~ Adam ~
Adam stared blankly at his best friend, who was still smirking. "You can't be serious."
Beside Adam, Cole wore an expression of disapproval as he eyed Piper. "You better not be."
"Oh, you two are a bunch of drama queens." Piper tossed the last notepad across the table in their direction and pointed at the chairs. "Sit."
"You tricked me." Adam said. "You know how I feel about trivia."
Piper rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. It's a 'hopeless form of methodology designed for those with a superiority complex and feel the need to demonstrate their over-inflated sense of intellect'. So, you'll fit right in."
Adam glared at her.
Cole turned to James. "Now would be a good time to start running."
James chuckled. "Oh, Cole. C'mon. This will be good for you."
"Nothing about playing trivia at a school event qualifies as good for me."
"Why don't you guys like trivia?" Ethan questioned from the other side of the table, head cocked and dark eyebrows pulled together in puzzlement.
"It's anarchic." Adam responded.
"It's a waste of time." Cole said.
Piper looked to Adam. "You only hate it because you're a genius and forget not everyone studies as much as you. It makes you crazy competitive."
Adam opened his mouth to respond when James cut in with a laugh, "I bet he could give Cole a run for his money. This guy's the most competitive person I know. When we were seven, he strapped a bottle rocket to his Hot Wheels just because mine had an electric motor. Claimed it was political reform against consumer culture."
Cole glared at him. "It was symbolic."
"Tell that to my mother's petunias."
A woman in her mid-thirties appeared on the makeshift stage at the front of the room. A single spotlight had been constructed at the back and now shone brightly in her direction, dimming the rest of the room.
"Good evening!" she greeted into her microphone. "Thankyou for joining us at Holland University's Annual Trivia Night!"
A number of students cheered. Adam did not.
The woman beamed, spurred on by the crowd's enthusiasm. "If everyone could take their seats, we'll be beginning in about two minutes."
"Oh, sit down." Piper tossed a curl over her shoulder, looking pointedly at Adam and Cole. "We're about to begin so it's too late to leave anyway. You two just have a flair for the dramatic."
"Besides," James added, always with a soft smile. "If you leave now, we won't have enough members. Our team will be disqualified."
"Oh no," Cole faked concern. "How horrible for you. Well, I wouldn't want to throw a wrench in your lovely plans this evening."
His mocking tone startled a laugh out of Adam, but the younger boy's gaze had already dropped to the ground when Cole looked his way.
James patted the table surface. "C'mon guys, it'll be fun."
With a resounding huff, Cole dropped his shoulders. "If I'm gonna do this, I'm going to need strong caffeine."
"Me too." Adam agreed.
"Hurry." Piper said. "They'll be starting in a minute."
The pair turned to leave when Leo spoke suddenly, "Oh, would you mind getting me a coffee while you're up there? Cappuccino. Two splendas?"
"I could go for a hot chocolate," Ethan said thoughtfully. He turned to look at Leo, a dimpled smile breaking out across his soft features. "Maybe we could split one of those banana nut muffins, too?"
A scarlet blush bloomed across Leo's cheeks as he stuttered, "S-sure, that'd be cool."
Adam turned to Piper. "You want your usual?"
"Please." She reached into her purse and tossed a five dollar bill across the table at him.
Cole had turned to face James. "What do you want?"
James hummed, smooth like satin and wine. He grinned at his best friend. "You know what."
Cole looked like it physically pained to spit his next words out. Teeth gritted, he said, "Green tea with a dash of cinnamon and a serving of honey on the side."
James beamed that Prince Charming smile of his. Cole's expression said he was envisioning what James' liver would look like on the outside of his body.
"You're a pretentious shit." Cole spat.
The other boy didn't looked fazed in the slightest. In fact, his smile grew. "It's an acquired taste."
"Yeah, yeah," the dark-haired boy grumbled, heading toward the counter. He paused to turn his head in Adam's direction. "You coming?"
Adam's broke out of his reverie and lifted his gaze to Cole's eyes. "Yeah, sorry."
Together the pair pushed their way through the crowded room. The line at the counter was diminishing as students began to take their seats. Adam and Cole waited behind two girls to order their drinks.
While they had a moment to themselves, Adam spoke up, "So, why do you hate trivia?"
Cole shrugged, hands resting coolly in the pockets of his jacket. "I guess I don't hate it. It's just a waste of time."
"Having fun is a waste of time?"
