False Confidence (bxb) (NOW ON KINDLE VELLA)

Five

"Favorite color?"

Lance lazily looked over at Reid and raised an eyebrow with pursed lips, giving him a really? look.

Reid chuckled and shrugged, hands up as if to defend himself. "Hey, the small stuff first. I'm not about to spill all my dirty little secrets to you right away."

Sighing, Lance sat up from his slumped position on Reid's bed, writing down green and then sliding it to him.

Reid nodded and tilted his head side to side. "I like blue. But like, teal blue."

Lance looked from Reid's hair and then back to his face a few times, and the older boy caught on, laughing. "I wasn't about to dye my hair light blue. This way, it's still dark enough to just let me blend in."

I didn't figure you for someone who wanted to just blend in, Lance wrote even though he knew it was a lie. Reid shuffled on the other end of his bed—the head of it—and sighed. "Yea, I mean... I just meant that people would probably make fun of me for it."

Lance knew that was a lie too. He shrugged, though, and nodded as if he understood. Which, he did—being made fun of was something he was best at, at his old school.

Favorite animal, since we're starting with the most cringe and unimportant questions he wrote and Reid rolled his eyes with a grin.

"Uh, probably koala's," he rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks tinged with a soft pink that piked Lance's interest for a second.

Koalas are cute. I like owls.

Their conversation continued for another thirty minutes, going over the easy questions and writing them down on their outlines so they knew what to include.

"You have to go?" Reid repeated what Lance had scribbled down on the paper.

Lance nodded quickly, checking the time on his phone again and then slapping a finger against his wrist, which Reid caught on to. "Ah, curfew? All right, well I'll drive you home then."

Lance shook his hands, eyebrows furrowed. He didn't want to trouble Reid.

Reid rolled his eyes and grabbed his keys from next to his bed. "C'mon, Lancaster. I'm not gonna let you walk home alone. I don't even know how far away it is. It's already almost nine."

Lance smiled gently to himself and just nodded even though Reid's back was to him. He grabbed his backpack and shoved the papers inside before following him back downstairs. This time, the kitchen light was on and the smell of food hit Lance's nose. Reid's mom caught sight of the two boys and placed her hands on her wide hips.

"You could have told me when you got home. I was about to call you."

"Yea, sorry Mom." He didn't sound sorry at all. "I'll be right back, just gonna take my friend home."

Without another word, Reid rushed to the door and pulled it open, closing it harshly after Lance stepped through the threshold.

Reid's nostrils were flared but he showed no other outward emotion, motioning towards his Jeep. "Hop in."

The ride was silent, not even the radio on to break it up a bit. Lance was used to the silence—it's where he was the most comfortable. But he couldn't help but want to hear Reid go on about his favorite things some more.

"Which way do I turn next?"

Lance pointed right and the car swerved softly in that direction.

"I have soccer practice tomorrow—I'll be there until around eight so I don't think it's a good day to meet up. And then Saturday and Sunday I'm gonna be in the gym all day."