Hide and Seek

Everett's left elbow rests against the car window and his head is propped up on his palm as he drives one-handed down the highway. His mind has been reeling for the last fifteen minutes since he left The Clubhouse's parking lot.

Beau had seemed so defeated when he hugged Everett and walked away from him with an eerie finality. The confusion Everett has been feeling during this breakup is now at an all-time high considering Beau has disproven every point that Everett used against him when he originally ended things.

In fact, Everett was planning on asking Beau if he wanted to get drinks somewhere else to discuss possibly giving their relationship another shot. That is until they were verbally harassed as they were trying to leave the reunion.

Running a hand through his hair, Everett hits a button on his steering wheel that allows him to skip to the next song from his playlist that's connected to Bluetooth. A familiar opening line suddenly plays over his speakers, causing Everett's eyes to mist wistfully.

🎶My regrets look just like texts I shouldn't send🎶

One of Beau's sad rap songs made it's way onto his playlist.

🎶And I got neighbors, they're more like strangers🎶

🎶We could be friends🎶

He laughs self-deprecatingly as Mac Miller's words hit a little too close to home at the moment.

🎶I just need a way out🎶

🎶Of my head🎶

🎶I'll do anything for a way out🎶

🎶Of my head🎶

An exit appears and Everett makes the executive decision to get off on it. He can't go back to Sinting without talking to Beau.

Pulling into a McDonald's parking lot, he enters Beau's address into GPS and begins his journey back to the apartment.

-

"Everett?" Mrs. Coleman answers the door in a fluffy, baby pink robe. She has an equal-parts tired and confused look on her face. "I didn't think you were staying the night?"

Sheepishly holding his left bicep, he responds, "I'm not staying the night. I forgot something that I needed to tell Beau and I was hoping I could grab him for a second—sorry for waking you."

"I wasn't asleep yet, it's no problem. Let me get him," Mrs. Coleman says kindly before turning around to enter through the sheets hanging from the ceiling. Everett can hear her soft murmurs, but no response.

She returns with pinched eyebrows. "He's not here. Have you texted him?"

The thing is, Everett has texted him already. He asked Beau if he was home and got no response.

"Uh-" Everett stutters. "I actually think he might still be out with some friends after the reunion. Sorry again for disrupting your night." He waves at the concerned woman with—what he hopes looks like—a reassuring smile on his face.

"Oh, okay.... Bye?" Mrs. Coleman's confused words fade in his ears as he makes his way to the stairwell to walk downstairs.

He checks his phone again once he's back in the car. Still no text.

Where is Beau?

-

He drives to Bernie's and sees that it is still open. The place is buzzing with his peers that, most likely, made their way over after the reunion. Everett searches the entire diner before coming to the conclusion that Beau isn't here.

"Everett?" Someone says his name.

Spinning around, he sees Sloane approaching him from where she was previously socializing with a group of women. "You look lost—what's up?"

Unsure of how to respond to her question, he eventually decides to answer honestly. "I'm looking for Beau. I thought he might be here, but I don't think he is."

"How did you lose him? Did he slip out of his leash?" She jokes with a grin.

"I was actually on my way home, but came back to tell him something. He's not responding to my texts, so I'm looking for him now," he admits timidly.

Sloane's eyebrows raise and a look of understanding falls over her face. He's not quite sure what it is that she understands, but it's obvious that she just made some sort of connection. If they were in a cartoon, a lightbulb would be hovering over her head right now.

She puts a hand on her hip and beams at him as she questions his motives. "You turned around to tell him something you couldn't over the phone?" There is a lipgloss print on the rim of her stemless wineglass. Smiling into it, she takes another sip as she awaits Everett's response.

"Yeah—it's important and I'd rather do it face-to-face. Y'know?" He replies while scratching the back of his head nervously.

"I'm sure it is. If he isn't here or at his place, then maybe you should try the bar across the street or the park a couple blocks down from here. I've heard he frequents those places when he's home," she suggests helpfully.

Nodding his head, Everett says, "Thanks, Sloane. I'll definitely check both of those out." He waves at her and begins to make his way out the door.

"No problem. By the way, I like your chances," she calls after him with a wink.

Chances? Does she know what he wants to talk to Beau about?

Everett stares at her as she walks off to another group of people. He shakes his head and crosses the street to the dive bar that Beau supposedly loiters at.

The place is much smaller than Bernie's, so he quickly sees that Beau isn't here either. Just to cover all of his bases, he ducks his head into the bathroom to see if Beau happens to be in there at the moment.

Seeing no one in the dingy restroom, Everett turns to leave, but promptly runs into a solid, broad chest. Looking up, he see a large man with a buzz cut and a braided beard staring him down.

"Why're ya scrambling around my bar?" His gruff voice demands answers.

