Break Every Clock [3/?]
Jul. 24th, 2008 12:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deawritesTitle: Break Every Clock [3/?]
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dea_liberty
Pairing: Christian Kane/Steve Carlson
Rating: PG
Feedback: All feedback, including constructive criticism, is welcomed.
Disclaimer: This is FICTION. None of it's real.
A/N: My eternal thanks towaterofthemoon, without whom this wouldn't just have strange grammar but would also possibly be set in a parallel universe where schools are a little different *g*. Title from Anberlin. Comments feed the muses, please and thank you!
[ Chapter 2 ]
It had become almost routine for her to drop him off every morning and Chris to shout his greeting before turning his full attention on Steve as they wandered through the corridors to class.
When Steve almost skipped down to breakfast, he spotted his mother hiding a smile. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. It had been almost two weeks already, and his mother still hadn't gotten over the fact that he'd made a friend.
He bit back his own smile as he poured milk into his cereal and glanced over at his mom. She caught his eye and grinned outright, walking over to ruffle his hair.
"You want me to pick you up today?" She asked, like she had every morning since Chris had walked him out of the school building to his car.
Steve gave her a small, almost shy smile. "No, thanks, mom," he said, leaning against her a little as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He'd always taken comfort in his mom's touches and that hadn't changed over the years; it was one of the only constants in his life. "I'm gonna stay and practice some. Not sure what time I'll finish."
She just kissed his temple. He could still feel her smile pressed against his skin. "All right, honey. If you're going to be home later than usual, give us a call, okay?"
"Will do," Steve promised as he wolfed down his breakfast and grabbed his bags. "C'mon," he said with a small bounce a few minutes later. "I'm gonna be late."
He wasn't going to be late; they both knew that. What he really meant was that he'd get there on time for class rather than a few minutes early and miss the usual chatter time with Chris, who had taken to waiting for him outside the school doors every morning. It had become almost routine for her to drop him off every morning and Chris to shout his greeting before turning his full attention on Steve as they wandered through the corridors to class.
He'd taken to walking home after school so that he didn't have a set plan for every day and could spend the evenings doing whatever he wanted. Mostly, that involved slipping into the orchestra room to play the piano until practice finished and Chris came to find him.
A few days ago, though, that had changed a little. It had surprised the fuck out of both Chris and him, but this new thing was working for them all right. In fact, things had relaxed even more between them since then.
He grinned a little as he folded the sheet music and slipped it into his bag, carefully closing the piano. He moved from the orchestra room, humming softly to himself, a small bounce in his step as he slipped through the doors - and out onto the football field.
He shifted his backpack a little as he climbed the stairs and settled into the bleachers, putting his feet up on the bench in front of him. His eyes scanned the field and located Chris, and he waved when Chris looked over before pulling a book out of his bag.
"Hi," said a definitely female voice. "Steve, right?"
He looked up to find a pretty brunette grinning at him. "I'm Danneel," she offered before he could embarrass himself. She dropped into the seat next to him. "We have home economics together." Then she kind of laughed. "Actually, that's probably the worse subject I could pick. I'm sure all of us kinda blend together in that classroom, huh?"
"A little," Steve said, ducking his head. He tried not to freak out and to remember what Chris had said about giving them all a chance. "But…you're in my…um. You're in my math class too, right?"
She beamed at him. "Yeah." She glanced over at the field, watching the boys throwing the ball around a few times before she looked back at him. "So I've seen you out here a couple of times this week. Waiting for Chris, right?"
Steve nodded, offering her another small smile.
"Chris says you play the piano like a pro," Danneel carried on, waving at one of the cheerleaders, who seemed to be looking for her on the bleachers. Friend located, the girl went back to her practice.
Danneel opened a bag of chips and offered him one. "Play anything else?"
"Couple of things," Steve mumbled. He'd never really advertised the fact much. "Mostly guitar and mandolin. But I guess I just like… playin' stuff."
Danneel gave him a smile. "Really? That sounds awesome." She studied him for a moment before she shrugged. "I'll tell Chris to bring you next time."
Steve blinked. "What?"
