13

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Warnings: none.

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Caleb Chartier

It was the second day of our three day break. My phone vibrated next to me and I picked it up to check who it was.

Kane Villaflor

hey Caleb 👋

how r u?

Read

I didn't take him for someone who uses emojis.

You

What do u want?

Delivered

Kane Villaflor

what? I can't text u js cuz I wanna?

Read

You

Just get to the point.

Delivered

Kane Villaflor

fine fine.

do u want to hangout?

Read

You

Are you serious?

Delivered

Kane Villaflor

do u not want to??

Read

I bit my lip and stared at the message. Was Kane seriously asking to hangout? We hardly knew each other but then again, I have no experience with friends (other than Grace but our relationship is a bit rocky).

You

No I do.

Where are we going?

Delivered

—

And that's how I ended up here, waiting in the downtown plaza for Kane. Apparently there was an event going on which was the whole reason school got canceled for Monday. It was some kind of town festival that happens every few years and was quite popular. I'd probably see a lot of people there. Definitely not my siblings though. They'd rather go to expensive parties rather than some cheap town festival.

It was currently 6:00 PM and the weather was getting colder. I should've worn a sweater. I thought, shivering in my cold t-shirt.

"There you are."

Kane approached me and smiled.

"Hey." I said, giving him a look up and down. He wore casual clothes but pulled it off in a way that made his whole outfit look better. He's lucky to be hot.

"You look cold." Kane said. I rolled my eyes.

"Wow thanks for noticing!"

He huffed out a laugh and handed me his sweater. "You can't freeze up before we even do anything."

I hesitantly took the sweater. It was soft and would probably hang off of me but it was the best thing I had right now. I slid it over my head and slipped it on. It smelled like him. Probably some sort of expensive cologne.

I brought the sleeve of my hoodie to my nose and sniffed.

"Do you wear cologne?" I asked.

I looked up to see Kane gulping and his face was flushed. His eyes were on me, placed somewhere I couldn't place. His eyes had a slight shine to it, something I've never seen. It caught me off guard.

"Kane?" I called out his name.

He snapped out of it and met my eyes. "Yeah?"

I shook my head. "Nevermind! Pay more attention idiot." I said. "Anyway let's get something to eat i'm hungry."

As soon as I started walking, Kane pulled me towards him and flashed me a smile. "Follow me. I know a good place to eat during the festival."

The smile was so genuine I couldn't help but oblige. As I followed him through the crowd, I gripped his hand tighter. I didn't want to get lost or knocked down my people. It was getting later and the lights were started to go on. I couldn't pay attention to anything else but Kane. He seemed oddly persistent and oddly nervous.

I watched as his green eyes glowed in the dim lights and focused on the warmth of his hand. In this lighting, I could see everything. His sharp face, calculating eyes, and the way he pulled me a bit closer to him.

This version of him was the best.

Sure, I didn't know a lot about Kane. But I knew he was nothing like the rumors— nothing like people say he is. Even if he was just that way around me, I didn't care. I liked it. I liked how direct he was and I liked how he didn't care how I acted, how I look.

"Caleb, we're here." his voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I tore my eyes away from his stupidly pretty face and towards the small restaurant. It was decorated his lights and was kind of aesthetic. I noticed that it was packed. Must be a good place.

Kane pulled me in and asked the waiter for seats. We got lucky since there was only a single two person table left. We were guided to our seat and ordered drinks. The table was on the patio, out in the open where everyone could see us. I looked around and found that couples and families were here.

Wait.. isn't this kind of like a—

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Kane asked.

"Nothing." I quickly said. I heard him chuckle.

"Sure.." he said. "Anyway where do you wanna go after this? I wanna try the flower maze. I heard that if you win you get a huge cash prize."

"Seriously? You're thinking about it for the money?"

"Well not just the money. If I bring you along, it'll be fun and easy to navigate."

"Why didn't you just bring your friends instead of me?" I asked, curious. Why did he bring me? I could barely qualify as his friend, more like his "acquaintance."

"Well actually, I have no idea. I just wanted to be with you so I am with you."

Okay— too forward.

I blushed and sputtered. "Y-you can't just say things like that!" I exclaimed.

"Why?"

I bit my bottom lip. "Well.. it's a bit.."

"A bit?"

"It's just a bit.. I don't know.. gay?"

Kane laughed loudly which caught me off guard. "Me? Gay? No fucking way."

"Well I'm just saying you prick!" I retorted. "And if im being honest with you, I'm gay. So it's odd if you just randomly invite me to go to a festival with you. And we're alone and out in the public in a restaurant that most couples eat at."

I totally forgot to filter myself and nervously looked at Kane to see his reaction. He was silent. That was all. I couldn't tell what he was feeling or understand what he thought.

"If you don't like it.. I can leave." I quietly said loud enough for him to hear.

"So what?" Kane asked. "And im straight. Is that stopping you from hanging out with me?"

I felt myself relax and chuckle that. "Do you know that you're really difficult to read?" I asked.

Kane smiled and I could feel myself caving into him every second. "I make it so that no one can read me." he said.

"That sounds stupid."

"Everything about me is stupid to you."

I carefully listened to the way his words traveled smoothly out of his mouth. I watched as his green eyes stared into mine.

...

Fuck.

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Thanks for reading up to the 13th chapter!! I'm so excited that we get to get more into Kane and Sam. I'll be updating chapters more on the weekends so I may miss a couple of days of uploading. Anyway, make sure to vote for my story! I'll constantly be updating <33

QUESTION: Is Kane a green flag or red flag?

Me: Both.

Words: 1181