The Eye of the Beholder [boyxboy]

Chapter XVIII

~Tuesday 21st June 2016~

"Red or white?" Gray called from the kitchen, examining the two bottles he had gotten out earlier that evening. He didn't drink wine as much as he used to, it tended to be an exclusive to when Colt decided to stay for dinner, simply because he knew it wasn't River's favourite. The boy preferred hard liquor, which was worrying, to say the least, although Gray was almost sure that he wasn't too bad of a drinker. He hadn't heard of any hospital trips to get his stomach pumped yet so River was already better than Gray had been in the past.

"Red," Colt's voice echoed through from the living room, his decision not coming as a shock to Gray. Colt was picky with his wines, more so with whites than reds, it was painful to be around in a restaurant.

"Your boy toy texted you," Colt teased when Gray returned to the living room and handed him one of the glasses he was holding, "I don't think he's in the best state of mind from what I can see," Gray didn't mind that Colt had read his texts, and didn't even bother to inquire as to whether it had been a glance through his notifications or if he still remembered the man's password from the last time he had been told.

"He's out tonight, he told me earlier," Gray couldn't dispel the disgruntled tone in his voice. River was used to doing everything himself, and not caring for the consequences. He was young, what else was Gray to expect? The only issue was that River just didn't even seem to think of the risk of going out with only a small group of friends, not to even mention the fact that he was underage and using a fake ID. Gray didn't want to get into an argument with him, so he let it pass, but that didn't mean he condoned the behaviour. If Gray had it his way, he would make drinking an exclusive to when River was at home with some form of supervision.

"And you sound so happy about that," Colt chuckled, shifting to face Gray more as the man sat down on the couch with his back to the arm rest, "he seems to spend a lot of time doing things he shouldn't, doesn't it worry you?"

"He can take care of himself," Gray hated how he had to quote River to justify anything the boy did. It was just easier that way, to trust him, rather than risk losing him because he was 'acting like a parent'. River would learn, there would come a day when he would realise Gray was right about everything. Gray merely hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

"You don't sound so convinced by that," Gray shrugged meekly, picking up his phone to check the text from River. Sure enough, he was already drunk. It was only eight, Gray didn't want to think about what state he would be getting into later on in the evening. At least he had friends with him, hopefully they would stop him from getting utterly wasted.

Baby Boy: I lobe you, dafdy, you shoulf hav come out tobight with ud x. River made enough spelling mistakes in his texts without any alcohol in his system, he was lucky that Gray could interpret the context, hopefully it wouldn't get too much worse.

Gray: I love you too, Riv, but maybe dial it back on whatever you're drinking? You've got all night, baby, call me if you need anything x. Gray was risking a lot by mentioning River's state, but he couldn't just ignore it. He would just have to push aside his worries for the night and think of something else.

"Have you found a girlfriend yet?" Gray said the first thing that came to mind, almost rolling his eyes right along with Colt at his question. He just couldn't bear torturing himself with the thoughts of River all night, it was better to have a semi-awkward conversation with his best friends instead.

"Would I be here with you tonight if I had?" Colt joked with a sarcastic smile, "can I say something without you biting my head off?" Gray stifled a sigh, knowing that question could never lead to anything pleasant in conversation.