grabby-hands-for-benedict said:Hello! Would you write about Josh being constantly inappropriate with Chris on public places? :)
âWhy does it always have to be me helping you out with this crap?â Chris is huffing, arms burning as he holds a wooden plank over his head.
âCuz Josh is too short, man.â Mike is up on a ladder, biting screws between his teeth while he maneuvers the end of the plank against the wall, eyebrows knit together in concentration.
âListen, broskis, being short works out in my favor sometimes. Like now, for instance.â Josh, the bastard, is leaning against the opposite wall, watching the other two sweat and struggle to put up the cabinet while he drags lazily on a joint. âBesides,â he puts on a fake Southern drawl, lips curling up into a crazy smile, âI like to watch the new guys sweat.â
âShut up, Josh,â Chris grumbles, feeling a bead of sweat work its way down his neck and into the collar of his t-shirt. He turns to throw a glance at his older friend, and shifts just enough that it makes Mike bark at him.
âHey, keep it steady, man! I canât screw it into the wall if you keep fuckinâ around.â
âShit, man, sorry,â Chris goes to right it again, focuses in on the task at hand. Tries to ignore Joshâs muffled snickers behind him. Holds the plank as steady as he can despite his muscles aching. Shit, heâs barely doing anything and heâs this exhausted already? Time to start hitting the gym with Matt again...
A vibration runs through his leg, and it makes the blonde jolt, just a little. Mike gives him a sharp glare, and Chris tries to swallow down his instinct to drop the plank and grab the buzzing phone in his pocket. It could be Ashley, texting him about their history project. It could be his mom, with news about his grandpa or something. It could be Sam, in desperate need of someone to fix her computer.
âJosh, man, do me a favor?â He canât help it. Heâs not patient, he needs to know now.
âSure, dude, whatâs up?â Joshâs tone sounds almost serious, and a little excited. He always likes it when Chris asks for help with stuff, makes him feel useful or...something.
âMy phoneâs buzzing, can you grab it out of my pocket and see whatâs up?â
A short silence, Joshâs footsteps coming towards him. A cool, âSure, bro.â Mischief. Aw shit, whatâs he gonna--
Chris feels a hand dive into the back pocket of his jeans, and he lets out a yelp. Heâd like to pretend itâs a dignified yelp, but it isnât. Not even close. He feels breath on the back of his neck, and he can just picture the shit-eating grin on Joshâs lips.
âThis pocket, bro? Is it in this one?â The hand squeezes his ass, then leaves and jumps over to his other back pocket. âWhat about this one?â Squeezes that cheek, too, and Chris all but drops the plank.
âDude!â he squeaks, overlapping with Mikeâs angry shout of, âI will end you, Chris!â He struggles to keep the plank steady, and Josh is laughing as subtly as he can. Which is to say, not very.
âAlright, alright, sorry man. Jesus, take a pill. Iâm gettinâ it.â Chris watches Joshâs hand out of the corner of his vision, watches it slowly creep down to his front pocket, slip inside. He feels fingers wrap around his phone, but the hand doesnât move, just stays still. Josh presses up against Chrisâ back, snickering.
âWant a quick tug, Cochise?â Itâs barely a whisper, a throaty mumble next to his ear, and Chris feels his face light up. He tries to bat Josh away with his elbow, and nearly drops the plank. Again. Mike yells something angry in Spanish, it sounds vaguely like a threat on his life. Josh slips his hand out of Chrisâ pocket, taking the cellphone with him, giggling the entire time.
It wasnât that Chris didnât like Joshâs special brand of...erm, attention. It was just that it had been more aggressive as of late, a little harder to ignore. And more public. The rest of their friends never said anything, oddly enough. Mustâve figured it was par for the course, knowing the friendship they had.
Usually, it was tame enough to pass off as a weird joke. Chris would bend over to pick up a notebook heâd dropped, Josh would stand behind him and mime thrusting motions. Before gym class, Chris would take his shirt off in the locker room, and Josh would yell something loud and embarrassing, something like âlove me some whtie bread!â (Funny, sure, but really dude, white bread? Heâd tried to call him multi-grain in retaliation, but that just...hadnât worked out.) Everyone was used to Joshâs stupid jokes. It was never something a well-placed âno homoâ couldnât fix.
But lately it had just gotten...different.
Chris was trying on a sweater at a store in the mall. He slid it over his head, tugging at the soft material a few times til it sat comfortably on his frame. Twisting this way and that, he gave himself a long glance in the mirror, then shrugged. Heâd never been good at this stuff. This is why he had to shop with Josh or Emily, he never knew what looked good. On this trip, it was Josh, who had been all too happy to pluck a few (overpriced) sweaters from a display and usher Chris to the fitting rooms to try them on.
