Welcome. Hi, Just in case you've been reading this and you're confused why there's only one chapter, it's cause I combined chapters 1-5 to make Part 1. I didn't want a million chapters to this story I know it's gonna go on for a while, so I'm gonna update in blocks. That means longer portions, but also longer waiting time. o.o; Sorry for the inconvience. And thanks to all that reviewed, I can't believe how many reviews I got in five days of publishing this story! Thanks everyone. I think only those that reviewed to chapter one will stay, but thanks to everyone!! Onto part 1. ^^;

Time Changes Everything

Kale's small fingers gently made their way across Ethan's back beneath his button down shirt.

Ethan sighed, allowing his lashes to flutter, and reached behind him. He took Kale's wrist carefully in his hand, removing it from under his maroon shirt. "Kale," he quietly scolded with a gentle sigh and a shake of his straight dark brown hair. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kale continued to laugh quietly, using the height difference between them to easily lean against Ethan's chest, letting his eyes slowly open and close.

Ethan slid his arms under his friend's and helped Kale to stand on his own. They proceeded to make their way over to the couch carefully. Ethan watched him sit before leaving him on his own to walk over to the door where Kale had just come in.

Kale turned his head slightly to watch Ethan close the door, once it was locked and Ethan turned, Kale sighed loudly and lay down on the couch, grabbing the nearest throw pillow and tucking it under his head. "I'm fine," he repeated.

Ethan delayed in the kitchen for a moment, remaining silent except for the sound of the faucet. He returned to the couch, leaning over the back and holding a glass of water above Kale. "No, you're not," he sighed. "Sit up and drink this," he instructed.

Kale whined and shook his head slowly, hiding his half lidded eyes behind thin blonde bangs. "Not thirsty."

Ethan reached down with his free hand and grabbed Kale's wrist, pulling the smaller boy up. "I didn't ask if you were thirsty. I said drink this," he pushed the half full glass of water into Kale's hands.

Kale reluctantly kneeled up on the couch and took the water from Ethan's hand. He took a long sip slowly and sighed, eyeing Ethan tiredly.

Ethan gave him an expectant look. "All of it."

Kale pouted, but finished off the water, lazily pushing it into Ethan's hand while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He sighed again and rested his forehead against Ethan's chest.

Ethan closed his eyes for a moment, slowly bringing his free hand up to rest on the back of Kale's head. He ruffled Kale's hair after a minute and sighed, walking away from the back of the couch and heading into the kitchen to put the glass in the sink.

"Can I stay here?" Kale asked quietly, already lying his head down on his folded arms on the back of the couch.

".. of course," Ethan sighed, rinsing out the cup before putting it in the dishwasher.

"Why'd you do that?" Kale yawned, watching him quietly.

"Do what?" Ethan turned towards him, drying his hands idly on his dark jeans.

"The thing with the cup," he coughed lightly before lying down on the couch, falling out of view.

"What thing?" Ethan asked, leaving the kitchen again to walk over to Kale.

"You rinsed it. and then put it in the." Kale mumbled, yawning again.

"Come on," Ethan appeared before Kale, dismissing the topic and holding out a hand for him. "In bed."

"But I live so far away," he whined, turning over to face the back of the couch.

"I already said you could stay here," Ethan sighed, shrugging and dropping his hand. "Unless you'd rather sleep on the couch."

Kale turned and opened his eyes slightly, smiling brightly and holding up a hand. "Help?"

Ethan smiled just slightly and took his hand, helping him up.

Kale leaned into Ethan and sighed contently, still holding his hand. "You smell good."

"You smell like alcohol," Ethan smirked, dropping Kale's hand.

"I'm sorry," Kale lowered his head and whimpered.

Ethan sighed, conscious of Kale's sensitivity. "Shh, its fine, come on."

Kale nodded silently and made his way though the open door to Ethan's bed. With Ethan's help he kicked his shoes off, pulled his jacket off, and got under the covers.

Kale reached up and grabbed Ethan's shirt, pulling him down to the bed as well.

Ethan shook his head. "No, come on, stop, go to sleep."

Kale kept his firm grip on Ethan, eyeing him uncertainly, "This is your bed," he pointed out.

"I know, I'm gonna sleep out on the couch tonight."

