(A/N: I did some research on the Department of Social Services because this chapter mentions it, hopefully the way DSS is ran is portrayed correctly in the chapter. I apologize if it is not, but none the less, I hope you all enjoy the chapter).
Jacob's P.O.V.
"Chresanto, Jacob's here!" Mia called out, she turned to look at me from her place at the foot of the stairs. "He just got up, not even ten minutes ago".
"It's one seventeen in the afternoon..." I stated, wondering who could possibly sleep for that long. I even texted Chresanto the other day telling him I'd be at his house around one thirty, I expected for him to be ready by then. I don't know why in the hell I thought that would actually happen in the first place.
"Yeah, but it's also Saturday" Mia pointed out, "Chresanto could sleep all day if it's Saturday".
"I see that now" I motioned towards the stairs, "can I go up?"
"Of course".
I walked up the stairs and to Chresanto's room.
"I can't rely on you for shit" I stated, barging into the room to find him sitting on the foot of his bed with a towel in his hands.
"Can you fucking knock?" He asked, glaring.
"Yeah, I can, will I next time? No".
Chresanto shook his head, I watched him use the towel to dry off his hair some. It was clear he'd just gotten out of the shower because he didn't have anything on except for boxers and his skin was clearly still wet. I made it a mental note to actually knock next time because now that I think about it, I could've walked in on him while he was naked.
"Stop staring at me" he muttered as he stood to his feet and walked over to his closet.
"Well aren't you thrilled to see me?" I asked, finding a comfortable spot on his bed.
"Sure".
"I can say the same to you then". Chresanto slipped a shirt over his head then proceeded to search for pants. "I decided that we could eat at this burger place that my mom used to take me and my brother to when we were younger. The burgers there are pretty good, and the place as a whole is really upbeat and friendly".
"Okay" Chresanto nodded, pulling a pair of jeans up to his waist. "I still have to brush my teeth and wash my face".
Groaning in annoyance, I stood up. "If I had known you were going to wake up at fucking one in the afternoon, I wouldn't have bothered to come over. I told you yesterday that I'd be here at one thirty".
"I know, and then we proceeded to talk until one in the morning because your ass didn't have anything better to do. I don't know about you, but I was tired".
"Why didn't you tell me that when we were talking? I would've let you sleep".
"You were talking so much that I couldn't get a word in" he chuckled, "but it's okay, you were talking about anything that you could think of, but you talked about with passion, so I guess I didn't want to ruin it for you".
"Aren't you just lovely" I replied, standing up and walking to the door. "I'm going to go back downstairs, if you're not down by two I'm leaving without you".
"Whatever".
If Chresanto really thought I wasn't going to leave him, he was wrong. I will not hesitate to walk my ass out of this house and get food by myself. The whole purpose was to go with him, but I hadn't eaten anything since eight in the morning and it was nearing two.
"Is your brother always late to places?" I asked when I was back downstairs and in the kitchen.
Mia looked at me, "huh?"
"I feel like he doesn't have a good grasp on the concept of time".
Mia laughed as she went back to making, what looked like, her lunch.
"Yeah, he relies on the alarm clock on his phone because if he doesn't, he won't show up to anything on time".
"I see that now" I muttered, sitting down at the kitchen table and watching Mia move around the kitchen. I took the time to look the place over, it was very organized and the counters were clean. The yellow painted walls brightened up the area and so did the pictures on the refrigerator. I stared at them all, noticing that the only two people who were in the photos were either Chresanto or Mia. I furrowed my eyebrows, quietly tapping my fingers on the table as I thought for a moment.
"Mia, can I ask you a question?"
"You just did".
Rolling my eyes, I smiled, she was one of those people.
"But yes, go ahead" she added.
"Chresanto told me that his parents go into work early and usually get off super late, is that true?"
Mia was in the process of opening the refrigerator door when I asked the question, it must've caught her off guard because she stared at the door handle for a moment. She cleared her throat after a while and grabbed a can of soda.
"No, that's not true" she answered, walking over and taking a seat across from me. She took a bite of the sandwich she'd made, chewing slowly so it gave her time to think. "Chresanto doesn't like telling people about our parents, nothing major happened or anything, he just doesn't like to discuss them".
I nodded, he didn't like to talk about a lot of things, that was obviously clear.
