YOUTH GONE WILD ↝ Chloe Decker

↳ CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

          "SPIT IT OUT."

          That was a sentence heard twice in the Ruiz-Nolan household that morning. First when Kai was disapprovingly wagging a finger at Tuke who had decided to chew up his keychain, secondly when Kai was seated by the kitchen counter frowning at his mangled Tinker Bell and Mateo picked out the thoughtful stare in his eyes effortlessly. The difference was, whereas Kai had been demanding and stern with his dog, Mateo beamed with pure support.

         "You keep forgetting I've spent almost every day with you for weeks now, Pretty Boy. I can tell when something's on your mind", he declared matter-of-factly, a concerned eyebrow locked and loaded as he leaned on the other side of the counter and purposefully faked a pout at Kai.

         Either it was the fond tone or the soft boop on his nose, but Kai couldn't resist breaking into a smile and rolling his eyes in defeat. "For the record, it's nothing bad. In fact, I'm kind of... excited?" he pondered out loud before taking in a deep breath and dramatically covering Mateo's hands with his own. "How can you tell if someone, I don't know, likes you?"

        Immediately, the Ruiz yanked his hands away with a gasp. "Who is it? Are you moving on from Decker? Is it—no, no, it's still definitely Decker. You think she likes you back?" he theorized on his own, a palm landing on his heart with pride. It wasn't until Kai gave him a reminding look that Mateo inhaled and nodded in realization. "Right. That's what you were asking. Well, I mean, who wouldn't like you, Curly Fry?" he went on, pulling a groan from Kai who reached over the counter to slap his arm.

        "You're very supportive, but also majorly unhelpful", he commented with a sarcastic smile, one that Mateo returned mockingly.

        "Fine, I guess—well, you like her! So just... consider how you act around her and see if she does the same around you", he came to a satisfying conclusion, one that actually earned Kai's approval, until Mateo continued with, "even if she is much cooler and more lowkey than you could even dream of."

         He wasn't entirely wrong, but it still earned an amused glare from Kai who proceeded to sadly hook his half-eaten Tinker Bell back to his jingling set of keys and then twirl them in his finger. "Alright, well, thank you for the wise advice. I'm gonna go see Charlotte now", he announced before grabbing his leather jacket and heading for the front door. He still had a workday ahead of him, but he was sparing his free time to dig into Pierce — luckily, Charlotte had been more than happy to help however she could.

        "Last I heard she was trying to kill Raggedy Anne", Mateo called out, unsure why his dear friend was willingly going to meet with an alleged murderer. Knowing that there wasn't much Kai could say to help him understand, he chose to simply go with the truth.

        "Oh, right. That was actually Lucifer's Goddess of a Mother, inhabiting Charlotte's body. But she's gone now so it's all Charlotte in there", he explained with an innocent smile directed at Mateo, hoping for no more follow-up questions once he had scratched Rutt and Tuke goodbye and grabbed the doorknob.