heavy is the head

HUNTER

Hunter groaned softly as he pulled on his jacket over a t-shirt. He loved Sebastian dearly, but the thought of his day was leaving Hunter on edge. Valentine’s Day meant different things to many people, but Hunter knew good and well what it meant to his best friend. Problem was, he wasn’t willing to let Sebastian spend the entire day on his own getting into a world of trouble. With a small wrapped box in hand, Hunter started his trip to the Smythe household, uncertain how the other boy would even react to anything. The trip wasn’t much, but it gave Hunter some time to think about what exactly he wanted to say and that was something.

Arriving at the front of the house though, all of Hunter’s planned conversations went out of his head. Why he had even thought he could plan out their conversations was beyond him. This was Sebastian for goodness sake – wild and unpredictable when upset Sebastian. Hunter knocked on the door softly and began to tilt back and forth on his heels waiting for an answer.

SEBASTIAN

Hunter was a good friend, but he wasn’t great at catching hints that Sebastian would rather spend the day alone. At the end of the day, it wouldn’t matter all that much, but he was aware that he was going out of his way to make his friend regret showing up on his doorstep. The morning activity of hotboxing the bathroom during a long soak was reflected in his red-rimmed eyes and still unbuttoned shirt when he answered the door. His parents, who had disappeared to Columbus for the weekend, had left the obligatory gifts waiting in the living room for him to open on the day. But Sebastian had left them untouched, already knowing their contents (watch from his father, reminding him of his perpetual tardiness and half-hearted attempt at a gift from his mother with the purchase of a gift certificate to a restaurant he would never go to).

He swung the door open, giving Hunter a sort of exhausted look. The day was going to start like this already, huh? “Morning, Clarington. Get inside, it’s freezing.”

HUNTER

Greeted at the door by a very high Sebastian, Hunter just shook his head and stepped past his friend into the home. He didn’t expect Sebastian’s parents to be around and that suspicion was confirmed as he looked around and no parents in sight. He saw the still-wrapped gifts laying there and held out his own towards the boy. “Here, you can add this to the pile.” He didn’t expect Sebastian to open it or even look at it for more than a second. No, Hunter fully expected it to simply be thrown with the other two and forgotten until Sebastian finally found it a proper time to pick at the wrapping paper.

His arms wrapped around themselves then as Hunter closed his eyes and tried not to inhale too deeply. It was obvious what Sebastian had been doing that morning and even if he hadn’t told Hunter, he could have easily guessed. Not that he ever expected Sebastian to stop, but he had never been fond of it when Sebastian smoked. Something about the smell just didn’t do it for him, but this was Sebastian’s day. The boy was free to do as he wished.

“I figured we could go for coffee to start out.”

SEBASTIAN

A hand took the gift that was offered to him. In his head, he realized Hunter wasn’t expecting him to open the gift - and Sebastian wasn’t expecting to. But his fingers dug into the wrapping paper anyway, tearing it away to reveal the gift within it. The wallet fell into his hand, and the soft leather felt amazing against his hands. His index finger traced along his initials - S.R.S - and Sebastian felt his lips twitch upwards into a smile. Digging into his back pocket, Sebastian was already emptying and tossing his old wallet over his shoulder.

Sebastian slipped it back into his pocket, then smiled a little wider. “Thanks.” He said simply, but there wasn’t much he needed to say. The look he gave Hunter was enough - even with red eyes, they shone slightly. And god, coffee. Suddenly coffee was all he wanted in the world. Moving to button up his shirt, he was already grabbing his coat.

“Coffee. Yes. And crumb cake. You can drive, right?”

HUNTER

“And the munchies of one Sebastian Smythe appear.”

Hunter chuckled softly as he reached out and brushed his hand against Sebastian’s. “You’re welcome, Smythe. Your old one was looking a little less than perfect.” That was all that needed to be said about the gift as far as Hunter was concerned. He had gotten something practical and Sebastian seemed pleased with the thought. “Yes, unlike your very high self, some of us can drive.” Glancing back at him, Hunter flashed Sebastian a smile to let the boy know that he was teasing. Sure he wished that there was a better way for Sebastian to deal with his emotions, but this was what he was given so this is what he would work with. Besides, it wasn’t that terrible to look at once Hunter looked past Sebastian’s red eyes that were all bright and eager now.

Leading him outside, Hunter opened the passenger door to his car for Sebastian then made his way over to the driver’s side. “Where did your parents go off to?” It was probably a touchy subject, but at least knowing there they were would give Hunter a better idea when he needed to get Sebastian back and how much he needed to clean the boy up.