"Why?"

"Just. because."

"But why?"

"Because you're drunk."

"But I'm just going to sleep," Kale replied innocently.

"You-," Ethan sighed, nodding to himself, "You're right, we're just going to sleep. Fine."

Kale smiled and released Ethan's shirt, moving over slightly on the double bed.

Ethan lifted his hand to the back of his neck, watching Kale quietly for a moment before lifting the end of the covers and climbing into bed with his back to Kale.

"Night Ethan," Kale mumbled, snaking his arm around his friend's waist and curling comfortably against his back.

Ethan tensed, closing his eyes a moment before relaxing again and lifting Kale's arm off of him, dropping it back behind him.

Kale groaned something inaudible and replaced his arm around Ethan again, sighing contently.

Ethan sighed. "Night Kale."

Ethan waited quietly in Kale's gentle embrace.

Kale's arm was laid across Ethan's waist and curling up to allow his palm to rest against Ethan's chest.

Ethan sighed, opening his hazel eyes slowly to stare across the room at the sliding mirror doors to his closet. He could barely see Kale's smaller frame behind him. The blonde hair was slightly visible near Ethan's neck.

Kale took a deep breath and shifted slightly, teasing Ethan's legs apart with his leg, resting his knee between them.

Ethan closed his eyes quickly as Kale began to move around, afraid of what his friend's reaction might be if he saw that Ethan was awake.

Small fingers grasped at Ethan's shirt and a quiet moan was heard behind him as he shifted against Ethan's warmth.

Ethan mentally argued with himself on whether he wanted Kale to wake up and leave or simple stay there with him.

Lately Ethan had been noticing his feelings towards Kale had been changing, especially when he would show up frequently like this, being completely wasted and spending the night. Unfortunately, Kale barely remembered how he arrived at Ethan's, let alone the way he acted around him.

Kale sighed contently and softly into Ethan's ear and the brunet could no longer take it.

Ethan faked a yawn, stretching and pushing Kale slightly away from him. Kale's fingers raked across Ethan's chest as he was gently moved aside.

Ethan lay quiet, pretending to go back to sleep.

Kale breathed deeply, rolling onto his back and drawing away from his Ethan. He stretched his arms above his head and yawned. Kale glanced over at Ethan, sitting up slowly and scrunching his features slightly.

Ethan kept his eyes closed, silently missing the comforting arm around him.

Kale sat still for a moment, scratching the back of his neck idly and trying to remember what happened last night.

After a minute or so, Kale sighed loudly and slid off the bed, heading over to the bathroom.

Ethan thought it safe to get up, so he sat up and ran his hands though his hair a few times before getting up and heading to the kitchen.

"Ethan? You up?" a voice came from the bathroom over the sound of the faucet.

"Yeah," he replied, sighing as he searched the cabinets.

"Can I take a shower?"

"Of course," Ethan shrugged, rolling his eyes as he grabbed the coffee filter from the top shelf.

"Thanks!"

Ethan prepared coffee and was on his second cup and in part two of the newspaper when Kale appeared, drying his hair with a towel.

"I borrowed your shirt," Kale told him, picking at his shirt as he dropped the towel onto a nearby chair.

"Don't do that," Ethan said sternly, without looking up from his paper.

Kale bit his lower lip and watched Ethan carefully. "I could change."

Ethan looked up, sighing loudly and shaking his head. "I meant the towel. Don't leave the damn towel over the back of the chair. It'll strip the wood."

Kale smiled and hurried over to Ethan giving him a quick hug from behind. "Thanks."

Ethan shrugged him off and sighed, bringing his mug back to his lips and glancing over at Kale as he went through the fridge.

"Got any orange juice?" Kale asked.

"Get rid of the towel," Ethan raised his brows, lowering the mug from his lips.

Kale sighed and grabbed the towel, tossing it over his shoulder and placing his hands on his hips expectantly. "Orange Juice?"

Ethan sighed, placing his empty mug on the table and glared over at Kale. "I always have a carton for you in the pantry and you always ask me where it is."

Kale laughed shortly, shrugging. "Oops."

Ethan shook his head, rolling his eyes at Kale. "Yeah."

"Grumpy this morning, ain't we?" Kale raised a brow at Ethan as he turned away from the bottom cabinet of the pantry.