"Well," she started, winking at him. "It's not really my place to say, but Chris seems to be pretty damn enthusiastic about you, so I guess you gotta be a good guy." She fished out a can of Coke from her bag and popped it open, offering him a drink before sipping at it when he shook his head. "Couple of the guys - friends of mine and Chris' - they have these little get-togethers where they just hang out and jam. Chris hasn't come to many of them in the past little while, but he should totally just cut the possessive bullshit and bring you with him next time."
Steve let out a soft laugh. He didn't understand why his stomach flipped at Danneel's assumption that Chris had wanted to keep him to himself; it was completely ridiculous.
"Maybe Chris doesn't want me to meet them 'cause of some other reason," he offered with a half-smile. Other reasons like Steve just wasn't cool enough to meet his friends.
"Like you bein' too nerdy or boring or weird?" Danneel said with a small, knowing smirk. She shook her head. "No fuckin' way. He won't shut up about you. He just doesn't want to share you, the selfish bastard, but he's obviously forgotten that we're a small school and just cunning enough to totally go around him."
Steve laughed and was about to answer her when the cheerleader from before came bouncing to her side.
"Hi," the girl said with a smile. She flung her arms around Danneel's neck and hung off her back. "I'm Sophia. I hope she's not bothering you."
Steve grinned a little and shook his head. "No. We were just talking about…stuff."
"About how Chris should stop being a possessive bastard, and how we're awesome enough to come over and make friends while Chris is busy being repeatedly tackled to the ground," Danneel added, grinning at Sophia.
"Ah," Sophia said, winking at Steve a little. "She's finally found a time when Chris isn't shadowing your every move."
Steve laughed again, glancing up at the two of them. "Chris is a really good guy."
They beamed right back at him, sharing a glance that meant something Steve totally missed before nodding. "Oh yeah, he's very nice like that."
"But we're nice, too," added Danneel. "And now that we've talked to you, Chris really can't get out of taking you places with him anymore. He always talks like you're this anti-social recluse that's gonna have a heart attack if he lets you out into the big wide world. It's really kind of sweet."
Sweet? Steve was totally missing something here. He was about to ask, but an arm was thrown over his shoulder, and then Chris was right there next to him.
"Not scarin' him, are you?" Chris drawled. "It took forever to convince him that the football field wouldn't open up and eat him."
The girls were really trying not to laugh, but they weren't doing all too well. "We're just making friends, Chris, since you're so reluctant to bring him out to meet us. You ashamed of us or something?"
"That's it," Chris replied back. "I was totally freaked you were gonna ruin all my hard work, but it seems the boy's more resistant than I thought if he can handle the two of you." He ruffled Steve's hair playfully and tugged him a little closer.
Chris turned to grin a little at him, small and private, and Steve felt himself warm up a little and relax, the tension easing out of him.
"I'm gonna go shower," Chris finally said. He let go and bounced off towards the stairs, tripping on something at the end of the bench and catching himself on the railing. He laughed, bright and amused, before he waved and continued on his way.
"We sometimes wonder how he survived childhood, too," Danneel shared with a small chuckle. Steve noticed that Sophia had disappeared, but he couldn't, for the life of him, remember when that had been. The field was almost empty now; the football players and cheerleaders had all headed into the locker rooms to get ready to go out or home, eager for Friday night - and the weekend - to get going.
"How does ice cream sound?" Chris asked when he came back, gym bag slung over his shoulder.
"What?" Steve asked, looking over to Chris, a little startled. Usually, they just chatted for a bit as they walked out of the school, and then Steve headed home.
"Well, you survived Danneel and Sophia," Chris pointed out with a smirk, throwing his arm back around Steve's shoulder. "So I figured you've gotten further in your training than I suspected, young Padawan. It is time for the next step; further socialization off school property."
Steve laughed, punching Chris' shoulder. "Shut up, asshole. You suck."
Chris just winked at him before his smile softened again. "So, ice cream?"
"Ice cream," Steve agreed. "Let's see what more you have to teach me, Master." And if Chris' laughter made him smile a little wider, Steve wasn't thinking too much about it. This was really more than worth having to walk a little further home in the dark.
"Do you have to call your mom to let her know to pick you up later?" Chris asked, eyes widening a little as he looked over. "Shit, I forgot. Is she already here?"
Steve just smiled a little and shook his head. "Nah, man. Don't worry. I'm supposed to be making my own way home; didn't know when I'd be done with practice and all. Mom's finally convinced that I won't get lost walkin' home or something."
