The kiss only lasts a few seconds give or take, but that's still long enough for Trevor to experience a number of emotions. The first is want. Years ago, a crush-stricken Trevor wanted nothing more than this. To feel Adam Cole's lips on his own. He pictured it to be like floating on clouds. Like he would be up so high that nothing could touch him.
The second contradicts with the first, because Trevor is angry. Angry because this kiss is not consented, and it messes with his head in a way he never asked for. And now he's got this image of a kiss with Adam burned into his memory that he wants gone, but it won't leave any faster than it came. It's a stubborn iceberg under the sun, melting at a glacial pace.
When Adam breaks away, he doesn't meet Trevor's eyes. Or perhaps he can't. Trevor doesn't know which is worse. All he knows is that the crowd fades away into background noise as he refocuses on the monitor to find a replay of the kiss. It's surreal to see it play out so naturally on the screen all the while knowing he tormented himself with his thoughts every second of it.
Trevor squeezes his eyes shut, thinking back to the comparison of the iceberg. He shivers, and for a moment it feels like he's drowning.
+
The game ends with Trevor having had enough time to work through his emotions until he settles on one: anger. He's determinedly fuming when he slides into the passenger side of Adam's car. Past feelings for him or not, kiss cam or not, that kiss was not okay. It's not okay and Trevor's too angry to express his point in a mature way. So, he stays quiet, waiting for the right words to come so he can let Adam know that he can't pull a stunt like this ever again on anyone.
Adam, seemingly lost on what to say other than the obvious apology, goes for an ice breaker a few minutes into the drive. "How about some tunes?"
Trevor ignores him, opting to stare out the window at the passing palm trees as he works through a one-sided argument in his head. It's coming together really well. They pass by his favorite ice cream shop, and he's tempted to tell Adam to stop there. But Trevor's stubborn as hell and is still very much pissed off, so0 he watches it through the back windshield with a deep sense of longing in his eyes.
When Adam realizes that Trevor has no plans to reply, he takes it upon himself to turn the radio on. To Trevor's chagrin, the first thing he hears when it's on is:
Blow me one last kiss...
He doesn't appreciate the irony. There's a click, then:
...compare you to a kiss from a rose from th—
When Adam changes it again, Trevor's prepared to take action and stop it, but to his complete surprise, he hears:
You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you...
And that's the kind of situational irony he can get behind. Trevor finally turns away from the window to pointedly stare at Adam, the song playing in the background making the majority of his points for him.
Adam seems to get the underlying meaning as well, glancing sheepishly at Trevor before changing the station once more until finally:
...touch you like this, and if you kiss me li—
Trevor knocks Adam's hand out of the way as he reaches over to turn the radio off, having had enough of fate's antics for the day. He settles back into his seat, returning to stare out the window. He's determined to do it until he makes it back to his apartment.
"No music, then. We could stop and get something to eat if you want? There's a great Thai place a few blocks out." Adam waits, then huffs out a sigh when he gets no response once again. "Okay, I know you're mad."
"Nah, what gave you that idea," he says sarcastically, reluctantly turning away from the window to send Adam his best glare. "What the hell were you thinking?"
Adam quickly takes in Trevor's face and comes to his own conclusion. He shoots him a glare of his own before refocusing on the street. "Oh, don't tell me you're pissed because I'm a guy?"
"No, asshole, I'm pissed because you can't go around kissing people without their consent." He's never cared to make a big deal out of it, but Trevor is bisexual. His closest friends know that, but Adam doesn't. And now isn't the most ideal time to mention it. "Didn't you learn that shit in grade school?"
There's silence after that, Trevor's words resonating with Adam. After a moment, Adam nods. "You're right. I guess I just saw our faces up there and ran with it. But that's not okay, and I'm sorry."
Trevor nods, but doesn't say anything. He stays quiet the rest of the ride. Adam keeps taking furtive glances at him when there's a break in traffic or they pull up to a stoplight, as if he wants to say something more. He ultimately makes the choice to stay quiet as well.
When they arrive at his apartment, Trevor is still silent as he gets out and closes the door behind him. He makes a move to head towards his door, but his conflicting thoughts stop him in his tracks. Does he really want to leave things like this?
"Hey." He looks over his shoulder to see Adam's rolled down the window and is leaning against the middle console. His stare is almost nervous as he fiddles with the blue steering wheel cover under his left hand, plucking a few loose strings. "Are we cool?"
And Trevor doesn't really know how to answer that. Because yes, Adam is his friend, but that doesn't negate his feelings. He's still upset, as he has every right to be. Yet that doesn't mean he's ready to close the door on their friendship. He just needs time. Trevor leans against the open window, staring Adam straight in the eyes as he tells him, "We will be."
