MONDAY MORNING
_____

THE late September breeze flowed crisply, billowing softly against the tree leaves. Burning hues of marigold and lavender painted the horizon as the sun made its ascent. Early morning dew rested gently against vibrant blades of grass, the air filled with its fresh scent as the citizens of Thornseville rose from their slumber.

Four best friends arose from their deep sleep, rubbing the gunk from their eyes as they began their day.

In a cabin, far on the outskirts of town, lived Darryn.

Stumbling around his room, he rubbed at the plum-colored bags that weighed down his eyes. Pulling on black, ripped-at-the-knees jeans, he slid a belt around his hips, securing his pants, before pulling a band tee over his head, adorning his neck with a silver-layered chain.

Grabbing his phone, he headed down the stairs.

Scrunching his nose, he shuddered at the horrid stench of stale beer and body odor that met his nostrils.

Nasty...he thought, shaking his head and holding his breath.

He should've been used to it by now, seeing that the cabin always smelled of sticky old liquor and bodily funk. And yet, each time he left his room and came down the stairs, it felt like the smell sucker-punched him in the nose, jostling his senses as he breathed it in.

Treading quietly, Darryn stepped on the more secure parts of the wooden stairs, unwilling to disturb his father's slumber.

But luck was not on his side.

As his foot touched down on the last step, the old wood cried beneath his weight, the sound so loud that it reached the ears of the sleeping, drunk man in the loveseat.

Darryn froze, his body rigid in dread, as he stood at the living room threshold.

"Is that you?" His father slurred, blinking the bleariness from his eyes as he recounted his surroundings, appearing still drunk from last night.

"Yeah, Dad. It's me," Darryn coughed out, wiping his clammy hands against his jeans, his heart thrashing wildly within his chest.

His father glanced at him, flicking his glossy eyes from his son to the playing television. His father adjusted his posture with a half-emptied bottle of Budweiser in his hand. "Where ya off to?" he asked distractedly, his finger tapping on the bottle.

"T-to school. I was just grabbing my stuff," Darryn stammered, itching to leave already.

That's weird, he thought, observing as his father slouched in his seat, attempting to make conversation with him.

His ribs ached at the irony.

Darryn shifted his weight from foot to foot, his mind racing with endless possibilities. He didn't know how to handle his father's somewhat normal demeanor; this exchange was a shock.

His father gave him a lazy smile and waved him off with a flick of his wrist.

Without another word, Darryn scurried off to the hallway closet and retrieved his backpack and skateboard, rushing out of the door.

The brisk morning air rushed against his skin, chilling him as he walked down the porch stairs. The sound of tweeting birds and scurrying squirrels played a sweet tune against his ears as he left his property. Taking a nice, deep breath, he let the fresh air into his frightened lungs, trying to calm himself before having to face the others.

Damn it, the others!

Smacking his forehead, he groaned as he dragged his hand down his face.

Pulling his phone from his pocket, he scrolled through the loads of messages his friends left him, feeling a marginal pang of guilt festering in his chest for not getting back to them.

The corners of his lips twitched at the thought of his friends checking in on him. Sighing out a laugh, he made a group call to the three other boys as he began his walk.

'Aye, what took you so long? You're still comin', right?' Andre's deep voice flowed over the line, a grin slid across Darryn's lips. Stifling a nervous laugh, Darryn willed his thrashing heart to calm down.

"Yeah, I'm all right. I was just talking to my dad for a sec," he replied as casually as he could, his cheeks flushing pink as he spoke to Andre.

He still didn't know what to think of the strange encounter with his father, but he was happy about leaving home unscathed.

'What the hell for?' Tyler questioned him over the phone, his voice stern as he waited for an answer.

Darryn rolled his eyes at the question. As much as he loved and appreciated Tyler's concern, he wished he'd back off with the questioning.

"He just kind of waved me off this morning before doing whatever," Darryn muttered, kicking at a pebble in front of him. A darkened blur dashed in the corner of his eye.

That was nothin', Ryn.

Shaking his head at the thought, he continued walking further and further away from his cabin toward the road.

Darryn couldn't shake the feeling.