"Maybe if I got some sleep last night." Ethan shook his head, turning to the next section of the paper.

"Did I keep you up?" Kale paused, turning and holding the carton of orange juice against his stomach, watching Kale quietly.

Ethan sighed. "No, forget it."

"It's just that my friends like to hang out around here, and I'm always tired, and I always wind up telling them to drop me off over here," Kale hugged the juice to his chest, eyeing Ethan uncertainly.

"Stop," Ethan sighed. "I said forget it."

Kale watched Ethan quietly for a moment before hesitantly stepping over to the counter and reaching up to the top shelf for a glass.

Ethan glanced over at Kale and saw him straining up for a glass, standing on tiptoe and barely reaching the shelf. He got to his feet, taking his coffee mug with him as he walked over to Kale.

Kale bit his bottom lip, stretching even more and lifting one foot up behind him.

Ethan placed his mug in the sink and easily took a mug off the shelf, holding it out to Kale.

Kale dropped his arm at his side, standing down on flat feet again and smiling at Ethan, reaching out for the mug. "Thanks."

Ethan held onto the cup as Kale slipped a finger into the mug handle, pulling at it gently.

Kale raised a brow slightly, smiling a little and watching him. "Eth'? You okay?"

Ethan shook his head, releasing the mug and giving it a slight shove into Kale. "Yeah, fine."

Kale caught the mug against his chest, staring at him uncertainly. "You sure?"

"I'm fine," Ethan shot, grabbing the paper and heading out into the den.

Kale quickly poured himself a cup of orange juice, biting his bottom lip as a few drops landed on the counter.

"Don't make a mess," Ethan called into the kitchen, sitting on the couch and propping his feet up on the coffee table.

Kale wiped down the counter quickly with the towel over his shoulder and left the juice uncapped, bringing his mug with him as he hurried after Ethan into the den. "Hey."

Ethan remained quiet, glancing over his paper and barely absorbing any of the articles.

Kale sat beside him, pulling the slightly damp towel off his shoulder and dropping it onto the carpet.

"That better not be wet," Ethan sighed, flipping the page again.

Kale reached up to the top of the paper, pulling it down and looking into Ethan's eyes. "Are you mad at me?" he asked innocently, reaching over to place his mug on the table.

Ethan sighed, letting go of the paper and staring back into Kale's green eyes. "No. I'm not mad at you."

Kale let the paper fall to the floor and moved forward to hug Ethan, practically laying across him. "I don't mean to make you mad," he mumbled into Ethan's neck.

Ethan slowly lifted a hand from the couch and rested it on Kale's back, sighing. "You don't, Kale."

Kale remained where he was, resting his arms around Ethan's neck casually. "But lately when I visit you're angry with me."

"I'm not."

"You are."

"Not at you."

Kale placed a small kiss on the corner of Ethan's mouth quickly before pulling away and heading into the bedroom to get his shoes and jacket.

Ethan sat there for a minute, staring off after Kale as he disappeared into his bedroom.

"So are you coming over tonight?" Kale asked, appearing with his boots unlaced as he slid on his jacket.

"Sure," Ethan replied, watching him.

Kale sat on the chair across from the couch to tie his boots. Once finished, he fashioned a bright smile and tucked his hands in his jacket. "Around eight?"

Ethan simply nodded, glancing down at the mug on the table as he heard Kale let himself out.

Ethan sighed and replaced the phone back on the reciever. That was Kale's daily Saturday phone call to remind Ethan of their get-together.

Ethan and Kale had met over the internet. But it's not what you'd think. Kale's friend Tristen had arranged to meet Lana, a friend of Ethan's, over the internet. Kale was insistent on joining his friend, unlike Ethan who was dragged along by Lana.

Since they met, about three months ago, they had been spending most of their time together and meeting every Saturday night. Tristen and Kale roomed together for college at an apartment complex just off campus for the under classmen. The two of them were freshman in college along with Lana, while Ethan was a senior, living on his own and taking night classes while working at his father's firm during the day.

Kale admired Ethan's responsibility. He woke up early, got dressed in a suit, arrived to work on time and brought home money to support himself, then three nights a week he would attend classes at the nearby college for credit as he worked his way towards a degree in business. Maybe it was their age difference, with Ethan being twenty-two and Kale simply eighteen.

