Secrets that Kill (boyxboy)

...And The River Ran Dry

30 minutes later, the red corvette pulled into...a vacant parking lot? What the hell?

"Is this your idea of a joke?" Nate asked, raising an eyebrow as he looked around. There were a few other cars in the parking lot, but that was pretty much it. The only buildings in the area were abandoned, either run-down houses or failed businesses.

"Not at all." Erik responded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"So, you came to my house at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning to drive me out to an empty parking lot?" Nate asked in disbelief.

"In a manner of speaking, I suppose you could say that." Erik mused, rolling down the windows of the car before killing the engine. Reaching into the back seat, he retrieved a small bag, shuffling through it for a few seconds before pulling out two sodas. He handed one to Nate, who was still staring at him like he was crazy.

"Gah. The library would have been more fun." Nate mumbled, snatching the soda from Erik.

"You know, Nathaniel, you really shouldn't jump to conclusions like that."

Nate rolled his eyes. "I'm not jumping to conclusions. This is simple- straightforward. There's nothing to it."

"Like me?"

Nate tensed, before feeling a hot flush spread across his face. Alright, so Erik wasn't totally oblivious to how he viewed him...well, mostly anyways.

"I- that's not what I said."

"You didn't need to say it. The most important things are those left unsaid."

Nate tried to shake the guilty feeling that seemed to be clawing at his ribcage. "I didn't mean to- I mean-"

"It's alright." Erik said, a small smile spreading across his face as he took another sip of his soda. "I understand. It's easy to take things, and people, for face value. Safer. You don't have to get to know them, to explore the fact that people aren't just two dimensional."

Wow. Crap. He was actually making a lot of sense. Which unfortunately meant he was making things just a little too clear for Nate's liking. Alright, so maybe Nate had stereotyped Erik a little....okay, a lot. But that didn't change a lot of the things Nate knew about Erik that he didn't like. He was still...well, he was extremely confident, and self assured, but that wasn't always a bad thing.

Hell, it kind of compensated for Nate's lack of confidence. Begrudgingly, he admitted to himself that if he dated someone like himself, it would probably go nowhere. They'd both be too shy to act on their emotions. Maybe...just maybe, he needed someone like Erik. Not Erik himself, of course, but someone like him. Someone confident who'd take the lead and put up with his moodiness when need be. Someone who was attractive but only seemed to notice him despite everyone else pawning for their attention. Someone who- gah. What was he doing?

"Alright. So maybe I was a little unfair, but there's still a lot about you that I don't like."

"Really?" Erik asked, an amused smile spreading across his face. "Do tell."

Nate blinked twice. Huh? He wanted to know specifics. Crap.

"Well, you're cocky as hell."

"Confident." Erik corrected.

"Whatever you want to call it. And you look down on people-"

"That's your perception, Nathaniel. You have no idea what I'm thinking."

"No shit. How the hell would I know what you're thinking?"

"You could ask."

Nate raised an eyebrow, highly doubtful he'd get an honest answer out of Erik. "Alright. Fine. What are you thinking now?"