Everything is awesome! Everything is cool when you're part of a team!
The peppy lyrics blared through the room when Robin woke up. Bright sun rays found their way into the blanket cave and stung his eyes. He surmised three things: it was morning, the power was back on, and the childish movie they'd been midway through had commenced playing again.
Robin agreed with the lyrics. In this sliver of a moment, everything was awesome. Because resting next to him was a blonde boy with messy curls and kiss-covered lips. Robin wanted to cover those lips, and every other part of Tyler's body, in even more kisses. No other task seemed as important for that day. Certainly not getting up for school.
So he flung the blanket back over his head, to shut out the disturbing sound and stinging light. He nuzzled his face into the crook of Tyler's neck and delighted in the scent of morning. The other boy was still fast asleep, perhaps exhausted after the ordeal last night. Or he was just a very sound sleeper. Robin couldn't wait to spend more nights together and find out.
But just as Robin was about to fall back to sleep, his euphoria was disturbed by a knock on the door. And then another. The knocks grew louder and more insistent.
Fear struck him. What if it was his mother? He hadn't talked to her since he'd left her house that weekend. Instead, he'd dove head first into romance, hoping that his other problems would just go away.
Robin groaned, it seemed he would have to get up to handle this. Perhaps he could make whoever it was leave. His right arm was wedged under Ty, who remained sound asleep despite the ruckus outside, and very carefully he pulled it free. Before reluctantly leaving the bed, he snuck in a quick kiss atop blond curls.
"Robin, are you in there?" Des called from outside. Hearing his friend instead of his mother was a relief.
Still dazed from slumber and high on love, Robin stumbled across the floor and grabbed a t-shirt from the back of the desk chair on the way. Right before he pressed down the door handle, he pulled the clothing item over his head.
"That's not your shirt," Des threw at him soon as the door slid open. She appeared dressed for school in a pink and blue striped t-shirt dress with jeggings underneath.
Robin looked down at the shirt he wore. It was inside-out.
And Des was right. It wasn't his shirt. It was Tyler's shirt. This was obvious since it had a slimmer fit and deeper neckline than the shirts Robin usually wore.
It also smelled differently. It smelled wonderfully.
Robin had to focus really hard on Des' words to not get drawn into the alluring scent of the ill-fitting t-shirt.
"I guess not," Robin grunted in what was the best response he could muster.
"So the date went well then?" Des asked with a gleeful expression. She peeked past the door and spotted the crutches by the bed. "He's still here? He's in your bed?!" she squeed and bounced up and down in a way that made the messy bun atop her head flop around precariously.
Robin nodded and put his finger to his lips. He didn't want her to wake the adorably sleepy Tyler.
Picking up on the shushing gesture, Des silenced herself but she still couldn't stop smiling or bouncing.
"Why are you here?" Robin asked grumpily.
"You missed English class this morning," Des replied. "I wanted to make sure you don't miss your Statistics class as well."
"I'm sure it won't matter if I miss a few classes," Robin groaned, longing to get back to his bed companion. "I'm always in class and I have good grades."
"You know how Mr. Brady is though," Des countered. "You already missed one of his classes when you were sick on Monday. He'll deduct credits if you miss another class."
"I don't really care..." Robin mumbled.
"Credits deducted for absence will end up on your online report card though and you know your mom checks that..."
His mom. Just the thought of her brought a bitter taste to Robin's lips. A taste only sweet kisses could take away.
She would ask where he'd been. She would pry. She would find out the truth.
She would lock him away forever. Far away from Tyler.
Des was right. He needed to get to class.
"What time is it?" Robin asked Des.
"9:47," she replied after a glance at her wristwatch. "Thirteen minutes until class. You can make it if you get ready fast and run."
He nodded. He could make it. "Thank you, Des."
"I will always help you keep your mom at bay, Robin. That's what friends are for. And I'm totally shipping you and Tyler." Des smiled and bounced. "Now get ready!" She gave Robin a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving.