Kale had the opposite lifestyle, sleeping though classes, rolling out of bed and arriving late to class in whatever he fell asleep in, and barely caring enough to pass.

Ethan met Lana when she applied at the firm as a temporary assistant to his father. The two had frequent meetings and grew close.

Lana had been speaking to Tristen online for over a year and they planned on meeting when he happened to move to the same city to attend college. They never imagined they would coincidentally attend the same college as well.

When they decided to meet, Lana insisted on dragging Ethan along, claiming that he could protect her if something happened. Ethan was unable to protest so he reluctantly agreed.

Tristen had been talking about Lana for a long time now and Kale was eager to finally meet her.

It was awkward at first, but the trio soon met outside classes and for meals every day. Since they all lived on campus it was easy to spend every waking hour together. It was Saturdays that they were able to get together with Ethan.

Ethan didn't exactly look forward to hanging out at a college each Saturday night, and the others usually wanted to get out around then so it was usually Ethan's gorgeous hard wood floor apartment on the forth floor that they spent those nights in, but this was Lana's birthday celebration as well.

Ethan sighed and pulled his jacket on, grabbing his keys from the glass key dish beside the door on the oak table. He awaited the elevator just outside his door as he ran a hand though his hair and smoothed out his jacket over his deep blue button down shirt. He checked the inner pocket of his leather jacket for the long jewelry box.

The elevator opened with a soft ding and he stepped inside, pressing the button to close the doors repeatedly until they shut. He leaned against the back of the elevator, resting his hands on the gold bar against the back.

A few stops later, the semi-crowded elevator let out in the lobby. Ethan waited until they were making their way hurriedly though the lobby to exit the elevator. No use rushing. It was approximately 7:45 and it took fifteen minutes to drive to Kale and Tristen's apartment. By the time he got to his car, which was out in the garage, and made it to the dorm's parking lot and then up to the apartment, he would be a fashionably 8 minutes late. Just how he liked to be.

Kale jumped on Tristen as he grabbed the icing from the back of the cabinet.

"I wanna do the cake!" he whined.

"Then do the fucking cake," Tristen grumbled, rubbing the spot where he had just smashed his head against the cabinet when Kale jumped on him.

Kale snatched the white icing container away from Tristen and strutted over to the table, leaning over the cake to grab a knife. "So are we doing one of those fancy layer things?"

Tristen shrugged, walking by Kale and slapping him upside the head. "I don't give a shit."

"Oww!" Kale lifted a hand to his head, fixing his spiky bangs in the front. "What the hell?"

"That's for this fucking bump on my head, you ass," he grumbled, grabbing a knife for the icing and dropping it next to Kale on the table.

"There's no bump, you jerk!" Kale shot, opening the icing and tearing off the silver lid.

"There'd better not be, for your sake."

"Oh, cut it out, you two," Lana appeared in the doorway, sighing and shaking her head of light brown curls at them. "You two are ridiculous."

"He's fucking ridiculous," Tristen grumbled, grabbing a glass and turning on the faucet.

"Me?!" Kale shouted, sticking the knife in the icing. "He just slapped me!"

"Behave," Lana mumbled quietly in Tristen's ear, slipping her arms around his waist from behind and resting her head on his back.

Tristen grunted and shrugged, drinking the water and placing a hand over the ones wrapped around him.

Kale smiled and shook his head at the two. They were obviously a couple. They went out together, they spent time alone, they kissed in public, and they did all that stuff. and more. But they never spoke about a relationship. They're just. together.

"Get a room," Kale mumbled, beginning to ice the cake in front of him.

"Shall we?" Lana grinned.

Tristen turned around in Lana's hold, taking her arms lightly. "Let's go."

They joke about it more than anything.

I sighed and shook my head with a laugh as Lana moved away from Tristen and sat across from me, admiring the cake. "Nice cake," she commented.

I shrugged. "Tristen picked out the chocolate cake. I picked out the white icing."

Lana giggled. "Nice icing."

"Very nice," Ethan nodded, smiling at the bunch.

The three looked to the doorway, smiling at their friend.

"Ethan!" Kale was the first to shout, waving with fingers covered in icing.