Cole made a face. "You and I clearly have very different definitions of fun."
"I guess we do."
"Besides," Cole continued. "It's not like you have room to talk. You weren't any happier about this than I was."
Adam shrugged. "I suppose I don't really have a problem with it. Maybe I just think there are better ways to demonstrate my intellect."
Cole let out a laugh. "Oh, okay. So you just think you're too smart for the rest of us low-grade morons, huh?"
Another shrug, but there was a light smile playing on Adam's lips now. He remembered their tutoring session in the library and how Cole picked up everything Adam said with ease. He knew he wasn't the only smart one in the room, but he still said, "Well, when you put it that way,"
The sound that escaped Cole's mouth was nothing like Adam had heard before. It wasn't the clever wit underlaying Piper's bright laugh. There was nothing resembling the soft tones of Leo's shy smile. Adam couldn't even pick the subtlest hint of James' warm yet all-ecompassing grin.
This, though - this was radiant, as if Adam was staring directly into the sun. Standing here and now in its glow, Adam knew there was no place he could go where he wouldn't burn, and if he was going to be blinded, then he'd live a thousand eternities for that light to fall upon him once more.
Cole's expression schooled itself far too early. His sharp features relaxed again as he said, "I guess we all have our own things."
The curiosity spiked in Adam's blood and he couldn't help himself. "What's yours?"
Cole cocked his head. "What?"
Adam's brain cycled through his memories of Cole over the past couple months since their meeting in rapid succession. He hadn't realised there'd grown to be so many in such a short amount of time.
The way the boy wore the same five rings in different arrangements across his fingers. The inky black tattoos that peeked out from the edges of his shirt. The way he carried himself with the swagger of James Dean and the attitude of John Dillinger. His passion for self-neglect while telling Adam that his feelings, no matter how miniscule, were valid.
What did a guy with every intention of burning his world to the ground have a passion for?
Adam said, "You said we have different ideas of fun. What's yours?"
"Oh." There was that signature smirk again, creeping across his mouth like it owned the canvas of his skin. Maybe it did. "Raising hell in this boring town. Gotta keep my hands red, you know?"
Adam should've known it wouldn't be that easy to get an answer out of Cole. He pushed on anyway. "Do you work in your family business?"
Cole barked out a laugh. "Ha! I'm sure my brother would love that. Unfortunately for him, I have no intention of carrying that torch unless it's to light that stick up his ass. Maybe a quarter of dynamite will finally get a human reaction out of him."
The younger boy didn't know what to say to that so he dropped his eyes to the floor. Cole watched him. "I take it lighting an explosive under an heir apparent's ass isn't your idea of fun."
Adam's head snapped up. "I-"
"Don't." The barista called for the next in line. Cole was already moving toward the counter when he turned his head back, smirking directly at Adam. "I'll figure it out myself soon enough."
Adam blinked, dazed. By the time he'd managed to step up beside Cole at the counter, the older boy had already finished recalling their order to the barista with perfect precision. Adam reached into his pocket to retrieve his wallet but a hand on his stopped his movements.
"It's on me." Cole said, and swiped a black card before Adam could protest. The latter's hand fell uselessly at his side.
The pair split the tray of coffees between them to carry back to their table. Each drink was quickly snatched up by their grateful owners upon arrival. Adam took a seat on his stool, tossing the five-dollar bill back at Piper. She raised an eyebrow as Cole dumped the tray in a nearby trashcan, looking back to Adam. Adam shook his head in silent warning. She smirked but said nothing as she looked away.
Adam had only just taken a sip of his mocha when the lady from earlier appeared on the stage at the front once more. "Alright, HU!" she spoke eagerly into microphone. "Are you ready to get this Trivia night started?"
A chorus of cheers went up around the cafe. Across the table, James picked up a pen and Piper's fingers drummed against her thigh. Leo pulled his and Ethan's pad toward them as Ethan hurried to swallow down his mouthful of muffin to begin. Cole was staring blankly out the window, coffee in hand.
"I thought so." the lady continued at the front of the room. "And don't forget! The winning group of tonight's event will get a fifty-dollar gift card to the best Italian restaurant in the next town over, Georgios!"
"We have to win this thing guys." Ethan said, eyes widened in determination. Leo chuckled at him.
"Okay, we have fifty minutes so let's keep this thing quick and snappy." the woman laughed. A projector lit up behind her and she read off the screen. "First category: Art History."
***
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