The one he was trying now was cozy. A heavy lambswool sweater, the color of moss, and it was ridiculously soft. He liked it well enough, he supposed, but decided to ask a second opinion. He straightened his glasses and unlatched the door, stepping out into the bright hallway to search for Josh. His dark hair popped into view immediately, followed by bright green eyes and a broad smirk.
âWhat dâyou think?â Chris murmured, glancing over Joshâs shoulder for a moment at the cute blonde girl that was refolding merchandise. She gave him a quick glance and smiled. Chris grinned in response, then looked back to Josh. Who was narrowing his eyes ever so slightly.
âNo. No, not this one. No way. Canât buy it.â
âWhat? Why not?â Chris had thought it looked pretty good...plus it was warm as hell. Huge plus in Chrisâ books.
âCuz it looks too good. Iâd just rip it off you the second you put it on.â Joshâs grin bloomed wider, and Chris felt his cheeks burn red. The blonde worker whipped her head up to stare at the pair of them, eyebrows raised so high they may as well have rocketed off her face. Tongue suddenly thick and dumb, he spun on his heel and marched back into the dressing room, Joshâs snickers trailing behind him.
He doesnât buy the sweater.
One of the mistakes teachers often made was sitting Josh and Chris beside each other. Chris was a good student...mostly. He got in trouble for looking at his phone during class, but otherwise, he was attentive. It was Josh that caused the issues. He cracked jokes, bugged Chris, one time he even tried to make it a point to crawl, on his stomach, across the entire room, unnoticed. Just to pass Emily a note.
Josh mostly liked to focus his attention on Chris. Because Chris could take it. He could absorb the jokes and let them pass. No amount of pencil pokes or passed notes could make him emote large enough to get them in trouble. And Josh loved to push his boundaries.
The assignment was simple: read a chapter of the textbook, write down a few questions or comments, and there would be a class discussion. Josh, as always, had forgotten his book in his car, so he slid a chair over to Chrisâ desk to share with him. Normal occurrence. But there was a gleam in his eyes, like he was planning something. He was always planning something.
Chris started to read, pen scratching tiny notes and questions on his open notebook. Josh read a few sentences, then placed a hand on Chrisâ knee. The blond looked up, gave him a long stare. A âdonât-do-whatever-it-is-you-want-to-doâ stare. Josh smiled, and looked back down to the reading. His hand stayed on Chrisâ knee. Chris returned to reading. The hand scooched up his leg, maybe an inch. Neither boy said anything. The hand inched up again. And again.
âImma grab your dick,â Josh whispered, his hand edging up to lay on Chrisâ thigh. Chris jolted his leg up, slamming Joshâs hand (and his knee) against the underside of the desk with a loud bang! Both boys groaned in pain, and the teacher glared at them.
They were sent to the Principalâs office. Josh wouldnât stop smirking.
Christmas was just around the corner, and Chris couldnât wait. He loved Christmas time. Lots of warm sweaters and hot coffee and all the cute people at school bundled up against the Southern California cold? It was, without a doubt, his favorite time of year. Not to mention it meant that the annual Blackwood Mountain trip was only a few months away.
He was walking to his locker with Beth in tow, chatting about plans for the trip, securing transport, what sort of wintertime fun they could have. When they finally got round to his locker, he started to spin the lock on it, putting in his combination. When it popped open, he swung the door open, and was promptly smacked in the face by a piece of felt on a spring.
âIs...that mistletoe?â Beth asked. Chris didnât even respond, just stared at the green and red hot-glued monstrosity that was stuck against the locker door. Who the hell broke into his locker and stuck mistletoe--? It didnât make any sense.
âDoes that mean we have to kiss?â Bethâs voice brings him back to reality, and he stares down at her, eyes blown wide with shock. Shit. Shit, shit, did she think he set this up? He didnât, he wasnât trying to mack on girls at his locker, that would be so dumb. She has her eyebrows knitted together, looking at him with a mixed expression, and he puts his hands up defensively.
âI didnât do this,â his voice cracks when he says it, and a shiver runs down his back. âI swear I didnât--â
âAw, man, you beat me here!â A gravelly voice behind him makes Chris jump, and he whirls around to see a slightly out-of breath Josh. Josh looks between his sister, Chris, and the craft-store hellspawn mistletoe, and lets out a huff. âYou tryinâ to kiss my sister, man?â
âNo, no no no, I have no--â
âWell, I guess the best idea would be for me to take the fall for her. Yâknow. Keep her safe from your wily womanizing ways.â A smirk lights up the sharp edges of his face, and Chris starts to wonder if maybe, somehow, Josh is connected to this whole thing somehow. But there isnât time to think about that now. Josh is pressing up on his tiptoes and Beth is covering a grin with her hand and Chris does just about the only thing he can do at this point.