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 Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2017 10:19 am
The house was spotless; Evan had spent most of the day cleaning, making sure everything was perfect. Zac had teased him some but even he had managed to keep his mouth closed about it.
Mostly, because he didn’t want to spook Evan out of having company over. Even if he was immediately suspicious and didn’t like the guy. But, Cambria had a better grip of the situation and managed to coax Zac into the bedroom even before their guest arrived, and when Cambria wanted to distract him from something she was pretty damn good at it.
So, Evan didn’t have to worry about him.
It was five minutes before the time Tobias was supposed to arrive and yet, for some reason, Evan still felt like things were wrong. He had gotten started on dinner—the mac and cheese they’d talked about the day before, and a few sides he’d made himself. His own recipes, which scared him more than anything.
He knew the macaroni would be fine; he had followed the recipe exactly—even if he’d had things he wanted to improve on, he’d give this one a chance. He stood in front of the stone despite not having anything to work on for the moment; instead, he wrung his hands together uncertainly and checked his phone every half minute. He was nervous and tried to force himself to have a little more backbone, a little more confidence.
He just didn’t want to make a fool of himself.
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Posted: Mon Jul 17, 2017 9:36 pm
Tobias arrived a few minutes early, though sat out in the car until he was right on time. He looked good. Though, he always looked good, so that wasn’t an issue, but.
But. Today he wanted to look as good as possible.
Today he had a reason to.
Slowly he made his way to the door and gave a sharp, confident knock. He was strangely excited to see Evan, and perhaps not just because he was so hungry and had dreamed about that mac and cheese dish that was being made, but. But. Perhaps not only because of that.
Evan was an amusing boy, he said things that made Tobias laugh, and said things that he didn’t expect, and sometimes that was important.
The teal haired male knocked again, a bit more loudly than before. He was hungry.
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 2:09 pm
When Evan heard the knock on the door, he bristled. Though he knew Tobias was supposed to arrive, his first thought was immediately that some monster had shown up to eat him.
…Which was stupid, of course. He knew that. But still, he had to brace himself.
He could handle leaving dinner unattended for just a moment so he did one final check over the food before he sucked in a breath and smoothed out his clothes.
He wanted to call out, ‘Coming’, but when he tried, he found he didn’t have a voice—and that only made him nervous. He hurried towards the door, losing the confidence he had built up in the kitchen. He fumbled to open the door before he just outright yanked it open.
A part of him still expected a monster to be there but when it was Tobias, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hi,” he greeted after a second of just standing there. He forced himself off to the side. “You can come in. Dinner’s almost done. I made extra, I hope that’s okay. I wanted to try out a few recipes but Cambria says I’m feeding her too much.”
Evan paused and cleared his throat. “Cambria’s my friend. My roommate. Her and her boyfriend are here, but they’re just watching a movie in their room. So if you hear any weird noises, it’s just them. Not a robber or anything.”
He was rambling again, so he tried to shut himself up by taking the time to clear his throat. Quietly, he mumbled, “If you’re afraid of that sort of thing.”
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Posted: Tue Jul 18, 2017 10:12 pm
Tobias grinned at the sight of Evan. He was just too damn cute. “Hello yourself. I’m excited to eat anything and everything you put in front of me, no lie.” He reached out and touched his index finger to Evan’s nose, grinning more broadly. “I missed you, not lying about that either.” Not that he even felt the need to really lie to Evan, the boy seemed perfectly willing to agree with most anything he had said so far...of course that could change but for now…
“So you live here with your friend and her boyfriend, hm? You sleeping with one of them or something?”
It seemed like a perfectly normal question to him honestly, it was something that he would do, if given the chance. Have a pretty girl on one arm and a side cutie at home like Evan.
