(no subject)
Title: Beware of Flying Bats and Balls
Characters: Band centric [Simple Plan]
Rating: PG-13 (will rise)
Category: Angst, Humor
Warning: Slash, Adult Language
Pairing: Sebastien/David
Summary: Summer spent at the ball park.
Disclaimer: I do not own David and Sebastien. All other characters are mine unless otherwise noted.
A/n: Mmm... might be a little slower after this chapter. Just a little.
-
BOFBAB :: 08
The rain came down on the windows of the car hard and I watched the water roll down the glass in sheets. It's really amazing how quickly the rain had picked up when not even ten minutes ago we were sitting at a bench on the sidewalk. The cab was actually kind of cozy on the inside which really surprised me; it was warm and somewhat clean, save for a drug store circular laying on the floor. I looked down and began to read some of the sales that the store was having; Pepsi was two cases for five dollars and sunscreen was half off. Interesting...
"Sebastien," I snapped my head up to look over at David. "C'mon, we're here," he said after he paid the driver for the ride and slid out his side of the car. I handed him his bag and slid out, myself, hovering my hand over my eyes to protect them from the heavy rain. David took hold of my free arm and pulled me along up to a building and as we walked inside I glanced around, taking in where we were.
A hotel? A really nice hotel. I looked around and saw a sign that indicated this was the Renaissance Hotel. I knew that place from down on Fifth Street. But... why are we here? I gulped, suddenly remembering what David said earlier. He loved me. And I loved him. But - no, no, no; he can't be thinking - no, sex is not happening now. Especially not sex in a hotel, even if it is a nice hotel. A really nice hotel - STOP THAT! No sex in any hotel, whatsoever. God, I sound like an overprotective parent. Still... no. No sex.
What the hell? Okay, I don't even know if that's really why we're here in the first place. I'm probably getting myself worked up over nothing. We're probably just in here because David hadn't had enough money to get us farther in the cab. Yeah, so now we're just inside the lobby to get out of the rain and he's over there talking to the receptionist about alternative ways to get home. That's it. And here he comes now, ready to say he's got a bus schedule or something.
He beamed as he walked up to me and I smiled back, giving him a quick kiss. He leaned over, picking up his bag and smiled. "Come with me," he said brightly and pulled on my arm. It took about two seconds before I realized we weren't heading for the front doors but were, in fact, heading for an elevator.
Holy fuck, he really did bring me here for sex! No! Stop thinking that! There has got to be a logical reason why David and I are in the elevator of a really nice hotel and why he's holding a room key. I just can't think of one.
I leaned back against the wall with David still holding my hand and waited while the elevator rose and we stopped. David didn't move off of the elevator, only moving over closer to me as two more people stepped on. I guess there's a pool or something up on a higher level. One of them looked at us from across the elevator and then down and his eyes lingered; I think he was looking at our hands. David must have noticed because I felt him lift my arm and kiss the back of my hand. I bit my lip and looked down to keep from laughing.
When the elevator stopped again, David moved and got off, with me following quickly. We walked down the hall and David stopped at one of the doors, opening it with the room key and stepping inside. I followed and shut the door behind myself as David walked in and dropped his bag; he pulled off his hoodie and tossed it near his bag. My shoulders and arms were still damp from the short run into the building and I figured it would have been smart to do the same so I discarded my hoodie next to his just as he walked into the center of the room. I walked in as well and stood in front of David as he turned around, smiling brightly.
"Well, here we are."
I couldn't help chuckling and shook my head. "Yes, but, what exactly are we doing here?"
David took my hands and turned us around a little before he sighed. "Okay, so, I have a lot of things I need to tell you." I nodded and made an agreeing sound. "Well, I don't really know where to start so... ask whatever you want to at first and we'll see how much ground we cover that way."
I nodded and raised my eyebrow, a little put off about what it is David had to tell me. Okay, what do I want to know? "Where did you get the money for the cab ride and for this hotel?"
"My dad's money."
"Why were you at your dad's?"
"I didn't want to be at home so I went there," he said and kept his head down. "Then I had to come back but I didn't want to stay home so Dad arranged for me to do all of this."
