The Hills (boyxboy)

Chapter 19

Pepper is still sick. But Terrence still doesn't want to go to school by bus so I'm not alone. I guess those seniors take the bus and he wants to avoid them. My brother is getting unusually quiet and I don't like that. He always spends every moment he's awake either talking or eating. Today he didn't eat breakfast and he hasn't said a word yet.

We arrive at school earlier than usual. There are no smirking seniors yet. As we make our way towards homeroom I see a guy's eyes widen at the sight of Terrence. He turns away quickly and hides his face in his locker. He probably saw that video. God this sucks. There's still nothing we can do.

During track the weirdo from monday matches his pace to mine. "Hey, you're Terrence Hill's brother right?" he asks. "Yeah." I say. He smiles widely and bites his lip. "Can you set me up with him?"

I stumble but catch myself before I fall. "No way in hell." I grumble and speed up. He doesn't bother me again.

The next morning Colton and I push Terrence down on a chair in the kitchen and force feed him some cereal and an orange. One day without food when life is fucked up is okay. But we're not letting him go longer than that. Pepper arrives at the very moment we were going to leave. It's good to see she's doing better now.

Throughout the way to school Pepper keeps throwing me questioning glances because Terrence is so not Terrence right now. I shake my head at her. It's not my place to tell. The tension that hangs between our group is thicker than usual. Terrence disappears again during lunch. Colton keeps biting his nails because he's nervous about the auditions. I keep pulling his hands away from his mouth to which he responds with a small smile. There are light bags under his eyes. I really want to hug him. But I can't. Not until he gives me that surprise kiss.

After classes Pepper and I wait for Colton outside of the auditorium. Terrence went home already, not up for auditioning because of obvious reasons. I'm so nervous. Maybe even more nervous than Colton. I hope they don't make him wait another week before releasing the results.

Eventually the doors burst open and Colton runs towards us, screaming "I GOT THE PART! I'M EVAN FUCKING HANSON!"

He doesn't slow down. I spread my arms and try to catch him. We both crash to the floor instead. Pepper laughs at us and shakes her head, then continues reading whatever she was reading on her phone. Colton gets off of me and reaches out a hand to help me up. His smile is even more radiant than usual. I grab his hand and let him pull me to my feet. I really want to kiss him. But I restrain myself.

On our way home Colton chatters continuously about the musical. When I grab his hand he pauses for a moment to smile at me. Then he's off again. It feels really nice to have a happy moment among the chaos that's currently going on.

When we arrive at my house Pepper gives her usual salute and continues walking. Colton kicks open the backdoor enthusiastically and strikes a pose upon entering. My parents give him a blank stare. "I got the lead of the school musical!" he exclaims. I sneak a kiss on his cheek as I slide past him on my way to the fridge. Dad offers a thumbs up and a "Good job son." while mom claps her hands for a bit and smiles widely. I get an orange from the fridge and throw a banana at Colton which he catches.

"Is this a metaphor?" he asks slyly. I nearly choke on my orange. "No." I say. "No, it was just the nearest piece of food."

He laughs anyway.

The phone starts ringing and mom gets up to take the call. "By the way, mister Top Of The Mountain. Can I spend the night here?" Colton asks my dad. Dad hums in approval and we head upstairs. "Why do you always call them Top Of The Mountain?" I ask as we climb the stairs. "Because you and Terrence are the Hills."

I facepalm.