He poked his head into the house and sniffed. “It smells amazing, and don’t worry about the robber bit, I hate them too. I got a little traumatized watching Home Alone when I was younger, and for a while I was pretty convinced that any time I was home alone some creeps were going to try to break in and kill me, but luckily, that hasn’t happened so far. Got some great ideas from the kid to stop them if that ever does end up happening though so, can’t really complain too much.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:50 pm
Evan was quite confident his nose had just been pushed like a button, and that was enough to throw off the rest of his game for the rest of the conversation. Not that he’d had any game to begin with.
But if that hadn’t been jarring enough, Tobias had said the bit about sleeping with—and he sputtered. “What?” he demanded. “You—you can’t just ask someone a question like that. If—If you had offended me, I might just kick you out of the house and then all you’d be able to do is smell the food. So just…no,” he mumbled, closing the door and locking it after Tobias was inside.
“We’re all just friends, and I’m not sleeping with either of them.” There was a clear, unspoken, ‘anymore’; the word was on his lips and he had to stop himself from speaking it allowed.
Hastily, he walked from the front door to the kitchen. “I’m not used to having company over. It’s been a while. Like, high school, a while. And those were just the people I was dating, so we weren’t usually—you know what? That’s really not important. Most of them were too busy for dinner, so you should just sit down and make yourself comfortable and I’ll have a plate ready for you in a minute. What do you want to drink?”
Focus, stay focused. Don’t talk about yourself, because then you’ll say something stupid and then you’ll just have to lay down and die.
“Water?” he suggested, “Milk, Soda—Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew. Tea? Lemonade? Coffee? What do you like to drink?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:51 pm
Evan’s reactions were just the best things. Tobias really liked pushing his buttons—and his nose, but hey. That was a given. He grinned and gave another soft laugh. “You would really kick me out? After going to all this trouble to make an amazing meal for me? I don’t think so, but, I am glad I didn’t offend you, honestly, that seems almost like a fate worse than death, Evan, and I am not someone who likes the idea of dying. Or anything worse than dying.”
The teal haired male followed Evan towards the kitchen, reaching out and making sure that his hand ‘accidently’ brushed along the younger boy’s back once or twice as he walked. He wore an amused smile still as Evan babbled on about how he hadn’t had people over for dinner , and he paused at the question that was suddenly thrust upon him. “Hmm…Dr. Pepper I think. That’s the king of sodas, at least in my opinion. Though, if you have anything stronger too, I wouldn’t say no to that after dinner, if you wanted to cuddle up and watch a movie perhaps.” He winked and slid into one of the kitchen chairs, watching Evan with an almost hungry look. Well, a very hungry look actually.
The kitchen smelled amazing.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:52 pm
On both instances that Tobias’ hand brushed Evan’s, the younger man seemed to jump and look like he’d walked into a spider’s web. “Stronger? Nothing is stronger than Dr. Pepper, it’s the best drink in the world. And if you’re talking about alcohol, you’re out of luck. Zac keeps those on the top shelf,” he gestured to a shelf clearly out of reach, and Evan wasn’t going to embarrass himself by climbing onto a chair.
“He’s not really a fancy wine drinker. He’s a bartender. Or, he was. He’s a bouncer, now. But it’s probably best if you're sober, I don’t want you getting drinking too much and ruining your palate.”
He cleared his throat and tried to settle his work in the kitchen. “Offending me isn’t really that bad, by the way. I mean, I don’t know. It’s not like I bite people’s head off or anything. But it’s not worse than death, I’m not scary.”
He was deliberately avoiding the topic of cuddling and watching a movie; his face was red and he didn’t exactly even know how to answer it, so he pretended like he hadn’t heard.
It took him a minute to finish what he was doing in the kitchen and prepare the plates. His hands were trembling as he carried over them over. He set one down in front of Tobias and one in front across from him before fetching two cans of cold soda.
