Awkward barely scratched the surface.

  What happened at The Lounge was far from insignificant. No matter how he tried to convince himself that it was. It would have been great to pass it off as trivial. Let bygones be bygones. They had been drinking, after all. Shit happens when alcohol is involved. But, most people tend to bck out the details like he did. Not highlight them as Quinn intended to do for the foreseeable future.

  He was doing her a favor by adding a pair of helping hands to the mix. Somehow - the kind deed was redefined. His aid had morphed into a punishment. Snipping and stringing decor together, running flyers around town, gathering vouchers. Tedious tasks. Shit no one else wanted to do. Bitch work. He had learned his lesson about requesting more group focused tasks, though. The girl didn't hesitate to bark about how he marred her delicate pride, and that if he was 'just going to be zy' that she wouldn't let him off easy.

  Liam didn't contest her after that point. An appeal to pity didn't work on him, and, frankly, he didn't give a shit about how she or anyone else perceived that incident. Plus, those friends of hers made it clear that no one would see her actions as inherently wrong. Which was just fine. It wouldn't be the first time a finger had been wrongfully pointed at him. It was the prickling reminders that bothered him most.

  Just thinking about it had his lips pursed into a near pout. The fine lines of his face deepened as he begrudgingly stapled another flyer to a weathered pole, and another after that. Then another. If not for the breeze, then passersby might be inclined to view his shame personally. The gnce he got of himself in a shop window wasn't fttering in the slightest. He was the epitome of a grumpy teenager. His posture could give Quasimodo a run for his money, and how he sheltered the stack of papers from the elements certainly didn't help anything. He didn't bother correcting any of it. Rather, he embraced the vibe and wallowed in the misery of it all.

  The concept of Quinn's Spring Fete was more extravagant than it needed to be. She was outreaching to the community and morphing the event into a charity drive, from what he could tell. The posters encouraged neighbors and family alike to support the creative youth with "volunteer work" and "donations". Each category had a separate QR code. Discrete and accessible. It was genius, honestly. Let others bear the responsibility of its success without spending a dime. She was a frugal business woman in the making. All under the guise of a friendly girl rebuilding her community. Liam couldn't tell if she genuinely believed that she was making a difference or if she simply enjoyed the attention.

  Either way, he was stuck in the middle.

  Passing out and stapling her flyers nearly two miles away from the school.

  He didn't feel like walking back at this point, but going any further was equally as unappealing. So, he decided to nestle himself away in a local cafe. The bold, cursive lettering on a nearby window read: Cup&Canvas. It looked hand painted. A nice touch. The verdant colored walls accented with repurposed wood sts and various pnts made it inviting from a gnce. There were enough people mingling inside to rid of the remaining stack, too. Perfect.

  Liam was greeted immediately by a lively man who barely seemed to be keeping his head on straight. He practically danced around the tables, checking on each patron and jotting notes on a notepad in between. The name made sense after seeing that there was a 'sip and paint' activity going on. His attention lingered on the man a bit longer before another spoke from behind the counter. They were far more composed with a touch of amusement pulling their features. He couldn't help noticing that they were both wearing pride pins.

  "Are you here for the event?" Liam's eyes flickered to his name tag as he approached the counter. Christian?! They certainly weren't his Christian. Although their features were alike...In a retive sort of way, not as in him being ignorant...Wait. His thoughts scrambled in his brain as he made sense of himself. The corrections were done in bold red lettering, strikes, and excmation marks: they weren't the Christian he knew of. That's what he meant.

  He blinked a few times before shaking back to reality. "Um, no."

  "Sorry, uh, is it okay for me to stay while this is going on?" The brunet fought the urge to retreat. What the hell was wrong with him? They nodded. A man of few words, it seemed.

  The blond came around the counter and nudged the other, his pale blue eyes set on the man alone. He suddenly felt like he was interrupting something. Leo, he noted, was their name.

  "Actually, uh, would you guys mind if I passed these along to you?" Liam held out the stack of flyers to the duo. If they passed them out, then people would be more receptive. They were a handsome pair that he suspected were together. It became apparent with every passing second, actually. "It's my school's spring...thing. We're trying to garner some attention for it. Maybe a few vendors."

  Leo wasted no time in accepting the task, which left him a bit speechless and stilted in pce. The other worker gave him a smile and motioned for him to take a seat.

