Dylan sighed, moving to stand in between Chris's legs as the latter sat on top of the counter, a plate with half-eaten pancakes in one hand. He placed a hand at the back of Dylan's neck and put the plate down on the kitchen island.
"You make really good pancakes," he grinned. Dylan put his hands on Chris's hips, moving his thumbs against the fabric of the shirt.
"Thanks," he hummed.
Chris bent down, placing a chaste kiss on Dylan's lips.
Then, all within the span of a few seconds, the front door opened and closed. Dylan didn't even have time to react before Riley was standing in the doorway.
"Hey, Dyl, are you-" she shook off her jacket and looked up, stopping abruptly, "oh..."
Dylan stared. Chris too. Riley's eyes moved from her brother to Chris and back to her brother. A smile broke out on her face.
"Hi," she said, walking up to Chris, "I'm Riley, Dylan's sister."
It took a moment for Chris to respond, but he took her hand with a smile. "Chris."
Dylan grabbed his sister's arm, pulling her to the side. He saw Chris grin from where he was sitting atop the counter. When they were far enough so that Chris wouldn't be able to hear, he stopped.
"So, you like boys?" Riley smirked. Dylan squirmed.
"Yes, I like a boy," he said after a minute's silence. They stared at each other for a long while, neither saying anything more. "Don't tell mom- are those hickeys?" His eyes moved to her neck, which she quickly put a hand over to hide.
"You can't tell either," she hurried.
"You and Nelly, huh?" It was his turn to smirk now and she looked away.
"I'm not having this conversation right now," she laughed, shooting a glance behind Dylan to where Chris was sitting awkwardly. "He's a catch."
Dylan laughed. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."
Riley gave him a short smile before walking past him, back into the kitchen.
"It was really nice to meet you," she beamed up at Chris, shaking his hand once again before turning and going up the stairs. Dylan just stared for a moment before walking toward Chris.
"Your sister," the latter grinned. Dylan nodded. "She's nice."
They laughed. "Yeah, she is," he agreed.
His suspicions about her and Nelly had been right after all, not that it bothered him. And she wouldn't tell, not before he was ready since she, too, didn't want that. Unless Nelly was, in fact, a boy, but he doubted it.
"Anyway, I should get going or mom and dad will wonder where I've gone," Chris sighed, hopping down from the kitchen island where he'd been sitting for the better part of an hour.
"Mm, maybe that's for the best," Dylan frowned. Chris leaned down, placing a short kiss Dylan's lips before passing him by and grabbed his jacket. "I'll see you at school."
__
His mom sat back in her chair and sipped slowly on her coffee.
"How was your weekend, then, kids?" She asked, directing her gaze toward Riley first, then Dylan.
Riley grinned. "I had it really good," she took a bite out of her egg, shooting a short glance toward Dylan, "me and Nelly watched a movie and then I stayed at hers for the night."
"That's nice," their dad cut in, and Riley nodded enthusiastically. "What about you, Dylan?"
"I didn't do much," he lied almost effortlessly, all the while staring at Riley. Just in case. "I got some homework done and then I watched a movie, but I must have fallen asleep in the middle of it."
"You didn't do anything on Sunday, either?" His mom asked.
"No, I woke up pretty late."
"But he was in the middle of making pancakes when I got home," Riley added, giving him a grin that he easily interpreted as 'and something else, too'. He simpered in her direction.
"A real Sunday breakfast," his dad laughed, "good that you had a great weekend. Grandma and grandpa send you all their love."
Dylan smiled. "I might call them someday, but they celebrate with Thanksgiving with us as usual, right?"
His dad nodded. "Of course."
"Good," he rose from his seat, "I better get going. I'll see you tonight."
"See you tonight, don't be late," his mom warned, looking down at her phone. Dylan didn't answer, simply rolled his eyes and went to get his things. "By the way, honey, we're all going to have a little road-trip this weekend."
"Why?" Dylan frowned.
"Because, Dylan, William is leaving on Sunday evening, so we're going to do something together before then," his mom explained with a simper. He sighed.
"Okay."
Before he left, he heard her ask his dad if William was sleeping still. He closed the door behind him and got into the car. It was raining cats and dogs, and he immediately turned the wipers on.
Felicia was already waiting when he got to her house. She, apparently, hadn't gotten a ride from Blaire.
"You really need to get your car sorted," he laughed as she entered, already soaking wet even though she'd only been running in the rain for a few moments.
"I know!" She groaned and let her head thud lightly against the backrest, "I know, I will fix it, I've talked to dad."
"Is he finished with the Mustang?"
"Almost," she grinned, "I can't wait to pull up to school in it."
Dylan snorted a laugh. "Will he let you drive it after you crashed your own car?"
"To say that I crashed it is a gross overstatement," she huffed.
"Yet you haven't driven it all semester, so it has to be broken enough to not drive it."
"Well, maybe I just want a personal chauffeur."
Dylan grinned. "Yeah, maybe."
__
Dylan took a seat at the usual table along with Felicia. Moments later, Landon, Francis, Cole, and Shawn joined them, all of them dropping their trays onto the table.