I nodded my head. "Why didn't you want to go home?"
David bit his lip and didn't say anything. His right hand lifted while I still held his left and his thumb hooked under his shirt collar. He kept his eyes focus on my chest and stretched out his collar to reveal his left shoulder. I looked closely and saw a small purple spot just under his collar bone. After looking for another few seconds I saw a few more spots, four more spots around his shoulder and a bit of a bluish tint against the flat of his shoulder. I blinked and moved my right hand, flexing my fingers and raising it to look at both my hand and David's shoulder at the same time. Realization took over as it dawned on me that my fingers would place perfectly on the spots around his shoulder and I took in what he was showing me.
"David... that's a handprint," I said slowly and gulped.
He nodded his head but still kept his eyes focused on my chest and let go of his collar. Letting go of my other hand, he lifted up the hem of his shirt on his right side to show off another bruise; this one was much larger and seemed to have a heavy straight line at the top beginnings of it.
My mouth gaped as I held an intense sight on the mark. I licked my lips and swallowed, looking up to see David, his eyes still locked on that spot on my chest. My hand lifted but stopped midair with my not wanting to touch him for fear of hurting him. I mentally scolded myself at that, knowing perfectly well I would have squeezed him until he could hardly breathe had I not possessed my newfound knowledge. After a bit of a struggle, I managed to find my voice and all I could think to say was one word.
"John?"
His lips were pursed together and he continued to stare off, only nodding to my query before he moved again and took his shirt off completely. There was one other bruise on his abdomen that seemed to be peaking out from under his waistline. His hand lifted and his fingers folded to point to the marks on his shoulder.
"He grabbed my shoulder," David's voice was shaking as he spoke, "and he squeezed really hard and," his hand went down and his other lifted to pint to the bruise on his left side, "p-pushed me into the back of the chair."
I bit my lip and felt my ears heating up. Unable to do anything else, my hand lifted to his right shoulder and my fingers gently glided down his chest and over to the bruise that stuck out from his pants.
David's hands lifted to his pants buckle and I lowered my hand, a little set off as to what he was doing. Hesitantly, he unclasped the buckle and let his pants fall, sitting on the end of the bed in his boxers. He lifted one leg and I was able to see the back of his calf, hosting a small scabbed cut.
"He pushed me over and I hit the corner of the coffee table."
I gasped and lifted my hand to touch his leg but my efforts to comfort him weren't so effective as he only stood up again; evidently there was more.
He lifted the leg of his boxers just enough so that I could see the bruise that had shone over his waistband extended even down his leg. My mouth fell open with hock and the warm feeling spread from my ears onto my cheeks.
David sniffled, "He caught my leg in a doorframe."
I wanted to do something. I wanted to hold him, that's what I wanted. My arms rose but I stopped myself before I could manage to bring them around his frame. I didn't want to hurt him. This isn't right though, my hugs and comfort wouldn't hurt him, however, seeing his marred body standing there simply made him seem untouchable; breakable.
He stood there and his eyes had somehow found that spot on my chest again. He didn't seem to make any moves about showing anything else and slowly, I bent down to pick up his pants. He lifted his foot and stepped into the pant legs and I leaned over to pick up his shirt while he buckled his belt. Once his shirt was over his head I found myself able to touch him again, not seeing the bruises made the whole thing seem less real and I wasn't so afraid that I'd break him anymore. I lifted my hand and brushed my fingers over his cheek, sliding them beneath his chin and tilting his head up.
And I realized that for the first time since I'd asked him why he didn't want to go home, he was looking at me. The look in his eyes made him look more fragile than the bruises did. And I became more furious than I've been in a while. The heat left my face and I could feel it instead on the back of my neck. Something should be done.
I stepped forward and gave him a tentative kiss. "David," I spoke softly, "come see the police with me."
His eyes widened and David shook his head furiously. "No," his hands lifted to grip my wrists and he pleaded, "no, Seb, I- I don't want to tell anyone about this."
