[X]

God, please make this work, Kevin prays silently. I promise that, if this goes well, I'll never tell another lie. And I'm sorry for that one time that I yelled at my mom.

God calls an answer back to him: You aren't even religious.

Kevin sighs, collecting his thoughts. He's decided to try and look nice today in a light pink sweater that's a bit too large for him and a pair of dark skinnies. His feet are in a pair of dark rose colored Keds. Touching his hair subconsciously, he wonders if he looks any good. He stares himself down in the mirror, and deems himself as decent as he can be.

Today is the day. The coffee date with Abel that isn't really a coffee date because Damon will be there. The three way coffee meetup. Kevin's never been more excited about or terrified of anything before.

He's heading down the stairs even though it's only one twenty, and is confronted with his father holding a camera. He's grinning like a Cheshire cat, which makes Kevin nervous. "Dad," he begins warily.

Kevin's dad waves his warning tone away. "I just wanted to document this, my gay son heading off to his first gay date, looking so cute and excited and gay." He snaps a picture of Kevin's confused face.

His cheeks flare bright red, and Kevin begin whisper yelling at the man. "It's not a date! And it's not a documentable event! Plus, I don't look that gay... Do I?" he asks, suddenly feeling a wave of self consciousness.

His father doesn't seem to notice. "On a scale of gay stereotype representation from zero to ten, zero being the heterosexual flag and ten being literally a rainbow on fire, I'd rate you as a low, pastel seven." Kevin blinks at him. "That means you look like a textbook example of a slightly closeted twink."

Kevin blushes harder. "I'm not a twink!" He opens his mouth to say more when he hears Damon blowing his car horn out front. "I have to go, but we aren't done talking about this," he says, making sure that he's got his wallet and keys.

Kevin's dad nods, smiling at his son's discomfort. "Yeah, okay. Have fun, kiddo!" Once Damon's car pulls away from the house, he shakes his head, laughing softly.

"Such a twink."

.............

Abel sits in the coffee shop, fidgeting nervously and waiting for Kevin to walk in the door. He taps his fingers on his notepad with one hand, rubbing his chin with the other. Maybe he should have shaved.

He's praying to Buddha, Satan, Jesus, the Universe, and any other Powers that may be that he makes a good impression. Abel's last couple of dates have gone badly, simply because his quiet demeanor puts people off sometimes. He usually gets quickly annoyed with the wait staff, which makes him snappy and unapproachable. He decides to try harder not to do that this time.

The door swings open, and Kevin walks in, his hair surrounding his head in an orange halo. He looks like an angel trying to disguise himself as human. Abel stands, a look of awe on his face, and waves. He isn't quite sure why he's stood up, but it seems the appropriate thing to do. However, when his eyes stray over Kevin's shoulder to the taller figure behind him, his face sours slightly. Oh, God, not him, he thinks to himself. He puts on a brave face and tries to look inviting.

Kevin's POV

Abel has a weird expression on his face just before he looks at me. Then he smiles, all abnormalities gone. "Hi, Blue. Good to see you again," he says quietly.

I grin back. My stomach feels full of butterflies, violent butterflies that like to wrestle. I try not to let them show. "Hey." I gesture behind me toward Damon, who's been uncharacteristically quiet since we entered the cafe. "This is Damon, my friend. Damon, this is Abel."

Abel's face does that weird thing again. He looks as though he's just eaten a relative's horrendous food, but is trying to be polite and not point it out. "Hey," he sticks out his hand.

Damon shakes it quickly, eyes slightly narrowed. "Hey yourself." It's a common enough greeting, but the way he says it is menacing.

The air starts to get very tense, and I laugh loudly, trying to prevent it from getting any worse. "Okay, let's sit down!" I'm about to throw myself onto the nearest sitting surface when I notice Abel pulling out a chair for me. "Oh, thank you," I say, surprised and blushing. No one's ever pulled out a chair for me before.

Abel nods back at me, giving me a small smile and sitting next to me. Damon seats himself across from me. He's chewing his lip, something he only does when he's very annoyed, but I'm not sure that he'll want to talk about it just now. I'll ask him later.

Abel and Damon stare each other down across the table. Abel looks serious, Damon looks annoyed, and I sit with my hands in my lap, watching them watch one another.

I'm admiring Abel's profile when a waitress comes to take our order. "Hey there, can I get you guys anything?" She leans over the table, twirling her hair with one finger, eyes locked predatorily on Damon.

I hope that he won't respond, but, being Damon, he does, flirting with the girl and smiling. When he asks for her number, I flinch and hope it isn't too noticeable. Abel nudges me gently.

