Chapter Four

Quinn was at the?basketball court late after the game had ended. Cody had not come this afternoon. At first, Quinn had wanted to leave with his friends, but something in him compelled him to stay. Maybe Cody was late today and would still drop by.

Dummy.?Quinn scolded himself in his head as he kept making baskets as he walks about the court thinking to himself. He wondered why he was so worried that Cody hadn't come to watch them today. He wondered why he cared so much, but nothing could answer his questions. The trees growing around the fenced-off court had left leaves on the clay surface, and the scorching hot sun had retreated into the clouds to allow for a cool blue-washed. The dimness meant it was harder to make baskets, and Quinn had to squint whenever he threw the ball from a good distance away.

As Quinn bounced the ball and moved around the court, his mind moved to Lindsey.?What to do. He wondered as he tried to come up with the kindest way possible to turn her down. Lindsey wasn't like the other girls that had come up to him before. She would make some noise and draw attention to herself if she was rejected.

The sound of the court gates rattling pull Quinn out of his thoughts. He holds on to the basketball and turns on his heels to face the aluminum gates.

"Oh, it's you." Quinn tried to make his voice come off as uninterested, but some of his excitement at seeing Cody had snuck in, making his voice higher. He smiled, staring at the lean boy who pushed the gates open before stepping into the court.

"You're here alone again," Cody said to Quinn, making him shrug his shoulders. Quinn turned around, throwing the ball in his hands before watching it pass through the hoop. The ball bounces about when it hits the clay ground before rolling over to Quinn who picks it up.

"And you're still being a peeping Tom. Nothing's quite new, is it?" Quinn said, laughing to himself.

Cody walks into Quinn's view, and this time he was smiling at Quinn's joke. The two boys didn't say anything, and the sound of the ball hitting the clay floor as Quinn made it bounce on the spot was the only sound drowning the background.

"So, do you play?" Quinn asked after a while.

"No, but I can try," Cody said, looking over at Quinn. The darker boy takes a few steps back, making Cody raise a brown at him.

Okay then, give it a shot," Quinn said, throwing the ball at Cody before the boy could ask any questions.

"Ah, fuck. I told you I could try, not that I could," Cody said, jumping away from the ball before heading over to pick it up. Quinn found himself fixated on the fact the boy had cursed. For some reason, he hadn't pinned him as one to do that.

"Throw it back," Quinn said, gesturing to himself, and Cody did just that. Quin caught the ball, before rolling it between his hands. "Let's bounce it back and forth," he said as he tossed the ball to the ground, making it bounce off the clay floor before heading for Cody. The boy caught it this time, and soon they had formed a nice back and forth pass.

The sound of the ball bouncing on the clay floor echoed through the court as the boys remained silent.

Quinn felt the need to talk, so he started a conversation.?"So, why are you always here?" he asked, letting out the question he'd had in his head for the past two months.

Cody shrugged, passing the ball.?"I don't know. I randomly left home and kind of found you guys playing basketball after a while of wandering. I liked watching, so I just come here to watch you guys now to ease my boredom if that makes sense."

"I see," Quinn said.

Cody let out a low sigh. "I don't like being at home, really."

"Why?" Quinn asked with a frown before holding on to the ball and stopping the game of pass.

"I don't want to talk about it," Cody said, and Quinn just nodded. The silence that followed was uncomfortable, and Quinn found himself staring down at his dirted converse shoes.

"So, what are you doing here all by yourself today?" Cody asked, making Quinn raise his head.

His face warmed up. He couldn't bring himself to tell Cody that he waited for him, so he told him a half-truth instead. "I came to think about something, really. I'm trying to decide on what to do, he said, referring to his issue with Lindsey.

"Is it about something serious?" Cody asked, making Quinn bite down on his bottom lip.

"No, not really. There's this girl I have to let down. I'm not sure how to tell her," Quinn said, running a hand through his dark hair.

Cody nodded. "Oh, that kind of problem," the boy said, stuffing his hands into the pocket of his baggy jeans.

Quinn smiled, chuckling a bit. "Do you have any advice for me?"