  He csped his hands awkwardly, gave a murmured thanks, then found his pce by the window.

  One moment, Liam was watching everyone paint in their cozy little corner of the cafe a 'complimentary' tte. The next, he was being woken up by the reserved worker.

  He fumbled as got to his feet, an apology at his lips as he patted around for his phone, but was soothed in a near instant. The disorientation was met with a gentle hand on his shoulder. "You're fine." They gave him a bit more space and took the seat next to him. "We close in an hour, so don't worry. Figured I'd check on you now that I'm on break."

  Check on him? The consideration was queer in his eyes. A stranger wouldn't possibly care about him, nor did he want them to. "I'm fine. Sorry, again. I'll go."

  The man sighed heavily, though there was no sense of exasperation. Hazel eyes looked the man up and down. He couldn't get a feel for them. Couldn't find the right bel. They remained seated as they returned his explorative gnce. Why did he get the impression he was being mocked? Distaste burned his tongue. Until they smiled.

  "My nephew goes to your school," he began with his attention diverted, "so I'm assuming you know him. Shares my name. He's a good kid."

  "There's no fucking way." He muttered aloud. The silence rang the arms on his little slip, and his body froze. Their eyes met yet there was no sign of a joke. No ughter. No grinning. This guy was serious. The world he considered vast shrunk in the blink of an eye.

  They ughed - at him, he was sure - and returned to watching the world outside. "Believe it or not, it's true. And...he mentioned this to us already. That's why Leo didn't hesitate to snag those flyers. We've signed up as a vendor but we're more than happy to help in other ways."

  Liam remained gauche as the information permeated his head - he didn't need to know this! None of this was relevant, and at this point he didn't want to show up to the damn event. "Uh, yeah. Thanks."

  The shrug he was given did little to add to the conversations. There was nothing of importance to say, right? That's what he was gathering. So, he stepped aside and headed to the door. They spoke again just as he reached for the handle. Their timing was a cruel joke at this point. "Be safe on your way, Liam. Wouldn't want to see your name in the news tomorrow."

  Chills. Fucking chills ran through him like surge of high voltage electricity running from the crown of his head to the tips of toes and back. He practically ran out the door! The fact they knew his name was miraculously the least of his concerns. No, it was the way they spoke like a father getting ready to drill their son's potential partner. What was said to them?! None of his interactions with that Christian were remotely indicative of a retionship. They met twice under less than pleasant circumstances, and their encounters during committee meetings were distant at most. Liam had believed the boy was avoiding him after the comment he made.

  "Fucking weirdos." All he wanted was to get rid of those damn flyers. Job accomplished! Why did there have to be tax on that? And why - why - was everything circling back to him? One...just one...dumb interaction had set off a chain reaction. He needed to quit thinking about it. Grab a stiff drink and erase this fever dream from his psyche. It was all circumstantial. Nothing more. Nothing less.

  ??????

  Christian was side-eyeing him. The. Entire. Time.

  Their oh-so-wonderful president had caved and allowed him more involvement with the other members. She didn't have much choice considering that the fete was one night away and one day away. The added support from a certain someone's uncle had hard unched their little gathering into a grand event worthy of actually being called a fete. It's what she wanted, right? A big ol' community ordeal? Well. She got it.

  Now, he was being punished with being tethered to Christian and Cassidy as they set up the tents on school grounds. He would have preferred to drink bleach than deal with those two; the boy for obvious reasons and Cassidy for her involvement that night. The only positive here was that all of the other vendors who were assigned outside of the property would be responsible for setting up their own stalls. Getting the permit for them to set up along the park was enough of a hassle according to Quinn.

  "It's so hot out...I'm gonna die. How are you even in a long-sleeve, Chris?" Cassidy compined, more or less as an ice breaker. He spared the boy a curious peek from his position. Anyone with a brain could tell he was miserably hot in that shirt. His tanned skin glistened despite being under the shade of the tent. Wasn't his business, though. When neither of them took the bait, she threw her head back and stood. A harsh scowl turned her pleasant appearance into something undylike. The way she rolled her eyes was the cherry on top. "Whatever. I'm gonna grab some waters."

