Heroic Acts

Twenty Six

Seth spent the rest of the evening stressing out and attempting to rid himself of any imperfection. He had never taken a more thorough and thought out shower in his entire life, with all the intention to impress someone that didn't really need much impressing in the first place. Still, Seth was an over-thinker and, at this point, quite a changed man since the beginning of the year. He physically cringed every time he thought of the way he spoke to Darien when they first met, especially his demands to have him sleep on the floor. Really? Who does that?

Seth stood in front of the mirror, blow drying his hair, something he never did on routine. It was something he should probably consider doing, as his black locks became softer and shinier than they had ever been. After a few quick glances in the mirror, he decided he was ready to move on to his outfit, but what to wear? He stood in front of the closet, pondering and holding up shirts and throwing them back in. He sighed heavily, frustrated for virtually no reason.

He finally decided on a black pair of Levi's (per usual), a dark grey v-neck, a black and navy flannel and some classic Chuck Taylor's to match. He wanted to be casual, comfortable, but still nice looking. After a few turns in the mirror, he decided his look met his standards, and applied some cologne to his chest. He looked over at the clock, discovering that it was already 7:30 p.m. and Darien should be there soon.

He had a case of the jitters, and he downed a shot of Jack Daniel's and began playing a round of Mario Kart to calm his nerves. He had a hard time understanding why he was so anxious; it was just Darien. He knew him, he knew he was safe, so why was he freaking out? Love, I guess, he thought to himself. It probably had something to do with Andy finding out as well, though Seth wasn't scared of him. As he tried his best to relax, he was wondering about his other half, Caroline.

The dynamic duo had come up with a rather interesting plan, one to save his and Darien's ass and another to get some information on Andy. Caroline decided she was going to attend Andy's night class to make sure the boys were back home on time, but also to see how Andy reacted in a different setting and situation. There was something off about him, and Caroline was determined to get to the bottom of it in a much better fashion than before.

As Seth finished the final lap in the final race of the cup, a knock on the door commenced like magic. He shut off his Nintendo Switch and TV, stepped over to the door and opened it shyly. There Darien stood, decked out in some joggers and a hoodie. Seth suddenly felt embarrassed for worrying so much about how he dressed, and he was more concerned about being over dressed.

"Seth, you look really nice," Darien said. "I only wore the hoodie so I could hide my face with the hood if I needed to, y'know, when we walk to your car."

"No, you don't need to explain yourself. I think you still look really great," Seth said, feeling a little bit better about the whole thing. Just the sight of Darien made his heart pound against his chest, skipping a beat every few moments, utterly taking his breath away. He did everything in his power to remain calm and collected, but it was so difficult in the presence of such a beautiful boy.

"Thank you," Darien said and gave a little half smile. He was also feeling quite anxious, mostly because he was fearful that Andy would find them out, but also because the situation in general was incredibly awkward considering the original fallout between them. They weren't really close anymore, not like they used to be. They could tell you quite a bit about each other, but after Darien moved out, they became strangers.

"Shall we, then?" Seth asked, grabbed his keys and stepped outside the dorm room.

"We shall," Darien said, walking side by side with Seth, resisting the urge to hold his hand. The entire walk grew more and more awkward considering neither of the two were really talking, but maybe that was a good thing. After all, they weren't really trying to draw a lot of attention to themselves. The only sound was the tapping of their sneakers on the ground as they walked, which also grew quieter once they made it outside.