Chapter Text
Chase had just wanted a vacation. A little holiday. A break from Deacon and Prunella and Grandpa and even Silver’s pitying stares.
It wasn’t “escapism”, as Deacon had accused, voice condescending yet still sympathetic in the way it often was. That was a stupid word that Chase hadn’t actually heard before and also did not apply to him in the slightest.
He wasn’t trying to escape his mother’s decline. He knew it would happen—was happening—and he knew that she wouldn’t be able to stay in Sugar Springs forever, no matter how many of Deacon’s parents were doctors (it was just one, unfortunately, but it wouldn’t have made a difference). So she was moved to a hospital. A hospital that was almost an hour away, and Chase hated it.
But that didn’t mean he was escaping from it.
He just needed a break. Not for long; it would barely even be one night in the real world.
And if Buddy happened to show up because he thought Chase was doing a normal book, then so be it. The last vacation they’d had together on the beach was… fun. Despite it all.
This one would be better.
Not that he was planning for Buddy to come.
The night before he planned to leave, he convinced Silver that he needed this. Without any of the others.
And whoever said pity didn’t do anything good for him? She looked at him with her wide eyes, sparkling pink pupils big and round. Her face screamed “poor Chase,” and he would probably feel a lot more uncomfortable if it were anyone but Silver. She would give that sorrowful look to a pencil that had teeth marks from Chase chewing it. He didn’t feel particularly singled out or pathetic because of it.
“Okay, Chase. Just… If you feel lonely, please come back right away.” Silver always seemed to have a hard time refusing Chase. He was the same with her. One pleading look from those eyes and he was done.
I won’t be lonely. Buddy will be there.
“I will,” he said instead.
Silver gave a short nod.
“So, where do you plan to go, Chase?” Her eyes sparkled with curiosity. And also sparkles.
“Hmmng, that’s what I need help with,” he said. Then, he rolled under his bed and slid out a pile of books.
He and Silver were sitting on the floor of his room, the others sound asleep above them. He pushed the books over to Silver, pages splayed out, some laying haphazardly on top of each other and others with wrinkled pages.
He hoped this wasn’t, like, offensive to Silver. He wasn’t exactly the best at taking care of books. In his defence, most books were boring and also he couldn’t be the greatest at everything ever all the time. He had to have some flaws.
“So!” Chase began, plopping himself on his stomach next to where Silver sat, his head propped on his hands. “These are my options.”
“I-” Silver looked a little overwhelmed. “Chase, this is… A lot of options.”
Chase considered this. There were at least 15 books in his Hidden Vacation Shortlist Book Stash.
He groaned. “Yeah, but I didn’t wanna actually read anything more about them because reading is so boring and I can’t pay attention to the words so I just read the same bit over and over and uggghhhh!” He let his head flop down for dramatic effect.
Silver patted his arm with a tiny, metal, reassuring hand. “It will be okay, Chase,” she said, nodding solemnly, as though he had just told her that his heart had been broken by a beautiful green-haired pizza guy who would never love 15-year-old Chase because he was a majestic being tasked with delivering God’s gift to mankind. Or you know, something like that.
“How about this one?” Silver’s high-pitched, tin-like—ha!—voice cut through his totally hypothetical estimation of what her reaction could remind one of.
She stood on top of a page of one of the books towards the centre of the pile. It was a thin, red book. “It looks like it has a couple different cabins in a forest! That could be nice.” She continued scanning the book, before her eyes caught on something, and she gave a tiny grimace. “Oh- Never mind.”
“Huh?” Chase leaned forward, squinting at the book. Silver’s eyes had clearly caught on the title in small print at the top of the page. “Yikes, The Three Little Pigs is not where I wanna be. Really makes you wonder why I put this in the pile.”
“Yes, one would not like their vacation to be interrupted by huffing and puffing. Worst of all, their house blowing down!”
Chase laughed, nodding.
So that one was a no.
“Oh, here! Cottage in the mountains! Beautiful lake nearby! This looks perfect, Chase!”
“No big bad wolves involved?”
“Not even one.”
