TAKE ME AWAY(12/?)
Title: TAKE ME AWAY(12/?)
Author: imnotskerrd
Beta: crybaby4u <3
Pairing: Kradam; Kris/OMC; Adam/Sauli
Word count: 3874
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction.
Warnings: Domestic violence; Bullying
Summary: Sometimes we think that letting someone go is the most selfless decision that one can ever make. Especially in a situation where no one can help you except for yourself. But what if you came back and found out that the love of your life didn't just change in the way you've expected him to but also is in a more messed up situation.
The next day Kris is awakened with an annoying squeaks ringing in his ears. Instead of opening his eyes he chooses to put a pillow on top of his head and tries to block the sounds out that are coming from not so far away from him. It succeeds for a while but then someone is shaking him awake in a not so gentle way.
Kris doesn’t give his intruder satisfaction instead he covers his head with the comforter and sighs contentedly hoping this annoying creature that would not stop squeaking will just go away.
For a second he thinks he succeeded but then a sudden force has taken over and the comforter that hugs his body so warmly has suddenly disappeared and he is being tackled down from head to toe by none other than Cheeks.
‘’Get off me, you doofus.’’ He struggles but Cheeks’ hold is unexpectedly strong as he grips his hands on top of his head and sitting on his abdomen stilling him from moving any further.
‘’Nuh-uh not before you’ll accept my offer.’’ He says arching his perfectly plucked eye brows.
‘’What offer?’’ Kris tries to struggles again but Cheeks is strongly holding him down. ‘’What time is it anyway? Why are you bothering me this early in the morning?’’
‘’It’s already 10 am, you lazy ass. Someone has been keeping you awake at night, huh?’’ he teases winking playfully at him.
‘’No one was keeping me awa-seriously, Brad, get off me. Your boney butt is poking fatally at my stomach, dude.’’
‘’As I’ve said, not before you accept my invitation.’’
‘’Invitation for what? C’mon hurry up, dude. My legs are starting to go numb.’’
‘’Invitation as my date to the Junior Dance Ball…’’
The smile on Kris’ face fades as he asks ‘’what…’’
‘’I said, I want you to come with me to the dance ball as my date.’’ Cheeks drags the words out for Kris not to missed what he says.
‘’I heard it the first time you said it. But-why? I mean don’t you have a boyfriend-the one you introduced to us at Dani’s house?’’
‘’Eh, we didn’t really clicked and we stopped going out 3 days ago.’’
‘’Ah, that’s why you want me to come with you?’’
‘’Yes! Now you’re getting good at this. So, what do you say?’’
‘’No’’
‘’What? ’’
‘’I said, no.’’ Kris enunciates it words for words.
‘’But why… Do you know no one says no to me, sweetheart?’’
‘’Well, I’m the first one.’’
‘’No because I will convince you’’
‘’Good luck with that’’
‘’Just so you know, you ask for it.’’
Then in a split second Kris is giggling from the tickling that Cheeks is doing on his side. The strength that this creature possesses made Kris assess the situation and come to the conclusion that Cheeks is after all among the human race, now he’s not sure any more.
Cheeks’ holds both his wrists with one hand and tickles his side with the other. Kris is heaving and flushes pleading Cheeks to stop.
‘’Brad, I’m gonna pee, stop... oh, god! Stop!’’
But Cheeks doesn’t heed him and continues to tickle his side until Kris shouts, ‘’Okay, okay… oh my god, I swear Brad you’ll be the death of me.’’
‘’Okay what, Kristopher? Make it clear or else I will not stop doing this.’’ He says it then starts to tickle him harder.
‘’Yes, yes, yes! Okay as in yes! Brad, I said yes! Oh my god, just stop it alre-’’ he yells while laughing and he’s sure that his voice can be heard all over the house. Thank god, Brad stops tickling him but at that same moment Adam suddenly opens the door with a mix of worried and confusion written all over his face.
‘’Kris, what’s happeni-‘’ he starts to ask but when he sees them-with Brad still on top of him-his expression shifts to anger in a split second and Kris can see how Adam’s eyes fire as he looks at Brad and he clenches his jaw.
‘’Oh, Adam-you’re here I was just going to call yo-‘’ Cheeks starts to say but Adam advances and walks up to them not taking his eyes off of Brad and that kinds of scares Kris. He hasn’t seen Adam this aggravated.
‘’WHAT.ARE.YOU.DOING.BRADLEY?’’ he asks narrowing his eyes at him. Brad on the other hand just releases his grip on Kris and shrugs nonchalantly but Kris can sense that Adam is not buying it. Cheeks’ lifts his body off of him and stands trying to straighten the creases in his shirts.
‘’Oh, we were just having a tickle fight.’’ He says lifting an eyebrow at Adam mimicking the seriousness he has on his face. ‘’Kris, you’re such a darling.’’ He blows him a kiss and then he looks at Adam again and says, ’’And oh, I have a date now for our dance ball next week. Kris has just accepted my invitation. How sweet of him, I guess he just can’t resist my charm right, honey bunch? And oh, you get ready by 2pm you’re coming with us to do some shopping. I already have Leila’s approval.’’ he winks and leaves the room.
