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 Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 11:27 am
“Wait--” Riker stared at Cassidy with wide eyes. He hadn’t meant to go over tonight! He meant the meet that night!
But Cassidy was already giving him his address, and telling him how he could spend the night.
“I-- I don’t have anything with me. I mean, just in my bag,” he sputtered, not sure what he was saying. He didn’t want to upset Julian or make him think that he didn’t want to spend time with him after. And Julian was usually able to keep him grounded after his mother was being horrible. And Evan would be there, too.
But if Julian was with other friends…
Riker frowned and stared down at the piece of paper. He didn’t want to monopolize Julian’s time. He’d gotten so used to being able to see him whenever he wanted. But Julian had other friends, too. And he was too polite to tell Riker when he needed his own space.
“Are you usually alone at night?” he asked after a moment, frowning with concern. He knew it was often, since he’d met up with him as Reims, but every night? Or maybe just weekdays. But then if that was his dad’s sleep schedule, then maybe his dad just kept to it.
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 11:34 am
Riker was so cute. How could he just agree to this? He should have told Cassidy he’d misunderstood, or he was pushing too much. But he wasn’t! Maybe him spending all that time with Julian buttered him up. Cassidy would have to ‘misunderstand’ more often. He’d been expecting some sort of rejection, and maybe he was pushing his luck and trying to see how bold he could be before Riker was at his limit.
…But also, he didn’t want to find that limit. Riker saying yes to all his plans was fun, too.
“It doesn’t have to be tonight!” Cassidy laughed, thinking it was unfair to make Riker squirm so much. “Just, if! I wouldn’t want to go home with your mom if I were you, so if you need to sneak out, let me take care of you. Tonight, tomorrow. Yeah, I’m mostly alone at night. I mean, I could go over to my mom’s but I don’t know what’s worse, being alone or being with her boyfriends. I was thinking about making some trouble or something to get their attention so they’re lucky I’ve had some good distractions lately. I just don’t know what to do with all this energy when I don’t have any outlet!”
Back to the lazy, too-pleased-with-himself smile. “So the offer’s open for you, special. You don’t have an extra pair of clothes in your locker?” He shrugged. “Well, it doesn’t matter. You could borrow something of mine. I won’t make you wear shorts, I’ve got plenty of options.” Riker might even be able to fit into one of his school uniforms and just borrow it if he had to but Cassidy wasn’t thinking too deeply about it.
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 11:36 am
Cassidy was right in that Riker would rather not go home with his mom if he could help it. Especially if she was drinking.
He sighed heavily, but took a few moments to take another couple bites of pizza without interruption, figuring he could at least take advantage of Cassidy’s fondness of talking so much.
But he imagined it got pretty lonely being there by himself all the time. It was no wonder that he was always online. Not that Riker could be online often, but he understood the need to do something.
As for his clothes… he did have an extra pair in his locker at one point, but they’d ended up in the drawer in Julian’s room after bringing them to be washed. Although he couldn’t imagine wearing Cassidy’s shorts. And--
Oh… he’d already finished the pizza he’d been given. Riker picked at the crumbs before eyeing Cassidy’s lunchbox.
“Uh… would it be okay to have another? Please?” he asked sheepishly. The pizza was good. And he didn’t realize how hungry he was. Cassidy’s reassurances and offers helped him relax a little.
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 11:44 am
“Please,” Cassidy answered, and pushed his whole lunch box over. “Help yourself, eat whatever you want. The more you finish off, the less I have to carry home.”
Oh, he was so cute. Asking if he could have more? As if Cassidy wouldn’t have given him anything he wanted. He liked Riker when he was scowling, or flustered, but he liked him honest and polite, too.
“I think I like cooking for my friends. I used to think it was kind of boring, I never really wanted to before, but now I’m having fun.” Well, sort of. He also liked the praise he got when he had something good to eat, and he made his Nonna proud because he was calling her all the time and sending pictures. And it was something to do, it was different. It kept him distracted for a bit.
“Do you have favorites, Riker? Other than strawberry milkshakes. I was trying to think back to when we’d get lunch or dinner on the team, but I remember you being such a picky eater.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 11:46 am
Riker graciously took the lunch box when it was pushed over to him, taking out another pizza to bite into. He didn’t care if they were room temperature. He was used to grabbing things from the fridge and shoveling it down as fast as he could so he wasn’t caught, so this didn’t bother him at all.
The comment about the strawberry milkshake had him pausing for a moment, his ears burning with embarrassment. He didn’t think something like that would be easy for Cassidy to remember, but he supposed if it was weird then it would be.