"So, we have joined together," Shawn laughed, looking around to find that more of the football players were on the way, among them Tyler from the first party of the year.
"That we have," Francis agreed, stuffing his mouth with the chicken that was for lunch.
"How were your first classes?" Felicia asked with her eyes on Dylan. He shrugged.
"They were fine I guess," his eyes were glued to the entrance to the cafeteria, waiting for a certain football player who'd recently stolen his affections. She followed his gaze across the room, then turned back to him with a smirk.
"Yes, you are right," he said before she had the chance.
Not many minutes passed before that exact boy walked through the doors, and Dylan couldn't stop the smile that broke out on his face.
"You aren't very subtle," Felicia kicked him under the table, making him frown in her direction.
"I was until you yelled out that I wasn't," he blew a raspberry at her, just like the three-year-old that he was. She shot back a pout right before Chris took a seat at the table.
Dylan searched for his attention, leaning forward a bit. Chris met his gaze and gave him a short smile and a wink. It made Dylan's heart flutter as he sat back in his seat.
"You played real good last Thursday," Shawn grinned as a few more footballers grabbed seats around the table. Francis grinned.
"Thanks, man," he replied, "next time we've got to go to your game."
Jake chuckled, then turned to Landon with a slight frown.
"When is our next game?"
Landon, in turn, turned to Dylan, who smiled.
"The weekend before Thanksgiving."
"That far away?" Shawn huffed.
"It's not that far away, it's just about two weeks," Cole cut in while putting a piece of chicken in his mouth.
"Damn," Landon said, "we've got to step up our practicing."
Shawn grimaced. "We're already doing it three times a week, almost two hours a time."
"Yeah, we can't tire ourselves out before the game," Jake cut in.
"Don't gang up on him," Dylan defended, "it was just a suggestion." Landon gave him an appreciative smile but didn't say anything, just kept eating his food.
Dylan lifted his eyes, automatically focusing on Chris who was eating across the table. They made eye-contact and Chris did a quick nod of his head toward the door. Dylan nodded, then stood.
"Anyway, I'm gonna go and try to get some English homework done before class starts," he smiled, "I'll see you guys."
He grabbed his tray and looked at Felicia. She had her eyebrows raised and he shot her a look that he hoped said 'don't follow'. She didn't move.
He left the cafeteria and started walking down the hallway. Most students were still either eating in the cafeteria or in class, so it was almost empty, save for a small group of girls who watched him as he passed them.
While he didn't know where Chris had thought they would meet, he assumed that it was the same place as last time, and headed in the direction of the gym.
When he entered the janitor's closet, it was dark and deserted. He flicked the lightswitch, letting the room bathe in the dim light from the single lightbulb that hung from the roof.
"So this is where we meet now?" Chris came into the room mere minutes later, and Dylan had found himself a seat on a chair in one of the corners.
"I suppose," the raven-haired boy grinned as Dylan stood.
Their lips met in a heated kiss that Dylan sighed into. He let his hands rest on Chris's shoulders and when they parted, Chris leaned down to rest his forehead against Dylan's.
"Did you have a nice Sunday?" The taller asked, brushing some hair from Dylan's face.
"The beginning was better than the end," Dylan smirked, making Chris laugh.
"Same," he said. He tugged lightly at Dylan's collar, revealing some deep purple marks left by none other than himself. "Do your parents really not notice these?"
"No," Dylan huffed, "I always wear shirts around them... and makeup. How do you hide yours so well?" He inspected the taller's neck.
"I have some tricks," Chris teased, "and I, too, use a lot of concealer."
Dylan hummed. "Your moms?"
"Yeah."
"When can we go out again?" He nuzzled Chris's collar, very tempted to leave a mark since he couldn't hide it until after school. Then again, people would just think that he'd gotten himself a new girl.
"This weekend?" Chris captured his lips for a short kiss. Dylan sighed.
"No, I can't. Mom and dad are taking us on some road trip before William leaves for Norway on Sunday night."
"Oh," Chris frowned, "well, we have Thursday. In the library?"
"Yeah, we have Thursday."
"And after that, we have any day we'd like."
Dylan grinned. "We do."
He angled his head back and connected their lips. Chris's eyes fluttered closed and he smiled into the kiss, pushing gently. Dylan's feet moved backward, his back soon hitting the wall with a dull thud, making him exhale a harsh breath.
Chris took a hold of his hands, guiding them back to his hair and then let his own rest on Dylan's hips, rubbing small circles as Dylan scratched softly on his scalp.
"You're a great kisser," Dylan breathed between soft kisses.
Chris laughed. "You too," he kissed along Dylan's jaw, down to his neck.
"No," Dylan gently pushed his head away, "no marks, not this time."
"Aw," Chris pouted, then grinned.
"You make my life so hard, you know that?" Dylan laughed.
"You love it," Chris shot back, making Dylan sigh and chuckle. Right then, though, the bell rang, and this time when Dylan sighed, it was one of tiredness. "Alright, Dyl, time to get back to straight-ing."
Dylan burst out laughing, throwing his head back against the wall. "But I don't wanna!" He complained, the trace of laughter still in his eyes. Chris took a step back.
"I'll see you," he said, making Dylan pout.
"See you."
///