Kris doesn’t know what is going on but he’s sure that he doesn’t want to see Adam that mad again. It’s kind of having that familiar feeling of watching that kind of rage in ones’ eyes though the anger wasn’t pointed at him it brings back the familiar fear that he hadn’t really felt for quite some time now.
‘’Is that right, Kris?’’ Adam asks-his voice softens and his face looks like he’s hoping for a different answer than what he’s expecting to hear. ‘’Did you really say yes to being Bradley’s date?’’
Kris is sitting on the edge of the bed and runs his fingers to his still ruffled bed hair. Then he glances up and nods at Adam who look hurt at that time. Kris really doesn’t understand why he even looks hurt but what his mind is screaming is-he doesn’t want to upset Adam again. He doesn’t want to see him mad, hurt or sad.
And so he hurriedly says, ‘’But I can cancel it-if you want. I don’t want you to get angry at me or Brad. I don’t want you get mad-‘’
Adam crouches down in front of him and rested his arms on his sides. He touches his chin to meet his eyes in which he does.
‘’No, I don’t want you to cancel anything. If you want to go with Brad it’s okay.’’ He says softly but his eyes are still screaming he’s hurting that really bothers Kris because what on earth would make Adam hurt. Does he… oh god! Is it because Adam wants to go with Brad?
‘’Adam-‘’
‘’Shhh… it’s okay. I’m sorry that I acted the way I did. I’m sorry.’’ He says cupping Kris’ face running his thumb on his rosy cheek.
‘’I don’t want you mad-I don’t want to see you angry-I-‘’
‘’Babe, it’s okay. I’m not mad, I promise.’’ Kris’ heart melts at the endearment.
‘’You’re not mad at Brad?’’
Adam let out a sigh ‘’A little but it’s okay-I’ll talk to him.’’
‘’You’re still going to the dance ball, right?’’ Kris asks holding his gaze on Adam. Then he sees the uncertainties in it as he looks down. Damn, why did Brad have to ask him when Adam wants to go with Brad? ‘’Adam, you’re still going, right? You’re still going with them for shopping this afternoon, right?’’
‘’Adam…’’ he calls when Adam doesn’t answer.
‘’Yeah, yeah, I’m still going. I’m going with you all this afternoon and next Saturday evening.’’
Kris’ smile can rival the brightness of the sun on a broad daylight. And Adam can’t help but smiles up at him too.
‘’Uh, this is for you.’’ then he produces a single red rose from his other hand that was hiding by Kris’ side. Kris didn’t see him bring a flower when he came rushing in and so he’s shock that Adam is actually giving him flower.
‘’For me?’’ he asks pointing at himself with confusion on his face.
‘’Yeah…’’
‘’What for? Uh-I mean thank you.’’
‘’I just wanted to give you that.’’ then he stands up and walks backward. ‘’Uh, see you at lunch and then we’re off to do some shopping with the guys.’’
Kris nods still holding the rose close to his chest and then when Adam turns to open the door Kris remembers something.
‘’Adam?’’
‘’Yeah?’’ Adam turns to him.
‘’About last night, the one you told me-that you’re going to tell me or ask me something? Uh, you want to talk about it?’’
Adam’s face suddenly looks sad again and Kris wants to smack his head for doing that-for asking Adam something that obviously upsets him.
‘’Nah, it’s nothing, really. Don’t think about it-it doesn’t matter now, I suppose.’’
Kris just nod and Adam opens the door and leaves.
Kris stays in his position on the bed and lifts the rose to his nose to smell it. Adam just gave him flower-that thought brings smile to his face.
At that same moment Adam walks down the stairs to his car and fishes out his phone and starts to forcefully type a message which reads
‘’What the fuck did you just do, you asshole?’’
And he didn’t wait for too long before his phone vibrates flashing Cheeks’ name.
‘’Good thing you are not here because I would punch you in the face if you were.’’ Adam sternly says as a way to say hello to Cheeks.
‘’Really? Look ahead, Sweetie, and you can see my fabulous ass not too far away from your car.’’
Adam glances up and Brad is leaning on the tree in front of the picket fence in their neighbor. Adam is about to move when Brad speaks to him through the phone again.
‘’Ah-uh, don’t move. I’ll get in your car if you promise you’ll listen to what I say-and if you’ll not lay a hand on my fabulous face.’’ Brad says.
‘’Adam, just breathe in and breathe out… just-‘’
Adam closes his eyes and tries to calm himself. He really doesn’t want to punch Cheeks and honestly he hasn’t punched anyone not even his annoying brother.
‘’You okay, now?’’ Cheeks ask.
‘’Get in, damn it.’’ He says but obviously his tone has changed from just a while ago.
Cheeks’ cuts the line and walks the short distance and gets inside the passenger seat.
