brooks & hale ✔️

brooks

twenty two ;
b r o o k s

"GOOD MORNING," BROOKS SAID cheerfully as he stepped into his kitchen.

"Good morning, Brooks," Inkeri replied with her usual crinkly-eyed smile, flipping pancakes at the hob. His already good mood was improved at the prospect of her deliciously buttery pancakes to start the day off. "Did you sleep well?"

"Great, actually," he smiled. "Did you?"

She slid a plate of steaming pancakes across the counter towards him. "I did, thank you."

Adam was seated at the island as he tapped away on his phone, and as expected, he didn't even bother looking at Brooks to acknowledge his presence. Well, no surprise there. He'd taken a break from acting like Brooks didn't exist to actually pick him up from Bellamy's house last night, but that was apparently the extent of his kindness. Not even Adam's permanent cold shoulder could bring his mood down.

He wasn't sure what exactly he was so happy about. It was a Monday, and if the prospect of an entire week of school wasn't bad enough, it was way too early in the morning for anyone to be awake. Monday mornings were usually groggy and filled with pity for himself, but he was actually looking forward to going to school. Maybe it was because the sun had made an appearance for the first time in months, a promise of Spring to come soon.

Yeah, right. He couldn't care less about sunshine. Brooks knew the real reason he was feeling so giddy was because he was going to see Hale at school.

"Okay, this is freaking me out." Adam lowered his phone and swivelled in his chair to face Brooks, a frown on his lips. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Me? Nothing's wrong," Brooks said, genuinely confused. "Why would something be wrong?"

"Because you haven't stopped smiling once since walking in here," Adam replied, narrowing his eyes in accusation. "And that isn't normal. Didn't you break up with your girlfriend last night?"

Inkeri gasped. "Ah, no! You had a break in your relationship, Brooks?"  

"Oh, it wasn't that big of a deal," Brooks shrugged, more to reassure Inkeri than anything. Her blue eyes had gone wide and sympathetic, the same expression she'd worn when she had comforted seven-year-old Brooks about the death of his goldfish. "I mean, we weren't even that serious. More on and off than anything." More like not even a possibility. "Guess we're officially off now."

"Oh, Brooks, I am so sorry!" Inkeri abandoned her spatula in favour of rushing around the counter, and pulled him into a tight hug. She smelt like pancake batter and cocoa, and the hug felt more motherly than anything his own mother had given him. "That sounds difficult. You must be very distraught."

"Honestly, I'm really not - "

"I'll make you extra pancakes to make up for it," Inkeri assured him, ruffling his hair fondly before bustling back to the pancakes. "And lots of sugar just the way you like it, yes?"

Brooks grinned. "Yeah, please. You're the best, Inkeri." Brooks could have continued to point out that this nonexistent heartbreak really didn't require food to fill the void, but he would never turn down pancakes.

Adam was still regarding him suspiciously, clearly not convinced. "So, you're really the one who broke up with her?" Adam said sceptically. Brooks nodded, although he wasn't sure if what happened with Bellamy could be classified as a break up. More of an awkward revelation/coming out. "Well. I didn't think you had the guts."