He didn't know if he was tweaking, or if something else was afoot, but he felt the sour churning in his stomach telling him otherwise.

Snap!

Darryn stopped in his tracks, eyes wide and alert, heart thrashing as the hairs on his nape stood on end. He paused, his ears perked up, as he listened to the sounds of nature.

False alarm.

Scratching at the lingering sensation on his nape, he couldn't shake the thought that someone was watching him.

He hurried his pace as he reached the road on the horizon.

'Well, hurry up,' Andre's voice pulled Darryn out of his thoughts. 'My mom already started cooking,' he announced.

Deciding not to overthink the lingering feeling of eyes on his back, Darryn hopped onto his skateboard.

"I'll be there. See you guys soon," he assured, ending the call as he pushed his foot against the pavement, making his way to Andre's house.

_____

Laying across his bed, Andre stared up at his ceiling, blinking slowly as he gazed at the bare space above his head. His foot bounced rapidly against the mattress as he checked the time on his phone.

"Tch," he smacked his lips in disbelief. Rolling his eyes, he sat up, hands sliding down his nape.

They were about to be late.

Andre could not stand being late. His stomach churned, sour taste winding up his throat.

Shaking his head, he got out of bed and slowly paced around his room.

He didn't usually get this antsy over being late, yet something was nagging at him.

Maybe it was something he ate last night?

Or, that nagging feeling in his spine that sizzled at the thought of his friend.

No, not that either.

He couldn't find any reasons as to why his stomach felt like it was flipping inside out.

Andre's mind drifted back to his friend.

Every time his phone showed Ryn's caller ID, he braced himself for whatever saddening news his friend had.

Andre felt so horrible each time he saw splotches of discolored welts across his skin.

Enraged him even.

But what could he do?

It's not like he could just up and move Darryn into his house.

Which he was sure his mother wouldn't mind in the slightest.

Deeply sighing, Andre walked over to his closet, grabbing his sneakers before going down the stairs.

As his foot met the landing, the front door swung open, letting in a head of fluffy black hair.

"Hello? Good morniiing!" Darryn called out in a singsong voice, setting his skateboard against the wall along with his backpack, not even seeing Andre standing a few feet away on the stairs.

"Ryn," Andre greeted, a big smile on his face as Darryn's eyes landed on him, wide and startled as they made contact.

The loud orchestra of pots clanging and the aroma of food snatched Darryn's attention away from Andre.

Andre's smile dropped. Only for a second.

Quickly glancing between Andre's smiling face and the doorway to the kitchen, Darryn's ears burned red as he scurried down the hall.

With a deep sigh, Andre trailed after his friend.

Peeking his head through the threshold of the kitchen, Darryn got to see Ms. Davis, Andre's mother, flipping over pancakes and frying eggs.

"Well, hello, baby!" the older woman greeted him, a large smile on her glossed lips. Her rich, cinnamon-toned skin glowed in the early morning light as she prepared breakfast.

Darryn returned her smile as he stepped in, looking at the sizzling food with curious eyes. "Good Morning, Ms. Davis," he greeted happily, walking into her open arms and hugging her.

"Tyler and Mani should be over here any minute. While you wait on them, let's fix you some grub, huh?" Ms. Davis grinned, gesturing towards the kitchen table. As Darryn took his seat at the table, Andre walked into the kitchen.

Leaning against the threshold, Andre's eyes drifted to his mother preparing Darryn's plate, then to Darryn.

Out of the corner of his eye, Darryn caught Andre's gaze.

Fuck, Darryn thought. He could just feel the heat of Andre's stare on the side of his head.

He decided to avoid Andre's gaze.

Walking over with his plate in her hand, Mrs. Davis sat Darryn's plate down before him.

Darryn's eyes settled on the large helping of food on the plate Mrs. Davis actively prepared for him. "I don't think I'll finish all of tha-"

Mrs. Davis turned toward him, lips tight, daring him to finish his sentence with a quirk of her brow.

He gulped. "Thank you, Ms. Davis," he said, a nervous smile quivering on his lips. With the knowledge of what would happen if he didn't finish his food, he scarfed the food down, savoring each bite. "This is amazing," he smiled with his mouth full.

