This was it. Evan's first success. When he called his father to see if he could stay in town an hour longer, and he immediately agreed, Evan realized that he held a lot of power in his hands at the moment. He didn't even have to explain much. Their conversation went something like this:
"Hey, dad. I know I'm grounded, but could I stay an hour longer?"
"What for?" his father asked. Of course, Evan was ready with the perfect lie.
"In one of my visions, I saw a library, and some classmates wanted to study in one near the school, so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and go with them. What do you think?"
His father immediately agreed. Evan was more than excited to tell Kieran that they could be together after school. Hand in hand, they walked through the park until they anchored in a nearby library that almost no one went to, so they could hide among the bookshelves where no prying eyes would see them. Their lips could not tear away from each other, and they studied every unexplored place under the other's shirt. Again, they didn't find the courage to go any further, not that they didn't want to, but neither of them wanted to experience one of their first times in public.
Kieran, although he was quiet and made sure Evan was okay before his every move, was more than passionate. Evan felt every place his lover touched burning with passion. Soon his whole body was on fire, and he was ready to burn if it meant staying in his arms forever.
His mind was foggy, the only thing picking up was the number of his heartbeats. If he were anywhere else, he would have thought he was having a heart attack, but now he felt like he had already died and met one of the deadly sins in hell – Lust.
But nothing lasted forever, and he soon had to return back to earth.
Panting, he pulled away from Kieran's tempting lips and moved to the seat next to him. They sat together, leaning against the bookshelf, leaving no gap between them. Their shoulders bumped into each other in rhythm with their chests heaving as their lungs desperately tried to get some oxygen.
"That was..." Kieran didn't even finish his sentence, and Evan knew exactly what he meant.
"Yeah," he breathed out his agreement. His boyfriend, despite still panting, chuckled. The moment their eyes met, Evan couldn't take it anymore and joined him. A hot moment turned into a happy one.
"We should do it more often," he said as he calmed down the laughter. Kieran turned his head towards him and intertwined his fingers with him at the same time. Evan's gaze fell on their joined hands for a moment, and a genuine smile appeared on his face.
"We could. Although we could find a less public place. I'd hate to have a criminal record," Kieran admitted, but then quickly added, "although I probably already have one when I'm dating someone so good looking it should be illegal."
"Not sure if it was cheesy or smooth," Evan laughed, and despite his remark, he could feel the colour rising to his face.
"We all know you secretly love cheesy," Kieran teased him and playfully bumped him with his shoulder. His face mirrored all his feelings, as usual. Evan knew exactly the expression he was looking at him with right now, as he had noticed long ago that it was reserved just for him. At that moment he felt like his whole world, and he hoped that he would read the same from his gaze.
"No way. I'm just putting up with it for you, that's the difference," Evan weakly argued, knowing Kieran knew the truth anyway. This time he was the one playfully bumping his shoulder against Kieran's, and his movement quickly turned into a play fight. It didn't take long, and their cheerful laughter filled the library.
---
Right after Evan got off the bus, he cursed his distaste for umbrellas. As usual, he didn't have any with him, and it was pouring like a torrent now. He wondered if he should have run home from the stop, but he knew that the moment he got out from under the roof, he would be soaked to the bone. He could shift, but that would mean having wet fur, and Evan hated that too. So, he had no choice but to wait for the weather to moderate.
He sat down on the wooden bench and picked up the phone to tell his father that although he was already in North Hallson, it would take him a while to get home. Of course, he found it comical and asked his son to take a photo on the said bench as proof. Evan did so, but he didn't forget to put on the sourest expression he knew how to put on. He didn't even have to see his father to know that he probably burst out laughing.
Evan shuddered. Although he wasn't often cold as a wolf, he had to admit that the temperature had dropped considerably since morning, and he was only wearing a thin flannel shirt. That was exactly his luck. On the very day, he decided to wear something other than a black hoodie, a storm was bound to appear.
For a second, he wished that he and Angie hadn't fought so he wouldn't have to wait out the weather alone. However, he would rather slap himself right after. He didn't understand how he could just forget about her betrayal or think it wasn't so bad. Evan knew he had a bad habit of forgiving people just because he wanted to keep them around, his parents being a clear example, but this time he was sure he wouldn't back down until Angie apologized to him.
"What the hell are you waiting for?" He was apparently so lost in thought that he didn't notice someone appear directly behind him. Evan jumped up, and matching his voice to his face, he quickly turned around. The moment he realized he was alone and his cousin wasn't lurking around the corner, he let out a contented breath he didn't even know he'd been holding.
"You're going to ignore me?" Michael obviously didn't like Evan's reaction and decided to come closer. Evan instinctively moved to the edge of the bench and made room for him.
"What you want?" he asked him, not hiding how he felt in his presence. Michael frowned, taking a drag from a cigarette that Evan failed to notice before. He knew that he used to smoke, but it had been a long time since he had seen him with a cig in his hand.
Michael took another drag and Evan watched the smoke come out of his mouth. Michael caught his eye and silently extended his hand to him. Evan hesitated for a moment, but then took the cancer stick from him, took it to his mouth, and took a drag. It wasn't the first time he'd tasted nicotine, but he honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd felt that bitter taste on his tongue. He had never imagined himself as a smoker, but at the moment he was willing to try anything that would at least bring some peace into his life for a while.
"Didn't take you for a smoker." Evan just shrugged at his remark. He didn't recognize himself for a long time, maybe he could have been a smoker after all.
"What can I say? I'm happy to add to my black sheep reputation." He wasn't sure if it was the cig or his own words that caused the bitter taste in his mouth. Michael took it back without saying a word, and their eyes met for a moment. Evan was surprised at first by his silence, but his concern, which he could clearly see in his eyes, surprised him even more.
"We're not friends," he reminded him, and Michael scowled. It may have sounded harsh, but it was the truth, so Evan wasn't going to apologize for his words. They both knew how they were, and one night at the Rock Pop Diner couldn't just change that.
"Well, your official friend is not here," he commented after a while. Evan didn't feel like explaining again that they had a fight, so he just shrugged. Michael sighed and wordlessly handed him the cig again. It was strange how he sensed the situation and decided not to make it worse. Evan honestly didn't recognize him, but he was grateful at this moment. Quite an irony.
"Not sure I want to be friends with her right now," Evan admitted truthfully. His voice reflected his exasperation as did his nervous biting of the inside of his lip. Apparently, even nicotine could not help him.
"Maybe she's not as good of a friend as you thought," Michael said, and Evan looked up at him sharply. It was a reflex. Although he was angry with Angie, she was still his best friend. He could talk bad about her, but it bothered him when someone else did.
"Just saying," Michael added when he saw his expression. Sighing, Evan lowered his head back to the ground, watching the concrete between his sneakers. Although he wanted to automatically defend her, he didn't feel like talking about her.
"I don't want to talk about her," he said almost inaudibly, but he was sure Michael caught it. He would never have said that empathy would be Michael's strong suit, but he was obviously learning something new every day.
They were both silent, the only interaction between them was passing the cigarette. Surprisingly, it wasn't an awkward silence, but Evan felt strangely content.
The whole situation was stupid. Just a few hours ago, Evan was more than happy, and now all he had to do was change the city, and all he could think about was his messed up life. And worst of all, Evan felt better with Michael by his side. And so, without another word, they finished a cigarette together, then another, and after the sky cleared, they both went their separate ways without saying goodbye.