"Hi," Ethan said simply to them all, stepping inside and walking over to Lana.

Lana stood up, smiling and wrapping her arms around Ethan, giving him a hug. "Thanks for coming."

Tristen turned, heading over to them and showing a small smile. "Hey."

Ethan smiled, reaching into his jacket as Lana stepped back. He pulled the long jewelry box from his jacket and held it out to her. "Happy nineteenth."

Kale quickly appeared in front of Lana, beaming happily at the box.

Tristen grabbed Kale's arm and pulled him away from the present. "It's for Lana. Not for you."

Kale pouted and watched Lana take the box gently. "Thanks Ethan!" she smiled.

Ethan smiled back, nodding.

Lana glanced over at Kale and Tristen before pulling the top off the box slowly.

Lana and Kale both squealed as a silver bracelet was revealed, four blue gems set in the center together.

"It's aqua-marine, not sapphire, so don't get too excited," Ethan smiled, beginning to slip his jacket down his arms.

The two of them quickly lunged at Ethan, causing him to stumble back and be pressed against the wall.

"It's so beautiful!" Lana exclaimed, holding onto Ethan tightly around his neck.

"It's gorgeous!" Kale cried out, wrapping his arms tightly around Ethan's waist.

"It's not yours!" Tristen grunted, grabbing Kale by the back of his shirt and hauling him off of Ethan.

Ethan smiled uneasily, allowing himself to be pinned back against the wall for a few minutes until the two were being held back by Tristen.

"Thanks," Ethan laughed, slipping his jacket off and tossing it over the back of one of the stools around the island in the kitchen.

Tristen released Kale and wrapped his arms around Lana's waist, leaning down to rest his head on her shoulder and admire the bracelet she held. "Sure is nice," he commented.

"Nice?!" Kale resumed icing the cake, watching Tristen uncertainly. "That thing sure as hell costs more than whatever you got her!"

"Hey, shut up squirt, the night's not over yet!" Tristen held onto Lana's waist, eyeing Kale with a small smirk.

"Alright enough," Ethan sighed, motioning over to the cake. "We gonna eat that thing or what?"

"He just showed up again?" Tristen raised a brow, idly running his fingers up and down Lana's arm as she rested her head against his shoulder on the couch.

Ethan nodded, glancing over to Kale who was absorbed with his latest video game.

"I barely worry about him when he doesn't come home anymore," Tristen shrugged, glancing over at him as well. "I just assume he's at your place."

Kale growled at the television, knocking a few empty glass bottles aside and repositioning himself to lie on his stomach and strain his eyes to look up at the screen.

Ethan shrugged, glancing back over at Tristen and Lana. "It's been a long night, maybe I should go," he smiled a little knowingly as Lana's hand rested gently on Tristen's chest, her eyes slowly beginning to get heavy.

Tristen hesitated, glancing over at Kale and then back to Ethan. "I meant to ask you."

Another yelp was heard from Kale as he jumped up and began holding his controller in the air and jabbing the buttons repeatedly.

Tristen lowered his voice a little, motioning to Lana with a small nod. "Yeah, I think Lana needs to get some sleep and I'm pretty tired myself. Do you think since Kale seems wide awake, you could take him with you?"

Ethan smirked, "You want to be alone with Lana tonight."

Tristen shrugged, glancing over at Kale. "He's just so hyper from the sugar."

"Yeah."

"So what do you say?" Tristen eyed Ethan hopefully, "It's her birthday."

Ethan sighed. "Yeah, sure."

Tristen grinned, "Thanks."

"You owe me one."

"Sure thing," Tristen smiled, turning to Kale. "Kale, come on, snap out of it, you're spending the night at Ethan's."

Ethan got to his feet, heading over to the stools in the kitchen for his jacket.

"Grab your toothbrush and your jacket," Tristen slid out from behind Lana, allowing her to lie back down on the couch and walking over to the front closet for Kale's jacket.

Kale continued to ignore Tristen, cursing loudly at the screen before chucking the controller across the room and getting to his feet.

Tristen sighed and tossed the jacket at Kale, nearly knocking him over. "Goodnight."

"Have fun," Kale smirked, sticking his tongue out at him as he headed to the door.

"Behave," Ethan smiled, pulling open the door and allowing Kale to walk though before following him and shutting it behind him.