‘’Hey… ‘’He greets but Adam just looks ahead and doesn’t greet back instead he says:
‘’Explain, Bradley.’’ Adam clenches his jaw and grips the steering wheel harder that his knuckles turn white. ‘’Make me understand why you had to trick Kris into agreeing to be your date when you know… god…when you know that I was supposed to ask him to go with me!’’ Adam shouts and he let out a deep sigh and runs his fingers on his already messy hair. ‘’You knew because I told you. I told you everything! I thought-of all people-why Brad? Why are you doing this to me?’’ he ends whispering those questions.
‘’Yes, I knew that you were supposed to ask him to go with you. I knew that you’ve been thinking about it for couple of weeks now actually, and I knew that YOU were supposed to tell him that for the last two weeks buuuut… you’ve chickened out and decided to tell him at Dani’s house last weekend and guess what, you chickened out AGAIN. You told me you were going to do it last night after you took him to the fair and a dinner date that we both planned but surprisingly you’ve decided not to ask him and thought of doing it the next day AGAIN, what the fuck Adam!’’
‘’I was nervous, okay. He makes me nervous because I don’t know what he’s going to do if I asked him to go with me.’’ Adam defends.
‘’And so you delayed the asking, You were just stalling because you thought it was okay to just do it the next day, the next time the next chance and god damn it, Adam, you weren’t supposed to do this to him or to yourself. You were supposed to act on your feelings as soon as you could because you didn’t know what would happen the next day, the next hour or the next minute that you delayed it.’’ Cheeks’ sighs and shifts to face him.
‘’I’m sorry for doing this to you, Adam, but I just want to show you what you could lose when you decided not to act on your feelings right away. You thought it was okay not to tell Kris when you needed to tell him because he would always be there-you thought he wouldn’t be snatched by others-and I don’t mean that because you don’t see Kris worthy in someone else’ eyes.’’ Cheeks’ holds his hand and forces him to look at his eyes.
‘’Kris is vulnerable, Adam, we both know that. Something has traumatized him or some sort of things like that for him to behave like this. I really don’t know the story behind all this-and yes he told me his life but I know that’s not all-there’s something missing on that picture. I don’t know what it is but I know you understand it-better than I do better than anyone. If I can assume, I would say he told you what made him this way because it really kills me sometime to listen to him talk about himself like he’s not worthy of anyone’s attention of anyone’s love. He doesn’t even believe when we praise or compliment him!’’
Cheeks’ takes a deep breath and tightens his hold on Adam.
‘’We both know how Kris feels for you. It’s not the question here, Adam. What’s really stopping you from telling him?’’
Adam is quiet for a long time until he blurts out: ‘’I’m afraid, Brad.’’
‘’Afraid of what? He likes you Adam, I think the kid is falling for you. I don’t see the problem here.’’
‘’He’s more vulnerable than everyone already thinks he is. It’s complicated and he’s really, really in a state where more complications can ruin his life forever. He’s-I don’t want-I’m afraid that I might just do that to him. I’m afraid that I would hurt him and it could worsen his situation-that would destroy him. I’m afraid that I’m not doing this right, Brad-I’m so confused where to begin or if I should begin things with him because I’m afraid of what it will do to him. I promised myself to protect him, Brad, and I want to keep that promise-I really do-I just don’t know how… I didn’t expect to fall for him.’’ Adam’s eyes welled up with tears and Brad reaches out to wipe it as they run down his cheeks freely.
‘’Adam, Kris might be vulnerable with too many complications in his life and you don’t want him to be hurt but wouldn’t that be his decision to make and not yours? Let the kid have a choice-let him live and live with the consequences that comes with it. That’s how we live our lives by learning from it. I don’t know what really happened with Kris but what I feel is that he didn’t really have a choice or have a voice to say what he wanted-it looks like he was in a ‘yes, sir-yes, ma’am’ kind of situation. So, why don’t you give him this decision? You tell what you feel and let him decide if he wants to be with you or not. Of course, we don’t know the future-you can’t promise you wouldn’t hurt him or vice versa-but that’s life. Make the decision ‘together’-not by yourself. He has the right to know that you feel the same, Adam.’’
Adam nods profusely after what Cheeks has said sinks in. Then he thanks him and wipes his eyes and face for any traces of eyeliner.
‘’It’s okay, boo. I know you know what to do-you just need a kick to your perfect ass sometimes-I love you and I want you to be happy. But I’m not giving up my date just so you know-he’s going to be so hot that you’ll regret stalling on asking him out.’’ Cheeks’ teases lightheartedly. ‘’If you’re be a good boy-I may let you dance with him.’’ he says winking at Adam.
‘’Thanks Brad...’’ Adam says and reaches out to hugs his best friend.
‘’No prob, sometimes it’s better not to plan -just go with your instinct. Just do what your gut is telling you.’’
‘’Yeah, I guess you’re right.’’
‘’Now, drive me home and so I can prepare for our shopping trip this afternoon because I have a hot date to dress to next week.’’
