Gay Chicken | ✓

{24}

Casper's mother raised an eyebrow at him. Yeah, he was screwed.

"You've just been... a lot happier lately. You smile a lot more." She smiled into her tea before setting it down, looking him straight in the eye with a fondness."You can't tell me there isn't someone."

Oh, mum.

He was so close to telling her. He wanted to tell her everything. He wanted to just expose everything and all the insecurities that he'd been dealing with throughout his and James' relationship. He wanted her to know just how happy he was. She was his mum. She would understand. But then, there was that feeling that she wouldn't and he couldn't live with that either.

So he didn't.

"Just - Just with my birthday and Christmas coming up," He shrugged with a tight smile."Christmas break means no school!" he cheered silently with his hands in the air, waving his fork around like a mad man. His heart skipped with guilt and his smile was tight. His mother laughed at him anyway and patted his head again before picking up her empty plate and walking out of the room. Casper sighed, a mixture of relief and pained guilt.

After he finished his breakfast he continued to get ready, taking extra care with his eyeliner, even putting a little blue to match his tie and then sat on his sofa waiting until there was a metallic clatter of the letterbox and a knock on the door.

He felt giddy as his guilt subsided when he opened the door to James, smiling wide. James turned, slightly startled, but composed himself when he saw Casper. He glanced around the street quickly and inside Casper's house before leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek.

"Happy birthday," he murmured softly against his skin, the smell of his aftershave freshly strong wafted over Casper, before he leaned back, his face red. Casper blushed.

It felt weirdly intimidate. His cheeks still tingled and buzzed with James' touch and Casper smiled shyly.

"Casper is that you off!" His mother called from the living room and both boys jumped, James almost slipping off the step and Casper automatically grabbing part of his jacket to stop him from falling as James grasped out. The stood there frozen in position before they burst out laughing, releasing that momentary amount of tension and anticipation for the worst.

"That's us mum, see you later," Casper said back through a chuckle and ushered James through the door before their laughter woke up his dad if his mum hadn't already.

They walked to the end of Casper's garden path and onto the pavement.

"So... are you doing anything tonight?" James asked hesitantly, looking at Casper through a curtain of black hair. It had almost gone past his shoulders now and sometimes he would even put it up in a pony to keep it out of the way when he was gaming or playing the guitar, if Casper was there those activities wouldn't last long as there was something about James in a pony tail that got him going. He had called it his Seductive Pony out loud once a few weeks back and James had never let him live it down to date.

"Mum does something every year for my birthday, so yeah."Casper replied breezily. There was no doubt James wanted to spend the night with him doing certain birthday things, but for him birthdays were a family thing, they always had been. Casper had never had a birthday party with all his classmates invited - his mum and dad simply couldn't afford that luxury and Casper, even at a young age understood and so declined even the mention of parties when he was younger (plus the fact if the whole class was going he'd also have to invite James, which he really didn't want). Casper didn't mind one bit. It was the one day of the year where he was certain that he got his parents for himself and they were all together. "She even takes the day off to bake my cake and decorate the house." He smiled fondly. The best year was when he was seven and he'd come home to the house decorated with dinosaurs; his latest obsession at that age and a cake shaped like a triceratops; his favourite dinosaur.