"You okay, Blue?" He murmurs, his breath touching my cheeks.

I nod, putting on a smile. "Yeah, I'm good. Just a little hungry is all."

Abel nods, then clears his throat loudly. The waitress turns to look at him, along with the surrounding tables. "Can I help you, sir?" She sounds ticked off.

Abel leans back and gives a single nod. "Yes. I'd like to order something, please. I'm hungry." His voice isn't as slow as usual, it's blunt and crisp, but he's smiling. I assume that this is what an annoyed Abel is like. It's a little scary, yet charming because he's gotten her attention for my sake. I send him a silent thank you.

The waitress rolls her eyes, winks at Damon, and reassumes her professional mannerisms. "Fine. What can I get for you?"

"I'll have a cookie dough creme," Abel says. Damon orders a tall frappe.

"Can I please have a medium vanilla chai and a blueberry donut?" I ask once she turns to me. I hate ordering in restaurants; the pressure to not mess up is unbearable.

She sneers at me. "You're in a coffee shop. You aren't gonna get any coffee?" Abel tenses beside me.

I blush, looking at my lap, feeling exposed and embarrassed. "I- Sorry? I don't really like coffee..." I hope that she just leaves.

"Then why are you in a coffee shop? Can't you read the sign outside? Says Fred's Coffee, plain as day," she continues, a vengeful look in her eyes.

I glance at Damon who's staring at the window and pretending that this isn't happening. Why isn't he defending me?

"I'd just like a vanilla chai, if it isn't too much trouble," I say slowly. Arguing with strangers has never been my cup of tea, so I try to avoid confrontation. "If you can't get me one, that's fine. I'll just have the donut."

The waitress huffs. "Gosh, people like you just--"

"He asked you for a vanilla chai. It isn't that hard for you to take in the order. It's on the menu." Abel's voice is low, threatening. He's nearly growling. My face burns hotter, and I'm not sure why. "I understand that you're in a pissy mood, but that's no reason for you to be an asshole. Go and get our orders before I get angry."

I glance at him. His light eyes look darker, his expression calm, but there's something in his gaze that makes me feel a bit afraid. The waitress blinks, looking frightened, then scurries away to turn in our order ticket.

He turns to me, back to normal, smiling almost apologetically. He looks slightly nervous. "Sorry about that. The service here is usually better." I'm not really listening to him, though. Instead, I'm staring at the side of Damon's head as he watches the waitress walk away, flipping the paper with her number on it between his fingers. He doesn't even look sorry.

What ever happened to bros before hoes?

Abel leans in closer. "You alright, Blue? You look a little pale." He sounds concerned, and I want to press out the crease that's formed between his eyebrows.

"I'm fine, thanks," I force a smile. I'm not letting Damon ruin this non-date, no matter what. I'm about to turn my full attention on Abel and ask him more about his occupation when Damon interrupts.

"So, Abel, is it? Tell me more about yourself." He's leaned back in his chair and scowling. Damon never scowls, and I wonder why he's got such an attitude.

Abel, however, takes it in stride. "I'm sure Kevin's probably told you that I'm a poet. I also draw in my free time. I'm twenty-two, I'm going to college, majoring in English, and I have a grey cat named Sasha." Here, he pauses and looks at me with a soft smile that makes my knees feel weak. "She'll like you," he says, the turns back to Damon. "I like ice cream. My favorite color is periwinkle." He rubs his chin. "I haven't really got anything else off of the top of my head."

I store all of the facts he's listed away in my head for a later date. Damon is still frowning. "Periwinkle, huh?" He gives me a sharp look that I'm not entirely sure I deserve before fixing his stink eye back on Abel. "What are your intentions with Kevin?"

It's my turn to frown. Intentions? Why does he have to have intentions? Can't he just want to get to know me?

Abel's easy smile looks confused, but stays nonetheless. "I don't understand your question," he says, sitting up straighter.

"Why did you want to meet him here?" I'm stung by the way that he dismisses the fact that Abel might want to be friends with me.

Abel tenses. "I want to get to know him better. He seems like a nice guy." He puts his arm on the back of my chair. "Is that a problem?"

Damon shrugs. "That depends. Are you gay?"

I gasp, rushing to rescue the situation. "Damon, for pete's sake, that's enough!" The two of them look at me, surprised that I'd raised my voice. I get quieter, though I'm still angry that Damon's being such an asshat. "Enough with the interrogation. Let's just enjoy each other's company for a while, okay?"

Abel blinks, then grins. "Okay," he says. Then, leaning closer, he mumbles, "You're kinda hot when you're angry, Blue." I blush from head to toe, and Abel grins wider. He lets his fingers fall from the back of the chair, brushing them against my shoulder, bringing me another wave of heat.