“Well,” he frowned thoughtfully, looking down at the pizza. “I think you’re pretty good at it. And I know someone who’s made cooking his life.”
Evan was an inspiration to him. He’d been there for him in a way most adults wouldn’t have been, whether it was due to other obligations or because they just didn’t care or have the time. But Evan was always thinking about him, and Riker never wanted to let him down.
“What I mean is… if you’re having fun, then you should keep doing it. And I guess I’ll keep eating it.”
At least what he could eat. He frowned again, still debating if he wanted to say more before sighing. It wasn’t that he was a picky eater because he wanted to be.
“I’ve… got a dumb allergy to coconut. And, uh… it’s really popular these days. The oil I mean,” he said with a shrug like it wasn’t something he had to carry an epipen for. He wished it was just a mild allergy, but he’d barely made it to the hospital the last time.
“And, uh… it’s just in everything. Lotion. Shampoo. A lot of candy has it, so I avoid most candy,” he explained, and nodded to the vending machine. “I was trying to remember what I could eat without having to look through the ingredients. I know it’s stupid. It’s not like I asked for some obscure allergy,” he mumbled, clearly embarrassed by something so ridiculous.
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 11:55 am
“What? Really?”
Cassidy leaned forward again. Of course you couldn’t tell what allergy someone had just by looking at them but he wouldn’t have guessed coconut.
“I mean, allergies are totally normal. Like, I’m allergic to bullshit.”
Cassidy definitely wasn’t planning on making cooking his life, people just needed food to eat so it was convenient. He liked the attention and being able to do something nice for people he liked but his joy in cooking came from sharing it more than making it.
“Is coconut oil really that popular? It’s not that I doubt you or anything, I just thought that was some fancy vegan alternative. I mean, I guess I never really looked at what they put into things.” He pressed his lips together thoughtfully, and though he wasn’t poking at Riker’s foot with his own anymore, he was clearly tapping his toe judging by the way his body just slightly moved every other second. “Sorry, you said lotion and shampoo, too. So if someone uses coconut lotion and bumps into you, it can’t like, kill you, right? How bad is your allergy?”
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 12:09 pm
When Cassidy leaned forward, Riker leaned back out of habit. He wasn’t trying to get away from Cassidy or anything like that! It was just instinctive. He shuffled his feet a little in embarrassment after doing so, because it was pretty unnecessary. Although his comment about being allergic to bullshit made the corner of his lips twitch into a small smile for a moment.
“Oh my god, no, that would be horrible,” he then grimaced, not even wanting to think about having to not get close to anything coconut. “I mean, I usually break out into a really bad rash. Or even hives. Usually if it’s a scent, like… a candle with coconut, I’ll get really itchy and my eyes will water and it’s really gross so I don’t go to malls much.”
There was just no telling what perfume or bath bomb was going to be advertised within touching distance.
“But if I eat it, uh… it depends on how much. I mean I’ve… hold on,” he mumbled, feeling awkward about it as he reached down into his pants pocket. It wasn’t like he advertised it. Only a few people knew. Evan. Julian. And now Elliot and Atticus and their parents.
He pulled out a slim square device that was clearly some kind of epinephrine applicator. He turned it around in his hands a couple times, as though not sure he wanted to part with it, but handed it over to Cassidy to look at if he wanted.
“I’ve uh… I mean yeah, I’ve been to the hospital a handful of times because of it. Anaphylactic shock or whatever. TV shows and movies are always wrong though. People just, like… use an epipen and everything is better, but it really just delays the effects. Like… thirty minutes max.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 12:14 pm
Cassidy accepted the strange device, clearly unfamiliar with it, and while he was careful he was still carefully scrutinizing it. “Oh yeah, that makes sense. I thought epipen’s were just a magic fix all, too. That’s crazy. I’m glad I haven’t put any coconut in this food! Jeez, I guess I should ask about allergies.”
If he’d noticed Riker leaning back–and he had–he didn’t make a big deal out of it. Not when the goal was to get him to chill out, anyway.
“Can you take a Claritin or whatever if you’re just going to the mall, does that help with the candle smells?” he asked, obviously curious about the extent of this allergy. No wonder Riker was picky with food, especially if it had sent him to the hospital before.
Cassidy hadn’t ever really thought about coconut but if Riker was going to come over he should probably at least make sure he didn’t have anything out that was going to put his life in danger.