He pats the hood of the car as he backs away, then turns on his heel to head towards his home without looking back. Even though he considers it when he hears Adam drive away only when Trevor's started unlocking the door. But he doesn't because there's too much to say and no way to say it. So, he lets it go for now.
Once inside, he calls out to Akira and gets no answer, letting him know he's home alone. He tosses his keys on the coffee table before dropping onto the sofa, letting his feet dangle over the edge. He closes his eyes and tries to get that kiss out of his mind, but there's no ignoring the distinct taste of the tangy pickle relish from the hot dog mixed with the pungent sweetness of the cotton candy on his lips. It's infuriating as well as intoxicating, and it's annoying as hell that he's able to experience both emotions at once.
Trevor heaves himself up to rinse out his mouth and take a hot shower.
+
Later, after Trevor's washed all thoughts of Adam away — and skirted around the kiss and what followed when discussing the game with Akira over a dinner of thin crust pizza on the couch — he jumps into bed in nothing but his Spider-Man boxers. It's not a hot night, but whenever Akira's home, they agreed on letting him control the temperature in the apartment. He keeps it noticeably less cold than Trevor would like.
The gentle hum of the AC lulls him to sleep within minutes, and he drifts off to dream about when he got the call to come down and tryout at the PC. He still remembers it so clearly, and he's thankful to his subconscious for letting him relive it. A few details are changed, like the day and the tie Hunter is wearing, but the main theme remains the same.
In the middle of that dream, right before he's about to pose for the group photo, he's jerked out of it by some clicking sound coming from outside. Trevor blinks one eye open and listens. It doesn't sound like it's at his window, which means it's not his problem. He rolls over and pulls the blanket over his head because he's really tired and just wants to sleep.
When the clicking stops shortly after, Trevor relaxes a fraction. Then there's a distant sound of music coming through the walls from outside, and he's back on edge all over again. Any other night, Trevor would have continued to ignore it since this apartment complex can get up to some crazy stuff. But when he listens closer, he realizes that it's impossible to ignore for more reasons than it halting his sleep. Because the song being played is one of his childhood favorites, "A Natural Woman", and what are the chances that the person outside isn't Adam Cole?
Trevor sits up slowly to rub at his eyes, peeking at the glaringly bright green digits on his clock that read 11:01 PM. It's way too late to pull some Say Anything type shit. "Ah, hell."
He throws the blanket off of his body as he gets out of bed, padding over to his window and yanking back the curtains. He unlocks and opens it, sticking his head out. Sure enough, Adam is out there with a handful of pebbles in one hand and his JBL wireless speaker, held upwards towards the sky, in the other. He's playing the song at what he probably thinks is a reasonable volume, but it's still loud enough for complaints to be made if anyone sees fit. Especially when Trevor shakes off enough sleep to notice he's at the wrong damn window.
"Adam," he hisses, not wanting to get on the neighbor's bad side. Adam jerks his head away from where he's focused over to Trevor. His eyes widen in realization, the pebbles dropping from his hand.
"Oh, shit." He hurries over to Trevor, pausing the music when he's stopped in front of the window. "Well, at least I still got your attention." Adam's eyes drop down subsequently, and the small smile that spreads across his lips is illuminated by the moonlight. "Nice boxers."
"It's funny you notice them, because these just happen to be the boxers I wear when I know company is coming over at stupid o'clock." Trevor sits down on his windowsill, shaking his head. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Adam glances off to the side, rubbing at the back of his neck. "I thought this Say Anything tribute would get me back in your good graces."
Trevor narrows his eyes. "The boombox scene didn't work."
"Which is why this isn't a boombox." He gives a wave of his speaker, then slides it into his pocket. "I figured it would up my chances significantly."
Just like earlier, there's so much Trevor wants to say. But unlike earlier, he's had time to sort out his thoughts, so he has a chance not to speak out of anger. A chance to be honest with Adam and not dance around the issue.
A light breeze flows through the window before he can respond, hitting the bare skin of his chest and causing him to shiver. He wraps his arms around his body, hoping they can wrap this up quick so he can go dive back under his blanket. Or maybe he should just go put on a shirt.
"Yeah, the fall air's coming in early." Adam starts shrugging out of his Fight Owens Fight pullover without prompting, revealing a red Henley underneath. "Here." He hands the hoodie to Trevor, who didn't expect that. He's only a little cold though, so he goes to gently push it back, but Adam pulls it away and offers it again. "No, it's fine. Come on."
The breeze picks up again and, through another shiver, Trevor relents. He takes the hoodie to shrug on over his head, adjusting his legs on either side of the window. "And people say chivalry's dead."