"You walk home?" Chris asked, incredulous. At Steve's tentative nod, Chris cuffed him, then started tickling him, earning himself an indignant almost-squeal.
"Asshole!" Steve said, trying not to laugh as he struggled to get out of Chris' hold.
"No, you're the asshole, you stupid fuck," Chris said, finally letting go and just rolling his eyes at Steve. "You coulda said. I wouldn't have minded drivin' you."
"I couldn't - "
"Bullshit," Chris said, pulling out his car keys and twirling them on his fingers as he led Steve to his truck. "I can pass yours on the way home anyway. I ain't lettin' you walk if you don't got to."
Steve was starting to learn that, especially when it came to particular things, you just couldn't win an argument with Chris. Chris just talked right over you and didn't take no for an answer.
Steve gave a mock suffering sigh. "Oh, fine, then," he said, biting back a grin at the smile Chris shot him over his shoulder.
"Get in," Chris said, trying equally hard for a serious expression. "Got to get you out of that bubble and show you the wonders this place has to offer and all that 'fore you decide we're all shitty again."
"I never thought that!" Steve argued as he climbed into the passenger seat and made himself comfortable.
"Just that we were gonna skin you and eat you when you weren't looking." Chris grinned. He reached out one hand and squeezed Steve's thigh before he slid it back to the stick. "We probably still will. I'm supposed to be fattenin' you up for Thanksgivin'. That's annual Eat-The-City-Boy day here."
The ice cream endeavor turned into a sort of mini-disaster. Well, it was a disaster insofar as Chris was horrified with Steve's choice of plain old vanilla and promptly attempted to attack his scoop with chocolate sauce and sprinkles, while Steve tried valiantly to protect the poor vanilla's purity.
It wasn't all that surprising considering Chris had ordered something Steve wasn't even sure he could pronounce. Okay, he could pronounce it, but you damn well had to write it down and read it, it was that complicated.
In the end, he was talked into sharing a banana split with Chris, figuring that was safe - and, well, it wasn't "plain" enough for Chris to try to "make more interesting." He could swear he'd only turned his back for a second, but when he turned back around, the banana split came complete with too much whipped cream, too many chocolate covered cherries, far too much chocolate sauce, almonds, chocolate chips, and way too many sprinkles.
But the way Chris grinned at him, two spoons in his hand… Steve just sighed like a man about to be hanged, grabbed a spoon, and settled at a table. He tried really hard to just dig up the plain flavours of the ice cream, but it was a useless exercise, since Chris seemed completely incapable of keeping his spoon to himself and made sure every spoonful Steve took had more than just ice cream on it.
He wouldn't admit that it was probably the best ice cream he'd had in a while - he'd stick with vanilla, thanks - but it was. And he wasn't so sure it was because of the ice cream.
It was also really fucking exhausting. He must have fallen asleep at some point during the drive because the next thing he knew, Chris was shaking him gently.
"Steve."
He opened his eyes to see Chris leaning close, eyes soft and almost liquid in the light coming from outside the truck. He had one hand rested on Steve's thigh for support.
"Hey," Chris said with a small smile. "This is your stop."
Chris pulled back as Steve straightened up, and Steve suddenly found himself missing the warmth of Chris' hand. He stretched a little and just offered Chris another small grin. It was just… it was a lot of things, but mostly, it was just that Chris was so damn sweet to him, and he was tired, that was all. Nothing more.
He reached over and squeezed Chris' shoulder as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Thanks, Chris," he said, hesitating a little as he reached for the door handle. "Y'know, not just for the drive back, but just…stuff."
Chris laughed a little and shook his head, looking across to Steve with an almost shy smile. "It ain't no trouble. I like it just as much."
Steve just grinned and nodded, opening the door.
"Hey, listen," Chris said, hand on Steve's arm. "On Sunday, some of us are gettin' together to just hang out and stuff. You should come."
Steve's smile widened as he nodded. "Okay," he said. "All right." He got out the truck and closed the door behind him, tapping the metal as Chris started it up again and rolled down the window.
"I'll pick you up Sunday, okay?"
Steve just nodded again, still grinning. "Yeah. See you Sunday."
Chris waved at him as he drove off, and, cliched as it was, Steve watched him until the taillights disappeared before he went inside.