Swallowing fearfully, Everett says, "I'm looking for my friend, but I don't think he's here. I'll head out now—so sorry for the scrambling." He tries to take a step forward to exit as soon as possible when the large man's hairy arm comes down, blocking him from moving any further.

"What's yer friend's name?" The way he asks the question makes it feel more like a test rather than genuine curiosity.

His legs begin to tremble—please be on good terms with this guy, Beau—Everett thinks to himself.

"Beau," he tells the sturdy man. "Beau Coleman. I've never been here before, but I was told he comes in sometimes."

The beady eyes continue to glare at him, assessing him as he takes in the information Everett has just spilled. A wide smile suddenly makes its way onto the man's face and he lets out a hearty laugh. He slaps a hand on Everett's back, causing him to jerk forward with the force.

"Jerry!" The hysterical man calls out across to the bar, presumably to the bartender who is smoking a cigarette and pouring a glass of whiskey for a patron. "This kid is looking for Coleman!"

Pushing the glass of whiskey over to the drunk guy who is practically falling off his stool, the bartender makes his way over to the two of them as they stand by the bathrooms. "Coleman? Haven't seen the guy all week. What do you need him for?"

Everett is sweating against the wall he's been practically backed against. There's no way he can make a run for it out of here and he honestly doesn't know if that'd be a good idea anyway. It sounds like Beau actually comes here and is friends with these people, he doesn't want to make his ex look bad by sprinting away from them. He also doesn't want to get hurt if they decide that Everett is some sort of threat to them or Beau.

"We were just at our high school reunion together. I was heading back home afterwards, but remembered something that I wanted to tell him. He isn't answering his phone, so I've been looking around trying to find him," Everett rambles anxiously.

"What d'ya think?" The big guy asks Jerry. His one eyebrow is raised, showcasing all of the wrinkles on his forehead.

The bartender is scratching his chin as he watches Everett thoughtfully. Snapping his fingers, he says, "You must be the little shit-head that Coleman and his baby brother were stressing over the other week."

"Stressing over?" Everett parrots his words out of confusion.

Nodding in confirmation, Jerry elaborates, "Remember, Tooth? The Coleman boys were bickering in that booth over there for over two hours. I kept refilling their beers and bringing the oldest shots."

The large man, Tooth, has a moment of realization at this. "Fuckin' right! Coleman was a miserable motherfucker last time we saw 'im."

"He was and, from what I heard, it was because of some pretty boy that broke his heart," Jerry chuckles in amusement at the situation.

Unsure of how these two intimidating men feel about same-sex relationships, Everett treads very carefully. "I don't know if they were talking about me, but I do need to find Beau so I better-" He tries again to make his exit, but is blocked by Jerry this time.

"We're not trying to scare you, kid. Just know that we really like that Coleman boy—we don't want to see him in that state again. You hear what I'm saying?"

Everett thinks it's oddly sweet that these two men care about Beau this much.

"I hear what you're saying," Everett replies. "I don't want him in that state either, that's why I'm trying to find him."

Jerry and Tooth nod approvingly at this. "Alright, boy, off you go, then. Go fix things with our favorite customer," Tooth gives him a hard, but encouraging shove at the door.

Sloane had also recommended that he check the park. If he's not there, then Everett doesn't know where else to go. He considers trying the apartment again, but he doesn't want to wake Mrs. Coleman and Finn.

Everett crosses the street so he's back in the parking lot at Bernie's. He hops in his car and hopes to God that Beau is at the park.

-

He parks on the street next to the easily identifiable Nissan.

The sky is black, but the stars light up the sky allowing Everett to see where he is walking without having to turn on his phone's flashlight. It only takes a minute before he spots a figure sitting on the swings, gently swaying forward and backward with their feet on the ground facing away from Everett.

"My scavenger hunt is finally over," he states, causing Beau to jump in surprise.

He stands up from the swing and turns to look at Everett. Beau's eyes are wide and he doesn't seem to know what to say.

"I tried texting and calling you." Everett's words float in the air between them. It's not freezing out, but the night breeze makes things cool.

Beau's voice is dry and scratchy when he responds, "My phone battery died at the reunion." He looks as if he's not convinced Everett is actually standing in front of him—like he's witnessing a mirage. "What are you doing here?"

"'Come Back to Earth' came on during my ride home," Everett says unhelpfully.

"The Mac Miller song?" Beau asks, deeply confused.

Everett nods.

"Yeah," he answers. "It's one of your favorite songs."

Beau's confusion turns to a look of pain as he agrees, "Yeah. It is."

They stare at each other for a moment. Everett doesn't know how to move forward with this conversation. Taking a breath, he decides to jump into it blindly.

"You were really great to me today," he tells the tall man who looks to be slouching into himself.