  Liam let out the breath he trapped in his lungs, stood from the ground, and patted at the moisture against his forehead. He would be lying if he said he wasn't miserable at this point. They had been beavering away outside since the early morning. The sun was now at its highest point. He hated it.

  "Hey." The other spoke quietly, unlike his usual cheerful self. Liam noticed he only dropped the happy act around him a few days ago. He assumed it was because of his own attitude around them.

  His eyes narrowed against the sunlight but were attentive nonetheless.

  "Can we talk about this weird thing between us?"

  "Weird thing?" A brow rose and fell.

  Christian groaned, "Nevermind". His attention turned back to painting the Van Gogh style texture on the stall's backboard.

  His lip curled as he watched the boy. That attitude slithered under his skin in a way that he couldn't ignore. They weren't going to bring something up just to immediately brush it off. Plus, there was something weird between them. A lot of things, actually. It'd be nice to get off his chest. "Listen," the hoarseness of his voice came off aggressively, "I'm just as unhappy about everything as you are, but don't give me that 'nevermind' bullshit."

  "Whatever you say, boss."

  He was being dismissed. This fucker.

  "Fine. Let's talk, I guess." The brunet pushed his curls back from his head. A shot of vodka would, without a doubt, make things more bearable. Shame he was wasting his time with a school-friendly bonding experience. "I know you yapped to your uncle about me. So, yeah, there's definitely a weird thing here. You -"

  "Whoa. Whoa - hold up. My uncle?!"

  "Yeah. Your uncle. I passed the flyers off to him at the coffee shop."

  Christian scoffed uncomfortably, "You think that's the weird thing? I mean, yeah, I mentioned you but not like in a...well...whatever. So what if I talked to him? That's not even close to being the problem here."

  The strain in his voice caught him off guard. There was a pregnant pause as they stared at each other with cinched brows and darting eyes.

  "You're clueless." he continued. "The Lounge, Liam. Friday night. In front of all of your pretentious little friends. Ring a bell?"

  Huh?

  "The 'girl' you kissed?"

  Huh?!

  Liam managed to forget most of that night, albeit deliberately. He suppressed it as deep as he could in an attempt to not loathe the reflection in his mirror.

  "I was that girl." The boy's voice was hushed as his eyes dashed around their surroundings. He confidently closed the space between, just enough that speaking could be done in the safety of their bubble. The sunlight shifted the darkness of his eyes to a vibrant mix of chocotey brown and honey at the angle he took. That and the solitary patch of pale skin at the inner corner of his left eye were enough to distract him briefly.

  "You kissed me. Then eavesdropped on my phone call. That's the weird thing between us. Not me passively mentioning you to a retive. "

  The words registered a bit te. When they did, though, it was a hundred fireworks were being set off all at once. Detail upon detail overwhelmed him.

  "I, uh...I didn't want to remember that." He parted his lips to continue but the words weren't coming. Processing this was siphoning the intelligence right out of him. He had so many questions knocking, yet the memory of the kiss was all he could focus on. His cheeks were painted a deeper rouge that barely read under the flush of his heat-touched skin. The fondness of that snippet was fleeting. Embarrassment struck in turn, then the realization that it was Christian. That phone call, too. It was impossible to forget entirely - or at all.

  None of that would be conveyed as he stared back. His curiosities were muted and stashed away. Christian's personal life was a source of entertainment for him. Inquiring why he worked at his family's business - which was a whole other issue that complicate this - or why he wore women's clothing wouldn't be appropriate.

  The question he posed instead came as a reflex. "Guess we're even then?"

  Liam watched the life drain out of the other boy. Like a meteor had come crashing down on him while he stood there grinning at a failed attempt to lighten the mood. His expression fttened as soon as he recognized the mistake he made. "That's - I don't mean it like that. Just, y'know, with everything...that happened before? You crossed some boundaries. I did the same. We should forget about it."

  "Oh my god. Okay. Yeah, sure. Forget it." Christian drew a sharp breath, then set his brush down and reestablished the distance between them. A bitter tint gzed those eyes as they burrowed into his soul from the shadows. "If I ever find out that you've told anyone about that job...I swear to god...I will gut you."

  The brunet, stunned by the switch in their personality, remained silent.

  Cassidy returned with their waters before either of them could continue. "Should we...take a break?"

  "No!" They blurted out in-sync, both red to the tips of their ears.