SEBASTIAN

Sebastian rolled his eyes, but a smile still was set on his face. It wasn’t munchies, he told himself, he just hadn’t had his breakfast yet. Normally he would have binged on something easy in his kitchen, but the offer for coffee and pastries was much more enticing. Sebastian realized that his hand was being touched a little late, but his senses lit up at the physical content. He inhaled slowly, trying to calm them down. It was just the drugs, and he casually slipped his hands into his pocket, as if feeling out the wallet in his pocket. He huffed a laugh at Hunter’s joke, following him out the door.

Seb slipped into the car, closing the door behind him. His lip quirked from a smile to a bit of a scowl when his parents were brought up, then quickly went neutral again. “Some sort of fundraiser event from the governor.” Sebastian shrugged. “They’re gone until Sunday night.”

HUNTER

“Alright, then it looks like I get you all day. Lucky me.”

It wasn’t hard to realize that it would be upsetting for anyone for their parents to just leave on the one day of the year that was theirs, but Hunter figured it was so much more when it came to Sebastian. He liked Mr. and Mrs. Smythe well enough – they had never given him a solid reason to hate them at least – but he didn’t like the way Sebastian’s mood always seemed to drop whenever they were mentioned. Perhaps it was simply because he could relate to the feeling of being forgotten or unappreciated by a parent. Either way, Hunter was even more determined to make sure that Sebastian enjoyed his day despite the boy not wanting to acknowledge it as his birthday.

The drive wasn’t far and soon enough Hunter was pulling into the parking lot of a small coffee shop. It wasn’t the Lima Bean, but he liked it well enough. Besides, going to the Lima Bean meant risking the chance that they would see someone they knew. Even worse, it was chancing that they saw someone who knew it was Sebastian’s birthday and would insist on exchanging pleasantries with the boy. So instead, they were going to spend the morning at a place very few of their friends went and the two that Hunter knew about were in school – little risk of seeing them here. “Alright Smythe, what can I get you? Crumb cake and what kind of coffee?”

SEBASTIAN

Driving felt like floating, which Sebastian liked. He wasn’t idiotic enough to drive while high, but Sebastian liked being in the passenger seat. He had spent a lot of time in cars as a child, and there was something calming about watching the world go by through a window. He yawned as they drove, humming along to whatever song was playing on the radio. He was almost disappointed when the car pulled into the parking lot of the local coffee shop - far enough away that no Warblers would be walking in unannounced. Sebastian glanced over at Hunter almost appreciatively for that fact.

He got out, of the car, already setting course for the one thing he wanted right now - coffee. He paused for a moment when Hunter asked what he wanted, the thought having not occurred to him. Normally he’d have it black, with a touch of alcohol. But he wanted something substantial, something sweet. “Mocha Frappacino, triple shot of espresso.” Go big, or go home.

HUNTER

A soft chuckle left Hunter’s lips as he heard the other boy’s order. It really shouldn’t have surprised him that Sebastian was craving something a little sweeter that morning. Getting out of the car, Hunter shook his head towards the other boy. “Alright, a mocha frappacino with a triple shot of espresso it is. Just, if you die, I’m not carrying your body back home. I’ll just leave it here for anyone else to take care of.” His smile a little more mischievous as he held open the door of the coffee shop for Sebastian. “I can take you to the Lima Bean if you want, but it seemed…safer here, if that makes sense?” Their friends should be in class, but seeing as they should as well, Hunter didn’t exactly trust that it was safe to assume they wouldn’t run into anyone else all day.

Once he got up to the counter, looking at the pastry case pulled a growl out of Hunter’s stomach. He had yet to eat that morning and staring at all the baked goods as well as the menu of options was reminding him of that. “Can I get one of your crumble cakes, a mocha frappe with three extra shots of espresso and then can I get a large black coffee and one of those everything bagels with butter?” A bagel wasn’t exactly a proper breakfast, but it was something on his stomach before the next adventure and that would be good enough. Besides, he could always con Sebastian into stopping for lunch eventually.

SEBASTIAN

“There are worse ways of dying than caffeine overdose.” Sebastian responded matter-of-factly. There were certainly better ways, he mused to himself, but he could think of far worse things. And the joke didn’t strike hard - Sebastian knew that Hunter wouldn’t leave his body to the wolves, so to speak. He might be one of the few people who actually cared if Sebastian disappeared. It struck him as odd, that Hunter actually cared, especially enough to go out of his way to spend this day with him. Sebastian followed him inside, nodding along with the reasoning. “Makes sense.”