She chuckled, shaking her head as she turned her attention back to the stovetop. "Well, I'd hope so, since you're shovin' the food down ya' throat," she snickered.

Darryn laughed with her, shoulders jostling as his ability to breathe slipped away.

Oh my fucking God, I'm choking, Darryn thought as his face flushed burgundy, the lump of pancake caught in his throat. He slammed his fist into his chest just as the lump slipped further down.

Fuuuck, he thought, rolling his eyes, huffing a breath out his nose. His face tinged scarlet as he coughed the not-fully chewed food from his throat.

It's always something.

Grabbing an empty plate from the cupboard above her, Mrs. Davis loaded it up. Pulling a fork from the drawer, she handed Andre his food.

Ms. Davis smiled back and made another three plates for the boys coming.

Darryn flinched as Andre's warm hand patted his back, while the other handed him his glass of orange juice.

"You bet' not die, Ryn," Andre's smooth voice chuckled. Darryn silently thanked the Universe for that juice. He sucked the juice down in a messy gulp..

With another loud cough, Darryn cleared up the remaining bits from his throat. "Thanks," he gasped, going right back to his juice.

"Isn't it too early for you to be almost dyin'?" Andre joked, a smile on his handsome face as he took the seat across from Darryn.

Darryn's cheeks grew rosy in color as he sipped his juice. "Apparently not," he scoffed, shaking his head and putting his cup down on the table. Darryn's leg bounced below the table, his heart racing the longer Andre held eye contact with him.

Universe, what was he going to do?

Before he could open his mouth to say anything more, the sound of the front door bursting open filled the house.

"We're here!" Armani bellowed out as he rushed into the kitchen, shrugging his backpack off. "Ooh! I knew I smelled food!" he beamed, plopping himself into the seat beside Andre at the table.

A moment later, Tyler dragged himself in, panting heavily with a funky look on his face. "I tried to stop him," he gasped, collapsing into the seat beside Darryn. "Feed me!" the blond groaned, as dramatic as ever as he rested his head against Darryn's shoulder.

"Get off me, you stink," Darryn shrugged Tyler away, scrunching his nose as the odor of sweat wafted in the air.

Fuckin' gross, Darryn thought.

Darryn thought Tyler was disgusting. He did this to him all the time, wanting to put his nasty sweat on him.

The blond groaned obnoxiously, rolling his eyes and wiggling around in his seat.

"How mature, Tyler. Get up," Armani scolded, rolling his eyes.

Ms. Davis chuckled as she watched her boys. "I already made your plates. I'll get them for ya."

"Okay," Armani and Tyler said in unison.

The four friends exchanged playful glances as Mrs. Davis handed Tyler and Armani their glasses of juice.

"What time do you have to be in today?" Ms. Davis asked. The boys all looked between each other before Darryn pulled out his phone, checking the time.

"We don't even have to be there til 9:00," Darryn told her, his voice dry and eyes rolled. Sliding his phone back into his pocket, Darryn scoffed.

It annoyed Darryn beyond belief whenever Andre went on about them being close to late for class. That was the only reason why he was there so early.

Always getting on their asses for cutting it close to time.

Mrs. Davis nodded, grabbing two plates from the oven and walked them over to the two hungry boys who had just come in.

"I want us to try somthin'," Armani announced, getting the attention of the three other men. A sly smirk adorning his lips as the plan concocting in his mind was soon to come into fruition.

"Ugh, what do you want us to eat now?" Tyler groaned, rolling his eyes, already well acquainted with Armani's random diet plans.

And he hated them.

A lot.

Armani was always trying to get the other three to be on some new diet or workout regimen that he was on.

"Salad!" Armani yipped, slamming his fist on the table.

Recalling the text he'd gotten last Friday from the son of a lunch lady, he was just wiggling with excitement to try it, wanting the others to try it with him.

"Boy, if you don't stop bangin' your hands on my table..." Ms. Davis warned, side eyeing him as she made herself a plate, placing it before on the table with a fork.

Armani put both of his hands up in mock surrender, putting a dimpled smile on his face. He didn't want to face the wrath of the older black woman any more than he did his own parents.

