As soon as he got home, Colby ran up to his room and locked himself in there. He jumped into his neatly made bed and buried his face in a pillow. He cried from being so overwhelmed but soon fell asleep.

His mother sensed how uncomfortable he was about speaking of the situation, so she let him be. She did try to knock on his door a few times but there was no answer.

Two hours later, at around five thirty, his puffy eyes opened. They ached and felt heavy but he sat up nonetheless. He sighed and crawled to the end of his bed where he'd thrown his phone.

Brennen wouldn't stop texting him.

He even called a few times.

Colby was conflicted on wether or not pushing him away was a good idea. He knew at one point he would break his promise to Jamie if Brennen came to comfort him. But at the same time, was that really a bad thing?

Princess ✨:
Are you busy?

Prince ☺️:
No, what's wrong?

Princess ✨:
Are you still angry with me?

Prince ☺️:
No Colby
I shouldn't have doubted you anyway
I know you wouldn't lie to me
I'm sorry

Colby took a deep breath. He'd always been a person that took pride in being trusted and he absolutely hated lying, though sometimes he had too.

Princess ✨:
Don't be sorry
Would you mind coming over?....
I really need your company right now
It's alright if you can't

Prince ☺️:
I'm omw baby ❤️
... I'm sorry I called you baby
It slipped out
God that was weird
I'm so sorry
Okay but I'm actually coming
Okay bye

Colby's smiled returned in a minute. He giggled as he read the awkward messages, practically hearing Brennen's voice in them.

It was crazy how much Brennen affected him. It was kinda creepy too.

He finally got up from his bed and went on a hunt search for his mother. She wasn't in her room so he figured she was on her second favorite place of the house: the kitchen.

Colby walked downstairs with his mood somewhat uplifted and, sure enough, she was there. "Hey mom?"

She jumped slightly and turned around from the stove. "Oh honey! How are you doing? You feeling okay?"

He nodded and offered the smallest smile. "You think it's okay if Brennen comes... For a little bit?"

"Oh, sure. Is he staying for dinner?"

"Uh, I don't know. But thank you." He said, trying to keep the conversation as short as possible. He ran back upstairs to his bathroom and rinsed his face with cold water to wake up a little bit and hopefully make it less puffy. He also fixed his hair and brushed his teeth to make him more presentable.

Brennen wasn't kidding when he said he was on his way because in ten minutes the doorbell rang. Colby rushed downstairs repeating "I got it!" So that his mom wouldn't open the door and say something embarrassing. He opened the door and was immediately tackled in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay." Brennen muttered, laying his cheek on top of Colby's head.

The younger smiled and buried his face in Brennen's chest, taking in his musky scent.

He already felt so much better.

"I'm sorry I worried you," Colby whispered, closing his eyes when he felt Brennen's hand stroking his hair.

"It's okay, I'm just happy you're safe... Do you feel okay?"

"Now that you're here, I feel better."

Brennen smiled and pulled away gently, "Well, that's why I'm here. I don't want my princess feeling down."

Colby genuinely returned the smile. "You're sweet." He whispered, moving past Brennen to close the door. "He's here! We're gonna be upstairs!" He called out as he grabbed Brennen's hand and leaded him up the stairs.

"Okay! Hi Brennen, by the way!" She hollered back from the kitchen.

"Hi!" He chuckled, mindlessly following Colby. They arrived at the room and Colby closed the door behind him, earning a joking smirk from Brennen. "Why are you closing the door?"
Colby's eyes widened and he grabbed the doorknob again only to hear him laugh. "I'm kidding, you can leave it closed if you want. I'm not gonna do anything."

The brunette nodded and sat on his bed, looking down at his hands awkwardly. Brennen frowned slightly and sat in front of him.

"How was school?" Colby asked quietly, trying to somehow start a conversation.

"Like school always is." Brennen shrugged. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He also shrugged. "Do you mind if we don't talk about today? We can talk about anything else you'd like."

"S-sure... Um..." He looked around the room for a conversation topic, "Hey! A Rubik's cube!" Brennen walked over and grabbed the toy off a bookshelf in the corner of the room. He looked down at the cube and noticed the disarranged colors were all pastel shades. "This is cute... Yknow I can solve one of these in five minutes?"

"No way." Colby smiled as he shook his head.

"Oh you don't believe me?" Brennen asked as he sat in front of Colby again. "Here," he handed him the toy. "Mix up the colors even more and if I solve it in five minutes, you owe me ice cream tomorrow."

"And if you don't?" Colby asked, twisting the rows to make the cube more confusing.

"I don't know, you make something up."

"If you don't get it in five minutes... You... Have to jump in the pool!" He exclaimed, handing the toy back. "With all your clothes on."

"Jesus! No pressure, huh?"

"Well I kinda believe you can do it... But in the case you don't, that would be funny to watch."

Brennen rolled his eyes, grabbed his phone and handed it to Colby. "Set the timer."

The younger did as he was told and set the timer for five minutes. "Ready? Go!" He hit the start button at the same time Brennen started solving the puzzle. Colby decided to cheat a little bit and distract him just to see how he would react. He crawled closer to him and rested his chin on Brennen's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" He chuckled, his eyes glued on the cube as he arranged everything.

"Just watching.." Colby whispered back, his hand crawling towards Brennen's hair. "You really do need a haircut, love."

"I know what you're trying to do! Stop!" Brennen laughed. His hands would pause every few seconds to see the progress but otherwise, he was solving it pretty quick.

"I'm not doing anything..." Colby's small hand slowly slid over his eyes, followed by his other hand to ensure that Brennen couldn't see anything.

The older sighed and set the toy next to him. "You're a pain in the ass!" He joked, turning around to tackle Colby onto his bed. The younger squeaked and laughed when Brennen began hitting him with a pillow. "Let me show you I'm not stupid!"

"I already know you aren't!" Colby admitted between laughs. "I'm sorry!"

"Now you messed me up and I have to jump in the pool." Brennen pouted, lightly hitting Colby's face one more time with the pillow.

Colby laughed and snatched the pillow from him, "You still have like three minutes."

"Well those three minutes mean nothing." Brennen chuckled, feeling Colby's hands go back up to his hair. He loved how much the young boy was getting rid of his shyness around him. "What is it with you and my hair?"

"You need a haircut!" He giggled. "It's not that it looks bad but it's just really long and it looks better shorter."

"Fine! Tomorrow I'm gonna go get a haircut and I'm taking you with me so you can stop complaining about it, okay?"

"Okay. And because I messed up your Rubik's cube, I'll pay for it."

"That you're not doing." Brennen laughed, practically laying down on top of Colby.

"Yes I am! I'll pay for that instead of owing you ice cream, okay? I'm the one bothering you about it anyway."

Brennen rolled his eyes and placed his head on Colby's chest, making sure that most of his weight was on the mattress instead of on the young boy. "Keep playing with my hair, sweater."

"Ew, don't start calling me that again." Colby giggled, having absolutely no problem with Brennen being this close. "I prefer princess."

Brennen hummed, "You are a dainty little princess."

"Dainty my ass-"

"Stop cussing!" He laughed.

"You can't tell me what to do." Colby sassed back.

"Funny, I think I just did."

"... You're a pain, Brennen Taylor."

"But you love me for it."

Colby sighed and closed his eyes, his fingers tangling themselves into Brennen's hair. "I suppose."

Brennen smiled and wrapped his arm around Colby's waist, pulling him impossibly closer.

Okay, maybe he was starting to feel something better with this boy.