Conflicted Eyes, Confusing Feelings | Complete

f o r t y - o n e

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A kiss on the forehead is one of the sweetest things in the world.

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Xander focused on the blond-haired boy across the room from him, who was currently jotting something down as he exchanged words with an elderly woman. As soon as their conversation ended, Sage's attention, on autopilot, wandered across the restaurant, finding's Xander's gaze. The younger boy looked elsewhere and he turned away to deal with another customer, but not before Xander caught sight of an attractive coral flushing Sage's freckled cheeks.

Taking a break to get his daily intake of Boost, Xander's lips quirked into a smile. Their little game had been going on for a little while, and he didn't know how much longer he could go without approaching Sage himself. He'd been sitting there for approximately ten minutes so far with the expectation that Sage would probably approach him to take his order, but it was obvious that Sage purposely dodged approaching his table.

So then, for the first, a brunette approached him.

"Thanks for making it Taste Buds. May I take your order?"

Xander waved her off. "No, I'm fine."

Sage was looking.

He quickly looked away again.

Christ ... he's f-cking adorable.

But by all means, Xander had a pretty good guess as to why Sage wouldn't approach him first. Besides his lingering embarrassment from what happened in Xander's room and their first kiss, it was the fact that Sage wouldn't know if Xander came there to see him. Knowing how shy, awkward and cautious he could be, Xander didn't expect him to make the first move, for fear of being embarrassed further.

Xander downed thoughts that Sage was still afraid of him by convincing himself that that was just who Sage was.

Regardless, it would take time anyway.

Similarly with the case of Xander wrapping his head around the fact that he was falling for a fellow guy, with hormones and body parts semblant to his own. A month ago, it would have sounded utterly unbelievable, but there he was, sitting at an empty booth like a love-struck puppy. It was crazy.

Life's crazy.

When the population of the restaurant dwindled down to only two, Xander put his phone away and slid out of the booth, meandering over to the blond boy. Oblivious to Xander's presence, he continued gliding a washcloth over the counter until it shone with cleanliness. He'd began shining off a random glass when he glanced up and found himself looking back at Xander. Shocked, the glass in his hand almost slipped.

"O-oh! X-Xander? I-I ... I didn't see you there a-at ... at all." going red in the face again, he promptly dropped his gaze. A customer came by, and Sage, seemingly glad for the brief interruption, swiftly adorned them with his attention instead of Xander. "Welcome to T-Taste Buds! May I take your order?" his eyes flickered over at Xander, and he offered an apologetic smile.

Unfortunately for Sage, the distraction didn't last long. The man ambled to the receiving end of the counter once his receipt was handed to him. When Sage looked back at Xander, his face was fixed into his usual unreadable mask. Xander briefly glanced down at the blue and white cup before returning his gaze to Sage. "You've been avoiding me, yeah?"