‘’Ass...’’
‘’You’re welcome.’’
Adam, Kris and Neil drive to Cheeks’ house where everybody is waiting for all of them to leave together in one van. Cheeks’ monopolizes Kris’ attention and Adam is kind of annoyed that Cheeks get to do it when he should be the one doing this with Kris. Cheeks successfully hides whatever he buys for Kris and he even notices at one point that Kris runs out of the dressing room shaking his head at Cheeks telling him ‘’You’re crazy for thinking I would wear that.’’
Adam wants to interfere and shout at Brad to leave Kris alone because he thinks Cheeks is already scaring Kris. But in the end he talks himself out of it and lets Cheeks have his evil way this one time. And honestly, he trusts him-he can be annoying at times but Cheeks knows what he’s doing-he knows Kris is in good hands.
Kris is still murmuring and giving Cheeks a death glares as they climb into the van to go home and Neil is teasing Kris that he’s going to be so confused on the night of the Ball if Kris will be dressed like Cheeks.
In which Cheeks answers with a proud, ‘’you’ll be surprised-all of you will be surprised.’’ Then Adam watches as Kris pouts again.
After dinner Kris sits in his usual place with Neil’s guitar in his hands and he’s not surprise to hear footsteps coming only a few moments after-its kinds of ‘their’ thing now.
‘’Cheeks seems to have gotten on your nerves today, huh?’’ he says as soon as he sits beside Kris.
Kris snorts and shakes his head while strumming the guitar softly. ‘’He’s crazy.’’ He laughs crinkling his nose up which makes Adam stare at him intensely. ‘’Uh, do I have something on my face?’’ Kris looks down shyly because he feels Adam’s stare and it sends shivers down his spine.
‘’No, no-you don’t have anything on you face-you’re perfect, actually.’’ He says without taking his eyes off of Kris.
‘’No, you are the perfect one not me.’’ He retaliates consciously pushing his glasses up his nose.
Adam doesn’t answer and is quiet for some time until he lets out a deep sigh.
‘’Kris, did you know why I suddenly wanted to reconnect with my friends after a year of staying away from them?’’ Adam asks which makes Kris halt from strumming the guitar.
‘’You made me miss them more than I ever did. When I’m with you-I feel the easiness, the camaraderie, the affection-that’s what I feel when I’m with them. You made me realized how stupid I was for abandoning them. I sacrificed them just to have a good relationship with someone-who should love everything that I was and everything that came with it-including my friends. You make me feel like my old self, Kris-and I missed that. I shouldn’t change a thing just to prove to someone that I loved them. They should love me for who I am and that’s what you make me feel, Kris. You make me feel special.’’
‘’Adam, I -‘’
‘’Shh-‘’ Adam puts his finger on Kris’ lips to stop him from saying anything. ‘’Just listen to me, okay?’’
Kris looks at him for a long time then he nods.
‘’I might think too much or think too ahead of things sometimes-I sometimes get too nervous or tense because of things my mind has created-various scenarios too much emotion-I sometimes get scared even before things have begun.’’
‘’I swore to protect you-I swore to not let anyone hurt you but the thought of me hurting you was enough to stop me from telling you what I really feel…’’ Adam points at his heart and looks at Kris’ shocked stricken face. ‘’…here’’
‘’But I realized that in this life we shouldn’t waste any time. And it’s not fair to keep my feelings a secret-you ought to know at least-and it should be you who will decide if you want us to be together or not. I shouldn’t decide for you and I’m feeling sorry for myself that I didn’t ask you to the dance ball when I needed to. I got nervous every time I decided to ask and I stalled from asking until Cheeks-‘’
‘’-you want me-to be your-you wanted me to go with you-me?’’ Kris struggles to say.
Adam smiles bashfully and nods.
‘’And did you just tell me that you feel something for me in…’’ Kris glances down at Adam’s chest and points at it whispering, ‘’…there?’’
‘’Yeah, I did. I was supposed to tell you last night on our first date after asking you to officially be my date to the ball.’’
‘’Our first date-last night-me you date-classy restaurant-‘’ he stutters.
‘’It was at least a date for me-I actually haven’t mentioned it to you why I invited you to the fair but it was a date, Kris-and that was the best one that I’ve ever had.’’
‘’I went out on a date with you?’’ Kris mumbles and he still can’t process what Adam is telling.
Adam nods smiling sweetly at him. ‘’Yeah, we had our first date last night.’’
‘’Our first date? Wow!’’
‘’And I hope we’ll have many, many, many more dates to come.’’
Then Kris suddenly feels like everything just sinks in and he smiles. Holy cow, he went out on a date with the one he loves. This is like a dream came true-a dream that he thought would never come true.
He smiles thinking that he’s going to do whatever it takes to make Adam happy and he knows nothing last forever but he’ll do everything just to make this ‘thing’ with Adam to at least last longer.
‘’I hope that, too. I really, really, do.’’ He whispers back smiling up as Adam leans in to give him a light kiss on his lips. This is the best day ever!
