‡† The Unseen †‡

12 † Reciprocated †

—————

In English, Raven turned in his paper early. Not rushed, not scribbled. Neat. Well thought-out. Calm. Not the kind he always turned in—the one where there were too many words explaining a simple word. And when the teacher read over it, she gave him an actual look of surprised approval. As if genuinely surprised that he wrote in that manner, not like she was expecting it. That felt good. He didn’t show it, but it did.

By the time practice came around,  soccer and basketball, both coaches were watching him with skeptical eyes, waiting for him to drop.

He didn’t.

He was tired, yes. His legs ached. His arms burned. But he kept up.

He wanted to keep up. He wasn't just resigning to fate this time.

And Devon—now part of the basketball drills—was quiet but present. And whenever Raven passed him the ball or called out a play, there was a spark of communication there, fast and wordless. Something neither of them would admit to, but both understood.

They didn’t talk in the locker room afterward. But as Raven passed Devon near the water fountain, Devon reached out and bumped his shoulder—lightly.

Raven glanced over, confused.

Does he want to ask me about something?

“You didn’t crash today,” Devon said, half under his breath. “That’s… good.”

Raven gave a small laugh. “Guess I had a decent brother to brother recharge.”

Devon snorted. “That what you’re calling it now?”

Raven’s eyes softened. “No. I’m calling it you showing up.”

Devon didn’t respond. But the corner of his mouth twitched.

You fucker. You don't want to smile, huh?

You will. I will make you.

—————

The gym had long emptied by now, leaving only the soft echo of voices and the clatter of gear being shoved into lockers.

Raven and Devon leaned side-by-side against the rows of metal, the chill from the wall biting through their damp practice shirts. Their heads tilted back, legs stretched out. A stillness had settled over them, heavy but not unwelcome.

Devon nudged Raven’s knee with his. “You see the forecast?”

Raven groaned. “Yeah. Rain again. All weekend.”

Devon gave a one-shoulder shrug. “Could be worse.”

Raven snorted and stared at him wryly. “You and your rainy brooding aesthetic.”

Devon smirked, but didn’t deny it. “You’re the one who stands out in it like it’s some kind of spiritual cleansing.”

This time, the snort slipped out as he chuckled, “Touché.”

They remained there for another beat in companionable silence, until the locker room door burst open with the usual chaos.

Tyler.

Max.

A few others from the team.

“Yo, Raven!” Tyler called, practically bouncing on his heels. “There’s a party tonight at Hudson’s. You in?”

Max grinned. “We’ve got your favorite trash playlist lined up. You have to come.”

“And bring the brooding sketchbook guy too,” Tyler added, gesturing vaguely toward Devon. “Might as well make it weird.”

Raven and Devon both turned slowly to look at the group.

Then, just as slowly, their eyes met—one of those charged, silent exchanges that passed more in a second than words ever could.

These guys have no idea.

No idea about Raven’s hospital calls and sleep-deprived nights.

No idea about Devon’s notebooks full of grief and names no longer spoken.

No idea about the bandages on Devon hiding wounds that were not just physical.

No idea about Raven's literal stress-linkex fake imagery.

No idea what either of them carried every damn day just to stand upright.

They smiled. Soft. Wry. Amused.

Then, in perfect sync, their eyes turned back to the group and said:

“Pass.”

Tyler blinked. “You serious?”

Devon lifted an eyebrow.

Raven just stretched his arms above his head and added with a small grin, “We’ve got better things to do.”

Devon and Raven both knew what those better things entailed. Things like..

Like rest.

Like breathe.

Like not pretending.

The team groaned and rolled out without much protest, leaving the two of them alone again.

“Still can’t believe they think we’re fun at parties,” Raven said, shaking his head.

Devon scoffed. “You probably are fun at parties. You just don’t like going to them.”

Raven grinned. “Guess I save my energy for more interesting company.”

Devon didn’t smile back—but his eyes said everything.

____________

Okay, I know what this might look like to some of you—like 'Gosh, thus is so gay!' Trust me on this one—this is NOT a gay novel. It's just about the depth of friendship. Trust me, if you don't have friendship, or brotherhood or sisterhood as tight as this.. go find one, you're missing out..(including me *sniffs*)

Anyways.. thanks for reading! Please don't forget to vote, comment, follow and stay close by for my next update!

See ya!

~Anon.