Seb’s body was buzzing, waiting for his coffee to be delivered, as well as a big hunk of crumb cake, wrapped in greasy wax paper. French pastries were his weakness, but the crumb cake was one of the few exceptions to his rule.

HUNTER

When he was handed the small crumb cake, Hunter handed it right over to Sebastian, unsure how he could actually stand that thing. While pie was his weakness and Hunter certainly had a healthy sweet tooth, crumb cake had never been something he enjoyed. If Sebastian wanted it though, that was fine, he would get it. When he was handed his own coffee, Hunter smiled at the warm against his hands, followed by the chill of Sebastian’s blended drink. “Here you are, Smythe. Here’s your caffeine and sugar overload in a cup.” He was glad to be rid of the cold drink, taking another hold onto his own so he could go to the small table and add some sugar to it.

A quick look around the small shop showed Hunter that they were pretty clear that morning, though he assumed that was because other people were at work or in school. “Get us a table. I’m going to fix my coffee and then I’ll join you.” As he was adding sugar packets – two – to his drink, the girl at the front counter announced that his toasted bagel was ready. Hunter grabbed the small plate then made his way over to Sebastian, smiling slightly before sitting down.

“How’s your cake?”

SEBASTIAN

The cake was gone by the time Hunter sat down at the table. Sebastian lazily was pressing his finger against the wax paper, letting them stick to his thumb before bringing it up to his lips to devour every last crumb. He smiled almost guiltily when Hunter asked about it, but looked at the drink with a pleasant delight that normally didn’t cross his face while sober. The weed had mellowed him out, but made him sleepy and relaxed. A jumpstart to his system was exactly what he needed, and the icy slush of sweetness and caffeine would get him started.

“Thanks.” He intoned, sipping at it as soon as it settled on the table in front of him. “Cake was good. This’ll be better.” He insisted, then glanced with almost disdain at Hunter’s choice in breakfast. “Really, Clarington? A bagel? You know, there’s nothing worse than a bagel in the Midwest. They’re all made in factories and frozen. There’s no passion in it, you know?”

HUNTER

Hunter glanced down at his bagel then looked up at Sebastian with a feigned insulted look. “I’ll have you know this bagel will hold me over for a good while before we actually get lunch. Besides, I like bagels. They’re simple and easy to eat quickly, but they hold me over for enough time to go about my day.” It was probably very child-like, but Hunter then stuck his tongue out at the other boy before taking a bit into his bagel. It wasn’t the best thing in the world, but Hunter wasn’t going to admit that, not to Sebastian at least. He would never hear the end of it.

Once his bagel was halfway gone, Hunter began to just sip his coffee, enjoying the warmth going down his throat. He didn’t understand how Sebastian was able to stand it at the boy drank his sugary mess, but it was Sebastian after all. “And there’s so much passion in that, right Seb?” He gestured towards Sebastian’s drink before smirking slightly. Sebastian’s relationship with weed may have been one that Hunter didn’t entirely approve of, but it was amusing to see how calm and almost dopey it made his best friend.

“I need some energy, Smythe. I expect that I’ll be running around with you a lot today and I want to keep my energy up.”

SEBASTIAN

“They’re boring. This is not a day for boring, Clarington.” Sebastian gestured with an accusing finger. It felt short, though, when some of the whipped cream from his drink dribbled onto that accusatory finger, and Seb raised it to his lips to lick off quickly. “This is a day for shit that you wouldn’t do on any other normal day.” Which was, at least, sort of true. Sebastian could come up with an excuse to do outlandish things, but his birthday was a particular day. Sebastian wanted to forget about the world on his birthday, and if that meant diving head first into drugs and sex even more so than he normally would, so be it.

Sebastian sucked down the last of his drink, then smirked. “Sugar, passion. Same thing, right?” He stood up, going to toss out his drink and glancing back at Hunter. “Speaking of which, we should be going to our first stop for the day.” He paused, smile growing across his face. “How opposed are you, really, to trespassing?”

HUNTER

“You should know by now that I’m a boring person, Smythe. Today doesn’t really change that. I acted out enough simply by joining you on this little journey.” Hunter smirked slightly himself, amused by Sebastian’s antics. A bagel was reliable and delicious - at least this one way - and he was nothing if not practical, unlike his friend.