[ Chapter 4 ]
Author:
dea_libertyPairing: Christian Kane/Steve Carlson
Rating: PG
Feedback: All feedback, including constructive criticism, is welcomed.
Disclaimer: This is FICTION. None of it's real.
A/N: My eternal thanks to
waterofthemoon, without whom this wouldn't just have strange grammar but would also possibly be set in a parallel universe where schools are a little different *g*. Title from Anberlin. Comments feed the muses, please and thank you![ Chapter 2 ]
It had become almost routine for her to drop him off every morning and Chris to shout his greeting before turning his full attention on Steve as they wandered through the corridors to class.
When Steve almost skipped down to breakfast, he spotted his mother hiding a smile. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. It had been almost two weeks already, and his mother still hadn't gotten over the fact that he'd made a friend.
He bit back his own smile as he poured milk into his cereal and glanced over at his mom. She caught his eye and grinned outright, walking over to ruffle his hair.
"You want me to pick you up today?" She asked, like she had every morning since Chris had walked him out of the school building to his car.
Steve gave her a small, almost shy smile. "No, thanks, mom," he said, leaning against her a little as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He'd always taken comfort in his mom's touches and that hadn't changed over the years; it was one of the only constants in his life. "I'm gonna stay and practice some. Not sure what time I'll finish."
She just kissed his temple. He could still feel her smile pressed against his skin. "All right, honey. If you're going to be home later than usual, give us a call, okay?"
"Will do," Steve promised as he wolfed down his breakfast and grabbed his bags. "C'mon," he said with a small bounce a few minutes later. "I'm gonna be late."
He wasn't going to be late; they both knew that. What he really meant was that he'd get there on time for class rather than a few minutes early and miss the usual chatter time with Chris, who had taken to waiting for him outside the school doors every morning. It had become almost routine for her to drop him off every morning and Chris to shout his greeting before turning his full attention on Steve as they wandered through the corridors to class.
He'd taken to walking home after school so that he didn't have a set plan for every day and could spend the evenings doing whatever he wanted. Mostly, that involved slipping into the orchestra room to play the piano until practice finished and Chris came to find him.
A few days ago, though, that had changed a little. It had surprised the fuck out of both Chris and him, but this new thing was working for them all right. In fact, things had relaxed even more between them since then.
He grinned a little as he folded the sheet music and slipped it into his bag, carefully closing the piano. He moved from the orchestra room, humming softly to himself, a small bounce in his step as he slipped through the doors - and out onto the football field.
He shifted his backpack a little as he climbed the stairs and settled into the bleachers, putting his feet up on the bench in front of him. His eyes scanned the field and located Chris, and he waved when Chris looked over before pulling a book out of his bag.
"Hi," said a definitely female voice. "Steve, right?"
He looked up to find a pretty brunette grinning at him. "I'm Danneel," she offered before he could embarrass himself. She dropped into the seat next to him. "We have home economics together." Then she kind of laughed. "Actually, that's probably the worse subject I could pick. I'm sure all of us kinda blend together in that classroom, huh?"
"A little," Steve said, ducking his head. He tried not to freak out and to remember what Chris had said about giving them all a chance. "But…you're in my…um. You're in my math class too, right?"
She beamed at him. "Yeah." She glanced over at the field, watching the boys throwing the ball around a few times before she looked back at him. "So I've seen you out here a couple of times this week. Waiting for Chris, right?"
Steve nodded, offering her another small smile.
"Chris says you play the piano like a pro," Danneel carried on, waving at one of the cheerleaders, who seemed to be looking for her on the bleachers. Friend located, the girl went back to her practice.
Danneel opened a bag of chips and offered him one. "Play anything else?"
"Couple of things," Steve mumbled. He'd never really advertised the fact much. "Mostly guitar and mandolin. But I guess I just like… playin' stuff."
Danneel gave him a smile. "Really? That sounds awesome." She studied him for a moment before she shrugged. "I'll tell Chris to bring you next time."
Steve blinked. "What?"
"Well," she started, winking at him. "It's not really my place to say, but Chris seems to be pretty damn enthusiastic about you, so I guess you gotta be a good guy." She fished out a can of Coke from her bag and popped it open, offering him a drink before sipping at it when he shook his head. "Couple of the guys - friends of mine and Chris' - they have these little get-togethers where they just hang out and jam. Chris hasn't come to many of them in the past little while, but he should totally just cut the possessive bullshit and bring you with him next time."
