Chapter 10: A Minor Road Block

Colby peeked out his window with what little strength he had left to see if he could see Lace—who had torn out of the house like he had seen a ghost or something. When Colby saw Lace, pinned against a fence just in the corner of Colby’s seeing range, by a certain multi-colored haired boy named Travis, Colby almostexploded into a puddle of shock. Before he could splutter out a “what-the-no!”, he abruptly stopped himself from panicking and stopped to wonder why he was getting so worked up.

After all, Travis was bisexual, and he knew Lace was gay, so. . . it all made sense. They were allowed to do what they were doing.

Colby tried to step away from the windowsill, but he found himself jolted back towards it. Confused, he looked down to see that his hands were gripping the sill so tightly that his knuckles had gone a pale white. He forced himself to let go and flexed his fingers absently before stepping away from the window with one last look at the two boys below who were currently engaged in a rather heated situation.

Colby sat on his bed and tried to focus on something positive, like cookies or getting well. His fingers played with the sheets for awhile and his teeth played with his lips—he couldn’t stop thinking about Lace and Travis and their. . . activities. Why? Why did he care?

He still had to apologize to Lace about such a confrontation. He wasn’t mad—just slightly hurt that Lace hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him such a secret. What a horrible thing to keep to oneself. Colby bit his lip; he felt slightly guilty. There had to have been a reason Lace was hesitant to tell him. . . had he been acting distant? Cold? Not very understanding?

Colby tried not to peek out his window, but he found himself looking, once again. Something stabbed him, deep inside, something cold and painful and unwelcome.

For reasons he did not know, Colby was fighting to hold back tears.

---

“So you got suspended?” Travis murmured distractedly against Lace’s lips—those lips he had longed to taste again ever since that night at Ashley’s. Lace had such. . . addicting lips, and Travis had to say, he immensely enjoyed kissing the younger boy.

Lace pulled back, as far as he could, considering the fact that he was pressed against a fence and couldn’t quite escape. His answer was a nod, and then he uttered a soft, “My mom’s gonna butcher me.”

Travis laughed his husky, throaty laugh and leaned down to run his tongue sensationally along Lace’s lower lip. “You don’t have to go home, Lace.”

Lace wasn’t sure—but had he just whimpered? He tried to stifle the automatic grunts of want that slipped up his throat. He found his hands gripping Travis’s shirt, balling the fabric up between his hands, before he flicked his own tongue out to meet Travis’s. “What do you mean?” he breathed out.

Travis grinned against Colby’s lips and whispered, “Come to my place.”

“Ashley—”

“—isn’t home,” Travis’s grinned widened. He pulled away from the younger boy and his grin died into a self-asserted smirk. “You can stay the night.”

If Travis was hinting at something, Lace tried to ignore it, although it seemed slightly far-fetched that Travis’s intentions were going to be innocent. He unconsciously shifted closer to Travis, wanting to bathe in another’s warmth. His gaze fell on the lip ring that contrasted against lovely pale lips. He wanted to suck on it—and so he did.

Travis purr was enough to make Lace feel bolder. He placed his hands on Travis’s shoulders and pulled the older boy closer. Travis’s hands roamed up Lace’s sides, underneath his shirt, making Lace wriggle against him.

“You have to. . . have to. . .” Lace tried to remember what the hell he was trying to say, but his mind was becoming a blur.

“What do I have to do?” Travis hissed softly, clearly enjoying how Lace’s hands slipped through his spiked hair almost frantically. Obviously, the boy hadn’t gotten much action lately. Travis couldn’t help but snicker at the thought, and Lace pulled back with a frown.

“What?”

Travis cocked his head mockingly. “I’m ticklish?”

Lace rolled his eyes and pushed Travis’s hands off of him. “You have to go to school tomorrow, don’t you?”

Travis shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “No, not necessarily.”

“Why not?”

“I can skip.”

Lace shook his head. “No, you can’t.”

Travis moved around Lace and casually leaned against the fence with a half-smile. “We’ll see.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You won’t want me to leave, trust me.”

Lace slowly lifted an eyebrow suspiciously. “You’re planning on molesting me, aren’t you?”