I looked at him disbelievingly and shook my head, "W-Why the fuck not, David?" He wince due to the slight rise in the volume of my voice and I immediately felt bad for raising it, but not bad enough to change my attitude. "That- that bastard fucking abuses you; why don't you want to tell anyone? And why hasn't your mom stopped him before?"
"My mom doesn't know, Seb."
I stared at him blankly. How could she have not known about this? Or even, how could he have not told her? I never would have thought David to be stupid enough to not tell anyone when something bad was happening. He seemed to sense my questions and found his voice, what he said was not what I'd expected to hear.
"I never told her about it. It only started a few months ago and I just told myself it wasn't anything and that I could leave when I was eighteen."
"But, David," I shook my head, "you know you shouldn't have done that."
"I know, I don't know why I didn't say anything but now I can't."
I held his chin and pressed my forehead against his, "Why not?" I kissed him, "He didn't threaten you or anything, did he?" I can't help thinking of what I'd do if David says yes.
Fortunately, David shook his head and sighed. "No." I sighed with relief but stopped when I saw David's eyes; the look in them was heartbreaking. "Seb, my mom is in the hospital," he whispered. My eyes widened. "She got into an accident a few days before you got back."
I shook my head, "David, that's..." I pulled him closer and hugged him, unable to think of anything else. "I'm sorry," I whispered and kissed his temple. We stood there like that for only about a minute but it seemed to drag on forever. In the midst of holding him I somehow remembered why he'd brought me here in the first place. "You don't want to go home without your mom," I stated simply.
His hands loosely gripped the fabric of my shirt at my sides. "He wouldn't do it when she was home and when they said she couldn't come home... I was afraid to stay." I rubbed my hand over David's back while his fingers stroked my sides. "They said she probably won't come home." My hands stopped moving over his back and I froze. "If she's not going to..." he sighed, "I don't want her to know about this if she dies."
"You'd rather her die living a lie?"
"I'd rather her die happy, Sebastien." David said and sighed, falling back to land on the bed, sitting up and tucking his legs to his chest. I sat down next to him, pulling my legs up onto the bed as well. "She's happy. She loves John who really does like her and she's got me and, I'd want her to die thinking that than knowing what and asshole her fiancé is and knowing how much of a weakling her son is."
Quickly, I turned myself to look at him and placed my hand on his, giving it a gentle squeeze as I kissed his cheek. "No, you're not." I moved my hand to turn his face toward mine and kiss him, "You are not weak, David," I said and pressed my forehead to his. "Confused and hurt but definitely not weak."
David sighed and nodded his head.
"What are you going to do?" I asked and stroked his cheek.
"I can stay here," he said simply and pulled himself back up to the top of the bed and smiling. How he can even force himself to smile right now is a feat to me and, somehow, it makes me smile too. He glanced around, "Dad's paying, I'll stay until I have to."
I crawled up the bed and looked at him, "And when is that going to be?"
David shook his head. "I'll wait until she goes and then I'll bring it out. After my birthday."
"But that's a month away! And, besides, what if she doesn't?" I offered the thought and he smirked at the idea. "What if she's able to come back."
"If she comes home then I'll wait until she's well enough to tell her," he said and nodded his head. "I can stay here until then."
I held onto his hand and we sat in silence for a bit. David looked kind of lost, constantly biting his bottom lip and simply staring down at the comforter of the bed. I felt so terrible about this whole thing. I should have noticed. All the random times I noticed David being hurt I'd only brushed off and now... they're all coming back and I can't believe this possibility had never come to mind. His excuses as to why there was a cut on his arm or why he was limping with a scrape on his ankle always seemed so legitimate; "I got my arm caught under the coffee table" or "I slid down the stairs" were completely possible things. But only now I remember David never being so clumsy. And I hate myself for not seeing any of this sooner.
"David?" I asked after some time of silence and he lifted his head up away from his thoughts. "What am I going to say?"
His brow furrowed and David tilted his head. "Say about what?"
I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. "Well, if you're going to be here for a month, what am I supposed to say to my mom? Especially if I'm moping around the house when your birthday comes, she's going to ask questions."
David stayed quiet.
"Why don't you... why don't you stay with me?" He shot his head up and his eyes were glassy and unreadable. "David, you know my parents would take care of you."