Steve let out a soft laugh. He didn't understand why his stomach flipped at Danneel's assumption that Chris had wanted to keep him to himself; it was completely ridiculous.
"Maybe Chris doesn't want me to meet them 'cause of some other reason," he offered with a half-smile. Other reasons like Steve just wasn't cool enough to meet his friends.
"Like you bein' too nerdy or boring or weird?" Danneel said with a small, knowing smirk. She shook her head. "No fuckin' way. He won't shut up about you. He just doesn't want to share you, the selfish bastard, but he's obviously forgotten that we're a small school and just cunning enough to totally go around him."
Steve laughed and was about to answer her when the cheerleader from before came bouncing to her side.
"Hi," the girl said with a smile. She flung her arms around Danneel's neck and hung off her back. "I'm Sophia. I hope she's not bothering you."
Steve grinned a little and shook his head. "No. We were just talking about…stuff."
"About how Chris should stop being a possessive bastard, and how we're awesome enough to come over and make friends while Chris is busy being repeatedly tackled to the ground," Danneel added, grinning at Sophia.
"Ah," Sophia said, winking at Steve a little. "She's finally found a time when Chris isn't shadowing your every move."
Steve laughed again, glancing up at the two of them. "Chris is a really good guy."
They beamed right back at him, sharing a glance that meant something Steve totally missed before nodding. "Oh yeah, he's very nice like that."
"But we're nice, too," added Danneel. "And now that we've talked to you, Chris really can't get out of taking you places with him anymore. He always talks like you're this anti-social recluse that's gonna have a heart attack if he lets you out into the big wide world. It's really kind of sweet."
Sweet? Steve was totally missing something here. He was about to ask, but an arm was thrown over his shoulder, and then Chris was right there next to him.
"Not scarin' him, are you?" Chris drawled. "It took forever to convince him that the football field wouldn't open up and eat him."
The girls were really trying not to laugh, but they weren't doing all too well. "We're just making friends, Chris, since you're so reluctant to bring him out to meet us. You ashamed of us or something?"
"That's it," Chris replied back. "I was totally freaked you were gonna ruin all my hard work, but it seems the boy's more resistant than I thought if he can handle the two of you." He ruffled Steve's hair playfully and tugged him a little closer.
Chris turned to grin a little at him, small and private, and Steve felt himself warm up a little and relax, the tension easing out of him.
"I'm gonna go shower," Chris finally said. He let go and bounced off towards the stairs, tripping on something at the end of the bench and catching himself on the railing. He laughed, bright and amused, before he waved and continued on his way.
"We sometimes wonder how he survived childhood, too," Danneel shared with a small chuckle. Steve noticed that Sophia had disappeared, but he couldn't, for the life of him, remember when that had been. The field was almost empty now; the football players and cheerleaders had all headed into the locker rooms to get ready to go out or home, eager for Friday night - and the weekend - to get going.
"How does ice cream sound?" Chris asked when he came back, gym bag slung over his shoulder.
"What?" Steve asked, looking over to Chris, a little startled. Usually, they just chatted for a bit as they walked out of the school, and then Steve headed home.
"Well, you survived Danneel and Sophia," Chris pointed out with a smirk, throwing his arm back around Steve's shoulder. "So I figured you've gotten further in your training than I suspected, young Padawan. It is time for the next step; further socialization off school property."
Steve laughed, punching Chris' shoulder. "Shut up, asshole. You suck."
Chris just winked at him before his smile softened again. "So, ice cream?"
"Ice cream," Steve agreed. "Let's see what more you have to teach me, Master." And if Chris' laughter made him smile a little wider, Steve wasn't thinking too much about it. This was really more than worth having to walk a little further home in the dark.
"Do you have to call your mom to let her know to pick you up later?" Chris asked, eyes widening a little as he looked over. "Shit, I forgot. Is she already here?"
Steve just smiled a little and shook his head. "Nah, man. Don't worry. I'm supposed to be making my own way home; didn't know when I'd be done with practice and all. Mom's finally convinced that I won't get lost walkin' home or something."
