Fragments of His Being | ✓

CHAPTER TWENTY

It was a sunny afternoon in the school compound. Cody was in the backyard of the school building during the break. The noise from the main compound was muffled by the swaying leaves in the nearby shrubs. The boy was sitting on the concrete stairs that lead to the back door. Quinn hadn't come to school today due to a sudden fever, so Cody was feeling a bit out of place all alone.

It was strange. He was used to being alone, but since Quinn had started spending time with him in school it felt strange not to have him around. His anxiousness had led him not to each launch earlier in the afternoon, and he had stayed out of everyone's way to keep the attention off him.

"Do you know what happened to Quinn?" Karl had asked him, somehow managing to corner him in the bathroom. The boy had stared at Quinn's tall friend, finding it hard to find words to say.

"He was-s a bit si-ick..." Cody managed to let out, a bit afraid of the way Karl had his eyes narrowed at him. "I'm g-going to s-e-e him after school," he had added, looking down at the browning white tiles of the school's bathroom floor.

There had been a sigh, and then the sound of footsteps before a hand was placed on his shoulder. Cody had looked up to find himself eye to eye with Karl.

"I'm not going to eat you, man," he had laughed, squeezing Cody's shoulder before letting go. "I just wanted to know where Quinn was. He would beat my ass if I beat his boyfriend." Cody's eyes had widened at the last word, and Karl had just smiled at him.

"Treat him well," the taller boy had said before tucking his hands in his trouser pockets and wandering away.

A small hum left Cody's lips as he recalled the encounter. Karl had been nice, just like Quinn had said he would. He was starting to feel stupid about thinking that any of Quinn's friends were bullies. They were just big and rowdy. He guessed that sharing those traits with his stepbrother had wounded him mentally with anxiety around bigger people.

Cody was so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't heard the backyard gates rustling as they creaked open. He looked up when the person at the gates spoke up.

"Hey." The familiar female voice said, making Cody raise his head before narrowing his gaze at the backyard's entrance. His eyes widened when he spotted Lindsey walking into the backyard through the entrance that also served as an exit to the main compound. She had ditched her braids for natural short twists that bobbed around her round face. She was wearing sneakers, a small shirt, and a sweater that wasn't practical for the summer heat.

Lindsey looked over at Cody when she was completely inside the compound. The smile she flashed at him made Cody look away from her. "We need to talk." He heard her say as the sound of shoes crunching on sand and glass got louder. When Cody looked up again Lindsey was hovering over him, standing by the stairs with her hands folded over her chest.

Cody remained quiet. He was afraid that if he said anything hid voice would choke up, so he just looked away. He heard Lindsey let out a sigh, and before he knew it the girl had taken a seat next to him on the stairs. They sat in silence for a bit, listening to the voice of students talking and joking in the main compound. Cody let himself look at her from the side of his eyes—observing her lean figure, pretty eyes, and symmetrical features. She was a little short of the girls in magazines, but they were edited beyond recognition anyway. This was who Quinn could have been dating.

"You really are the quiet type, aren't you? How many words do you say in a day in total, ten?" she muttered in a low voice, letting out a chuckle. Cody blinked, looking away but he could fight the urge to look at her, so he kept giving her glances from the corner of his eyes. He didn't say anything to respond to her. Yes, he was quiet. He heard it a thousand times from different people. Apparently, it was funny for some reason.

Lindsey sighed after a while of them sitting in silence. "I'm sure you can guess why I'm here."

"Quinn?" Cody muttered, turning to look at Lindsey. The girl nodded her head.

"Yup," she said, smiling a bit before adjusting the skirt she was wearing. "You're dating him, aren't you?" she said, placing her hands on her lap. Cody's eyes widened as his mouth hung open. He wasn't sure how she had picked up on that.

He nodded. "Y-yeah," he let out, feeling his face warm up.

Lindsey smiled a little, nodding her head. "I still don't understand why he's dating you. I mean, I don't get it? Even if he's into boys, why you? You can barely even talk." she said, making Cody feel taken aback. He looked away from her again before hugging his legs and leaning his head forward. Sure, all that was true, but he knew Quinn loved him sincerely.

Lindsey sighed, realizing she had let her jealousy take hold of her again. "I'm sorry for rambling, you can say I'm just in disbelief that's all." Cody looked at her from the side of his eyes and spotted her wearing a soft smile. He remains quiet, still, not wanting to engage with her.

Silence loomed over them for a bit and Cody busied himself with staring at the birds hopping from branch to branch on the nearby shrub.

"What happens after graduation?" Lindsey's question came out of nowhere. Cody blinked, turning to look at her.

"Hmm?" He wondered why she was talking about graduation. What did that have to do with anything?

Lindsey rolled her eyes at him, feeling he should know what she meant. "I mean, what happens when we've graduated. Will you two still be dating?" Cody looked down at his worn-out shoes, finally understanding where she was coming from.

The be honest, Cody had never thought of any of that. Sure, he knew Quinn would find some work or the other, but Cody wasn't sure about himself. His brother had vowed that he'd get thrown out of the house after graduation and thinking about what would come after that always scared him—so he didn't think. He just woke up every day deciding to push the thoughts of the future to the back of his mind.

"I don't know," Cody said, being honest. There was a pause Cody had expected Lindsey to fill, but when she didn't speak up, he looked over at her. "Why does it matter?" he asked with a raised brow.

Lindsey shrugged her shoulders. "I just asked, don't you see like, a future or something? Or don't you like Quinn—"

"I like him a lot," Cody said, cutting Lindsey off. "I love him," he added, watching as Lindsey's eyes widened.

The girl managed a smile even in her daze. "Well, maybe you should start thinking about the future then," she said before getting up from the staircase and dusting the back of her skirt.

"I have to go. See you around and say hello to Quinn for me when you see him after school," Lindsey said before making her way out of the backyard. Cody let out a sigh when she was gone. Interacting with her left him feeling a lot more mentally exhausted than he already was. Cody ran his fingers through his hair as his mind kept playing back the things that she had said to him.

Cody couldn't help but think that Lindsey had a point. It was only a few months until they were done with high school in general. Most of the students weren't going to college—people around their town didn't have the funds for that, but even though Cody was sure Quinn wouldn't get up and disappear from town one random morning, he was worried that he'd be forgotten as Quinn figured out what he wanted to do with his life.

The boy would grow up, and Cody would be stuck in the past.

"Plans..." Cody trailed under his breath. "Plans for the future," he said, frowning. He didn't even like the sound of the word 'future' coming out of his lips.

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't really think of anything he wanted to do in the future. He lived day by day, morning by morning, night by night. He had no plans. He'd never seen a reason to have them before, but maybe now he had to think up some because he was that if he didn't keep up with Quinn, he might end up being put aside.

Cody was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of the school bell ringing. He looked over at the back door, sighing before getting up and walking towards it, deciding that planning for the future could wait for another day.