His hand lifted to my face and he brushed his fingers over my cheek. "You know they wouldn't do that without talking to the police too. Sebastien, I know it's the smarter thing to do but I don't want to do anything without knowing about my mom."
I nodded my head and looked down before I closed my eyes. I had to bite my lip from telling him how stupid he was acting and telling him how much better off he would be if he just did the sensible thing. But I knew that he was aware of what he was doing; David isn't stupid. Blind at times, but not stupid. Respecting his choice, I stayed quiet. I know he'll come around to doing the right thing when he's ready. It's dumb and story book-like, but I know that he will.
"Stay with me."
My eyes opened and I looked at David. I couldn't have heard him correctly, I know I couldn't have. He's crazy if he actually suggested it, but I'm certain he didn't just do that.
His fingers caressed my cheek and slid back, playing with my earlobe and some of the strands of hair around that area of my ear. "Don't go home. You can stay here. You're mom will figure you're with me or you can tell her that you are - just don't tell her where."
"David," I brought my hand to his, "that's insane."
He bit his lip, "I don't want to be alone here." His voice was just higher than a whisper, "I can't go home."
I stared at him blankly. What was I supposed to say to that? Better yet, what just happened? David basically asked me to run away with him - and not in the romantic way, either. I couldn't do that. I couldn't leave my mom, I couldn't have her worry like that, she was happy knowing exactly what was going on with me. And then I realized that's what David had meant. As far as she knows, I'm only on a kissing base with David, I loved the trip last week and right now, I'm at the library trying to find a book my English teacher had mentioned last year. And she's fine with knowing it. If she had any idea that I was miserable on the trip, that David and I have gone a bit further than just kissing and that I was currently not at the library, but in a hotel room with my boyfriend, she'd be... well... less than thrilled. But I did understand that that is what David meant with his mom. He just wanted her to be happy for now, even if that meant letting her live a lie.
And I agreed to do it. I leaned over and kissed his lips gently, rubbing my hand along his arm.
"Okay," I said pressed my forehead to his. "I'll stay with you."
-
Characters: Band centric [Simple Plan]
Rating: PG-13 (will rise)
Category: Angst, Humor
Warning: Slash, Adult Language
Pairing: Sebastien/David
Summary: Summer spent at the ball park.
Disclaimer: I do not own David and Sebastien. All other characters are mine unless otherwise noted.
A/n: Mmm... might be a little slower after this chapter. Just a little.
-
BOFBAB :: 08
The rain came down on the windows of the car hard and I watched the water roll down the glass in sheets. It's really amazing how quickly the rain had picked up when not even ten minutes ago we were sitting at a bench on the sidewalk. The cab was actually kind of cozy on the inside which really surprised me; it was warm and somewhat clean, save for a drug store circular laying on the floor. I looked down and began to read some of the sales that the store was having; Pepsi was two cases for five dollars and sunscreen was half off. Interesting...
"Sebastien," I snapped my head up to look over at David. "C'mon, we're here," he said after he paid the driver for the ride and slid out his side of the car. I handed him his bag and slid out, myself, hovering my hand over my eyes to protect them from the heavy rain. David took hold of my free arm and pulled me along up to a building and as we walked inside I glanced around, taking in where we were.
A hotel? A really nice hotel. I looked around and saw a sign that indicated this was the Renaissance Hotel. I knew that place from down on Fifth Street. But... why are we here? I gulped, suddenly remembering what David said earlier. He loved me. And I loved him. But - no, no, no; he can't be thinking - no, sex is not happening now. Especially not sex in a hotel, even if it is a nice hotel. A really nice hotel - STOP THAT! No sex in any hotel, whatsoever. God, I sound like an overprotective parent. Still... no. No sex.
What the hell? Okay, I don't even know if that's really why we're here in the first place. I'm probably getting myself worked up over nothing. We're probably just in here because David hadn't had enough money to get us farther in the cab. Yeah, so now we're just inside the lobby to get out of the rain and he's over there talking to the receptionist about alternative ways to get home. That's it. And here he comes now, ready to say he's got a bus schedule or something.
