Slide To Open

Part Eight

A few hard thuds and a melodic tune breezed through the air and made their way into the ears of the nonhuman inside the wall. He woke up, not yet alert of his situation, before groaning and falling back into his nest. Sam recognized the sounds coming from outside the walls, but he didn't dare leave his abode to see who was at the door. If he could live for just a while longer, basking in his own agenda for the next few hours, it would mean all the world to him and to the memory of his parents.

Outside the walls, Leo had been preparing all morning for Skip to arrive. It didn't feel real to him, but he was beyond excited nonetheless.

After last night, with the mouse traps and mysterious cry from inside the walls, Leo remained seated to apologize on repeat. The same "I'm so sorry"'s were said in an attempt to make him feel better, and yet nothing relieved him of his guilt in trapping innocent creatures and waiting for death to befall them. Leo could only hope he didn't set the traps up the right way, or that they were faulty at the least: It would help him sleep better at night

Not that he got much sleep last night, anyways. Leo stayed up on his phone for the remainder of the day and into early morning, too anxious to fall into a world of dreams. Instead, he texted his group chat about what they would do while stuck with him over break, and how incredibly over-the-moon his was about being able to meet them in person. His best friends would be standing in the middle of his house in only two days time.

All except for one, but Leo didn't want to think about that. Sam never responded to his texts, despite how many he sent out, asking if he was okay. Not getting an answer was almost worse than a fake "I'm fine" or "go away," and Leo ran through his head to find any memory of what he might've done wrong. When nothing came to mind, he decided it best to let Sam cool off and come back to him when he was ready. There were things in life he couldn't help Sam with; he learned that at the early stages of their friendships and he was okay with it. Waiting a day or two wasn't going to kill him, especially not when he might make Sam jealous when all he could do was gush about how great it was to have his friends over.

So, when he awoke the next morning after only two full hours of sleep, Leo ran to deep clean the house in a futile attempt to get his mind off of things. It worked, for the most part, and there was a knock at the door and the sound of a doorbell ringing before he knew what had hit him.

Leo dropped everything and ran, unlocking the door with fingers fast enough that even he was impressed, and thrusting the door open with a grin larger than life.

Standing before him was a giant.

Leo was used to Skip's profile picture: a rebellious teen with obvious attitude and too many piercings to count. What he didn't expect was a friend that almost towered over his form in an instant, and the muscles to accompany him.

Skip wore a plain black muscle shirt, relieving any wonders about what might be hidden underneath, because there wasn't anything hidden. All Skip had to offer was ready and available to anyone who saw his bulging muscles, or the thick frame that his shirt seemed to cling to. Leo couldn't help but feel a striking insecurity make its way to the tip of his brain, despite being well in shape himself.

The next thing he found via a quick scan was the obvious mohawk, the same color as his shirt, and the face beneath it. Strong features that he recognized as one of his best friends, including a sharp jaw, aquiline nose, and-

Holy shit

"Are you wearing eyeliner?!" Leo breathed, taking in everything at once. Before he could get a decent response, he felt warm arms wrap about his upper half and he was buried in a wrap of Skip with no way out.