pretty boy

4.

To Carson, time was seen as a relative term around 3 am, which should be considered as another dimension. The stars on his ceiling always seem much further away, the shadows dance around him like twirling feathers, and he is not aware that something is slowly creeping towards him, target in sight.

"YAAAAAAAAA!" Carson lurched up just in time to receive a lapful of four year-old Mateo Rossi and watch Nico fall out of bed with a thump out of the corner of his eye, a muffled "Wha-" reaching Carson's ears.

"Voglio giocare a nascondino!" (I want to play hide and seek!) Mateo shrieked directly in his ear. The child had yet to grasp the concept of the English language.

"Cars'n make th' bambino go ta bed," (child) Nico slurred from where he was tangled in his blankets on the floor. Carson sighed and gently pulled Mateo out from under his pillow.

"Buddy, suoneremo la mattina," (We will play in the morning) Carson murmured, carrying Mateo into the hallway and towards the bedroom he shared with Emilia. "Mamma non ti piacerà che tu sia sveglio così presto." (Mamma will not like that you are up so early) Mateo protested, but allowed himself to be put to bed when Carson promised pancakes with rainbow sprinkles.

Thank God Carson was the only one in the house who was a light sleeper, otherwise the rest of the family would be up and wondering what was going on.

Nico was still on the floor when he returned to their room, fast asleep and snoring with his limbs askew. That would hurt in the morning. Carson had to muffle a snort at his brother's ability to sleep anywhere.

As he climbed back into bed, he thought back to what Kell had said earlier. He was being rather cryptic, unusual for him. Kell was normally a straightforward person, which Carson learned the day he told a teacher exactly what he thought of the woman's homophobia right to her face.

She'd been giving Carson bad grades simply because he was bisexual, and the teacher was fired soon after the incident in which Kell called her a "bitch with her head stuck so far up her ass she can see daylight through her mouth," and proceeded to report her faulty grading to the principal. Carson had had a little bit of a giggling attack after he heard that one.

Kell had always been there for him. But now, Carson thought, his mood quickly sinking, Kell was keeping secrets. He'd never kept secrets from Carson. And because Carson didn't know what was wrong, he couldn't be there for Kell like Kell had been there for him over and over and over again.

It tore at his heart that he couldn't help Kell shoulder whatever burden was dragging him down.

'Someday, Kell,' Carson thought to himself as he started to drift away.

Aghhhh emotional. It's been a bad day for me, and I'm DEFINITELY not projecting on Carson or anything...