And now, even in the car's harsh interior lights, Niko looked as beautiful as ever.

And it was that beauty that made Sebastian want to drown his heart in lighter fluid and set it ablaze, what made him want to burn his eyes into his sockets and perish in his own shortcomings. Because Niko was everything he wasn't. Niko was cool and brave. Niko a popular rugby player with anybody attracted towards him in a minute. Sebastian was awkward and nerdy, a lame gamer whose social palette extended to hanging out with the drama outcasts nobody liked. Niko was perfect on the inside and the outside, all melded together in one fascinating creature that Sebastian thought was made for him to want but never to have.

ANYWAY PLEASE VOTE + COMMENT! <3 <3 dedicated to sexyuniicorn for being so so supportive! also be sure to check blood on the leaves. :)