When Hands Touch

14. vibe

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

VIBE

—

"Xen, Xen, Xen!"

Locker closing with a bang, Xen turned around to look at Milo, who barrelled into him with full force, nearly knocking the two of them over. Xen placed a firm hold on Milo's shoulder to steady him, laughing slightly.

"What?" Xen asked, hand still on Milo's shoulder, but less firm now. "Why were you screaming my name from the end of the hallway?"

Perking up, Milo beamed at Xen. "Remember that test I thought I failed?" On receiving a nod of confirmation from Xen, Milo jumped up, crashing into Xen in the process. "I passed! Like, I did well! Well, well for me. I got a seventy five!"

A seventy five was a fucking dream come true for Milo, especially in English. What if I actually get into college? That would be fucking wild. I mean, I could always try an art college, but— Milo huffed. Shut up, brain. Shush.

Xen grinned as he ruffled Milo's hair. "The fuck did I tell you? Get rid of that I get a feeling headassery, you're not going to fail every test you have. I'm not going to let you fail, okay? Good job."

Milo nodded, cheeks aching from smiling. "Thank you. For like, your help and—"

"Shut up, you did it on your own." Xen stopped for a second, reaching into his pocket to check the time on his phone. Milo couldn't help but notice the tiny crescent shaped indents in his palms, ones that looked like they'd been bleeding not long ago.  "Uh— Milo. Do you want to skip with me? Now?"

Eyebrows furrowing, Milo wrinkled his nose. "What? There are only two periods left for school to end, Xen. How badly do you want to skip?"

"Pretty fucking badly."

"Oh. I mean, we can, but—"

Xen shook his head, stopping Milo as he tucked his phone back in his pocket. "It's fine, we probably shouldn't be skipping class anyway. We're not skipping," he affirmed. Make up your mind, for fucks sake. "Just— okay, uh— You can't come home today, because my parents are home for the week. So, can I come over to your place instead?" Xen asked, a strain to his voice. "If that's okay with you, of course."

"Yeah, no, for sure," Milo sputtered out, vehemently nodding. "Just meet me after school near my car."

Nodding, Xen slung his bag over his shoulder. "We don't have to study today," he offered. "Considering you did well on your test and shit."

Milo paled, thoughts instantly beginning to race through his head. What does that mean? Is he not going to come over because we're not studying? Or is he just saying that as a passing statement? Is he coming over or not?

"Your silence is unnerving as fuck."

Snapping out of his thoughts, Milo laughed awkwardly. "Sorry. Are you still coming over though? After school?"

Xen stared at Milo. "Why wouldn't I?"

I'm literally so embarrassing. "Oh, then never mind. I have an ice cream sandwich at home, by the way!" Milo added in enthusiasm, watching as Xen's eyes lit up. Cute. "One of my friends from work bought it for me, you can have it. I haven't eaten it yet." Because it tastes fucking nasty.

Face breaking out into a small smile, Xen finally took his hand off Milo's shoulder. "Well, that's my motivation to finish class soon. Bye, Milo. I'll see you at your car, right?"