They only stared at each other for a while longer, before Brennen remember something. "Anyways... I think you dropped this." He fished in his pocket and took out the piece of paper, unfolding it for Colby to see.

The blue eyed boy smiled and tilted his head to the side slightly. "Thank you for returning it, but I didn't drop it."

Brennen raised an eyebrow, "I found it on the sidewalk."

"Yeah, I kinda left it there on purpose."

"Why would you do that?"

Colby shrugged, "why not?"

Brennen's green eyes seemed to roll on their own accord. This boy was so complicated. "Well, what does it even mean?"

"It means whatever you want it to mean, Brennen Taylor."

"Will you stop saying my full name? It's weird."

Colby giggled and fixed the glasses on the top of his head to a more comfortable position. "Would you like some cookies? They're in my bag down there."

"You sound like my abuelita. I'm fine, thanks."

Brennen seemed notice Colby's wide smile. It was as if every sentence they exchanged it grew happier and prettier.

That pissed him off.

"Would you stop that?" He snapped, making Colby blink in confusion.

"Stop what?"

"Doing that thing with your face where you're hella happy and your smile gets brighter. It's making me sick."

Instead of laughing like Brennen thought he would, Colby pouted playfully, "Should I stay like this?" He asked, sticking out his bottom lip.

"You're so- yknow what? Never mind. I just came to see if you dropped the drawing, but you didn't, so I'm gonna go."

Brennen began walking backwards slowly, following the trail he'd come in from. Before he could fully turn around, Colby spoke up, "Shall I see you tomorrow Brennen Taylor?"

"At school, yeah."

There was a pause in the conversation, so Brennen began walking again. A few steps in, Colby asked another question. "Would you like to come by here tomorrow? After school?"

The older's feet froze and he felt himself turn around again, with a confused face. "Why?"

Colby shrugged, "I enjoyed your company, perhaps you'd like to enjoy mine tomorrow?"

Something felt wrong.

Brennen felt something funny when he looked up at the young boy; a happy face of innocence that made him feel mushy inside. And he felt a small smile grow on his face. The hopeful way Colby has asked made him feel... special.

Of course Brennen would never admit that.

"Fine, okay." He heard himself agree.

Colby just beamed happiness. Brennen had always intrigued him, not only because he was one of the most handsome boys he's ever seen in his entire being of existence, but because he saw something in those eyes. Aside from screaming popularity, there seemed to be a caring, adventurous soul inside Brennen, and Colby thought that maybe he was the answer to his problems.

"Great! Can I bring you something to eat?"

Brennen laughed lightly, "Are you planning on feeding me a bunch and then cooking me or something?"

"No," Colby laughed too, "Just trying to be nice."

"Thanks, Colby."

Butterflies filled Colby's tummy at the sound of Brennen saying his name. Fuck, he thought as he felt a blush heat up his cheeks. He knew Brennen was bi, but he couldn't just assume. Besides, Colby barely knew him. Brennen didn't know him at all. But he couldn't help it, he had a teeny tiny crush on the older boy.  "No problem." He smiled softly, grabbing the glasses from his head and placing them on his face. "Better get going to class."

"Don't you have class too?" Brennen asked skeptically.

"Don't worry about me."

..That was the last sentence Colby said before their goodbyes.

Brennen was still confused. Why was Colby inviting him there again? And what did he mean when he said not to worry?

For the rest of the school day, those were the thoughts on Brennen's head.

"Hey Bren," Bradlee asked, coming up behind him to wrap his arm around the boy's shoulders. "You wanna head to Penny's?"

Brennen's tummy rumbled at the thought of the diner's cheeseburgers, onion rings, and their famous milkshakes. "Hell yeah. But you're driving."

Bradlee rolled his eyes, "I'm not even gonna complain, because you're a terrible driver."
Brennen didn't argue against this. He knew it was true. It was a miracle that he'd gotten his drivers license.

..Colby was still at the small park, his mind lingering on Brennen no matter how hard he tried to focus on his book. He just liked the older's company. There was something about Brennen that made Colby all smiley.

Did Brennen look at him a lot? Now that he thought about it... yes he did.
Did that mean Brennen liked him? Or was Colby just weird looking?

The boy groaned at himself and shut his book. He'd never been distracted by a boy so much before. Sure, he had crushes on other boys in the past, but he wasn't even sure if he liked Brennen other than for his looks. He was sure Brennen was secretly sweet, but what if he wasn't?

His thoughts were paused when his phone rang; the screen lighting up to show that it was his mother calling. Colby answered and put the call on speaker.

"Hey mom,"

"I thought I told you to wait in front of the school, Cole."

He giggled quietly, "You took too long, I got bored."

His mother sighed and rolled her eyes from her side of the line. "Okay well, where are you?"

"I'm across the street, I'll be there in a sec."

"Okay, be careful climbing down." She said before handing up. Colby smiled at the fact that his mother knew him so well. He placed his phone in his pocket and the paperback book between his lips before expertly climbing down the tree, his feet hitting the grass in no time.

Hauling his backpack over his shoulder, he began walking out of the park, retrieving the book from his mouth and hugging it close to his chest as he crossed the street to see his mother leaning against the car in front of the school.

"Next time, I want you right here Colby." She warned, standing up to hug her son.

"Okay," he agreed, kissing her cheek sweetly before hopping into the passengers seat.