Come to Light

Chapter 5

The maze is almost empty as Sam and Sebastian make their way back to the entrance, and the town square's even emptier.

Sebastian's wondering if Sam's expecting a goodbye kiss, when Sam turns to him, and mumbles "Come back to mine?" It's pretty late – the Spirit's Eve festival usually runs until midnight, and Sebastian doesn't feel like making the trek up to the mountains, so he agrees, allowing Sam to pull him by his hand in the direction of Sam's house.

They come to a stop outside of Sam's bedroom window. "Give me the pumpkin," Sam says, and Sebastian passes it to him. "I'm going inside to make sure the coast's clear."

Minutes pass, and Sebastian's starting to wonder if this is all some sort of bizarre prank. He's not sure what the hell Sam's gotten up to inside, or why he has to wait outside. He folds his arms over his chest, trying to figure out if he's somehow fucked this up. Maybe Sam regrets the kiss, and he's just going to hide in his house until Sebastian takes the hint, and heads home.

Sam appears at his bedroom window just then, sliding it open. "Sorry," he calls out, apologetic. "My mom's still up. Here, I'll sneak you in through the window."

Sebastian's still not exactly sure why he has to sneak through the window instead of using the front door – it's not like he hasn't slept over at Sam's before – but he doesn't question Sam's logic. He steps up to the window, and with Sam's help, he makes it inside with only a minimal amount of noise.

"Shoes," Sam warns, before Sebastian takes even a step away from the window. He leans against Sam's arm to support himself as he unlaces his high tops. Sam's already divested himself of his own sneakers, as well as his denim jacket.

"Happy?" he mumbles once he's kicked his shoes off.

"You know how my mom is," Sam mutters.

"What do you think would piss your mom off more?" Sebastian asks. "Finding a bit of dirt on your carpet, or finding out you snuck a boy into your room?"

Sam laughs. "Let's not find out."

It seems like they're about to do just that, though, because the sound of footsteps can be heard from outside the bedroom. Sam's eyes widen, and the next thing Sebastian knows, he's being shoved onto Sam's bed.

"Sam?" Sebastian hears Jodi call from the other side of the door. "I'm coming in!"

"Quick, get under the sheets," Sam hisses, just before the door knob turns. Sebastian ducks under the covers as Sam moves to stand in front of his bed.

"What's wrong, honey?" he overhears Jodi ask Sam. "Were you doing something... bad? I thought I heard some weird sounds coming from your room..."

"No, Mom! I was just... doing push-ups." It's a terrible excuse, and Sebastian's definitely going to give Sam shit for it once Jodi's left the room. "I... I wanna beat dad at arm-wrestling someday." Sam lets out an awkward laugh. "You know, when he gets back..."

Jodi doesn't question why Sam's doing push-ups this late at night, or seem to notice the Sebastian-shaped lump underneath his covers. "Oh! Well don't stay up too late, alright? I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Mom." The bedroom door closes, and Sam sits down on his bed. "Sorry 'bout that," he says, as Sebastian emerges from under the covers. "That's... er, that's not how that particular fantasy usually goes."

Sebastian raises an eyebrow. "You fantasize about shoving me onto your bed?" Sam blushes, and averts his eyes, so Sebastian places one of his hands on Sam's thigh. "Hey," he says, in a softer tone, "I'm not complaining."