Author: imnotskerrd
Beta: crybaby4u <3
Pairing: Kradam; Kris/OMC; Adam/Sauli
Word count: 3874
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction.
Warnings: Domestic violence; Bullying
Summary: Sometimes we think that letting someone go is the most selfless decision that one can ever make. Especially in a situation where no one can help you except for yourself. But what if you came back and found out that the love of your life didn't just change in the way you've expected him to but also is in a more messed up situation.
The next day Kris is awakened with an annoying squeaks ringing in his ears. Instead of opening his eyes he chooses to put a pillow on top of his head and tries to block the sounds out that are coming from not so far away from him. It succeeds for a while but then someone is shaking him awake in a not so gentle way.
Kris doesn’t give his intruder satisfaction instead he covers his head with the comforter and sighs contentedly hoping this annoying creature that would not stop squeaking will just go away.
For a second he thinks he succeeded but then a sudden force has taken over and the comforter that hugs his body so warmly has suddenly disappeared and he is being tackled down from head to toe by none other than Cheeks.
‘’Get off me, you doofus.’’ He struggles but Cheeks’ hold is unexpectedly strong as he grips his hands on top of his head and sitting on his abdomen stilling him from moving any further.
‘’Nuh-uh not before you’ll accept my offer.’’ He says arching his perfectly plucked eye brows.
‘’What offer?’’ Kris tries to struggles again but Cheeks is strongly holding him down. ‘’What time is it anyway? Why are you bothering me this early in the morning?’’
‘’It’s already 10 am, you lazy ass. Someone has been keeping you awake at night, huh?’’ he teases winking playfully at him.
‘’No one was keeping me awa-seriously, Brad, get off me. Your boney butt is poking fatally at my stomach, dude.’’
‘’As I’ve said, not before you accept my invitation.’’
‘’Invitation for what? C’mon hurry up, dude. My legs are starting to go numb.’’
‘’Invitation as my date to the Junior Dance Ball…’’
The smile on Kris’ face fades as he asks ‘’what…’’
‘’I said, I want you to come with me to the dance ball as my date.’’ Cheeks drags the words out for Kris not to missed what he says.
‘’I heard it the first time you said it. But-why? I mean don’t you have a boyfriend-the one you introduced to us at Dani’s house?’’
‘’Eh, we didn’t really clicked and we stopped going out 3 days ago.’’
‘’Ah, that’s why you want me to come with you?’’
‘’Yes! Now you’re getting good at this. So, what do you say?’’
‘’No’’
‘’What? ’’
‘’I said, no.’’ Kris enunciates it words for words.
‘’But why… Do you know no one says no to me, sweetheart?’’
‘’Well, I’m the first one.’’
‘’No because I will convince you’’
‘’Good luck with that’’
‘’Just so you know, you ask for it.’’
Then in a split second Kris is giggling from the tickling that Cheeks is doing on his side. The strength that this creature possesses made Kris assess the situation and come to the conclusion that Cheeks is after all among the human race, now he’s not sure any more.
Cheeks’ holds both his wrists with one hand and tickles his side with the other. Kris is heaving and flushes pleading Cheeks to stop.
‘’Brad, I’m gonna pee, stop... oh, god! Stop!’’
But Cheeks doesn’t heed him and continues to tickle his side until Kris shouts, ‘’Okay, okay… oh my god, I swear Brad you’ll be the death of me.’’
‘’Okay what, Kristopher? Make it clear or else I will not stop doing this.’’ He says it then starts to tickle him harder.
‘’Yes, yes, yes! Okay as in yes! Brad, I said yes! Oh my god, just stop it alre-’’ he yells while laughing and he’s sure that his voice can be heard all over the house. Thank god, Brad stops tickling him but at that same moment Adam suddenly opens the door with a mix of worried and confusion written all over his face.
‘’Kris, what’s happeni-‘’ he starts to ask but when he sees them-with Brad still on top of him-his expression shifts to anger in a split second and Kris can see how Adam’s eyes fire as he looks at Brad and he clenches his jaw.
‘’Oh, Adam-you’re here I was just going to call yo-‘’ Cheeks starts to say but Adam advances and walks up to them not taking his eyes off of Brad and that kinds of scares Kris. He hasn’t seen Adam this aggravated.
‘’WHAT.ARE.YOU.DOING.BRADLEY?’’ he asks narrowing his eyes at him. Brad on the other hand just releases his grip on Kris and shrugs nonchalantly but Kris can sense that Adam is not buying it. Cheeks’ lifts his body off of him and stands trying to straighten the creases in his shirts.
‘’Oh, we were just having a tickle fight.’’ He says lifting an eyebrow at Adam mimicking the seriousness he has on his face. ‘’Kris, you’re such a darling.’’ He blows him a kiss and then he looks at Adam again and says, ’’And oh, I have a date now for our dance ball next week. Kris has just accepted my invitation. How sweet of him, I guess he just can’t resist my charm right, honey bunch? And oh, you get ready by 2pm you’re coming with us to do some shopping. I already have Leila’s approval.’’ he winks and leaves the room.
