Sweater Weather
funhousefreak
The door had always had a creak in it. Even since before they moved in 8 years ago, that door had been loud. Max hardly noticed it, but apparently it had annoyed the hell out of the previous owners, enough to where they had told the realtors to warn potential buyers. Normally, Max had nothing to hide, and thus didn’t care if anyone heard his door open and close. But tonight, the one night it mattered, it made the loudest creak he’d ever heard. He cringed as the noise rang throughout the entire room. He silently spat out a string of curses. Nevertheless, he accepted his fate and slid into the dark room, not bothering to close the door quietly. The damage was already done.
Max watched silently as the body in his bed tried to twist around to look at him. The sheets clearly were posing a challenge, entangling and entrapping the figure. Max instinctively grabbed his right arm and held it, nerves twisting his stomach into knots. He quietly winced as his left hand pressed the soft fabric of his hoodie against his raw skin. The body finally untangled itself enough to turn over on its side and look at him.
“Max?” it asked, voice heavy with sleep. Its hands rubbed sleep away from squinted eyes.
“Yeah, yeah, go back to sleep, nerd,” Max grumbled as he made his way over to the bed. He sat himself on the empty left side of the bed and checked the time on his alarm clock. 3:30am.
“Take your sweatshirt off,” Neil whined. “It’s hot enough as it is.”
“Fuck off,” Max spat as he slid down and threw the covers over his legs. “I’ll do what I want.”
Of course, Neil was right. Max was sweating in his current attire. June was not the time to be wearing long-sleeves, especially in David’s house. The man liked to save electricity, which was great. But that meant limited air conditioning, saved only for the hottest of summer days. It left Max sleeping in only boxers most nights. Neil always did the same when he spent the night, and tonight was no exception.
“Jeez, what made you so grouchy?”
“Being up at 3:30.”
“Not my fault,” Neil grumbled. He threw his naked torso across Max, resting his head on the shorter boy’s chest. Normally, the movement would have endeared him, but this time it made his hair stand on end. Neil was too close for comfort at the moment given the…circumstances.
Max winced as Neil’s hand brushed against his left forearm. Even through the thick sweatshirt, the light touch was enough to cause a burning, stingy sensation. He bit his lip, trying to quiet himself so the boy on his chest wouldn’t notice.
“You okay?”
Damn it.
“Yeah, fine, just go to sleep.”
“Alright, alright.”
The duo laid in silence for several minutes. Max stared vacantly up at his ceiling. He knew trying to sleep would be futile, so he settled for spacing out until the sun rose. Neil had his eyes closed, but Max could tell by his breathing that he was still awake. He was probably expecting some sort of reciprocation of affection, but there was nothing Max could do right now. His usual methods would cause him pain or arouse suspicion, and he needed neither one of those things.