"But I don't have a problem talking about them, so here's what I'm going to tell you, okay? Our parents were great at parenting, we weren't taken away from them because they didn't know how to raise kids, because they did. Money had a huge thing to do with it, they couldn't take care of two kids financially. At the time, Chres was fourteen and I was eighteen, we didn't have any other kin to take us in because the family tree wasn't that close. Our parents wanted what was best for us, so they decided that the best decision was to give us to someone who could take care of us".
"So adoption or foster homes?"
Mia nodded, "yes, but I was eighteen, so seeing that I was a legal adult, I wasn't going to be able to go wherever they decided to place Chres. Now back then Chresanto was nothing like he is now. He was this fourteen year old kid who had braces and was quiet as hell, and he was scared. I decided that since I was an adult, I could do this, you know? I could find a place to live with my little brother and we'll be fine. For Chresanto to legally live with me and for me to actually be his legal guardian, all of these forms and paperwork had to be filled and signed with the Department of Social Services. Once that happened, we were given a social worker to make sure I was fit for the job and she comes around every month".
"What happens if you're not fit for it?"
"Chres is still seventeen, so in the DSS' eyes, he's still a child and if it comes down to it, he will be placed in a foster home if they believe that I am incapable of taking care of him".
Damn... That was a lot to actually take in and understand, but even then I still have a few questions.
"So... You basically adopted your brother?"
Mia hummed in agreement, "yes".
"Once Chres turns eighteen, you don't have to worry about DSS anymore?"
"Correct, he'll be an adult. Sharon, our social worker, may do a few check ups afterwards, but nothing that either Chres or myself would have to be worried about".
I ran my hand through my hair, absentmindedly twirling a curl around my finger.
"Well, hold on... If you adopted Chres and took him into your own apartment to raise him, where are your parents now? How come they're not in the picture?"
"That all has to do with Chresanto actually, I talk to our parents all of the time. They could be in the picture, but the only way is if everyone agrees to it. I'm not going to force Chres to be around them if he doesn't want to be, and that's exactly what he wants, he doesn't want to see them".
"Why?"
Mia shrugged, shaking her head. "I have no idea, he won't tell me".
"Do you think he's mad at them for not being able to take care of you and him?"
"He's not mad, every time I ask him why he doesn't want to see them, he says it's not because he's mad. He understands why they were planning on placing us into another household, but he won't tell me why he doesn't want to talk or see them".
What the hell was wrong with him? Why wouldn't he want to see his parents after three years? I couldn't think up a possible reason as to why Chresanto refused to get in contact with the two people who obviously tried so damn hard to do what was best for him. I wanted to ask him about it but it wasn't any of my business, it's clear that he doesn't even want me to know about the situation. He lied to me when I asked about his parents before, he wasn't going to openly tell me anything.
I sighed, pulling out my phone, I wasn't going to dwell on it too much. It'll come back up eventually anyway. I checked the time, it was two ten.
"Thanks for answering my questions, Mia" I said, standing up and pushing in my chair. "I'll see you later".
"You're welcome, and okay, be safe out there".
I passed the stairs on my way to the front door, "bye, Chresanto!" I called out.
I was hungry and his slow ass was going to be the reason why I starved.
Chresanto walked out of the house the second I was going to back out of his driveway. I glared at him and locked the doors before he could open the passenger side. He gave me a plain expression through the window and I did the same.
"Unlock the fucking door" he demanded.
"I don't think I will".
"You have got to be kidding me".
"I told you I was going to leave".
"Open the door".
"Say please".
Chresanto glared at me with so much animosity it was kind of alarming.
"Please, open the damn door".
Well... At least he did say please...
"Why're you so annoying?" He asked once he was seated in the car, he buckled his seatbelt and glanced at me.
"I actually don't know, it's a question I've asked myself so many times before but I just can't seem to find the answer".
Chresanto rolled his eyes, "okay, Jacob".
~*~*~
"So this is it" I explained, walking up to the door of the burger joint. It was a small place, but it got a lot of business because the food here was pretty good.
"Frank's Burgers" Chresanto read the sign quietly, looking at me with a perplexed expression.
"Don't let the name fool'ya, plus, Frank's a nice guy".
"You... Know him?"
"Yeah" I opened the door and let him walk in first. "Friend of the family, I guess you could say".
"Oh".
"Where do you want to sit?"