Kris doesn’t know what is going on but he’s sure that he doesn’t want to see Adam that mad again. It’s kind of having that familiar feeling of watching that kind of rage in ones’ eyes though the anger wasn’t pointed at him it brings back the familiar fear that he hadn’t really felt for quite some time now.
‘’Is that right, Kris?’’ Adam asks-his voice softens and his face looks like he’s hoping for a different answer than what he’s expecting to hear. ‘’Did you really say yes to being Bradley’s date?’’
Kris is sitting on the edge of the bed and runs his fingers to his still ruffled bed hair. Then he glances up and nods at Adam who look hurt at that time. Kris really doesn’t understand why he even looks hurt but what his mind is screaming is-he doesn’t want to upset Adam again. He doesn’t want to see him mad, hurt or sad.
And so he hurriedly says, ‘’But I can cancel it-if you want. I don’t want you to get angry at me or Brad. I don’t want you get mad-‘’
Adam crouches down in front of him and rested his arms on his sides. He touches his chin to meet his eyes in which he does.
‘’No, I don’t want you to cancel anything. If you want to go with Brad it’s okay.’’ He says softly but his eyes are still screaming he’s hurting that really bothers Kris because what on earth would make Adam hurt. Does he… oh god! Is it because Adam wants to go with Brad?
‘’Adam-‘’
‘’Shhh… it’s okay. I’m sorry that I acted the way I did. I’m sorry.’’ He says cupping Kris’ face running his thumb on his rosy cheek.
‘’I don’t want you mad-I don’t want to see you angry-I-‘’
‘’Babe, it’s okay. I’m not mad, I promise.’’ Kris’ heart melts at the endearment.
‘’You’re not mad at Brad?’’
Adam let out a sigh ‘’A little but it’s okay-I’ll talk to him.’’
‘’You’re still going to the dance ball, right?’’ Kris asks holding his gaze on Adam. Then he sees the uncertainties in it as he looks down. Damn, why did Brad have to ask him when Adam wants to go with Brad? ‘’Adam, you’re still going, right? You’re still going with them for shopping this afternoon, right?’’
‘’Adam…’’ he calls when Adam doesn’t answer.
‘’Yeah, yeah, I’m still going. I’m going with you all this afternoon and next Saturday evening.’’
Kris’ smile can rival the brightness of the sun on a broad daylight. And Adam can’t help but smiles up at him too.
‘’Uh, this is for you.’’ then he produces a single red rose from his other hand that was hiding by Kris’ side. Kris didn’t see him bring a flower when he came rushing in and so he’s shock that Adam is actually giving him flower.
‘’For me?’’ he asks pointing at himself with confusion on his face.
‘’Yeah…’’
‘’What for? Uh-I mean thank you.’’
‘’I just wanted to give you that.’’ then he stands up and walks backward. ‘’Uh, see you at lunch and then we’re off to do some shopping with the guys.’’
Kris nods still holding the rose close to his chest and then when Adam turns to open the door Kris remembers something.
‘’Adam?’’
‘’Yeah?’’ Adam turns to him.
‘’About last night, the one you told me-that you’re going to tell me or ask me something? Uh, you want to talk about it?’’
Adam’s face suddenly looks sad again and Kris wants to smack his head for doing that-for asking Adam something that obviously upsets him.
‘’Nah, it’s nothing, really. Don’t think about it-it doesn’t matter now, I suppose.’’
Kris just nod and Adam opens the door and leaves.
Kris stays in his position on the bed and lifts the rose to his nose to smell it. Adam just gave him flower-that thought brings smile to his face.
At that same moment Adam walks down the stairs to his car and fishes out his phone and starts to forcefully type a message which reads
‘’What the fuck did you just do, you asshole?’’
And he didn’t wait for too long before his phone vibrates flashing Cheeks’ name.
‘’Good thing you are not here because I would punch you in the face if you were.’’ Adam sternly says as a way to say hello to Cheeks.
‘’Really? Look ahead, Sweetie, and you can see my fabulous ass not too far away from your car.’’
Adam glances up and Brad is leaning on the tree in front of the picket fence in their neighbor. Adam is about to move when Brad speaks to him through the phone again.
‘’Ah-uh, don’t move. I’ll get in your car if you promise you’ll listen to what I say-and if you’ll not lay a hand on my fabulous face.’’ Brad says.
‘’Adam, just breathe in and breathe out… just-‘’
Adam closes his eyes and tries to calm himself. He really doesn’t want to punch Cheeks and honestly he hasn’t punched anyone not even his annoying brother.
‘’You okay, now?’’ Cheeks ask.
‘’Get in, damn it.’’ He says but obviously his tone has changed from just a while ago.
Cheeks’ cuts the line and walks the short distance and gets inside the passenger seat.
