13K READS OMG YOU ALL ARE TOO NICE. Also, would you like to see some new books from me?

-----------------

Evan decided to head home with Craig, making for a very tense and silent walk.

Once they got home, Evan walked up the first few steps before pausing. He turned over to Craig, his stern look leaving for a few seconds.

"Just so you know, I don't completely hate you, dude. It just, might take a while to forgive you."

"Wait, really? You don't hate me?" Craig asked in shock, a feeling of joy beginning to seep through him.

"Not completely. I mean, I'm still mad about what you did, but not enough to completely hate you for it." Evan continued to walk up the stairs, reaching the top as Craig called up to him.

"Hey Ev? Can I ask you something?" Craig was nervous, maybe now wasn't the right time to ask him this question.

"You just did, but I guess I'll grant you another one." Evan joked, giving Craig a small half smile.

Craig, who was now nervously smiling back, spoke. "So, you and Jonathan, are you two, like, a thing? Please don't hit me!" He said quickly, shielding his face with his arms in defense.

Evan laughed at Craig cowering at the bottom of the stairs. "I'm not gonna hit you, dude. And to answer your question, yes, we are a thing, but don't tell anyone yet, okay? He doesn't want anyone to know just yet. Now fuck off, I'd like to sleep in my room without having you breathing down my neck." Just like that, Evan was back to having his usual edge as he spoke with Craig, who let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank god." He said to himself as he proceeded to the kitchen to scavenge for food.

--------

Evan fell onto his bed, breathing in the familiarity of his bedroom as his body hit the bedspread. "Feels good to be home." He said happily, staring at the ceiling with a grin.

After a few peaceful moments of him laying there, his phone buzzed beside him.

Sitting up, he grabbed his phone and unlocked it, noticing he had a new message.

Jonathan: Hey, everything alright?

Evan: Yeah, everything's cool

Jonathan: what about things with Craig, is it still awkward?

Evan: Nah, we chill

Jonathan: Really? After everything that happened, you two are chill???

Evan: Pretty much, I mean, he'll owe me big time, but other than that it's cool

Jonathan: That is so weird

Evan: What do you mean? That's always what we do after bad arguments

Jonathan: You just stay mad for a few weeks then go back to being best friends? I've never even heard about that. It's ridiculous

Evan: Well, then how would you handle this?

Jonathan: I'd stay mad at him until he proves how sorry he is, that's how all my friendships work

Evan: yeah, that's how you do it though, but, Craig was like my only friend for years, so I just got used to our system.

Jonathan: Evan, I'm sorry, but that's not a healthy system, because then he'll just think he can do whatever he wants and you'll forgive him no matter what, even if it's after three weeks

Evan: I know you care about me, but I'm fine, okay? I promise, this system works, it's always worked, and when it doesn't work, I'll try your way, okay?

Jonathan: Alright, but I'm telling you now, it's going to come back and bite you in the ass

Evan sighed, placing his phone onto the night stand as he laid back once more, this time closing his eyes and letting himself drift off into a dreamless sleep.

----------------

"The others wouldn't have done this, but of course it has to happen to us! Us! The mission was to get rid of them as soon as possible and this happens! That is just perfect, isn't it?" The man snarled, his arms crossed and his lips pursed into a tight frown, his eyebrows were furrowed closely together, creating a small wrinkle between them.

Together him and his friend watched as their car was being towed, where it would be led to a repair shop since more was wrong with it than they thought. Which meant that they would staying in town for a while, much longer than they had hoped.

"Look, okay? You need to calm down, it's not like anything is going to happen back home, nothing ever does. So quit worrying, we'll be fine, we have money and we know where they are."

"Yeah, I know that, but I wanted to get this over quickly, not have to wait for this damn car to be fixed!"

"Well, we're gonna have to wait for it to be fixed, so deal with it."

--------------------

"Craig! I'm going out! Be back later!" Evan called up the stairs as he grabbed his bag from the floor, doubling checking his phone was in his pocket.

"Alright, have fun!" Craig called to him, biting his tongue to prevent asking where. He was trying to not get into his friend's business so much.

Evan: You ready?

Jonathan: If you mean do I have the stuff you wanted me to get, then yes. But I still have no idea where we're going.

Evan: no place formal, just be yourself

----------

Evan knocked on Jonathan's door twice before standing back to wait for someone. Out of habit, he grabbed his arm, only to remember that he had injured it and it still stung with enough pressure, he didn't have to wear the brace anymore, but he did have to be careful.

Finally, the door opened to reveal Jonathan, with his usual blue jeans, T-shirt, and blue hoodie. Evan smiled at him. "Ready to go?" He asked, holding out his hand.

"Yeah, let me just tell my mom I'm leaving." Jonathan said, turning around to call into the house. "Mom! Evan's here! I'll be back later, don't worry I'll be safe."

"Alright sweetie, have fun!" Evan could hear Jonathan's mom call back from wherever she was.

Turning back around, Jonathan closed the door behind him as he joined Evan, pecking him on the cheek as they started walking.

"So, I'm guessing you're parents know?" Evan said, staring at the ground.

"Well, my mom sort've, guessed, you know? Like after you left, she told me that you were a 'keeper' and I was confused and she just said that she knew. Mom sense I guess." Jonathan said, holding Evan's hand.

"What's mom sense?" Evan asked, pulling his gaze up from the floor.

"Well, it's like this thing moms have, and it's they just know things about their children, like some sixth sense or something." Jonathan said, looking around to get some clue of where they were going. "So, where are we going?"

Evan looked around, checking to see if they were far away enough so that his boyfriend couldn't dip out. "We're going to explore an abandoned building."

"What? Ev, I didn't sign up for this! Is that why you wanted me to bring snacks? Oh my god, you want to stay there overnight?!" Jonathan said, excitement and fear rushing through him.

"Relax, I'll protect you. And you technically did sign up for it, I mean, you're dating me, right?" Evan said, wrapping an arm around Jonathan.

Jonathan pulled Evan into a kiss, stopping them for a few seconds. Once they pulled away, Jonathan grinned and jokingly said. "Eh, I guess dating you isn't all bad."