pretty boy

2.

Carson

     It was about 8:30 when Kell arrived, clad in his black leather jacket and torn jeans. He was just being emo if you asked Carson. The poor guy hardly had enough time to greet Carson before being whisked into the dining room by Emilia, who adores Kell more than any of her siblings.

     Only when they were seated at the table and had passed around the pizza boxes were Carson and Kell able to properly say hello to each other.

     "Sorry about my family. They can be..."

     "Eccentric?"

     "Yes," Carson took a bite of his pizza. "But you knew that. They practically attack you with affection every time you come over." Kell snickered, leaning over to whisper in Carson's ear. Carson held his breath, praying that he wasn't blushing.

     "That's probably because I'm the favorite son." Kell muttered. It took Carson a second, but he eventually caught up and smacked Kell's bicep.

     "Shut up. Mamma does think of you as another son, but you knew that." Carson murmured as Kell leaned back precariously in his chair. "And don't do that, you'll break your neck." Kell rolled his eyes but leaned forward again.

    "So Kristopher, how is football going?" Carson's father, Gabriel asked, the chatter dying down as he spoke. Kell tensed, but Carson was pretty sure he was the only one who saw it.

     "Um, it's going." Kell said softly, tearing a piece of crust off of his pizza and handing it to Carson's cat, Kitty (creative, right?), who'd been lurking around everyone's feet under the table. Everyone smiled, seemingly unfazed by Kell's reluctance to talk about what used to be his favorite sport.

     "Wonderful!" Maria exclaimed. "And have you gotten a girlfriend yet?" Carson choked on his drink and by the sound of it, Kell was having a similar problem next to him.

     "Ah, no ma'am. I'm focusing on school right now." He said after he'd collected himself. Maria tutted sadly, shooing Kitty away from her plate. How she'd gotten on the table without him noticing, Carson wasn't sure.

     "I do wish Carson would get a girlfriend. I would like some grandchildren someday!" Carson flinched.

     "Mamma, what about Kaya?" Nico protested. Maria frowned.

"Yes, your girlfriend is lovely, but I would prefer that you stop showing your affections on my couch." The whole table burst into raucous laughter as Nico sank into his seat, cheeks burning. Carson decided he'd had enough quality family time for the night and stood.

"Mamma, do you mind if Kell and I go outside? We're finished eating." He didn't wait for his mother to protest and dragged Kell out of the back door.

"Carson, I didn't finish the crust! That's the best part!" Kell protested and slumped on the porch swing next to Carson.

"There will be other opportunities to eat pizza. Although, I still don't understand what is so good about the crust. It's literally the most plain part." Kell gasped as if Carson had just announced he liked kicking puppies for fun.

"How dare you. It's delicious and you'd understand if you actually tried it!" Kell said, tossing an arm over the back of the swing behind Carson. Carson tried furiously not to think about the well-muscled bicep behind him.

"I still prefer the cheesy part." Carson grumbled. Kell poked his cheek gently.

"Basic bitch." Kell snickered as Carson tried and failed to smack him upside the head for that comment.

"If anyone's the basic bitch it's you, with your emo-ass outfit." Carson retorted, finally managing to flick him on the forehead. Kell stuck out his lips in a pout and Carson was barely able to keep his eyes from wandering down. Jesus Christ this was a struggle.

~~~

It was after several hours of bickering that Kell finally checked the time on his phone.

"Ah, shit. I should've been home hours ago." Kell grumbled, standing and stretching his arms towards the starry sky. Carson followed his example and then led him around the side yard to the front so they could avoid being held up even further by Carson's family.

Kell hopped up into his 4-runner, a beat up old stick shift with the black paint rusting over the tires. He shut the door and rolled down his window.

"So, are you gonna skip school again on Monday?" Carson asked, shoving his hands into the pocket of his hoodie. Kell groaned.

"How do you always know? Actually, I don't wanna know," Carson was thankful for that; he didn't want to explain why he knew where Kell was supposed to be every second of the day. "And yeah, probably. I can't stand Ms. Thornton." Carson snorted unattractively.

"I don't think anyone likes the old hag. Anyways, you should get going." Kell smiled, gaze lingering on Carson for a moment before turning to the dashboard of his car.

"Yeah, you're right. I still might skip tomorrow, but I'll pick you up for lunch like usual." Kell stated, starting the car. It was tradition for them to eat lunch together, ever since first grade.

"Okay, see ya." Carson said.

"Bye." And then he was gone, leaving a trail of car exhaust in his wake. Carson sighed and went back into the house.

"Is your boyfriend gone?" Lila hollered from the kitchen.

"He's not my boyfriend! And yeah, he just left." Carson yelled back at her. He traipsed up back to his room and collapsed onto his twin bed. Nico was already snoring across the room in his own bed. Carson thought back to what Lila had said.

"Your boyfriend," He murmured to himself. Then he laughed at the plastic stars on his side of the ceiling. "God, I wish."

Oof two chapters from two different books of mine in one night.