No Homo

Chapter 2 - I'll Stay on my Side, if You Stay on Your Side

"Are you sure you don't see anyone in there?" Thomas asked, desperation creeping into his voice as he moved to press his face against the glass and peering frantically inside. Minho merley groaned in response, running his hands through his hair in exasperation as he blinked weakly at the motionless interior of the furniture shop.

"I hate you sometimes, Thomas. Really, I do." The Korean boy huffed out, reaching to grab the back of the kid's shirt and pull him off the window, ready to drag them back home and accept the fact that he'd be spending the night on the floorboards.

"Tom?" Someone suddenly called out as Minho pried his friend away from the glass causing them both to freeze as they turned toward the sound, a frown inexplicably playing on the boy's lips. Someone was coming from around back of the closed shop and walking towards them, their features concealed in the shadows of the alleyway, and it wasn't until the person reached the main street and the fluorescent radiance of a street light fell on them that Minho recognized the girl Teresa had brought to the housewarming party. For some reason, the use of the nickname made his blood boil and a quiet voice in the back of his head whispered to him that someone who had been absent from the boy's life for so long shouldn't approach him with such familiarity.

"Thomas." The brunette corrected, sending a wave of relief over Minho, which he chose to ignore completely as they both turned to stare questioningly at the newcomer.

"What are you doing here?" Minho asked, the words coming out a little sharper than he intended them to as he quickly released Thomas's shirt, which he hadn't realized he'd kept hold of until he saw the girl's eyes flick to where his hand still gripped the fabric.

"This is my store." The chick... Brenda? Yeah, Brenda deadpanned, crossing her arms as she eyed the pair. "The better question is, what are you doing here?"

"We need to buy a mattress or our asses are stuck sleeping on the floor tonight." Thomas explained hastily and Brenda laughed lightly, softening slightly and waving them over to where she stood by the front door.

"I just closed up but since we're friends, I guess I can cut you a sale real quick." The girl mused, pulling a ring of keys from her belt and opening the large glass doors that stood between them and the holy grail of mattress paradise inside. Minho fought back the rising urge to scream that they were not, in fact, friends and drag Thomas someplace, anyplace, else but they were out of options, he knew that. So even when Brenda added, "Can't let a cute thing like you get cold and lonely on the floor," he begrudgingly bit his tongue and followed her inside, repeating that he had no reason to be angry like a mantra in his head and stubbornly ignoring the inexplicable feeling of rage pooling in his stomach.

Thomas didn't reply and after a moment of awkward silence Brenda began a spiel about the different aspects to consider when choosing a mattress, none of which Minho could bring himself to care about as he made sure to stay firmly between his friend and the irritating girl. They passed boxsprings, and memory foam, and everything under the sun, neither boy really saying anything until Brenda finally asked the fateful question.

"So, what's you guy's budget?" The girl inquired, a salesman like professionalism to her demeanor as Minho handed her a slip of paper he'd worked the math out on earlier and she finally let her smile falter. "Damn, you guys really are broke." She practically giggled, earning a groan of acknowledgement from Thomas and a "you-hadn't-noticed?" scoff from Minho. "Well, I've got a twin innerspring hybrid that might not be too unbearable and should come under that price range." She finally admitted, leading them over to a small section of twin sized beds and gesturing to one of the many options that still looked no different than any of the others to Minho.

"Sounds perfect." Thomas replied instantly, taking Minho back as he, for once, did not roll about on the mattress to test it for quality. The dark haired boy produced the pair's pooled funds for the purchase and tried not to look too relieved as he finally handed the money over to Brenda and could be done with this shit. The three of them then each lifted a side of the bed and began shuffling awkwardly out of the store with it, Thomas and Minho on each of the ends and Brenda supporting the middle, pausing every few moments to catch their breath until they finally managed to haul it to Minho's car. Fighting it into the small hatchback was a completely different matter, but after what felt like hours of grunting, and shoving, and Thomas practically leaping on the trunk, they managed the task.

"Hey, did you know Gally's throwing a party this weekend?" Brenda abruptly announced after a few moments of the trio laying against Minho's vehicle, panting in unbroken silence for what felt like an eternity.

"Yeah, I think I heard Teresa mention it once." Thomas replied carefully, a note of obvious questioning to his voice.

"Well, you guys should totally come! I heard he hired a DJ and everything! It's gonna be lit!" Brenda propted, grinning as she looked from one boy to the other, each of whom were too busy looking questioningly at the other to notice. "Free booze." She finally huffed out, rolling her eyes as the pair shrugged simultaneously at the offer.

"What time?" Minho finally questioned, for he and Thomas were both dumb college kids who could never turn down a free drink, especially when money was so tight.

"Tomorrow, 8:00!" Brenda whooped excitedly before springing off the car and sauntering down the street, leaving Minho to wonder where the hell she got so much energy at 3 in the morning and how he could get his hands on whatever magic drug the girl had.

By the time they had gotten into their own car and were finally on the way home Minho had managed to convince himself that his earlier anger was probably just do to him simply being a good friend. Being protective of one's best friend was simply to be expected. It was just his job as Thomas's number one bro to make sure he didn't get screwed over and Brenda... Brenda... Well, he just didn't like her, okay? He was Thomas's friend, it was his duty to just know these type of things.

"I don't like her." Thomas mumbled almost too softly for Minho to hear, his voice so quiet and uncertain he almost didn't catch the words as the long awaited sight of their apartment met his eyes. Minho looked over at him questiongly as he finally parked the car but Thomas wasn't looking at him, his eyes stubbornly fixed on the dashboard as his friend tried to get him to meet his gaze. The boy gave the impression he didn't know why he said the words any more than why Minho knew he was relieved to hear them, running hands together thoughtfully and biting his lip as honey eyes filled with confusion.

"Help me get this mattress out of the car, shank." Left Minho's mouth instead of anything related to the conversation like he'd intended to say; but Thomas seemed relieved to be free of the spotlight, immediately shaking his head as if to clear the confusing thoughts and springing into action as if nothing had ever happened. With some work, they managed to free the fluffy bed from the confines of Minho's hatchback and each got their hands under a side as they began making their way into the apartment.

"Shuck. It looked a lot lighter in the store." Thomas gasped, sounding like he very well might collapse from pure exhaustion at any given moment as they pushed the thing up the stairs.

"If I die..." Minho panted out, squaring his shoulders as he heaved the thing onto its side to get it through the front door. "Remember that I love you." Then he quickly added, "No homo."

"No homo." Thomas agreed breathlessly as they finally got the mattress inside and things got a little easier, both of them taking a side once more as they drug the weighty item to the bedroom. Finally, after fighting to get the bed through one more doorway, it lay in its final resting place at the far end of the cramped little room the two had dedicated to sleep. The pair exchanged one exhausted but victorious look before barely having time to scramble out of their day clothes and collapse onto their prize, the heavy haze of sleep that had been threatening to overtake them for hours bearing down upon them like a ravenous beast.

"No homo." One of them whispered sleepily into the darkness, though neither were quite sure which one had said it.

"No homo." Came the equally exhausted reply and it was the last thing either of them heard before unconsciousness overwhelmed them and they fell claim to exhaustion's poisonous claws.