"Toothbrush," Kale said simply, standing directly in front of Ethan as he turned around from the closed door.

"You've got one at my place," Ethan sighed, stepping around him. "You seemed to show up so often I made you bring one, remember?"

Kale laughed, nodding and turning, jogging over to the stairs behind Ethan. "So what're we gonna do? I'm not tired."

"I am," Ethan sighed, decending the stairs.

"But I'm not," Kale whined, pulling his jacket on and taking his dark blue gloves out of his jacket and putting them on, "That's not fair. I live there too."

"It's her birthday," Ethan shrugged. "Leave them alone."

Kale smiled, "It's your birthday soon."

Ethan sighed, "Yeah, I know."

"Twenty two," Kale taunted, shoving his gloved hands in his pockets and jogging up to him as he pushed the door open in front of him.

Ethan nodded a little, pulling his keys from his pocket and hitting the small button on one of the electronic devices and heading towards the car whose headlights flashed.

"So what do you want?" Kale asked, hurrying to the opposite side, shifting on his feet in the cold. "I don't know what to get you."

"I don't want anything," Ethan sighed, pulling the unlocked door open and slipping into the driver's seat.

"Sure you do," Kale smiled, getting into the passanger's side and staring over at Ethan. "You have to want something."

Ethan put the keys in the ignition and started the car, pulling away from the space and heading for the street. "No."

Kale watched him quietly for a moment, reaching down slowly to turn on the heat, "What's wrong?"

Ethan turned a curb a little too quickly and Kale slid forward a little, caught quickly by Ethan's arm which shot out to the side against his chest protectively.

"Thanks," Kale mumbled, sitting back and reaching for his seat belt.

Ethan drew his arm back. "Nervous habit."

Kale nodded, turning to stare out the window quietly. Within a few minutes he was drifting off to sleep.

Ethan pulled into the darkly lit garage and silenced the car. He turned in his seat to see Kale asleep with his head against the window. "Kale," he said, reaching out a lightly shaking his shoulder. "Come on, wake up."

Kale groaned and turned to Ethan, opening his eyes slowly, "What?"

"We're here," Ethan said, getting out of the car and slamming the door, watching as Kale tiredly pushed the door open and got to his feet.

Ethan walked around to Kale, pushing the door shut tightly and glanced at Kale. "You alright?"

Kale nodded, rubbing his eyes sleepily and began to follow Ethan as he started walking away. "Just tired."

Ethan turned slightly to nod before heading to the building, stepping through the open glass doors and heading directly for the elevator, pressing the button repeatedly.

Kale appeared at his side a few moments later, blinking a few times and looking more awake as the elevator doors opened.

The two stepped inside and Ethan pressed the button for the forth floor continuously as the doors shut.

Kale laughed a little as he glanced over at Ethan.

"What?" Ethan asked, raising a brow.

"I could never figure out if you don't like elevators or if you're just always in a hurry," he smiled, motioning with a hand to the controls on the wall.

Ethan thought for a moment and shrugged, "Nervous habit."

Kale smiled and shrugged as well, "I suppose."

The elevator doors parted and the two stepped out, waiting just outside Ethan's door as he reached in his pocket once again for his key.

"I don't think I've ever stayed here when I wasn't wasted," Kale laughed shortly.

"And you're proud of that?" Ethan sighed, unlocking the door and heading inside, taking his key from the lock.

Kale shrugged, closing and locking the door behind him. "Well, it's just that when we're here on Saturdays, Tristen usually drives me home."

Ethan nodded a little, heading directly for the closet in the hall to hang up his jacket.

"Want mine too?" Kale asked, taking off his jacket and handing it to Ethan, slipping off his gloves as well. "Shove these in the pocket, would you?"

Ethan did as he asked, closing the closet behind him and went into his bedroom, opening the second draw of his dresser beside the door for something to wear to bed.

"Oops," Kale bit his lower lip, appearing in the doorway.

Ethan sighed, turning to him expectantly. "What, oops?"

Kale pointed to the dresser. "I didn't bring pajamas."

Ethan raised a brow. "Can't you wear that?" he pointed to what Kale had on.

Kale eyed Ethan in disbelief. "Jeans and my mesh shirt?" he whined. "Are you kidding?"