“It’s not perfect,” Evan said, though it wasn’t clear if he meant the canned drink, or the plating, or the food in general, but he sat down quickly. Worry was etched on his features and he fumbled to pick up a fork. He was afraid to take the first bite, instead glancing between his plate and Tobias’ face.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:52 pm
Tobias laughed. “Well, I’m sure I could reach them, unless this Zac is trying to keep them from you, and from me. And, not to worry, Evan. I didn’t want to get tipsy before I eat your fantastic food, I was thinking after, if and when we cuddle up for that wonderful movie that we’ve got planned.”
He lounged in the chair that he sat in, watching Evan as he moved around getting things ready and the grin never once left his face. When the food was placed in front of him, he took a large bite and chewed, rather thoughtfully, seeming to really take his time savoring all of the flavors and notes that the food had, and finally ne nodded.
“It tastes pretty damn perfect to me.” Tobias grabbed another fork full and sighed happily, relaxing in his seat again. “This is top tier for dishes that I’ve had, I think. A plus job, Evan. Better than I could have imagined. It’s delicious.”
So maybe he was laying the compliments on just a little thick, but it was very good food, and he wanted Evan to at least have a little pride in making it. “I’ll find something else for you to make me soon, deal?”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:53 pm
Evan squirmed in his seat when Tobias mentioned cuddling again. The movie wasn’t a bad idea, but Evan was undeniably anxious at the idea of anyone close to him. It had even taken time to warm up to Cambria and Zac again, but a complete stranger? He barely knew where to begin.
He found himself nodding, out of habit and necessity more than a desire to do so. When Tobias took the first bite, he held his breath—and when Tobias praised him, he seemed to immediately relax. A smile, a real smile, formed on his face and he managed to look up. “You think so?” he asked. It was slightly rhetoric; he pointed to the sides with his fork. “Try those, too. I want your honest opinion, please. I was talking with Cambria—my roommate,” he said, unable to recall if he’d mentioned her by name before, “And she suggested looking into a food truck. So I was thinking about it, but I don’t know if it’s worth it my own recipes aren’t appealing. I mean, we know the Mac and Cheese was from the book,” even if he’d made a few slight changes to the recipe, “But the other ones, I had to work hard on those. Uhm. And if you give me some honest feedback,” he shrugged somewhat awkwardly. “I guess…we can watch a movie after dinner. But just one, and then I have to go to bed.”
Evan froze after the words left his mouth and he inwardly groaned. “I mean, I’m not a child. I have my own bedtime. I just don’t like the dark.”
<********, that was worse!
Evan gripped his fork tighter and quickly insisted, “It’s dangerous to drive in, and there are a lot of wild animals around here, so I mean, it’d be safer if you didn’t stay too late. For you, not me. Plus, Zac might get crabby. He’s sort of territorial. But we can do one movie. But I don’t have a really great selection. Um. What types of movies do you watch?” he asked, finally realizing that there were normal people conversations he could be having instead of sounding like an idiot!
And, before he messed up that perfect question, he even managed to scoop a bite of the meal and shovel it into his mouth, effectively silencing him as he struggled to chew the too-large mouthful.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:53 pm
Tobias tried one of the other bits of food on his plate, and was about to go into how good it was too, to agree with the idea for the food truck and to just continue to keep that utterly adorable smile on Evan’s face when he mentioned that he had to go to bed. And then that he didn’t like the dark, and for a moment, for just a moment, the corners of Tobias’s mouth twitched like he was going to laugh, but he forced it away and just nodded solemnly. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with not liking the dark. Not really. Especially around here, but Evan…”
He batted his eyelashes and took another bite of food, allowing a grin once again. “If it got too late, I could just stay here. We could have a great sleepover and just chill and drink Dr. Pepper and watch more movies...speaking of the movie, I don't’ care what we watch. Put on your favorite. It’ll let me get to know you better.” Honestly, he was pretty sure that Evan’s favorite movie was going to be something dumb, but he didn’t really mind.
“Also, if you and your Cambria friend make a food truck and sell this food, you’ll make a killing, Ev. Seriously. This is really some of the best food I’ve ever tasted.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:54 pm
Evan’s emotions seemed to fluctuate rapidly, like he couldn’t settle on which one he should actually be feeling. It took him a few seconds to chew the food in his mouth and swallow it, but by then Tobias had covered a few different topics and Evan didn’t quite know where to start.
