Chapter Text
He was sitting in his room with Max's skateboard and sweatshirt. He placed the item by his bed where he lay down.
The man's scent spread throughout the room at that moment.
That damn sweatshirt..
Bradley hid his nose in the hood, inhaling the scent. It wasn't beautiful, but rather natural. It smelled like a boy in daily basic. Because of that he could imagine the younger one next to him.
And the warmth that Goof always surrounded his room with when he was in it.
He would lie next to taller one, looking at him with those big dog eyes that looked like chocolate cookies. Maybe he would run his hand over his like he did when they danced. Making him shiver again. Maybe he would bury his face in his neck, inhaling the expensive perfume so delicately yet so passionately, like he couldn't tear himself away from him. Making his skin tingle.
None of that happened, even though Brad could have sworn he felt the touch he had imagined..
I miss him.
He knew he was doing wrong, that these thoughts would make the situation worse. He knew that if Roxanne reciprocated Max's feelings.. He wouldn't be looked after. As if his help never counted.
Lying and thinking, cuddled in the material of the zipped sweatshirt, Uppercrust occasionally scratched his face, which was rash from an allergy to the cold.
Good thing I'm not allergic to fucking warm shit..
He thought closing his eyes wrapped in Goof's scent.
︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
Freshman was still at the skatepark with Roxanne. Conversation wasn't that difficult when they were doing what they loved. She sometimes lent him a skateboard from her friends, still amused by the fact that Uppercrust III ran away with his.
"What ran away anyway?"
Goof stopped when he heard that, looking at the girl on roller skates. He wasn't sure himself. He couldn't say why Brad did that.. Nor did he know what to feel about it.
"I have no idea, but I should probably check on him later." He admitted, combing his sweaty black hair and then approaching the girl.
At that moment he became stiffer, stressed. He didn't know how to behave.
"Shall we take a picture for a keepsake?" She asked, taking out her phone and glancing at the man. She could see his uncertainty and withdrawal perfectly well. Or maybe it was just discomfort?
She tried to make Max feel better with this gesture. Although it was also visible in the picture how tense he was. Even Bradley himself, going to the notification of her post, noticed that his smile was awkward.
The picture seemed blurry to him, but it was possible that it was because of the way his tears were forming in his eyes.
He twisted his face at the irritating feeling of tears running down his rash-covered cheeks.
She's pretty..
He thought, looking at Roxanne in the picture he saw his own face superimposed in the reflection. He wasn't like her. Maybe his silence was just as audible, but colder.
He clenched his hands around the phone, lowering his face, feeling his tears making him feel suffocated. He shouldn't have. But he got attached and with every gesture the black-haired man made, he was pulled like a puppet.
It was a trap, Bradley knew it, but he couldn't help but go down that path, even though the only thing waiting for him there was uncertainty about how long he would last, how long he would be needed. He didn't want to back out for some reason, even though he knew full well it would destroy him.
He tried to shake it off. As always, pretend he was strong or more.. Pretend that's nothing then with loud, tired sigh turned on the camera on his phone to look at himself in it like in a mirror.
"I'm running away from her because if she falls in love, I don't know if it's with me or not with thought of me. I don't want to disappoint her with myself. I'm not perfect. I've hoped many times that I could be you." He whispered, pulling the drunk Bradley's head closer to him. He put his lips to it, hiding them in the brown hair on the other side, playing with them in his fingers.
"Admired.. Not because of how much of an asshole you could be. But how.. With that face untainted by emotions, you've done everything. You were able to lock it up. That's what makes people often think that everything is going well for you."
Goof stopped for a moment, looking at the taxi driver and in the mirror he also saw the face of the older one, to whom his attention returned. "You wouldn't make a fool of yourself in front of a girl, but I don't know why.. Why do you seem unable to hide in front of me?"
Why do you seem unable to hide in front of me?
He is still haunted by the words of Max, who helped him get back from the prom. He was not sleeping at the moment and these words made it difficult for him to sleep at times.
He wiped the tears from his face. He took a picture in a square frame to avoid seeing his own face. And he wanted to focus on the sweatshirt from the guy. It was probably the only time he had something from someone.
For long he hadn't have someone like him, he wanted to cherish it, no matter how long.