Cody shook his head.?"I'm not good with girls. No one thinks I'm attractive anyway, so I'm kind of lucky not to have those problems?" His last sentence came off as a question, and Quinn wasn't sure what to say to that so he just smiled, mirroring the awkward grin on the pale boy's face.

Quinn hated it when people made self-deprecating comments. It didn't just sit well with him. Also, Cody was attractive. Well, to Quinn. He had that cute shy look going on for him. His face grew warm when he noticed he was staring at Cody. He looked away, jogging his mind for something to say in response.

"I guess you just have to be honest with her really. I'm not sure what else to say. Then again, I'm not the best source of advice for this," Cody muttered after some time passed, chuckling to himself.

"Yeah, that's what I'm planning to do. I don't want to be mean about it, you know?" Quinn said, feeling better. It was nice to talk to someone about this. His friends would just go on about how lucky he was and wouldn't answer any of his questions.

"You look like a cold-hearted person, but you ooze of kindness if that makes sense. It's quite a shock," Cody said out of the blue, making Quinn look up at him with a grin.

"Oh really?" Quinn asked. He wasn't sure why the compliment made him so happy, but it did.

Cody nodded, smiling a bit. "The first time you caught me looking, I thought you'd come right over to punch me or something," Cody said, letting out a light laugh.

"Oh, do I look mean?" Quinn asked, feeling self-conscious.

"I'm not sure. You have a resting bitch face of some sort, but it's okay," Cody said, hugging himself. Quinn laughed, and the basketball court fell back into silence.

"Why didn't you ask to join us, though?" Quinn asked after a while, not wanting the conversation to die.

"I can't play basketball," Cody said, staring at the ball Quinn now had tucked under his arm. "I also fuck friendships up a lot. I don't think I'm ready for any of that now," Cody added, making Quinn curious.

"Is that so?" Quinn asked.

Cody sighed,?"yeah."

There was another pause that only ended when Quinn spoke up.

"We're friends, though? I think we're friends," he said, making Cody's doe brown eyes widen.

"Oh." The smaller boy let out, scratching the back of his neck.

"Don't you think we are?" Quinn asked, and Cody seemed to had been taken aback.

"We've talked, and we're even playing basketball together," Quinn added. He wasn't sure why he wanted Cody to consider him as a friend, but he knew he did. The pale boy nibbled on his bottom lip, darting his eyes from one end of the court to the other as his mouth parted a bit.

"I??" he started but shook his head. "Yeah, we are," he said instead and Quinn smiled at him, starting up the game of pass again.

Quinn continued to talk with Cody about Lindsey and his friends they passed the ball amongst themselves.

"Your friends drink?" Cody asked when Quinn talked about Hozier vomiting his heart out after a trip to the bar.

"Yeah, they're old enough to," Quinn said, making Cody nod.

"Do you drink?" Cody asked, and Quinn blinked, looking straight at him before passing the ball back to the smaller boy. He wasn't sure why, but a bit of him wanted to lie about that. Maybe Cody didn't like drinking? But why in the world should Quinn care what he thought about it?

Quinn shook his head, deciding to be honest. "Sometimes, not too much though."

"Oh, okay," Cody muttered, tossing the ball back.

Cody wasn't very open about himself. He listened to Quinn's stories, but whenever the darker boy asked him something personal, he seemed to recoil into himself a bit, so Quinn stopped asking. Instead, he asked him about the food and music he liked, and suddenly Cody had a lot to say. The boy's childish excitement surrounding his favorite indie bands was 'wholesome' as Quinn's inner voice put it.

After an hour or so they stopped playing and Quinn put the ball under his arm before telling Cody he had to leave. It was about eight in the evening now, and the only thing lighting up the court was the moon and the night post stationed a few meters away from the court.

"Goodbye then." Cody smiled as Quinn went ahead to grab his bag before making his way towards the gate.

Quinn turned to grin at Cody. "See you later peeping Tom," he said, making Cody laugh and roll his eyes.

There was something about the boy's laugh that made Quinn's chest squeeze up and his stomach flutter. He wanted to ask if Cody would like to walk home together, but he looked away quickly instead, making a run for it before his dumb thoughts could put him in trouble.?