“I don’t know about a sleepover,” he said uncertainly, hating how stupid it sounded. “If you want to do that, we should rain check, because I’ll probably fall asleep really early and you’ll be stuck here, trying to stay quiet while I sleep forever.”
Truthfully, Evan didn’t care about that.
He cared about the nightmares. They were inconsistent; he used to have them a few times every night, and then just maybe once or twice a night. Then maybe just once or twice every few days.
He couldn’t predict them, but he just knew his luck. He knew that the first time he had anyone spend the night, he’d wake up screaming and scare them away forever.
He poked at his food, taking small, deliberate bites. “I don’t think my favorite movie is a good idea. It’s really long.” He paused, and then explained, “Titanic. Which, I think Cambria and Zac are watching, now.”
He didn’t know what they were watching, but he suspected whatever was on, they were more interested in each other—or, possibly, eavesdropping.
Both were highly likely, and both made Evan squirm in his seat just a bit. “But we can find something that’s on television and watch that, instead. I’m not picky either.”
He was, actually, but it was easier to lie.
Which, he seriously hoped Tobias wasn’t doing with all that talk about his food. Though he was uncomfortable, he clung to that topic with hope and eagerness. “But, uhm. If we opened a food truck, it probably wouldn’t be just this. I mean, I think I could make it in a food truck? But I’m working on a few different menus right now. Cambria’s going to help me figure out which to use from what, but, I don’t know. I would really like some second opinions, but I don’t exactly know that many people…and I can’t just start asking random people on the street. If…If you’re serious about coming back, I don’t know.” He shrugged and chewed on the inside of his cheek for a few seconds. “Would you care if I used you as a taste tester? You can say no, if you don’t like it. I won’t have hurt feelings or anything.”
Except, he would, and it took nearly all of his nerves to even just ask.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:54 pm
“Next time then. Titanic is actually one of my favorites too.” He grinned, hoping to convey that he was kind of teasing about the sleep over. Kind of. But, hey. If Evan didn’t want to do it on the first date, he could respect that. For now. The poor thing was just so shy, and seemingly innocent, although...honestly some of the things that he had said had given him cause to wonder just how innocent Evan really was.
Tobias was pretty sure he wasn’t a virgin, at the very least.
“Whatever you want to watch, I’m not picky at all, and as to being your taste tester, sign me up. Like, right now. If I get to come over here and just have you feed me over and over, I am two hundred percent all right with that. I can handle such abuse, seriously. He winked and took the last bite of his macaroni, frowning slightly at the empty spot on his plate and sighing heavily. “Is there more of it, Evan? My mac and cheese has disappeared, and I am forever distressed by this fact.”
There was more. He knew it, and he figured so long as he continued to keep flattering Evan, there would always continue to be more. And more, and more.
Until he had enough.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:55 pm
Evan could have breathed a sigh of relief if he wasn’t sure that it would have made him look even more ridiculous. “Well, a good appetite is necessary for a taste tester, because I don’t want you to just stick it in your mouth, chew it up, and spit it out. I’ll get you some more,” he said, all too eager to get up and head back into the kitchen.
It was such a simple, silly thing; he seemed so much more confident in the kitchen. He stood up tall and seemed proud of his creations. He didn’t keep looking over his shoulder or squirming; he just seemed relaxed and in his element.
He filled the hole on Tobias’ plate with fresh Macaroni and Cheese; he made more than enough to share.
When he returned he lost much of his confidence and seemed meeker, like he was expecting the worst or was genuinely just not sure what to say or do. Evan was battling social anxiety that was worse now than it had been before he’d been a youma—and if you’d asked him back then if he’d thought it was possible, he wouldn’t have believed it.
