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Too much was happening too fast.
David was kicked out. By his own father. He never imagined it to end up like this. Maybe wait until he was college and become more distant from him. He loved his father, but he was…opinionated.
David and Ronald were talking on the phone that afternoon, and David mentioned a few things about himself a tad bit too loudly. And his father heard him.
He could’ve crashed at someone’s place. There was his Brenda, but he didn’t feel like explaining why he was kicked out of his home. They would probably call his father and he would be exposed. There was Ronald, although he wasn’t sure how that would go considering he’s never met his host family. Plus, Jackson was there and staying over at his house was probably the opposite of giving him some space. There was Pamela, but he wasn’t sure if they were close enough to let himself spend the night at her place. And then there was Exer. Problem with that was that he wasn’t about to go to his crush’s home after this mess. His crush on Exer was the reason he had no roof over his head.
Not that it was Exer’s fault, but David didn’t have it in him to face his best friend.
Which is why David ran to the only private place he could think of. Sure, maybe going back to the place where he found out about his Exer’s magic wasn’t the best idea, but it was secluded and away from everyone.
So there he was, in the middle of the woods leaning up against a rock, gazing up at the stars. He always forgets about how beautiful the night sky was. It was then David was grateful for the astrology class he was forced to take. Identifying the constellations was a good distraction from his current situation.
Both the Big Dipper and Little Dipper. The North Star. Arcturus. Maybe a kitty if he looked hard enough.
“David?”
Shiiitt.
David was reluctant to turn around. He knew exactly who would be standing there. So he didn’t. He kept his eyes up at the stars, looking for anything he could make up. Anything but whatever was about to unfold.
He expected Exer to leave maybe. Keep calling to David. Something.
What he didn’t expect was for Exer to silently sit next to him and rest his head on David’s shoulder.
Was he turning red? Probably. David wasn’t sure whether he was thankful for the silence or dreaded it. It let him stay quiet, but it also allowed his thoughts to go haywire.
So they stayed there. Looking up at the sky together. Just two completely platonic besties. Totally.
Exer started laughing out of nowhere, “That looks like a cat.” He pointed towards the sky, gesturing to the same cluster of stars David was putting together earlier.
“Heh, that’s what I thought.” David smiled at the thought of them being so in sync. “What are you doing out here?”
“Well, this is my thinking spot.”
“O-oh,” David’s ears got hot, “right. I forgot.”
“What about you, hm?” He could feel Exer’s eyes on him, “What are you doing here?”
Whelp. Time to face the music.
“Here’s the thing,” David chuckled awkwardly, “I may or may not have gotten kicked out.”
“I’m sorry, what?” Exer straightened up, obviously confused.
“Yeah, so now I’m here.”
Exer grasped David By the shoulders, “Are you okay?”
“Welllll…” Damn, how was he going to explain this one? “I wanted to be alone for a while. Ya know, process things.”
God, he hated the way Exer was looking at him. And he hated the way Exer’s voice sounded, “But why didn’t you come to me ?”
“I wasn’t sure how you would react,” David scratched the back of his neck, anxiety washing over him, “I didn’t wanna bother you and Mr. Harry.”
“You could never be a bother.” The answer was immediate, so sincere it almost made David’s heart melt. “What happened?”
Here it was. The moment Exer left him. David was barely audible, but it was loud enough for Exer to hear, “My dad find out that I have a crush…on a boy.”
A long moment of silence washed over them. David pulled his knees into his chest, trying to make himself as small as possible. He knew it was gonna come out eventually, but all he wanted to do was let the night sky envelop him. He kept his eyes at the stars, trying to control the thoughts going on.
“If I’m being honest,” Exer said, “I’ve been having similar emotions.”
David’s mind came to a screeching halt. Not the response he was expecting, but much better than he anticipated. All he could do was smile at that point, a laugh of relief escaping him and his eyes becoming watery, “Well then. I guess we’ll figure this out together.”
Exer tackled David, squeezing each other tight.
They stayed there in each other’s embrace for some hours. Looking up at the stars and making up more random figures.
X
Exer did eventually get David to come back with him to his place. They had to make up a believable excuse to why David was all of a sudden staying with them for a few days.
But they managed.
They settled in Exer’s room, David having a cozy makeshift bed on the floor with lots of pillows and blankets. It was almost midnight and he hadn’t gotten a blink of sleep.
“Why are you still awake?” David jolted from where he was. Lucy-Furr jumped off of Exer’s bed and settled next to him. Exer rolled over and peered at David.
“I could say the same thing to you.”
They just looked at each other, the quiet room not feeling awkward in the slightest. Exer laid right at the edge of the bed, dropping his hand and offering it to David. It took him a moment to process what was happening, but he did eventually take it.
Exer’s eyes looked soft, expression fond, “Night, Day.”
“Night, Ex.”
When David shut his eyes, all he could see was the night sky and bright stars behind his eyelids.