Ethan sighed, dropping a cotton t-shirt and gray pants onto his bed for himself. "What would you like me to do about it?"

Kale shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest and glancing nonchalantly into his dresser drawer. "Got anything old in there?"

Ethan turned back to his dresser, moving aside most of the clothing and pulling out an old plain t-shirt. "How this?"

Kale smiled and took the shirt appreciatively, "Perfect, I can just wear my boxers with it."

Ethan shrugged and grabbed his clothes, heading into his bathroom just behind the door.

When Ethan was changed and emerged from the bathroom with his clothes draped over his arm for the laundry, he was greeted by Kale who stood there happily, smiling up at Ethan. The shirt he wore was three sizes too big for him and was hanging off one shoulder, but looked absolutely adorable. It covered almost all of his boxers, allowing about two inches of dark blue shorts to show.

"Yes?" Ethan asked, stopping in front of him.

Kale looked up at him, biting his bottom lip and swaying slightly on his feet. "I'm hungry."

"You just devoured half of Lana's birthday cake," he replied, raising a brow at Kale uncertainly.

Kale pouted. "So?"

Ethan sighed, unknowingly staring at Kale's exposed shoulder. The smooth skin seemed so tempting as Kale tilted his head slightly, drawing Ethan's eyes slowly up his neck.

Kale whined as he assumed Ethan was ignoring him and pulled up the shirt to cover his shoulder. "Come on, feed me!"

Ethan shook his head, breaking his gaze from Kale's soft skin and mentally scolding himself for probably making him feel uncomfortable. He turned and headed to the kitchen after dropping his clothes into a pile in the small plastic wash basket behind the bedroom door. "I'll find you something."

Kale hurried after him, not taking any notice to his oversized shirt slipping off his shoulder.

Ethan opened the fridge, sighing. "Orange juice?"

Kale giggled a little, walking around and leaning against the counter, watching Ethan, "Food, silly."

Ethan caught a glimpse of Kale's exposed shoulder again and hesitated before saying anything, "Your shoulder."

Kale glanced down at his exposed shoulder and then back to Ethan, "Yeah?"

"It's showing," Ethan shrugged a little, turning back into the fridge and pretending not to care.

Kale shrugged. "Yeah, it doesn't fit."

"Do you want something tighter?" Ethan winced slightly at the thought of Kale wearing tight clothes. He felt completely uncomfortable with Kale being there and thinking of him this way, but this was how it had been for the past month or so.

Kale shook his head, "No, this is comfy. It smells nice too."

"It smells like me," Ethan replied quickly, glancing over at Kale.

"I know," Kale smiled, watching Ethan quietly for a moment before turning and heading over to the pantry. "How about some toast?"

Ethan grabbed an extra blanket and pillow from the hall closet, carrying it over to the couch where Kale was sitting Indian style with his hands in his lap quietly.

"How's this?" Ethan asked, handing Kale the pillow and placing the blanket beside him.

Kale nodded, giving Ethan a small smile. "Thanks Ethan."

Ethan smiled a little, rubbing the back of his neck slightly, unsure of what else to do. He reached out and took the blanket again, spreading it open and laying it across the couch, draping it over Kale. "That okay?"

Kale smiled, watching Ethan quietly while remaining seated on the couch.

"What?" Ethan asked uncomfortably, shifting slightly and crossing his arms over his chest.

Kale shook his head, laughing a little. "Nothing."

Ethan sighed, turning. "Fine. Night."

"Night," Kale called after him, lying down on the couch and pulling the blanket up over him.

Kale sat up on the couch, hugging his knees quietly. He couldn't fall asleep. He had gotten used to someone sleeping in the room with him. He shared a room with Tristen when at his dorm apartment, and was usually too drunk to care when he came here to Ethan's, but was even able to persuade Ethan to stay with him then.

Kale slipped out from under the covers and got to his feet, crossing his arms over his t-shirt, silently wishing he knew where the heat was. Quietly, he made his way over to Ethan's bedroom. He peered in the open crack of the door and saw Ethan lying on his side, his arms spread gently over the pillow beside him.

Kale quietly slipped through the door and made his way gently across the wood floors to the side of the bed that Ethan faced.