“How come you never said anything about that allergy before? It sounds pretty serious.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 12:33 pm
“What, so I can be the weird kid with a weird allergy? No thanks,” he made a disgruntled expression, but took another bite of pizza soon after. “It’s fine. I can just be a picky eater. It just sucks that it’s getting more popular to use as alternatives to other oil. And it keeps things like candy and chocolate from melting, so…”
He paused to draw in a deep breath but shrugged and took another bite. He was making much faster time on this pizza than the last.
“I can take a Claritin or other antihistamine when it’s mild. I don’t know if it’s the smell itself but, like, it just permeates the air. Uh… I can usually tell if I’m close to something, because I’ll start feeling itchy. I usually end up with a rash anyway. When I was little it was just assumed it was eczema and I just had to, like… deal with it. But when I ate some and couldn’t breathe, I guess mom weighed the options of being rid of me or keeping her check coming in,” he scoffed before he could even think about what he was saying.
Cassidy made it easy for him to just talk about how he felt, especially when they were alone. But as soon as he said it he paused. It wasn’t a big deal, so he just shrugged again.
“I don’t want to make it an issue for others. And the fewer people who know, the less likely some will end up in my sandwich or something.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 12:43 pm
“Uh, Riker, I don’t think having an allergy makes you ‘the weird kid’. Eating glue or bringing worms to school in your pocket might! But you should let your friends know at least. I might have tried to bring you candy for Halloween or something.” Or just because.
He was glad he knew now, even if he was making a face at the thought of ‘the less likely some will end up in my sandwich.’
At least he was eating the pizza.
“I’m going to go home and see how much coconut I can find,” he said, like it was going to be something fun and interesting and not because he was suddenly paranoid that Riker always ran away from him because he inspired an allergic reaction.
“I won’t put it in your sandwiches! I’m pretty sure that’s a crime, actually. I’m too pretty for jail. And you’re too pretty to die! Especially by coconut!”
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 12:54 pm
“I told you it’s stupid!” he felt himself grin in response. And then laugh quietly. The thought of Cassidy not wanting to go to jail solely because he was too pretty, or Riker not dying because he was too pretty was amusing. Along with, of course, an obituary saying that he died by coconut.
“Don’t worry about it,” Riker insisted, because it was already a pain that he’d caused for too many people. Evan was pretty much paranoid about coconut now. And he was pretty sure Elliot’s dad was as well.
“Like… Most body wash and shampoo have coconut, so I just stay away from people, especially if I feel itchy around them. It’s annoying when the only soap in bathrooms has coconut though. And it’s not a crime if you just say it’s a joke or if no one presses charges or cares. But don’t worry, I know you wouldn’t.”
Oh, now that Cassidy knew, Riker apparently had a lot to complain about when it came to coconut. How annoying. He took another bite of the pizza to shut himself up.
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 12:58 pm
“Don’t worry about it?” Cassidy repeated. “No way, what if I want to sit next to you in class or something? I can’t have you breaking out in hives because of me! Oh, I’m so paranoid now, I’ll have to look at everything!”
Absentmindedly, he’d pulled out a tube of chapstick and spread it over his lips. He smacked his lips together to spread it a bit, and as he capped it again he rolled it between his fingers to read the ingredients. “Ah! No, I see it! Coconut oil.” He leaned back instinctively and his face had twisted into a scowl. “Well, good thing I wasn’t trying to kiss you! That’ll have to go.”
He pocketed it again and looked at the vending machine like he was already thinking about getting a bunch of candy just to see what was in that, too.
He didn’t.
Yet.
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 12:58 pm
Riker wasn’t sure how to feel. His friends were so quick to discard anything and everything coconut for him. Evan checked everything pretty much every time he put something new in the pantry. Even if he knew there was nothing coconut.
And he’d noticed how certain lotions and soaps had changed around the homes of his friends who knew about it. Which were only four of them now.
Even as Cassidy made a face and joked about not trying to kiss him, Riker felt his ears burn. And he felt his lips twitching into a brighter smile.
“Thanks, Cass,” he said a bit sheepishly, and then reached to take the epipen back to put in his pocket. “I’m glad you’re doing okay. I missed seeing you around.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 1:05 pm
Once more, Riker surprised Cassidy. It might have been clear on his face; his brows raised a bit and he pressed his lips together thoughtfully. He’d been so sure he might get a little bit of a rise out of Riker for that, but instead he was nice? He was glad he was back? He missed him?
Cassidy was not easily flustered but even he felt his heart skip a beat and was aware of the warmth on his face. He played it off like it was just the hot, stuffy cafeteria, and fanned himself with his hand.
Oh, his smile was breathtaking.
Well that just wasn’t fair.
“Thank you, Riker. That’s sweet. I’m really glad I’m back in Destiny City. I missed seeing you around, too.”
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