"By the window, over there".
Chresanto walked to the table and we both sat down. I watched him look around the place, his eyes taking in the different photos and pictures on the wall. There really wasn't a set theme here, it was just anything with bright colors and a friendly mood.
"So you and your brother came here a lot?"
"When he was around, back when we were younger" I answered, not bothering to take a menu from in between the large salt and pepper shakers. I slid one over to Chresanto, he looked at me. "What?"
"Nothing" he answered, opening the menu and beginning to look over the choices. I already knew what I was going to get, I always ordered the same thing every time I came here because it was my favorite. "What're you getting?"
"Brew burger" I answered right away.
Chresanto chuckled, sending me an amused smile. "Someone is quite eager".
"Shut up" I replied, nudging his leg with my own, "and I have a right to be eager because I feel like my stomach is eating itself right now, I'm so hungry".
"I can't wait until the tables have turned and I'm the one picking you up to go somewhere".
Raising my eyebrows in interest, I spoke, "so this is going to happen again?"
"I suppose".
Chresanto rolled his eyes when he noticed the way I was looking at him. He held up his menu so I couldn't see his face.
"God, you're so aggravating" he murmured, peering over the top of the menu to glance at me.
"Weren't thinking that when you had your tongue down my throat" I shot back.
"I thought you quite liked that, what with the way you literally moaned every time my piercing hit the roof of your mouth".
I narrowed my eyes at him before shrugging. "Can't deny that, your piercing is hot", I sat up a little to catch a bit of his lip piercing, "both of them".
Chresanto wanted to say more, but he couldn't because a waitress approached the table to take our order.
"Hi, my name's Wynter and I'll be taking care of you today" she greeted, pulling out a notepad and pen from her back pocket. "What can I start you all off with drink wise?"
"Water for me, please" I answered.
"I'll have Coke".
"Okeydoke, and do we already know what we want to order?"
Chresanto nodded, deciding to speak first. "Yeah, could I get the, um... The Burger Bar with no mushrooms or tomatoes, please".
"I'll take the Brew burger".
"You want everything on it?"
"Yup".
Wynter smiled, telling us she'd be back with our order. I watched her go, then looked at Chresanto as he put the menu back in its original place.
"So, when do you want to talk about it?" I asked, not really having to clarify what I was asking because he knew.
"Now. I mean, this is why we're here".
"I'm here because I wanted food".
"You're here because you wanted to go on a date with me".
I rolled my eyes, I decided to not make a snarky comment and to just let him have his moment.
"I don't want to be friends with benefits with you" I stated, "or fuck buddies, that's not what I'm here for".
"Okay".
I stared at Chresanto, waiting for him to say more. I gestured with my hands and raised my eyebrows because what the hell?
"Okay, so are you going to tell me what you think of this information? Do you want to date or just be friends? I'm not understanding why you're not talking".
"I wouldn't mind... Dating you... But I don't want people to know. I'm not ashamed of you or anything, I just don't want my relationship to be... Out there".
"So you're in the closet?"
"No, people know I'm bi, I personally just don't like having my relationship out in the open".
"Okay, I can respect that" I nodded, thinking for a moment. "I won't have to worry about any ex's coming around, right? Like your last boyfriend?"
"How do you know I had a boyfriend?"
"Jasper told me a while ago, but that doesn't matter. All my ex's are in the past and we have a mutual understanding that things are over".
"Mine too" he murmured.
Wynter came around with our food and we thanked her, telling her that we didn't need anything else.
"So I'm calling it" I stated, picking up a fry. "We're dating now".
Despite what he wanted, Chresanto smiled.
"I'm going to make up pet names for you now" I added quickly, watching his smile fall from his face. "Like Chressy or boo, maybe even dove".
"I'm breaking up with you".
"Oh, come on!" I scoffed, "pet names are nice".
"You can call me Chres but if you call me Chressy I'm going to punch you in the throat".
I shrugged a bit, "I may have to take that chance because I personally think Chressy is a nice pet name".
"We'll see if you change your mind after your throat is sore".
"That can be taken two ways".
I think if he could, Chresanto would reach across the table and choke the shit out of me.
"I hate you".
"Same to you".
(Another A/N: just a bit of insight on Chresanto's parental situation, why do you think Chresanto doesn't want to see his parents after all these years?)