‘’Hey… ‘’He greets but Adam just looks ahead and doesn’t greet back instead he says:
‘’Explain, Bradley.’’ Adam clenches his jaw and grips the steering wheel harder that his knuckles turn white. ‘’Make me understand why you had to trick Kris into agreeing to be your date when you know… god…when you know that I was supposed to ask him to go with me!’’ Adam shouts and he let out a deep sigh and runs his fingers on his already messy hair. ‘’You knew because I told you. I told you everything! I thought-of all people-why Brad? Why are you doing this to me?’’ he ends whispering those questions.
‘’Yes, I knew that you were supposed to ask him to go with you. I knew that you’ve been thinking about it for couple of weeks now actually, and I knew that YOU were supposed to tell him that for the last two weeks buuuut… you’ve chickened out and decided to tell him at Dani’s house last weekend and guess what, you chickened out AGAIN. You told me you were going to do it last night after you took him to the fair and a dinner date that we both planned but surprisingly you’ve decided not to ask him and thought of doing it the next day AGAIN, what the fuck Adam!’’
‘’I was nervous, okay. He makes me nervous because I don’t know what he’s going to do if I asked him to go with me.’’ Adam defends.
‘’And so you delayed the asking, You were just stalling because you thought it was okay to just do it the next day, the next time the next chance and god damn it, Adam, you weren’t supposed to do this to him or to yourself. You were supposed to act on your feelings as soon as you could because you didn’t know what would happen the next day, the next hour or the next minute that you delayed it.’’ Cheeks’ sighs and shifts to face him.
‘’I’m sorry for doing this to you, Adam, but I just want to show you what you could lose when you decided not to act on your feelings right away. You thought it was okay not to tell Kris when you needed to tell him because he would always be there-you thought he wouldn’t be snatched by others-and I don’t mean that because you don’t see Kris worthy in someone else’ eyes.’’ Cheeks’ holds his hand and forces him to look at his eyes.
‘’Kris is vulnerable, Adam, we both know that. Something has traumatized him or some sort of things like that for him to behave like this. I really don’t know the story behind all this-and yes he told me his life but I know that’s not all-there’s something missing on that picture. I don’t know what it is but I know you understand it-better than I do better than anyone. If I can assume, I would say he told you what made him this way because it really kills me sometime to listen to him talk about himself like he’s not worthy of anyone’s attention of anyone’s love. He doesn’t even believe when we praise or compliment him!’’
Cheeks’ takes a deep breath and tightens his hold on Adam.
‘’We both know how Kris feels for you. It’s not the question here, Adam. What’s really stopping you from telling him?’’
Adam is quiet for a long time until he blurts out: ‘’I’m afraid, Brad.’’
‘’Afraid of what? He likes you Adam, I think the kid is falling for you. I don’t see the problem here.’’
‘’He’s more vulnerable than everyone already thinks he is. It’s complicated and he’s really, really in a state where more complications can ruin his life forever. He’s-I don’t want-I’m afraid that I might just do that to him. I’m afraid that I would hurt him and it could worsen his situation-that would destroy him. I’m afraid that I’m not doing this right, Brad-I’m so confused where to begin or if I should begin things with him because I’m afraid of what it will do to him. I promised myself to protect him, Brad, and I want to keep that promise-I really do-I just don’t know how… I didn’t expect to fall for him.’’ Adam’s eyes welled up with tears and Brad reaches out to wipe it as they run down his cheeks freely.
‘’Adam, Kris might be vulnerable with too many complications in his life and you don’t want him to be hurt but wouldn’t that be his decision to make and not yours? Let the kid have a choice-let him live and live with the consequences that comes with it. That’s how we live our lives by learning from it. I don’t know what really happened with Kris but what I feel is that he didn’t really have a choice or have a voice to say what he wanted-it looks like he was in a ‘yes, sir-yes, ma’am’ kind of situation. So, why don’t you give him this decision? You tell what you feel and let him decide if he wants to be with you or not. Of course, we don’t know the future-you can’t promise you wouldn’t hurt him or vice versa-but that’s life. Make the decision ‘together’-not by yourself. He has the right to know that you feel the same, Adam.’’
Adam nods profusely after what Cheeks has said sinks in. Then he thanks him and wipes his eyes and face for any traces of eyeliner.
‘’It’s okay, boo. I know you know what to do-you just need a kick to your perfect ass sometimes-I love you and I want you to be happy. But I’m not giving up my date just so you know-he’s going to be so hot that you’ll regret stalling on asking him out.’’ Cheeks’ teases lightheartedly. ‘’If you’re be a good boy-I may let you dance with him.’’ he says winking at Adam.
‘’Thanks Brad...’’ Adam says and reaches out to hugs his best friend.
‘’No prob, sometimes it’s better not to plan -just go with your instinct. Just do what your gut is telling you.’’
‘’Yeah, I guess you’re right.’’
‘’Now, drive me home and so I can prepare for our shopping trip this afternoon because I have a hot date to dress to next week.’’
‘’Ass...’’
