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

✗ SIXTEEN ✗

Niko's feet skillfully latched itself onto the wall of the gated fence and swung his legs over the gate, then proceeded to do the same with the other leg and landed gracefully onto the tarmac of the backyard of the local swimming pool. Sebastian's nervous expression was the only clear thing in the night, the panic in his blue eyes illuminated by the blue moon above as they both faced each other across a gated fence.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Sebastian violently swore.

"Bad boy, Sebastian," Niko tsked, "Such bad language for a good little boy."

"Not in the mood," grouched Sebastian, folding his arms, "But breaking and entering? That's a new low, even for you."

"Just get over here, will you?"

"But-"

"I know what I'm doing," Niko promised, unable to stop his mouth from chattering, "Trust me."

Sebastian bit his lip, teeth grinding into their softness before ejecting a loud exhale, which fogged up into silky strands of mist. He coiled his hands around the fence and hauled himself up without much difficulty. Then Niko found Sebastian jumping to the spot next to him, nervous and red-cheeked from the cold. "Alright," he relented, shoving his hands into his pockets. "But this better be good."

Niko saluted Sebastian and winked promisingly, "It will."

They strolled up the hollow parking lot of the city pool, hearing their footsteps echo across space and darkness. Niko casually sauntered up to the premises while Sebastian awkwardly darted around, looking out for surveillance cameras that might hold indictable offences against them. Niko refused the urge to roll his eyes and held the wine to his mouth as he wiggled it into his mouth. As they got closer, Sebastian noticed a security guard on duty, leaning by the walls near the secured glass doors of the swimming pool's entrance. The guard was a sleepy guy, nodding off by the corner, cigarette in his mouth and twirling his flashlight but Sebastian froze in his tracks, his blood stopping cold.

"Niko," he hissed, "Niko, there's a guard. We can't-"

"Oi, Gus!" Niko called out, choosing to ignore Sebastian tugging at his sleeve frantically and pulling him to turn back. The security guard was shaken out of his daze and brought back into the world, tilting his chin up from the previous sleeping position he was in.

"Niko! Mate, how are you doing?" Gus toothily grinned as he registered the boy approaching him. "Who's the other lad?"

"Gus meets Sebastian," Niko couldn't wipe the smugness of his face at the shock on Sebastian's face, "Sebastian meet Gus."

Gus was a gangly teenager, who looked like he was still halfway through puberty, with red pimples prominent on his chin and a long uncut nose that looked like a spindly branch poking out. Due to the lack of budget and the general laziness in ensuring the safety of the community, the city pool was stuck with hiring high school dropouts like Gus, whose baggy oversized guard uniform seemed to swallow his frame up and knowledge extend no further in knowing how to construct a gravity bong from only trashcans and reed pipes (a feat that served great purpose and consisted of immense hardship, as Niko could personally note). Gus's smile was stained with yellowy and cracked teeth, broken from the heroin and meth or whatever shit Gus would smoke just for a nice release of pleasure, but it was genuine because, despite the downgrade in classiness, Gus was a real person.