Secrets that Kill (boyxboy)

A House, Not a Home

"Looking for something?"

Nate jumped at least two feet in the air, slamming the draw shut and spinning on his heels. Erik was standing there, leaning against the doorway with a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

"I-uh-no. How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough."

Nate blushed furiously. He hadn't realized he'd been in here all that long.

"You didn't really think I needed to use the restroom, did you?"

Nate's eye's narrowed. Of course, he should have picked up on the fact that it was just a little too convenient Erik had to use the restroom when he had been the one to suggest it in the first place.

"So, what, was this just like a test or something? To see if I'd snoop?" If it was, he'd definitely failed.

"Oh no." Erik responded, his smirk growing even wider. "I knew you'd snoop. I was just curious as to whether or not you'd go as far as to explore my bedroom."

The blush on Nate's face grew even redder. He knew he shouldn't have come in here. He hadn't even found anything except that stupid book, and he hadn't had enough time to open that.

"So what? Maybe I was just a little bit curious or whatever. It doesn't mean anything."

"Indeed." Erik mused, his tone implying he felt exactly the opposite.

Gah. He really needed to change the topic. It was bad enough that he was with Erik, in his bedroom, alone.

"So where are all your clothes and stuff?" Nate asked, motioning to the empty drawers.

Erik nodded his head in the direction of the closet Nate had been so quick to overlook. Crap. Still, though, it was weird to have a whole dresser completely empty except for one book. He knew Erik had more than enough money to furnish and decorate the place lavishly, so why had he decided to leave it so empty?

"And what's with all the grammar books in the living room?"

Erik's mouth twitched slightly, though his gaze stayed the same. His body had tensed, though, and Nate could tell he was having to control whatever initial reaction he had had to his question.

"They were my mother's. She was an English teacher."

Nate had never put much though into the why's of the way Erik spoke. He'd just figured it was a habit he'd picked up, though god knew where, kind of like slang or cursing.

"I, ah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring that up again."

Erik shook his head, a slightly bored expression crossing his face. Nate would have believed it too, if he hadn't known better.

"You had no way of knowing. She was always a stickler for grammar and such. Even at a young age, she would correct me every time I spoke."

Nate shifted from one foot to another, still feeling bad for bringing the subject up. "So, what's with this place? I mean, I don't really know what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't this."

"What? You don't like all the black and white?" Erik asked, sarcasm thick in his voice.

Nate shot him a glare. "You know what I mean."

"Do I?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "This place. It's pretty empty. I mean, I know you have money, Erik, so you could fill it with whatever you want. But, it's like, stripped down to just the basics."

Erik shrugged, a nonchalant expressions spreading across his face. "I told you I lived here Nathaniel. That is it. This is a house, not a home."

Something about the way he'd said that hit Nate hard. Of course, because a home implied attachment, and personal belongings. And people to share it with. But there was none of that here.

"You know, sometime, if you'd like, you could come over and have dinner with my mom and I. She's probably going to want to meet you at some point anyways." He didn't like the idea of Erik eating dinner every day in this empty apartment, alone.

Erik raised an eyebrow at Nate. "And what would we tell her, Nathaniel. That I'm tutoring you in sex ed as well as math?"

Nate felt a hot flush spread across his face. He had a point, though. Not telling his mother he was gay was really going to make things difficult when he wanted to have Erik over.

"I guess...I'll just have to be honest with her."

Erik smiled one of his genuine smiles, the kind that Nate barely ever got to see, pushing himself off the doorway and slowly walking over to Nate.

"Are you sure you're ready for that?"

Nate took a deep breath, knowing if he committed himself to this, there was no way Erik was going to let him off the hook.

"Yes."

Zack turned the engine off in his car, wringing Nate's shirt in his hand anxiously.

What the hell was taking the two of them so long? And why were they even speaking in the first place? They weren't supposed to even be able to stand the sight of each other, let alone have a little alone time together in Erik's house.

He'd been keeping tabs on Nate all day, wanting to make sure things went as planned and all. He'd followed Nate and Amber to the empty parking lot, parking a block away but still close enough to realize Nate had gotten into Erik's car on his own free will. Then he'd followed them here, which he could only assume was Erik's house. He already knew where Nate lived, so it wasn't all that hard to figure out the rest. Which meant now the two of them were up in Erik's apartment, alone.

Fuck this. They'd been up there for at least 45 minutes. And a lot could happen it 45 minutes. If he knew which one was Erik's apartment, he would have already gone there and knocked the door down. It was probably a good thing he didn't, though. He'd have no way of explaining why he was here.

Maybe he couldn't just go storming into Erik's apartment, but he sure as hell had no plans to leave until Nate came out of that apartment. He'd wait however long it took.

Taking out his phone, he shot Sean a quick text.

Looks like we've got a problem.