As soon as Robin closed the door, he went into autopilot.
First, breakfast. This was of utmost importance. He took two pop tarts out of the pantry and popped them in the toaster.
While those cooked, he ran into the bathroom and brushed his teeth at hyper-speed. He even found the time to pull a damp hand through his hair, to make sure it didn't look like he'd just got out of bed. Even if he had.
Upon exiting the bathroom, Robin located his shoes by the door and pulled them on without even bothering to put on socks. He threw on a hoodie from the coat rack which covered Tyler's inside-out shirt and made him look decently proper.
Lastly, he caught the pop-tarts as they emerged from the toaster and put them on a plate, almost burning his fingers in the process.
Balancing the plate with the jam-filled treats, Robin sat down on the bed and gently touched Tyler's shoulder. He didn't want to wake the boy-who-slept-like-a-bear, but he also didn't want to leave without Tyler knowing where he went. Tyler might think Robin had bailed on him again and Robin couldn't bear the thought of that.
"Ty," he whispered and leaned down to kiss an exposed shoulder. "I need to go."
"Whaaaa," Tyler replied and tossed around in the bed. "Grrrghhh."
"I have to head to class," Robin explained. "I... made pop-tarts for you."
With hair that stood around his head like spun cotton candy, Tyler sat up. "Pop-tarts?" he asked confused.
Robin handed him the plate with the two pop-tarts. "I figured I should make you breakfast," he stuttered. "That it's like what you do for someone who... sleeps over." It seemed Robin was once again as tongue-tied as the night before. "I really don't know... I mean... I've never had... anyone stay over before." He looked down in embarrassment as he realized how inexperienced this made him sound. Which he was, of course, but saying it out loud made him sound childish.
But things weren't like the night before anymore. They weren't doing the same awkward dance.
Because as Robin stumbled on the words, his lips were silenced by another pair of lips. Despite morning breath, the kiss was sweet and fresh. "Thank you," Tyler mumbled and served another small peck before he reached for a pop-tart. Crumbs and jam soon covered recently-kissed lips.
"I figured you would be hungry," Robin said and stroked some stray curls away from Tyler's face, to make sure they didn't get tangled in the sticky jam.
"I usually am," Tyler agreed, having already devoured the first pop-tart.
"When do you have class?" Robin asked and checked the time on his phone. "It's 9:53."
Robin needed to leave within the next minute or so to make it to his Statistics class in time. But dammit, he didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay in that bed forever.
"Not until after lunch," Tyler replied while munching on the next pop-tart. "But I have an appointment with Miss Horn before that. She'll call and badger me if I don't show up."
"There's an extra key over there." Robin pointed toward the hooks by the door. "Just use it whenever you need to leave. And there are more pop-tarts in the freezer if you want."
He pulled Tyler in for a sweet pop-tart kiss. It tasted like strawberries and sprinkles. "See you after school?" he whispered anxiously, suddenly worried that whatever existed between them would cease as soon as he left the room.
"See you after school," Tyler repeated and pulled Robin even deeper into the kiss. Strawberries and sprinkles caught him in a sweet sticky embrace. A hand rubbed his thigh and ignited a reaction that would be quite inappropriate for class. It would have been so easy for them to just tumble back into bed.
Robin glanced at his wristband. 9:54. Damn it. He really had to go.
"I need to..." he whispered and placed a band of small kisses on Tyler's cheek as he rose from the bed. "See you later."
He walked out the door--pulling down his hoodie over the waistband to cover what Tyler's wandering hand had done to his crotch--with Tyler's scent, taste, touch, and feel all over him. Tyler had left an imprint on Robin's body and mind that was irreversible and life-altering. Nothing would ever be the same again and Robin reveled in that thought.
Everything was awesome, just as the song that still blared through his dorm room--where a blond boy sat on a bed and ate pop tarts--told.