What Remains (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 27

Carter had always liked Christmas. He liked Christmas trees, the lights in the windows during the dark evenings, being warmed up by hot beverages after having been outside in the cold. Though it was a bit strange to not have snow during Christmas after he had to literally drag himself through snow each time he went outside for five years in a row back in Minnesota. He liked snow, but the harsh winters were something he didn't exactly miss.

Carter looked outside the window as he sat on the couch, a cup of tea being held and warming up his palms. The smell of the diner his mother was preparing filled the air and he could feel his stomach rumble at the smell alone. Thinking back of the Christmas they had last year, he was almost surprised by how different things were back then compared to now. But then again, he knew like no-one else how much could change within one year.

"Diner will be ready in ten minutes," Mrs. Raymore called out from the kitchen.

"Okay!" Carter replied and set his cup onto the coffee table, grabbing his phone before leaning back against the couch. He had gotten "Merry Christmas" text messages from his relatives and from his friends and had replied to them as well, but there was one person he hadn't wished a merry Christmas yet. The reason for this was because he wanted to tell him personally, and not over a text. He got off the couch to walk up to his room while dialing Josh's phone number.

When he got to his room, he went to sit onto his bed, looking at the photograph he had placed on his nightstand of him and Josh when they were younger while he waited for the other to pick up.

"You rang?" Josh said upon answering.

Carter let out a soft chuckle and rolled over onto his stomach. "Hey, merry Christmas," he said.

"Merry Christmas to you too," Josh replied. "What were you doing?"

"I was just waiting for diner to be ready, honestly," Carter shrugged, looking out his window, seeing the infinite stars having gathered in the night sky. "How's the Christmas spirit at your place?"

Josh let out a soft chuckle. "Well, my dad is downstairs trying to make chicken. So far I don't smell anything burning so I think it's going well so far. I offered to help, but he insisted on doing it himself."

"You can cook?" Carter asked.

"A little. Living by myself most of the time practically forced me to learn the basics of cooking. I wasn't going to eat take-away or microwave meals every day," Josh said.

"In that case, you should cook for me sometime. I will decide if your cooking is any good or not."

Carter could hear Josh snicker at the other end of the line and the sound of him being happy made him smile. It was a beautiful sound, yet it was something that wasn't heard all that often lately. Which was truly a sad thing.

"Alright. Fair enough. Though that does mean that I'll need to step up my cooking game a bit. I mean, I want to be able to brag about my culinary talents, after all," Josh spoke cockily, making Carter's smile only wider.

"Of course, chef Marson. I can't wait to taste your meals," he said, rolling onto his side. He always had to move about whenever he was phoning someone. He wasn't even sure why this was.

"Carter! Dinner is ready!" Mrs. Raymore called out from downstairs.

"Coming, mom!" Carter called out and he went to sit on the edge of the bed. "Gotta go, dinner is ready," he told Josh. "...Hey, do you think you'll be able to come over a bit tonight? I'd like to see you and wish you a Merry Christmas in person." Carter could hear Josh move around a bit before he answered, slowly starting to walk to the stairs himself as he awaited an answer.