Claustrophobic | Skephalo

Winter's First Snowfall

Darryl

After listening to the others chat about useless things for what felt like forever, Darryl couldn't take the pressure anymore. He hated keeping secrets, and he was an awful liar; everyone has always told him they could see right through his fabrications. Standing abruptly, Darryl makes an excuse about wanting to grab some firewood for the night and makes his way outside. Dave would have figured out about Darryl and Zak's suspicions if he hadn't.

Snow began to fall as he stepped off the front porch. It was cold and wet; not really the ideal snow for making a snowman or sledding, but Darryl didn't want to do those things anyways. He just wanted all of his friends to get along, old and new.

No, there's more. What is it? What else could I possibly want?

His mind drifted back to Zak, and how they both admitted to enjoying the kiss they shared. With complete obscurity, Darryl realized that what he longed for was a companion. Sure, he's seen a million romance movies where the boy and the girl crash into each other and it's love at first sight, but Darryl has never experienced anything remotely similar to that, although he was renowned for giving killer advice on the subject. He's never been in love. He's never even kissed anyone. Well, not until Zak.

Being reminded of a memory from high school, Darryl sat down on a log he had approached to chop, letting himself fall into the flashback.

"Everyone who's everyone has a date to Prom! Come on, Darryl, you need to get out there!" Vincent exclaimed, his arms flailing wildly as he laid upside down on Darryl's bed.

Darryl rolled his eyes, focusing back on the video game that was taking up most of his attention. "I don't want to go to Prom, Vincent. So I don't need a date."

"But I want to go! And I can't go by myself! Come on, just find a nice girl and ask her so I can tag along with you guys!"

"Why don't you just find a date for yourself?"

Vincent scoffs. "I'm not relationship material."

"You're insane. I'm not getting a date, and I'm not going to Prom. Period."

Vincent pouts, but ultimately gives up. The two boys spent the remainder of that weekend holed away in Darryl's bedroom, playing video games, and remaining comfortable in their own skin.

Prom flew past them a week later, and while Vincent managed to scrape up a date at the last second and have a good time, Darryl didn't mind having some alone time to himself. He was never much of a party person, no matter how much Vincent tried to convince him to be.

Darryl knew his friend was only trying to look out for him then, maybe push him into having one fun night for a change, but Darryl was perfectly content with being single. Or, that's what he always told himself, at least.

Now, Darryl wasn't so sure.

His thoughts are interrupted by the door slamming from behind him, scaring him senseless for a fraction of a second.

"Hey," Zak exhales, holding his hand out to catch a few snowflakes, "It's freezing out here, do you need any help?" He wipes his hand on his pants when the waterlogged flakes melt on his palm.

"What?"

"You said you were getting firewood?"

"Oh, right! Yes, uh... We need an axe."

"You don't have an axe? What have you been doing out here?"

"Nothing, just... Preparing myself. To chop the wood."

"You're so weird," Zak laughs, jogging lightly towards a shed in the backyard to grab something that could help them cut the firewood easier. He returns shortly, passing Darryl the blade.

"Hey, Zak?" Darryl asks, swinging the axe down, "Can I ask you something? And you promise you won't freak out on me?"

"Of course, Dar. What's wrong?"

"You know how I kissed you? To distract Vincent from the fact that I heard him and Dave talking?"

"Yeah."

"What if..? What if we did it again?"

"What, you mean kiss?"

"Yes— Well, I mean, you said you liked it, I said I liked it, so is it really that crazy?"

"Darryl—"

"—No, actually, don't even answer. I was just kidding! It was a joke, I don't know—"

Zak raises himself onto his toes and delivers a small peck to Darryl's lips, filling the boy with the warm sensation of companionship that he was so much longing for. The warmth from his mouth fades as Zak moves away, seemingly transferring into his cheeks. He blushed madly, glancing down at the boy in front of him. Darryl tries his best to ignore the heat radiating off his ears, and the tears welling in his eyes as Zak spoke.

"I like kissing. It always makes me feel all tingly," Zak giggles, tilting the axe in Darryl's grasp away from him.

Darryl can't contain his stuttering. "I like it too," He spits out. "I mean, you're the first person I've kissed, so I have nothing to compare to, but I like it."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah. Is that bad? It's not that bad, is it?"

"No, Dar, relax. I'm just surprised, that's all. Why haven't you kissed anyone before?"

"Before the apocalypse, I was never really social, I guess. I had Vincent, that's pretty much it. Besides, no one liked me anyways." He turns away, not giving Zak a chance to respond. "We should get back inside. Let's just say the wood was too wet for a fire."

"Oh, okay," Zak mumbles, unthinkingly kissing Darryl's cheek as he bends down to place the axe on the ground.

Darryl is taken aback in pleasure, placing his hand over where Zak's lips had been. "What is with you?"

"What is with me? You asked me to kiss you, so I did!" Zak laughs, pushing Darryl's arm playfully. "Besides, the feeling is so nice, I could kiss just about anyone a hundred times at this point."

Anyone?

Darryl's complexion falls as they re-enter Zak's house. Explaining to the others that there was no suitable firewood, everyone groans in disappointment.

"It's freezing in here!" Vincent exclaims, crossing his arms.

"Why don't you cuddle up with Clay?" Dave taunts. "That should warm you up real nice."

Vincent punches Dave's arm with a menacing expression plastered across his face. "Shut up, man."

"It should warm up as the sun rises more," Zak says, glancing out the window.

Everyone breaks back into the same meaningless conversation as before, but Darryl opted to head back up to Zak's room, claiming to have a headache. Zak, who knew Darryl wasn't hungover, gave him a look of concern, but decided to let it go, leaving Darryl alone in his room in peace.

I just need to distance myself from Dave, that's all. That's what I'm so stressed about. Vincent came into the room last night knowing that we were awake, so something must be going on. Is Dave a part of it? Is Clay? Oh, it doesn't matter. Did Zak only enjoy kissing me because I was there? Or did he want to kiss me because I'm me? Not that it matters; a kiss is a kiss. That's all there is to it. He wants lips, I want... Well... I guess I still don't really know what I want. Yes, a companion, but... I want more than just someone to kiss.

It's freezing in here. Maybe I should have actually gotten some firewood.