"You walk home?" Chris asked, incredulous. At Steve's tentative nod, Chris cuffed him, then started tickling him, earning himself an indignant almost-squeal.
"Asshole!" Steve said, trying not to laugh as he struggled to get out of Chris' hold.
"No, you're the asshole, you stupid fuck," Chris said, finally letting go and just rolling his eyes at Steve. "You coulda said. I wouldn't have minded drivin' you."
"I couldn't - "
"Bullshit," Chris said, pulling out his car keys and twirling them on his fingers as he led Steve to his truck. "I can pass yours on the way home anyway. I ain't lettin' you walk if you don't got to."
Steve was starting to learn that, especially when it came to particular things, you just couldn't win an argument with Chris. Chris just talked right over you and didn't take no for an answer.
Steve gave a mock suffering sigh. "Oh, fine, then," he said, biting back a grin at the smile Chris shot him over his shoulder.
"Get in," Chris said, trying equally hard for a serious expression. "Got to get you out of that bubble and show you the wonders this place has to offer and all that 'fore you decide we're all shitty again."
"I never thought that!" Steve argued as he climbed into the passenger seat and made himself comfortable.
"Just that we were gonna skin you and eat you when you weren't looking." Chris grinned. He reached out one hand and squeezed Steve's thigh before he slid it back to the stick. "We probably still will. I'm supposed to be fattenin' you up for Thanksgivin'. That's annual Eat-The-City-Boy day here."
The ice cream endeavor turned into a sort of mini-disaster. Well, it was a disaster insofar as Chris was horrified with Steve's choice of plain old vanilla and promptly attempted to attack his scoop with chocolate sauce and sprinkles, while Steve tried valiantly to protect the poor vanilla's purity.
It wasn't all that surprising considering Chris had ordered something Steve wasn't even sure he could pronounce. Okay, he could pronounce it, but you damn well had to write it down and read it, it was that complicated.
In the end, he was talked into sharing a banana split with Chris, figuring that was safe - and, well, it wasn't "plain" enough for Chris to try to "make more interesting." He could swear he'd only turned his back for a second, but when he turned back around, the banana split came complete with too much whipped cream, too many chocolate covered cherries, far too much chocolate sauce, almonds, chocolate chips, and way too many sprinkles.
But the way Chris grinned at him, two spoons in his hand… Steve just sighed like a man about to be hanged, grabbed a spoon, and settled at a table. He tried really hard to just dig up the plain flavours of the ice cream, but it was a useless exercise, since Chris seemed completely incapable of keeping his spoon to himself and made sure every spoonful Steve took had more than just ice cream on it.
He wouldn't admit that it was probably the best ice cream he'd had in a while - he'd stick with vanilla, thanks - but it was. And he wasn't so sure it was because of the ice cream.
It was also really fucking exhausting. He must have fallen asleep at some point during the drive because the next thing he knew, Chris was shaking him gently.
"Steve."
He opened his eyes to see Chris leaning close, eyes soft and almost liquid in the light coming from outside the truck. He had one hand rested on Steve's thigh for support.
"Hey," Chris said with a small smile. "This is your stop."
Chris pulled back as Steve straightened up, and Steve suddenly found himself missing the warmth of Chris' hand. He stretched a little and just offered Chris another small grin. It was just… it was a lot of things, but mostly, it was just that Chris was so damn sweet to him, and he was tired, that was all. Nothing more.
He reached over and squeezed Chris' shoulder as he unbuckled his seatbelt. "Thanks, Chris," he said, hesitating a little as he reached for the door handle. "Y'know, not just for the drive back, but just…stuff."
Chris laughed a little and shook his head, looking across to Steve with an almost shy smile. "It ain't no trouble. I like it just as much."
Steve just grinned and nodded, opening the door.
"Hey, listen," Chris said, hand on Steve's arm. "On Sunday, some of us are gettin' together to just hang out and stuff. You should come."
Steve's smile widened as he nodded. "Okay," he said. "All right." He got out the truck and closed the door behind him, tapping the metal as Chris started it up again and rolled down the window.
"I'll pick you up Sunday, okay?"
Steve just nodded again, still grinning. "Yeah. See you Sunday."
Chris waved at him as he drove off, and, cliched as it was, Steve watched him until the taillights disappeared before he went inside.
[ Chapter 4 ]
