Fragments of His Being | ✓

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Cody and Quinn were sitting on the stairs of the abandoned shack. Quinn was on the lower stair, while Cody was sitting on one higher up. The smaller boy was watching Quinn talk, but he got distracted and couldn't pick at what Quinn is saying as worry filled his thoughts. The sun was setting in the distance as the evening gave way for the night. The sound of birds and cars made a buzz at the back of his mind as he stared at Quinn's moving mouth.

"Cody? Is something wrong?" Cody blinks at the sound of Quinn calling his name. He looked down at the taller boy who now had a concerned frown on his face. He hadn't even noticed when he had stopped talking. "Is everything okay?" Quinn asked, and Cody nodded.

"Sorry, I was just thinking..." he trailed, running his fingers through his dark hair.

Quinn sighed, looking up at his boyfriend.  "About what?" He asked, reaching to hold on to Cody's think leg through his faded blue jeans.

Cody shrugged. "Stuff," he said, not feeling like he was in the mood to talk.

"What sort of stuff?" Quinn probed, making Cody sigh.

"I don't know, stuff." Cody knew he was being rude, but he couldn't help himself. He'd been thinking a lot about what Lindsey had said to him, and he found it frustrating that he couldn't sort out his life on a schedule like most people seemed to be able to do.

Quinn sighed, pulling himself up from the lower stair to join Cody on the top one. He scooted close, making sure their thighs touched. "Come on, talk to me, please?" he begged, leaning forward so that he got a better look at Cody's face. The smaller boy had a slight frown on his face, and Quinn worried if he was annoying him.

Quinn poked at Cody's cheek. "You're frowning..."

Cody immediately forced himself to smile before raising his head. "I don't know. I'm not sure how to put in in words. I'm worried."

"About what?" Quinn asked, watching as Cody folded his hands on his lap.

Cody sighed. "The future."

"What about the future?" Quinn asked, reaching out to touch Cody's face.

Cody sucked in his breath, before rambling on. His words were a mirror of what Lindsey had told him to worry about.  "About us. What happens after graduation? I'm been thinking about that for a couple of days—"

"We'll still be dating," Quinn said, cutting the boy off. He reached out to hold Cody's hand. "Well, unless you break up with me out of nowhere," he said, letting out a nerve filled laugh.

Cody blinked, sucking in his cheek "I don't think I'll be allowed to still stay at my house after graduation—"

Quinn cut him off. "Then just come stay with my family. They like you. We can share my room—"

Cody laughed, shaking his head. "I'm not sure I can just move into your house like that—"

Quinn laughed before Cody could finish. "Why not?" he asked, smiling at his boyfriend. "You can," he added, giving his hand a squeeze before smiling at him.

There was a pause since Cody didn't say anything. They sat still, hand in hand as they got lost in their own thoughts.

"And if you're not comfortable with that option I'll look for a place for myself and you can move in with me then," Quinn said, continuing the conversation. He squeezed Cody's hand. "I'll sneak you into my house in my backpack if I have to," Quinn said, making Cody laugh before covering his mouth with his free hand.

"What's funny?" Quinn asked, grinning as he rested his head on Cody's shoulder. "I really would, you know."

The stairway became silent again, and the two boys just held hands and looked out into the streets.