Just the thought of what she'd do to him with that spatula made him break out into a cold sweat.

"That was my bad," Armani apologized, quickly tucking his hands into his lap. "Anyway, since we're eating this delicious food right now, we have to balance it out with something healthier later."

The other three boys looked at him like he'd grown an extra head.

"Dude," Darryn deadpanned, "The school salads aren't even that good, I tried it one time," he said, recalling the memory of eating uncooked gray chicken sent a chill down his spine. "Let's go somewhere instead."

Just thinking of the school's salad made him want to vomit.

Andre nodded in agreement as Tyler groaned..

Taking in a mouthful of food, Tyler began, "Who the hell wants to be healthy, anyway? Let's all get fat, and that way we'll never get wrinkles," Tyler suggested as he pointed at Armani with his fork before munching on his food.

"Wrinkles?" Armani lightly gasped and touched his face. "I think I could live with a couple of wrinkles, but fat is hard to get rid of," he refuted with a shrug, stabbing his fork through a piece of pancake.

"Worth a try," Darryn mumbled to Tyler, his shoulder slumping as he exhaled.

Tyler snickered, turning his attention to Andre who barely touched his food, his brows knitted together as he scrolled through his phone.  "Why aren't you dancing around or somethin'? You with us?" he questioned, wary of his friend's current demeanor.

It was true, Andre wasn't this quiet with them.

He was supposed to be talking their ears off about whatever random thing he researched.

Today felt different.

Something just felt different to him. "I don't know, I'm just not feelin' it," Andre shrugged, making everyone stop chewing.

"Not feeling it?" Darryn scoffed, shoving another piece of pancake in his mouth as he watched Andre across the table.

Strange, it felt nice to be in a good mood for once. However, where's Andre's good mood?

"Yeah, what he said," Tyler co-signed, jabbing a finger in Darryn's general direction.

Andre sighed and looked down at his phone then jumped up, scaring the boys and his mother as his fork clanked down on his plate. "We gotta go, we finna be late!" he panicked as he ran up the stairs to grab his bag and keys.

The others scarfed down the rest of their breakfast and each giving Ms. Davis a hug before making their way out of the house to Andre's truck.

Darryn took his seat in the passenger side, while Armani and Tyler sat in the back.

Andre got in last. "Everyone have their stuff?" he asked. The other boys all nodded while looking at the phones in their hands. Andre started the engine, pulling off.

"Hand me the aux cord," Darryn said to Armani.

"Put on good music, to lighten the mood," Armani whispered sharply, narrowing his eyes at Andre in front of him as he handed Darryn the cord.

Rolling his eyes, Darryn plugged the cord into his phone and scrolled through his playlists.

Andre began with a sigh, "I'm good—"

"Lie again," Armani quipped, cutting Andre off, glaring at him with narrowed eyes, feigning anger.

Tyler and Darryn tried to stifle their laughter as Armani went back and forth, filling the car with their bickering.

"Maybe I wanna be sad today, damn!" Andre complained. Armani reached a hand forward and smacked the side of Andre's head. "Stop it! Don't you see I'm about to start drivin'?!" he yelped as he tried to keep the car from swerving.

"Then be happy, damnit!" Armani demanded, wrapping his arms around Andre's shoulders, pressing a wet kiss onto the side of his head.

"Ew,get the hell off of me!" Andre whined, wiping the kiss from his face and pushing Armani's arms off of him, eyes wide as he tried to keep his hands on the wheel.

"Oh, shut up, you know you love it," Armani teased, a dimpled grin on his face as he cackled.

"You can't make him stop moping around, you know that, right?" Tyler deadpanned, making Andre glare at him from the rear view mirror.

"Just let me be sad...damn," Andre grumbled, rounding on the corner.

Armani huffed, crossing his arms in a pout. He leaned back in his seat and laid his head on the window. "I hate you," he mumbled, continuing to pout.

Andre cracked a smile, laughing, his eyes crinkling at the corners and all.

Soon the whole car filled with joyous laughter.

Armani couldn't help but feel like he achieved something in making Andre smile again, but something in his gut told him that they wouldn't be smiling for long.

_____

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