He beamed as he walked up to me and I smiled back, giving him a quick kiss. He leaned over, picking up his bag and smiled. "Come with me," he said brightly and pulled on my arm. It took about two seconds before I realized we weren't heading for the front doors but were, in fact, heading for an elevator.
Holy fuck, he really did bring me here for sex! No! Stop thinking that! There has got to be a logical reason why David and I are in the elevator of a really nice hotel and why he's holding a room key. I just can't think of one.
I leaned back against the wall with David still holding my hand and waited while the elevator rose and we stopped. David didn't move off of the elevator, only moving over closer to me as two more people stepped on. I guess there's a pool or something up on a higher level. One of them looked at us from across the elevator and then down and his eyes lingered; I think he was looking at our hands. David must have noticed because I felt him lift my arm and kiss the back of my hand. I bit my lip and looked down to keep from laughing.
When the elevator stopped again, David moved and got off, with me following quickly. We walked down the hall and David stopped at one of the doors, opening it with the room key and stepping inside. I followed and shut the door behind myself as David walked in and dropped his bag; he pulled off his hoodie and tossed it near his bag. My shoulders and arms were still damp from the short run into the building and I figured it would have been smart to do the same so I discarded my hoodie next to his just as he walked into the center of the room. I walked in as well and stood in front of David as he turned around, smiling brightly.
"Well, here we are."
I couldn't help chuckling and shook my head. "Yes, but, what exactly are we doing here?"
David took my hands and turned us around a little before he sighed. "Okay, so, I have a lot of things I need to tell you." I nodded and made an agreeing sound. "Well, I don't really know where to start so... ask whatever you want to at first and we'll see how much ground we cover that way."
I nodded and raised my eyebrow, a little put off about what it is David had to tell me. Okay, what do I want to know? "Where did you get the money for the cab ride and for this hotel?"
"My dad's money."
"Why were you at your dad's?"
"I didn't want to be at home so I went there," he said and kept his head down. "Then I had to come back but I didn't want to stay home so Dad arranged for me to do all of this."
I nodded my head. "Why didn't you want to go home?"
David bit his lip and didn't say anything. His right hand lifted while I still held his left and his thumb hooked under his shirt collar. He kept his eyes focus on my chest and stretched out his collar to reveal his left shoulder. I looked closely and saw a small purple spot just under his collar bone. After looking for another few seconds I saw a few more spots, four more spots around his shoulder and a bit of a bluish tint against the flat of his shoulder. I blinked and moved my right hand, flexing my fingers and raising it to look at both my hand and David's shoulder at the same time. Realization took over as it dawned on me that my fingers would place perfectly on the spots around his shoulder and I took in what he was showing me.
"David... that's a handprint," I said slowly and gulped.
He nodded his head but still kept his eyes focused on my chest and let go of his collar. Letting go of my other hand, he lifted up the hem of his shirt on his right side to show off another bruise; this one was much larger and seemed to have a heavy straight line at the top beginnings of it.
My mouth gaped as I held an intense sight on the mark. I licked my lips and swallowed, looking up to see David, his eyes still locked on that spot on my chest. My hand lifted but stopped midair with my not wanting to touch him for fear of hurting him. I mentally scolded myself at that, knowing perfectly well I would have squeezed him until he could hardly breathe had I not possessed my newfound knowledge. After a bit of a struggle, I managed to find my voice and all I could think to say was one word.
"John?"
His lips were pursed together and he continued to stare off, only nodding to my query before he moved again and took his shirt off completely. There was one other bruise on his abdomen that seemed to be peaking out from under his waistline. His hand lifted and his fingers folded to point to the marks on his shoulder.
"He grabbed my shoulder," David's voice was shaking as he spoke, "and he squeezed really hard and," his hand went down and his other lifted to pint to the bruise on his left side, "p-pushed me into the back of the chair."
I bit my lip and felt my ears heating up. Unable to do anything else, my hand lifted to his right shoulder and my fingers gently glided down his chest and over to the bruise that stuck out from his pants.