"Those people clearly haven't met me." Adam points at the now extra space beside him, silently asking if he can sit. Trevor nods, backing up against the window a little more. When Adam sits down, he says, "Chivalry is my middle name."
Trevor snorts, mouth twitching upwards. "Wow. Here I was thinking it was 'modesty'."
They both fall quiet after that. An owl hoots in the distance, and Trevor swears he can hear Akira's snores floating through the home. He closes his eyes and inhales deeply, getting a whiff of the salty cool night air and Adam's cologne. The cologne is something Trevor didn't notice in a stadium full of people, though can't help but pick up on now in the stillness of the night. When it's just the two of them and the night creatures and the tension that unknowingly shifts the moment Trevor's bare left knee rubs against Adam's thin pajama-clad thigh.
As he exhales and opens his eyes, he looks up to see Adam already staring back at him. The moonlight shining down on them hits the right of Adam's face, while the left side is shrouded in the darkness of Trevor's room. He thinks briefly to the baseball game and bites his bottom lip, slipping his hands into the jacket's pocket. Letting his head fall against the edge of the window, Trevor refuses to break eye contact as he breaks the silence with, "It's late."
Adam, already painfully aware of that fact, nods along anyway. "I know."
Trevor sighs, rephrasing his question from earlier without the hostility. "Why are you here?"
"You said we would be cool," Adam responds after a couple of seconds, turning his stare to the ground as he runs a hand through his hair. "But when I went home, there was a part of me that thought maybe we wouldn't be. And all because of some shitty thing that I did."
"It was kinda shitty," Trevor agrees, because Adam's known him too long, and he can tell if he's trying to bullshit him with kind words that he doesn't believe he deserves. Trevor shrugs, picking at one of the small Spider-Man heads on his boxers. "It'd have been a different story if you asked me."
Adam picks his head back up, debating on whether or not he should dive deeper into what Trevor's just said. He ultimately decides to let it slip away, focusing on keeping his friendship intact. "I'm really sorry, Trevor. Just tell me what I need to do to make things right. Whatever it takes, I'll do it."
Trevor realizes he isn't angry or bitter at what happened now. He's just a little upset at the feelings that kiss brought up. Feelings he had long since buried. Feelings that Adam would never be aware of as long as Trevor continued to keep the past to himself. He thinks about what he wants from this moment and knows what he needs to do if he wants to get their relationship back on track.
"Hey." He drops a hand on Adam's shoulder and gives it a little shake, watching as Adam searches his eyes frantically. Trevor smiles to assure him that everything's okay. "We're cool, man. And I accept your apology. But I do need some time and space to myself, alright?"
"Okay. I can respect that." Adam takes a deep breath. Trevor feels it move through his arm down to his bones, and it sends a chill down his spine in a different way than the night breeze. Adam's head tilts to the side and his eyebrows furrow. "Is it too soon to make a joke about how a kiss from me needs a long recovery period?"
And Trevor laughs as he shoves him, because they're already starting to get back into the groove of things. It's good. Normal. "Yeah, whatever. Get outta here." As Adam stumbles off the windowsill chuckling, Trevor tells him, "All jokes aside, I had fun." He thinks Adam has the right to know that, despite what came after.
"Yeah, me too." Adam stretches his arms behind his back. When they fall, he points a finger at Trevor. "Next time we should do golf though, right?"
"Oh, definitely. But only if we scream 'fore' before they do to throw them off their game."
"Deal." He starts backing away, giving a two-fingered salute. "Goodnight, Trev."
"Night." Trevor steps back into his room, and it's only as he's about to shut his window that he glances down to see he's still in Adam's hoodie. He grabs at the ends of it, preparing to take it off. "Wait," he calls out to Adam, causing him to stop and turn around. "You're forgetting your jacket."
"Keep it. I've got two more of that one." Adam whirls on his heels and continues his trek to wherever he parked his car. The smirk is obvious in his voice even if Trevor can't see it himself as he throws over his shoulder, "It looks better on you, anyhow."
Trevor shuts his window with a roll of his eyes and a grin on his face. There's still the issue of what the kiss dredged up, but he'll be fine. Like he told Adam, all he needs is time. He already feels lighter after that conversation, and he's honestly happy that Adam took the initiative in making sure their friendship would be okay. That being said, if Adam Cole ever shows up at his window this late again, they're gonna have some problems.
Trevor's just slid into bed after draping Adam's hoodie over the back of his chair when there's a knock on his door. He calls Akira in and leans over to flick on his bedside lamp. His friend steps into the room, blinking sleepily. Trevor watches as he scratches at his disheveled hair with a yawn, looking around his room curiously. Once he's finished his survey, Akira's eyes land back on Trevor. His hand drops from his head, and with a deadpan stare he asks, "Were you talking to yourself?"