"I should've alway been good to you," Beau counters with a stern expression.

A corner of Everett's mouth twitches upward at that. "You were always good, but today you were great," he clarifies.

Running a hand through his dark hair, Beau lets out a sigh. He is visibly frustrated by something—Everett hopes he isn't the cause of the frustration.

"Do you remember when we first got together?" Beau questions.

Everett nods. Of course he remembers.

"You asked me if I liked and deserved you," he states as if Everett could ever forget that conversation. It was like pulling teeth trying to get Beau to understand that he wasn't homophobic, but instead just into him.

Everett nods again.

"I'm in love with you, but I don't think I'll ever be at a point where I deserve you."

"Why don't you deserve me?"

"Everett...."

"No. I want to hear why you don't deserve me after everything that happened today."

"I ignored you and shit talked you to those assholes, Rett."

"What did you do today, then?"

"Today was a one time thing...."

"The last time we were here was a one time thing too. Today you told everyone we are friends and that you lived with me—that was huge, Beau."

Everett is having flashbacks to when they first together. Just like when they first discussed their feelings, Everett is once again having to talk Beau off a ledge.

"Why would you trust me after everything that I've done?" Beau questions, genuinely wanting to know why Everett is still even willing to talk to him.

"We literally just talked to your beautiful ex-girlfriend and you didn't ditch me to try to get back together with her," Everett points out. "One of the first things you said to her was that we lived together briefly. I trust you."

"She has a girlfriend."

Everett's eyebrows furrow at this. "What—are you saying that's the reason you didn't ditch me for her?"

"What? No! I told her I was gay too." Beau reveals.

"You—what?"

"I-I told her I was also gay. While you were in the bathroom."

"Beau-" Everett begins, but is interrupted by a noise in the distance.

A group of teenagers emerge seemingly out of nowhere. They don't notice Beau and Everett standing by the swings and instead stand around the slide and monkey bars. Lighter flicks can be heard before a flame appears to light something as they giggle. The distinct scent of smoke and skunk wafts over to the exes.

"Can we talk in your car?" Everett asks. They can't continue this conversation with the local kids getting high a few feet away from them.

When they are seated in the old Nissan, Everett grabs Beau's hand over the center console.

"I came to Columbus for you, but also to get closure on our relationship. You've been perfect all day, though," Everett pours his heart out to the man in the driver's seat. "If you really don't believe we should be together, then I'll respect that. I just want you to know that I'd like to give us another chance because.... I love you too."

"You love me?" Beau's eyes are blown wide at this.

Everett nods his head in confirmation, happy that Beau seems to be understanding his sincerity.

"I've been miserable since we ended things, but I kept telling myself it was for the best. I couldn't understand why this hurt even more than my divorce. After seeing how willing you were to go out of your way to prove that you want to be around me no matter who's watching, I realized that I'm in love with you. So—what do you think?" The ball is now in Beau's court.

Beau has been in a state of shock since Everett showed up at the park, but even more so right now. His lips are slightly parted as he seems to be thinking of how to respond. During this moment of silence, his eyes scan Everett's face as if searching for any indication that Everett is just messing with him.

"You would really give me another chance?" He asks in a voice thick with emotion.

"You deserve another chance," Everett insists.

Tears gather in Beau's eyes, wetting his thick eyelashes as he slowly places his right hand on Everett's cheek. Everett closes his eyes as he feels the warm caress of Beau's palm on his skin. He wants this more than anything and he might explode if Beau doesn't do what he thinks he's going to do next.

With his thumb gently stroking Everett's cheek, Beau then begins to lean in slowly. His breath ghosts over Everett's lips and Everett is about to close the distance between them when Beau suddenly speaks.

"I love you so much."

He doesn't give Everett a chance to reciprocate the sentiment as he finally presses their lips together. Everett could cry with the relief that rushes through his body. A weight has been lifted off of his shoulders and he feels like everything is right in his world. It's as if his divorce and house search are not even problems that plague him everyday like they normally do.

Everett feels wetness on his lips and tastes the saltiness of Beau's tears as they merge into the kiss. Backing away ever so slightly, Everett opens his eyes and looks at the man in front of him.

He wipes at Beau's tears. "Are you okay?"

Beau still has a hand on Everett's cheek and he continues to stroke his face with his thumb.

"Yeah—fuck—I'm sorry, Rett. I just can't believe this is happening," Beau replies with a smile and light in his eyes, contrasting the tear tracks on his cheeks.

Smiling back at him, Everett grabs the hand on his cheek and removes it so he can press a kiss to the palm. "Get used to it. I don't plan on letting us go through that again."

This gets a laugh out of the crying man. Everett beams in pride hearing the joyful sound coming from his boyfriend. He wants to hear it all the time.