David's hands lifted to his pants buckle and I lowered my hand, a little set off as to what he was doing. Hesitantly, he unclasped the buckle and let his pants fall, sitting on the end of the bed in his boxers. He lifted one leg and I was able to see the back of his calf, hosting a small scabbed cut.
"He pushed me over and I hit the corner of the coffee table."
I gasped and lifted my hand to touch his leg but my efforts to comfort him weren't so effective as he only stood up again; evidently there was more.
He lifted the leg of his boxers just enough so that I could see the bruise that had shone over his waistband extended even down his leg. My mouth fell open with hock and the warm feeling spread from my ears onto my cheeks.
David sniffled, "He caught my leg in a doorframe."
I wanted to do something. I wanted to hold him, that's what I wanted. My arms rose but I stopped myself before I could manage to bring them around his frame. I didn't want to hurt him. This isn't right though, my hugs and comfort wouldn't hurt him, however, seeing his marred body standing there simply made him seem untouchable; breakable.
He stood there and his eyes had somehow found that spot on my chest again. He didn't seem to make any moves about showing anything else and slowly, I bent down to pick up his pants. He lifted his foot and stepped into the pant legs and I leaned over to pick up his shirt while he buckled his belt. Once his shirt was over his head I found myself able to touch him again, not seeing the bruises made the whole thing seem less real and I wasn't so afraid that I'd break him anymore. I lifted my hand and brushed my fingers over his cheek, sliding them beneath his chin and tilting his head up.
And I realized that for the first time since I'd asked him why he didn't want to go home, he was looking at me. The look in his eyes made him look more fragile than the bruises did. And I became more furious than I've been in a while. The heat left my face and I could feel it instead on the back of my neck. Something should be done.
I stepped forward and gave him a tentative kiss. "David," I spoke softly, "come see the police with me."
His eyes widened and David shook his head furiously. "No," his hands lifted to grip my wrists and he pleaded, "no, Seb, I- I don't want to tell anyone about this."
I looked at him disbelievingly and shook my head, "W-Why the fuck not, David?" He wince due to the slight rise in the volume of my voice and I immediately felt bad for raising it, but not bad enough to change my attitude. "That- that bastard fucking abuses you; why don't you want to tell anyone? And why hasn't your mom stopped him before?"
"My mom doesn't know, Seb."
I stared at him blankly. How could she have not known about this? Or even, how could he have not told her? I never would have thought David to be stupid enough to not tell anyone when something bad was happening. He seemed to sense my questions and found his voice, what he said was not what I'd expected to hear.
"I never told her about it. It only started a few months ago and I just told myself it wasn't anything and that I could leave when I was eighteen."
"But, David," I shook my head, "you know you shouldn't have done that."
"I know, I don't know why I didn't say anything but now I can't."
I held his chin and pressed my forehead against his, "Why not?" I kissed him, "He didn't threaten you or anything, did he?" I can't help thinking of what I'd do if David says yes.
Fortunately, David shook his head and sighed. "No." I sighed with relief but stopped when I saw David's eyes; the look in them was heartbreaking. "Seb, my mom is in the hospital," he whispered. My eyes widened. "She got into an accident a few days before you got back."
I shook my head, "David, that's..." I pulled him closer and hugged him, unable to think of anything else. "I'm sorry," I whispered and kissed his temple. We stood there like that for only about a minute but it seemed to drag on forever. In the midst of holding him I somehow remembered why he'd brought me here in the first place. "You don't want to go home without your mom," I stated simply.
His hands loosely gripped the fabric of my shirt at my sides. "He wouldn't do it when she was home and when they said she couldn't come home... I was afraid to stay." I rubbed my hand over David's back while his fingers stroked my sides. "They said she probably won't come home." My hands stopped moving over his back and I froze. "If she's not going to..." he sighed, "I don't want her to know about this if she dies."
"You'd rather her die living a lie?"
"I'd rather her die happy, Sebastien." David said and sighed, falling back to land on the bed, sitting up and tucking his legs to his chest. I sat down next to him, pulling my legs up onto the bed as well. "She's happy. She loves John who really does like her and she's got me and, I'd want her to die thinking that than knowing what and asshole her fiancé is and knowing how much of a weakling her son is."