Damon notices and wrinkles his nose, but thankfully doesn't say anything. He does give me a look that says, "we'll talk about this later," but I ignore it.

The waitress returns with everything that we ordered, including my tea. She thunks the tray on the table with an attitude, then turns to flirt with Damon. Abel rolls his eyes at her, shaking his head and handing me my mug.

Our fingers brush, and my hand tingles. I disregard it. "Thanks." Then I glance at Damon, who's reaching out to touch the waitress' dyed red hair. "Sorry about him. He's usually not such an asshole."

Abel laughs, sipping his coffee. "It's alright. I'm sure he has his reasons." Then he glances away from me and a strange look dances across his face.

I want to ask him about it, but I'm not sure we're at that point in our relationship, so I stay quiet. He looks back at me and smiles. I feel that he's trying to create a moment, so I smile back.

Damon stands suddenly stands, banging his leg on the table and giving no indication that it hurt him. "Come on, Kev, we're leaving."

I pout at my still full cup and untouched donut. I've only taken two drinks from it. "Already? But the food just got here..."

Damon rolls his eyes. "If you want a ride, I suggest you be in the parking lot in the next forty-five seconds," he says. He turns to the waitress. "I'll call you." She nods excitedly at his retreating figure as he leaves the cafe.

[X]

Kevin blinks. That was an absolute disaster. It definitely could have gone worse, but that was pretty bad. He looks at Abel, wishing that the non-date didn't have to end this way. "I'm really sorry, but he's my ride, and he'll only get angrier if I don't go after him. I'll text you?"

Abel nods good naturedly. "Yeah, sure." He stands and opens his arms.

It takes Kevin five of his twenty remaining seconds to register that this is happening, that he is going to hug Abel. He tells himself not to freak out, and steps into the hug. His head rests on Abel's collarbone, which is nice, and Kevin really hopes that none of his hair is in Abel's mouth.

Abel doesn't mind the curls of hair tickling his lips; all he can think of is that the boy smells like cookie dough ice cream, and that he's rather small. Abel smiles.

Kevin pulls away as though he's been caught touching something he shouldn't. His face burns pink, and Abel pretends not to notice, though he smiles a secret smile. Kevin wishes Abel a farewell, and sprints to the parking lot.

Damon sits in the idling truck, looking angry. Kevin gulps and gets into the car, at which point Damon pulls out of the lot like he's being chased by Godzilla.

Kevin sits quietly, fastens his seat belt, taps his foot, then blurts, "What the hell happened in there, Day?"

Damon shrugs, not in the mood for sugar coating. "The guy seems like a creep. Rubs me the wrong way."

Kevin scoffs. "He barely spoke to you. You can't know him well enough to judge him just like that."

"He was a gay, Kev," Damon says, as if it justifies all of his actions. "He was trying to get in your pants. I did you a favor."

Kevin internally freaks out because Abel likes him (!!), but he hides it well. "You can't know that," he defends. "And so what if he is gay? That doesn't mean I don't want to be his friend."

Damon gapes at him, nearly running the truck onto the road median. "Seriously? It wouldn't bother you?"

Kevin shrinks into his seat, beginning to feel small and stupid. "No, it wouldn't." He picks at the seat. "It might even be a good thing, to get his perspective on things."

"Like what? Shopping or some shit?"

Kevin glares at his friend. He's never been this close to punching him before. "No. I meant average everyday things that he might see differently than I do. Like discrimination."

Damon parks his car in Kevin's driveway, but doesn't unlock the doors. "Kevin. He'd try and jump your bones like everyday. You couldn't handle that."

Kevin seethes with anger. "No, he wouldn't. If I told him I didn't want him to, he'd respect my wishes because he's a decent human being." He turns his head away. "Unlike some people," he mutters, loud enough for Damon to hear.

Damon turns off the car. "So, what, I'm the bad guy for getting that creep off of your back?" His voice is strained, like he's trying to sound playful, to relieve the tension, but it isn't working.

Kevin pulls his hands into fists, digging his nails into his palms. "No, you're the bad guy for being rude to him just because he's gay. You're a bully."

As soon as the words are out, Kevin wants to take them back. When Damon and Kevin had first become friends in high school, Damon had been a bit of a bully, but he'd fixed up his act for Kevin's sake.

Damon's eyes narrow. "Well at least I'm not a faggot,"he spits.

Kevin shakes his head. "You're despicable."

Damon growls. "Well, if I'm so terrible, why don't you just leave and go hang out with your little boyfriend?"

"Because I love you, dammit!"