"Ethan?" Kale whispered keeping his arms gently wrapped around himself.

Ethan continued to lie there motionless, his lips slightly parted and a steady breathing escaping them.

Kale leaned onto the bed, whispering closer, "Ethan?"

Ethan licked his lips and took a deep breath, but made no attempt to move or wake up.

"Can I sleep in here?" Kale asked, shifting a little and biting his lower lip again. "It's cold and lonely out there."

Ethan, unable to hear anything in his deep sleep, simply retracted his arms from the pillow beside him and rolled over to face the opposite direction, leaving the space beside him unoccupied.

Kale smiled a little and lifted the edge of the blankets, slipping under them beside Ethan. He snuggled against Ethan's back, tucking his head down and rubbing his cold nose against Ethan's back gently.

Ethan rolled over at the feeling, draping his arm over Kale, assuming nothing more than draping his arm over a pillow.

Kale smiled and tucked his head under Ethan's chin easily, letting his hands rest between them.

Ethan's alarm sounded beside them, causing Kale to groan slightly in annoyance.

The two hadn't moved much throughout the night, other than Kale's leg tucked gently between Ethan's.

Ethan's arm lifted off of Kale and he blindly hit the alarm clock beside the bed before returning his arm to lie over Kale.

Kale sighed contently, nuzzling against Ethan's chest with a small smile.

Ethan's arm drew Kale closer to him, lowering his head slightly to Kale's head, resting his cheek against his soft blonde hair.

"Morning," Kale mumbled, unable to drift back into his pleasant sleep disturbed by Ethan's alarm clock.

Ethan grunted a little, slowly coming out of sleep and let his eyes open slowly. It took him about a minute to realize who was in his bed and who he was holding so close to him.

"What the fuck?!" Ethan exclaimed, sitting up and away from Kale.

Kale shot up in bed quickly. He had never seen Ethan act startled or surprised before. He barely ever cursed and was taken seriously for it. Ethan was always calm, collected, and organized. Now he seemed as if he was going to explode from uncertainty.

"I-I was cold-" Kale tried to quickly say something that would get Ethan to calm down.

Ethan shook his head repeatedly, glancing around the room for lack of anything else to focus on.

"Ethan, I'm sorry, I was lonely out there and I'm used to Tristen always being there and I usually sleep in your bed when I'm drunk, I didn't think you'd mind-"

Ethan continued to glance around the room, total uneasiness setting in.

Kale winced, watching Ethan uncertainly. "Are you mad?"

Ethan turned and stared at Kale with raised brows.

Kale bit his lower lip and drew his knees up to his chest, hugging them silently. He noticed that Ethan wasn't yelling or glaring at him, but since Kale couldn't decipher what Ethan was thinking, it was scaring him. "Eth'?"

Ethan shook his head, breaking his stare from Kale and slowly bringing a hand up to his head, sighing loudly.

Kale hesitated, wanting to ask Ethan what was wrong, but he was afraid Ethan would snap at him.

Ethan took a minute to sort through his emotions before sighing again and looking up and over at Kale, seeing the watery stare he was receiving. Kale was scared of him. Ethan reached out for Kale's hand, giving him a small apologetic smile.

Kale eyed his hand cautiously, sniffing slightly.

"Come here," Ethan sighed, regaining his composure.

Kale crawled across the bed to sit beside Ethan, staring up at him innocently and slightly teary eyed.

Ethan picked up the stretched out neck of the t-shirt Kale wore and covered his shoulder again, as he noticed it had become uncovered and he had mentioned he was cold before. "I'm sorry," he said simply, staring at his hand on Kale's shoulder.

Kale shrugged a little with the opposite shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come in here. It's your room."

Ethan opened his arms and sighed, smiling warmly when Kale quickly fell into them and sniffed a few times, closing his eyes against Ethan's chest. "I'm sorry."

Ethan shook his head a little, placing his hand on the back of Kale's neck and held him there gently. "I didn't mean to get upset."

Kale gently grasped Ethan's shirt in his fist, "I won't do it again."

"It's fine. I overreacted," Ethan said simply.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't."

"Then why's your heart beating so fast?" Kale asked, leaving his head resting against Ethan's chest.

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So let me know what you think. Drop me a review sometime. ^^;