---
The next night, around 10pm, Chase stopped scrolling on his phone. He pulled himself out of bed, tiptoeing to the middle of the room. The hatch to the tower room creaked gently as he opened it a smidge—just enough for Silver to slide out onto his hand.
“Ready for your adventure?”
“Relaxing vacation,” Chase corrected.
“You relaxing does seem adventure enough to me.”
Chase blinked. “Was that a diss?”
“I do not know what you, or that word, could mean.” But her eyes twinkled, betraying her.
Chase snorted. “Alright, Sil, let’s go.”
She smiled, nodding, before abruptly transforming into a stiff key with a soft pop.
Then he stuck his friend into the pages of the book.
---
Silver was right about the book selection. It was breathtaking. And, the book was supposed to have a particularly slow start—basically just contemplation and pages and pages of what Chase deemed to be useless descriptions.
But for once he was actually grateful for this, because it meant that he didn’t have to talk to any lame princes or whatever other losers would be around for a good couple of days.
Really, the book was slow at the start because it was mostly exploring the relationship between the two main characters—Chase’s character, Liana, and her best friend Alexa. But Deacon wasn’t going to be in this book, so Alexa would just be some NPC and Chase could just ignore her. Surely.
Buddy, he figured—and by that, he means Silver figured—would be one of the later characters. Some music lady who was evil. He was a little bummed he wouldn’t get to see him sooner, but maybe Buddy would come seek him out. Wouldn’t be the first time.
What Chase failed to realise, was that the best friends lived with each other, not just next to each other. Which he had discovered when noticing the singular cottage in the mountains, and then, when he was inside, the singular bedroom with the singular double bed. Huh.
Girl best friends were really hardcore, huh.
Chase shrugged and wondered how he could get out of sharing a bed with a complete stranger on what was supposed to be his vacation.
Then he heard the front door slam open, followed by a second, louder slam as it rebounded off the adjacent wall.
Then he heard nothing because he’d just shat himself so severely he literally met God.
---
“Not that I’m complaining, but… why was I able to access this character? Has Freckles met with some sort of tragic fate? About time, if you ask me.”
“Buddy!”
“Very astute observation.”
“It’s just me this time. I’m on a vacation.”
Buddy raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Cuz. Didn’t wanna have to deal with people for a little.”
Buddy’s eyebrow raised impossibly higher. “I thought you loved people?”
“Ugh, yeah, sometimes, but also sometimes I want them to stop looking at me and leave me alone.”
His eyebrow dropped. Finally. Dude was gonna invent eyebrow cramps if he kept this up. “Do you want me to go? If you need alone time that’s okay.”
“Nonono!” Chase scrambled. “You don’t count.”
“I can’t decide if that’s a compliment or an insult.”
“Good.” Chase grinned.
Buddy rolled his eyes.
“Wait. How did you get to be the best friend? Does she think something evil once in her life and is therefore awful forever?”
“Something like that. Towards the end of the story, she finds herself suffering from… a little jealousy.”
“Hmm.” Chase considered picking up his rant about how that shouldn’t make someone a villain, but decided against it when he saw Buddy’s exasperated look. He was basically pleading Chase to shut up with his eyes. Instead, he asked, “What’s she got to be jealous of?”
Buddy waved a hand vaguely, disinterest colouring his voice. “One of the princes, later.” As though that was explanation enough.
“But why? Her and Liana are best friends anyway. They’re so close they literally share a bed,” he gestured behind him, “What could some dumb prince even do to beat that kind of friendship?”
“Chase.” Buddy was staring at him, a vaguely horrified look in his eyes. He got that look a lot around Chase. “You idiot.”
“You always say that. Get a new insult, loser.”
Buddy ignored him. “Seriously Chase, how…? Aren’t you…?” He trailed off, suddenly awkward. “I mean- You- I thought… you know. And we- um.” He stared at Chase helplessly.
“Are you having a stroke right now?”
“No! I just- Hnngggh!” Buddy groaned, burying his face in his hands, clearly embarrassed by whatever he was going to say next.
Chase had literally no clue what was going on.