Quickly, I turned myself to look at him and placed my hand on his, giving it a gentle squeeze as I kissed his cheek. "No, you're not." I moved my hand to turn his face toward mine and kiss him, "You are not weak, David," I said and pressed my forehead to his. "Confused and hurt but definitely not weak."
David sighed and nodded his head.
"What are you going to do?" I asked and stroked his cheek.
"I can stay here," he said simply and pulled himself back up to the top of the bed and smiling. How he can even force himself to smile right now is a feat to me and, somehow, it makes me smile too. He glanced around, "Dad's paying, I'll stay until I have to."
I crawled up the bed and looked at him, "And when is that going to be?"
David shook his head. "I'll wait until she goes and then I'll bring it out. After my birthday."
"But that's a month away! And, besides, what if she doesn't?" I offered the thought and he smirked at the idea. "What if she's able to come back."
"If she comes home then I'll wait until she's well enough to tell her," he said and nodded his head. "I can stay here until then."
I held onto his hand and we sat in silence for a bit. David looked kind of lost, constantly biting his bottom lip and simply staring down at the comforter of the bed. I felt so terrible about this whole thing. I should have noticed. All the random times I noticed David being hurt I'd only brushed off and now... they're all coming back and I can't believe this possibility had never come to mind. His excuses as to why there was a cut on his arm or why he was limping with a scrape on his ankle always seemed so legitimate; "I got my arm caught under the coffee table" or "I slid down the stairs" were completely possible things. But only now I remember David never being so clumsy. And I hate myself for not seeing any of this sooner.
"David?" I asked after some time of silence and he lifted his head up away from his thoughts. "What am I going to say?"
His brow furrowed and David tilted his head. "Say about what?"
I shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. "Well, if you're going to be here for a month, what am I supposed to say to my mom? Especially if I'm moping around the house when your birthday comes, she's going to ask questions."
David stayed quiet.
"Why don't you... why don't you stay with me?" He shot his head up and his eyes were glassy and unreadable. "David, you know my parents would take care of you."
His hand lifted to my face and he brushed his fingers over my cheek. "You know they wouldn't do that without talking to the police too. Sebastien, I know it's the smarter thing to do but I don't want to do anything without knowing about my mom."
I nodded my head and looked down before I closed my eyes. I had to bite my lip from telling him how stupid he was acting and telling him how much better off he would be if he just did the sensible thing. But I knew that he was aware of what he was doing; David isn't stupid. Blind at times, but not stupid. Respecting his choice, I stayed quiet. I know he'll come around to doing the right thing when he's ready. It's dumb and story book-like, but I know that he will.
"Stay with me."
My eyes opened and I looked at David. I couldn't have heard him correctly, I know I couldn't have. He's crazy if he actually suggested it, but I'm certain he didn't just do that.
His fingers caressed my cheek and slid back, playing with my earlobe and some of the strands of hair around that area of my ear. "Don't go home. You can stay here. You're mom will figure you're with me or you can tell her that you are - just don't tell her where."
"David," I brought my hand to his, "that's insane."
He bit his lip, "I don't want to be alone here." His voice was just higher than a whisper, "I can't go home."
I stared at him blankly. What was I supposed to say to that? Better yet, what just happened? David basically asked me to run away with him - and not in the romantic way, either. I couldn't do that. I couldn't leave my mom, I couldn't have her worry like that, she was happy knowing exactly what was going on with me. And then I realized that's what David had meant. As far as she knows, I'm only on a kissing base with David, I loved the trip last week and right now, I'm at the library trying to find a book my English teacher had mentioned last year. And she's fine with knowing it. If she had any idea that I was miserable on the trip, that David and I have gone a bit further than just kissing and that I was currently not at the library, but in a hotel room with my boyfriend, she'd be... well... less than thrilled. But I did understand that that is what David meant with his mom. He just wanted her to be happy for now, even if that meant letting her live a lie.
And I agreed to do it. I leaned over and kissed his lips gently, rubbing my hand along his arm.
"Okay," I said pressed my forehead to his. "I'll stay with you."
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