‘’You’re welcome.’’
Adam, Kris and Neil drive to Cheeks’ house where everybody is waiting for all of them to leave together in one van. Cheeks’ monopolizes Kris’ attention and Adam is kind of annoyed that Cheeks get to do it when he should be the one doing this with Kris. Cheeks successfully hides whatever he buys for Kris and he even notices at one point that Kris runs out of the dressing room shaking his head at Cheeks telling him ‘’You’re crazy for thinking I would wear that.’’
Adam wants to interfere and shout at Brad to leave Kris alone because he thinks Cheeks is already scaring Kris. But in the end he talks himself out of it and lets Cheeks have his evil way this one time. And honestly, he trusts him-he can be annoying at times but Cheeks knows what he’s doing-he knows Kris is in good hands.
Kris is still murmuring and giving Cheeks a death glares as they climb into the van to go home and Neil is teasing Kris that he’s going to be so confused on the night of the Ball if Kris will be dressed like Cheeks.
In which Cheeks answers with a proud, ‘’you’ll be surprised-all of you will be surprised.’’ Then Adam watches as Kris pouts again.
After dinner Kris sits in his usual place with Neil’s guitar in his hands and he’s not surprise to hear footsteps coming only a few moments after-its kinds of ‘their’ thing now.
‘’Cheeks seems to have gotten on your nerves today, huh?’’ he says as soon as he sits beside Kris.
Kris snorts and shakes his head while strumming the guitar softly. ‘’He’s crazy.’’ He laughs crinkling his nose up which makes Adam stare at him intensely. ‘’Uh, do I have something on my face?’’ Kris looks down shyly because he feels Adam’s stare and it sends shivers down his spine.
‘’No, no-you don’t have anything on you face-you’re perfect, actually.’’ He says without taking his eyes off of Kris.
‘’No, you are the perfect one not me.’’ He retaliates consciously pushing his glasses up his nose.
Adam doesn’t answer and is quiet for some time until he lets out a deep sigh.
‘’Kris, did you know why I suddenly wanted to reconnect with my friends after a year of staying away from them?’’ Adam asks which makes Kris halt from strumming the guitar.
‘’You made me miss them more than I ever did. When I’m with you-I feel the easiness, the camaraderie, the affection-that’s what I feel when I’m with them. You made me realized how stupid I was for abandoning them. I sacrificed them just to have a good relationship with someone-who should love everything that I was and everything that came with it-including my friends. You make me feel like my old self, Kris-and I missed that. I shouldn’t change a thing just to prove to someone that I loved them. They should love me for who I am and that’s what you make me feel, Kris. You make me feel special.’’
‘’Adam, I -‘’
‘’Shh-‘’ Adam puts his finger on Kris’ lips to stop him from saying anything. ‘’Just listen to me, okay?’’
Kris looks at him for a long time then he nods.
‘’I might think too much or think too ahead of things sometimes-I sometimes get too nervous or tense because of things my mind has created-various scenarios too much emotion-I sometimes get scared even before things have begun.’’
‘’I swore to protect you-I swore to not let anyone hurt you but the thought of me hurting you was enough to stop me from telling you what I really feel…’’ Adam points at his heart and looks at Kris’ shocked stricken face. ‘’…here’’
‘’But I realized that in this life we shouldn’t waste any time. And it’s not fair to keep my feelings a secret-you ought to know at least-and it should be you who will decide if you want us to be together or not. I shouldn’t decide for you and I’m feeling sorry for myself that I didn’t ask you to the dance ball when I needed to. I got nervous every time I decided to ask and I stalled from asking until Cheeks-‘’
‘’-you want me-to be your-you wanted me to go with you-me?’’ Kris struggles to say.
Adam smiles bashfully and nods.
‘’And did you just tell me that you feel something for me in…’’ Kris glances down at Adam’s chest and points at it whispering, ‘’…there?’’
‘’Yeah, I did. I was supposed to tell you last night on our first date after asking you to officially be my date to the ball.’’
‘’Our first date-last night-me you date-classy restaurant-‘’ he stutters.
‘’It was at least a date for me-I actually haven’t mentioned it to you why I invited you to the fair but it was a date, Kris-and that was the best one that I’ve ever had.’’
‘’I went out on a date with you?’’ Kris mumbles and he still can’t process what Adam is telling.
Adam nods smiling sweetly at him. ‘’Yeah, we had our first date last night.’’
‘’Our first date? Wow!’’
‘’And I hope we’ll have many, many, many more dates to come.’’
Then Kris suddenly feels like everything just sinks in and he smiles. Holy cow, he went out on a date with the one he loves. This is like a dream came true-a dream that he thought would never come true.
He smiles thinking that he’s going to do whatever it takes to make Adam happy and he knows nothing last forever but he’ll do everything just to make this ‘thing’ with Adam to at least last longer.
‘’I hope that, too. I really, really, do.’’ He whispers back smiling up as Adam leans in to give him a light kiss on his lips. This is the best day ever!