“Well.” Buddy had gained a little of his composure, no longer stuttering. His hands still covered his face, though. “We kissed. So. I assumed…”
Chase could almost feel gears trying to turn in his own head. Goddamn he needed some oil up there.
“OH!” Chase’s voice came out in a shout when he realised. Buddy jumped at the sudden volume. “THEY’RE LESBIANS!!!” Chase paused for a moment, considering. “Oh man, I really am stupid.”
Buddy hummed in agreement.
“Dude shut it. That was literally the weirdest possible way to explain that to me.”
“Wasn’t explaining it.”
“Okay, then the weirdest possible way to ask, ‘Chase, how did you forget lesbians exist when you are literally gay?’”
Buddy flushed. “I wasn’t sure! And also,” he added, as an afterthought, “I do not sound like that.”
Chase stared at him and his flushed, frowning expression and burst out laughing. “Buddyyyyy, how did I not-” His sentence cut off with a fit of giggles, “I-I was like ‘oh they must be such close friends!’”
Buddy was now laughing, too. Chase watched him, gasping and unable to stop his own giggles. Buddy’s laugh was so damn contagious, and Chase could figure his had the same effect, because they always kept setting each other off long after anything was funny.
Every time Buddy’s laugh would be interrupted by a snort, he would flush, covering his mouth, eyes widening slightly, before he would see Chase still laughing, and be unable to stop himself from continuing.
And Chase was normal about this observation of course. As he was normal about Buddy having a laugh that almost sounded musical to Chase, even if it was a little more like a dying cat learning what music is by walking across a piano and jumping up, fluffy-tailed at the unexpected noises.
Chase was also normal about how as his giggles started to slow and his breathing began evening out, Buddy pushed his hair back off his face and sighed, meeting Chase’s eyes with a smile on his face. Not fair.
Because Chase had always been normal about everything ever. Famously.
Buddy cleared his throat. “So. What are your plans for this… ‘vacation’?” He punctuated the word with air quotes.
“Just chillin’.”
Buddy blinked. “What.”
“Y’know. Chillin’ inside, chillin’ outside. Ooh! We should have a campfire!”
“I… do not trust you around fire.”
Chase nodded. “Good call. One time Deacon had to physically restrain me because I kept setting my marshmallows on fire and running around with them, still flaming.”
Buddy sighed, dragging his palm over his face.
“Which wasn’t a problem, really, until I set my hair on fire and everyone panicked, and by the way, burnt hair smells really bad.”
“I’ll… keep that in mind.”
Chase nodded. “But!” He announced, “We should totally have a campfire, I’ll behave!”
“I will not risk you singeing my hair.”
Chase rolled his eyes. “Always the hair with you.” He reached up, towards Buddy’s face. Buddy froze.
Chase ran his hands through Buddy’s hair, gently pushing it back and holding it there. “See, you’d totally still look hot even if you were bald. Well.” Chase scrunched up his face, trying to picture it. “Actually, we should not have a campfire. Too much to lose.”
Buddy was looking down at Chase softly. “You are an idiot.”
“At least I’m not a bald idiot.”
“I?? Am not bald??”
“Wow, we have so much in common,” Chase fluttered his lashes flirtatiously.
“There is something deeply wrong with you.”
“Again, we have so much in common.”
Buddy let out a frustrated sigh. Chase could feel the movement with his hands still in Buddy’s hair. Which, he realised, he should absolutely have let go of.
But Buddy hadn’t pulled away.
“Chase…”
His voice had dropped, and it was soft, and it made Chase’s stomach do some weird dance moves.
“Mhm?” He looked up at Buddy, and held his gentle gaze.
“Permission to have my hair back?”
“Mmmn, no, it’s mine now.” He started running his hands through Buddy’s hair with gentle strokes, his nails softly scratching his head.
He heard Buddy’s breath shake on his next exhale.
Then, much to Buddy’s surprise, Chase pulled his head down to place a kiss on top of his now messy black hair.
To his satisfaction, when he pulled away, Buddy was pink all the way to his ears. Chase grinned.
“First order of business for mission ‘chillin’’!” He declared, ignoring how Buddy was still clearly buffering. “We need snacks!”
That got Buddy’s attention.