“You seem like you’re pretty easy going,” he said after a moment. He had settled down back in his chair and seemed like he was trying to eat, but he’d barely made a dent in his plate. “And adventurous. And extroverted.”
Evan was not any of those things, and there was no way that Tobias could have missed that.
“…I don’t mean to kill the mood or anything, but…wouldn’t you be happier with someone who was like that, too? I mean—I’m happy you’re here to test my food, and you seem nice!” Evan insisted; to be fair, he was talking more and being more social now that he met Tobias—even if only because the situation forced him to. “But I’ve messed up conversations like ten times since we started talking, and you haven’t gone to find someone better. You seem like the kid who was really popular in school, or like you’ve got a lot of friends. Are you really telling me that none of them can cook enough to keep your attention? Because, I mean. If your friendships are based on food, I could just teach you how to cook so you didn’t have to look for the weird kids who were okay in the kitchen to feed you.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:55 pm
Tobias watched him and seemed almost amused at the change from confident kitchen master, back to the meek little wallflower that was so intriguing and when Evan himself asked what was up with the differences in their demeanors, he had to let out another laugh once again. Taking a bite of the food again, He closed his eyes, chewing for a moment before answering.
“It’s stuff like that. You’re surprising. Sure you’re meek and jumpy, but you say things sometimes, and it’s just so utterly unexpected, and it delights me, Evan. I want to keep getting to know you, because honestly, I keep having a difficult time pinpointing what you’re going to say next, and it’s endlessly amusing.”
Another bite of food and sip of his drink and Tobias went on. “Plus, it’s fun to see the reactions you give to the things that I Say, and that delights me all the more. So, no. I don’t want someone like me, because, quite frankly, I am an a*****e, and don’t get along well with guys like me.” He shrugged. “You, however. I want to keep getting to know you. I think we play really well off of one another, and I would like to see where things go. Even if they just stop as friends, but I think you’re really attractive too, and I wouldn’t mind sleeping with you one of these days.”
There. Now that would get a reaction out of him, that was for sure, and Tobias was ever so ready to see just what that reaction was.
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Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:56 pm
Evan listened intently to everything Tobias had said, nodding slowly—until the very end, when he drew in a sharp breath as though he had been personally offended. His fork clattered loudly from his fingertips, hitting the table on the way down. He stared at Tobias and tried to keep a straight expression, but in reality he just clammed up.
There was a bit of fear, for more reasons than Evan would care to admit. A part of him worried that if Tobias got close enough to him, he’d find out everything. Or Zac would break his neck, but that was a totally different fear. Evan was far from confident in himself these days, and the idea of letting anyone close enough to be intimate knotted his stomach so tightly he thought he might throw up.
It wasn’t that Tobias was unattractive or unappealing, it was that Evan was. He repulsed himself, and he was barely wearing a mask that helped him pass as human; underneath everything he felt like a sack full of worms trapped in a meatbag, wriggling helpless and with no real purpose. He couldn’t figure out his own true sense of self and he had no purpose; he just existed, and even barely at that.
He hadn’t thought Tobias was an a*****e; he seemed like he would have gotten along well with anyone. He was quick witted, easy on the eyes, charismatic, charming. He pushed Evan’s buttons, but not so much that Evan had ever gotten mad.
Even now, he wasn’t mad. Just trapped, with no way to answer. They weren’t at any point in a friendship where he could have given an honest answer, but his mind was moving too slowly to create a lie. Evan slowly looked down at the floor on the ground and managed a meek, “I have to get that,” before he slipped from the chair to grab his fork. Only, he didn’t get up; his body decided that underneath the table was a good place to just sit, like he didn’t have company over, sitting a foot and a half away from him.
If he could have done it quietly, he would have groaned; instead, Evan just buried his face in his hands and scrubbed at his eyes, clinging to the fork.
Zac would have known what to say to something like that. Cambria would have had some clever, flirtatious line.
All Evan could think was that maybe if he sat on the floor for long enough, Tobias would forget he was there.
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