"Will you come back home with me?" Everett asks.

Beau's eyebrows raise at this. They are now holding hands and Everett is fiddling with Beau's fingers as he waits for an answer.

After soaking in the question, Beau shakes off the look of surprise on his face and firmly grasps Everett's hand with both of his own.

"Of course I will."

-

They drive separately back to the Coleman's apartment where Beau goes in to drop off the car keys and quietly collects his stuff while his phone charges. It is now past one in the morning, so he tries not to wake up his mom and Finn. He has all of his clothes and other items shoved into a bag and is taking down the sheets from the ceiling when he hears a door squeak open.

"So it worked?" Finn's voice is deep with sleep, but he still manages to sound amused as he asks the question with a smirk on his face.

Beau takes down the last sheet and turns to his brother with a small smile of his own. "I didn't think it worked, but he found me in the park after and told me he loves me."

Finn's smug look transforms into a much softer one. He seems genuinely relieved at this information. "I'm happy for you, man."

"Thanks," Beau responds before pausing a moment and tacking on another comment, "And thanks for, like, coming up with the plan to prove myself to Everett—or whatever."

The two of them have never been super mushy and open when it comes to talking about their feelings. The extent of them showing their emotions to each other can be boiled down to Finn crying when he was younger after their dad would do or say something shitty to him. There was never much discussion about feelings, however, beyond those circumstances.

"No problem. I honestly can't believe it worked as well it did," Finn reveals as they continue to speak quietly into the darkness of the room. Beau absentmindedly makes a note in his head that he will need to give his mom a call tomorrow to let her know that he's moving back in with Everett. He will also inevitably have to speak with his boyfriend about telling their parents about their relationship—Beau does not intend to keep this part of his life a secret ever again.

His phone lights up with a notification where it sits charging on the floor by the nearest outlet.

Rett

Is everything okay in there?

Lmk if you need any help

"Shoot me a text later, okay? I want to come visit you guys soon," Finn says as he backs into his bedroom with a yawn.

"We'll have you and mom over soon," Beau assures him. His brother nods at this and holds a hand up in a lazy imitation of a wave goodbye as he closes his door.

To: Rett

Ran into Finn I'll be down in a sec

-

Back on the road, Everett fills him in on the wild goose chase that he went on in the process of trying to find Beau.

"You talked to my mom, ex-girlfriend and Tooth?" Beau asks in disbelief with a chuckle.

They are holding hands again, desperate to be in contact with one another now that they have been reunited. Familiar rap music plays through the speakers as Beau shuffles one of his beloved playlists.

"I also met Jerry," Everett informs him dutifully. This causes Beau to let out a bark of laughter at the matter-of-fact tone Everett says it in.

Running a hand through his hair, Beau collects himself enough to reply to this detail. "Of course you did," he remarks with a smile and squeezes Everett's hand. "Were they assholes to you? They kind of suck at first, but they mean well."

Everett shrugs at this. "I don't know.... Tooth kind of cornered me when I was in there looking for you. He wouldn't let me leave until I told him what I was doing in there. When I brought you up, he called Jerry over and he also interrogated me."

"They cornered you?" Beau's eyebrows are drawn together and he's no longer smiling. His hand tightens around Everett's. "I'll beat the shit out of them."

"That's not necessary—they were weird, but they didn't hurt me or anything. They actually seemed like they wanted to make sure that I wouldn't hurt you," Everett explains to him while rubbing a soothing thumb up and down Beau's hand. Beau's grip loosens slightly which Everett takes as him calming down.

Letting out a breath, Beau says, "You're not the one who my family and friends should be threatening in this relationship."

"That's not true—I wasn't technically threatened and you do deserve to have people stick up for you," Everett tells him determinedly. "Your feelings matter too. You messed up once, Beau. That doesn't mean you have to constantly reflect and punish yourself for it."

Everett has always excelled at bringing Beau and his distressed thoughts back down to earth. In another timeline, Beau wholeheartedly believes Everett could be a successful therapist.

"I still don't like them cornering you like that. I won't do anything stupid, but I'm telling them to cut that shit out next time I see them," he yields with his own stipulation.

"That's reasonable," Everett agrees with a smile.

-

Beau has been an emotional mess for the last twenty-four hours and he could continue that streak with the solace he feels when he enters Everett's home again.

Taking Beau's hand, Everett leads them upstairs in the dark house. The moonlight bleeding in through the windows helps them find their way around and into the bedroom. After showering, they lay in bed in a way that they haven't in a long time.

"Goodnight," Everett breathes out quietly.

"Night, snook," responds Beau lowly. His arm is wrapped securely around the smaller man's stomach.

"Love you."

Beau's heart flutters and a lump forms in his throat every time he hears it.

"Love you too. So much."