“Clever,” Travis murmured sarcastically. He grabbed Lace’s wrist and pulled him closer. “Be a rebel, Lace. Don’t go home for those three days that you’re suspended. When you get home, won’t your parents be utterly furious?” He paused to grin ruefully.

Lace frowned slightly. “They’re already pissed about the suspension in general. . . why would I add to their anger by not going home for three days?”

Travis laughed again—Lace stopped to listen—and leaned down to lick Lace’s earlobe. “It’ll be fun.”

“Fun? What’s so fun about getting yelled at?”

“The thrill, perhaps,” Travis purred in the brunet’s ear. “Knowing you’re disobeying. . .”

“I’m sure Ashley will be home at least once during those three days. . .”

“I’ll hide you in my closet, or under the bed. . . or under me, in the bed.”

Lace flashed the older boy a dim look, then cast a wary glance around the street, hoping no one saw him making out with another boy.

---

Lace stepped in the porch with Travis especially close behind him. Every once in awhile, Lace would feel Travis’s hand brush against him, no doubt, purposely.

Lace felt oddly uncomfortable, yet, at the same time, perfectly comfortable.

He knew it was weird and frowned upon, yet he knew it felt wonderful and his world was spinning in all directions. As he stepped in the living room, he felt Travis’s hand intertwine with him. The rings that were wound around Travis’s finger’s were cold against Lace’s own fingers, yet Lace didn’t quite care too much.

“Everyone’s out,” Travis informed Lace, then went to lounge on the couch with a self-satisfied smirkthat sent Lace suspicious.

“So then, where is everyone?” Lace asked, trying not to sound wary, although he was. But why, he wasn’t too sure. Travis leaned back on the couch, pose lazy and relaxed, and beckoned the brunet towards him.

“Let’s have some fun,” he suggested with a feral smile.

Lace shifted. “I’m kind of tired.”

Travis arched his eyebrows as his smile slipped into a grin. “Let’s go to sleep.” When Lace made no reply, Travis ran a hand through his spiked hair and cocked his head. “Ash is at a friends. Her mom’s gone all week—business shit.”

Lace offered a slight nod and awkwardly sat down beside the older boy. Although every touch that Travis braced on him sent him into delightful shivers, Lace just couldn’t quite be entirely comfortable. Travis was four years older than him, and they hardly knew each other. . . so why was Travis so. . . blunt?

Travis fished through his pockets before uttering a satisfied grunt when he found his pack of cigarettes. He took one out, lit it, then inhaled deeply. When he saw that Lace was watching him, he smirked slightly and asked, “Want one?”

Lace shook his head. “I don’t smoke.”

“Don’t see how you can’t,” Travis nonchalantly commented after taking another drag. “Calms me the fuck down.”

Lace wasn’t sure if Travis had meant that in a perverted way or not. He never knew with Travis; the older boy seemed to have his own language.

By the time Travis finished his smoke, Lace had grown more and more uncomfortable with the idea of staying with Travis for three days. True, he didn’t want to go home, but he also wanted to get everything over with. He leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes, suddenly tired. His lip stung slightly; the damned cut that Rad had given him. . .

Rad. What the hell was up with that kid?

Before Lace could think anymore, he felt Travis’s hand rest on his leg. He peeked one eye open and watched as Travis gave him a soft kiss on the side of his neck.

“You look tired,” Travis offered, then stood up. He held out his hand. “Come on, you can sleep in Ash’s room.”

Lace nodded and took Travis’s hand. As soon as Lace was on his feet, Travis ran his tongue along the younger boy’s neck, and Lace couldn’t help but shiver at the contact. He felt Travis’s tongue ring against his flesh and wondered what it’d feel like to suck on that ring, and that tongue, and—

Lace closed his eyes. He really needed to stop these thoughts before he went insane.

---

A/N:

Hearts to:

myepiphany
UPMBT
Esquirella
Ryoko3600
Tom
G. Lizz
sicksteen
Keiko Yuki
Essence of Reality
Ishy
fearo17
Hitori-Hoshi
who cares
of-all-the-stupid-things
PiKaNaNoDa

who cares: yep, Serenity is a one-shot, and nah, it’s not slash.