Chapter Six

A little convenience store was located at the center of the small town. Like everything else in the town and its neighborhood, it was old, rundown, and badly managed. Nevertheless, it offered snacks and comic books, and was it was well-loved by students who wanted to grab something on their way home.

It was early in the evening on a Thursday, and Quinn had split from his group of friends in other to get a drink. When Quinn walked in, he strolled through the store a bit, surprised to find the person he's been looking out for the past week. Cody was in the store, standing at a nearby aisle and looking through the small comic section the store had.

Where have you been??The question was at Quinn's tongue. He wanted to run over to Cody and shake him by the shoulders for disappearing into thin air, but they weren't that close for him to be that upset. Quinn stood still, not knowing what to do. It was the first time he had seen Cody in over a week, and just when he had told himself he would try to stop thinking about him the small boy reappeared??doe eyes and baby face intact. With a deep breath, Quinn decides to approach him. He walks behind him, tapping his shoulder.

"Hey!" Quinn's voice was a bit shaky, even though he'd just wanted to sound friendly. It annoyed him. Why was he nervous?

Cody turned his head. His eyes were wide, but they went back to their normal size when he saw who it was.

"Oh, hey," his voice was low, and he didn't match Quinn's enthusiasm at all. Quinn started to feel nervous. Maybe Cody didn't want him there. He contemplated making an excuse to leave, but he pushed himself, deciding to continue the conversation.

"So, what are you doing?" Quinn asked after a bit, letting go of Cody's shoulder before tucking it into his jean pocket.?Stupid.?He scolded himself, squeezing his hand in his pocket. He touched his friends all the time, so why did his face feel warm and stomach twist up with nerves?

"I'm just looking around," Cody replied. The boy's face was blank, and he seemed oblivious to Quinn's inner turmoil. "Just looking," he repeated, staring at a row of comics. Quinn noticed the glint in his eyes, and he immediately reacted.

"Oh,?you like comics?" Quinn asked, cocking his head at Cody who seemed to be avoiding his gaze.

"Yeah..." the boy trailed, running his hand through his dark hair. It was wild and flopped around his face. It didn't look like he had combed it in a while. It was a lot longer compared to the first time Quinn had seen him.

Quinn didn't say anything in response, so the conversation died, and the two boys stood in silence. Quinn wondered if he should just walk away, but a part of him didn't want to give up on talking to Quinn, so he kept going. "I came here to grab a pack of biscuits and a Pepsi. It's rather hot outside. Do you want anything? I could get it for you."

Cody frowned a bit, staring straight at Quinn with his deep brown eyes. "Do I want what?" The way Cody had asked the question shook Quinn a bit. He didn't seem interested at all, and Quinn was on the brink of apologizing and just leaving.

"Do you want a can of Pepsi or anything for that matter? I'll be paying, so don't worry," Quinn forced himself to say, suddenly feeling like Lindsey when she had kept bothering him. Did Cody think he was a bother? Was he acting weird? He didn't know, but what he did know was that he wanted to hang out with Cody. He hadn't seen him in a week, and if he slipped away now he wasn't sure where he'd find him.

Quinn watched as Cody's frown left and was replaced with a deep red blush that made Quinn's chest squeeze up. "Don't worry about it," Cody said, waving Quinn off before looking over the boy's shoulder.

"Come on now, don't hurt my feelings by rejecting my offer," Quinn said in a light-hearted joking way, but he meant it. Deep down the fact that Cody was saying 'no' hurt him and chipped at his confidence. He watched as Cody's face turned even redder as the boy fidgeted with his fingers.

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

I like you.?The kneejerk reply to Cody's words in Quinn's head scared him, but he didn't budge. He was just grabbing Cody a drink. Friends did that. He and Cody were friends. "We're friends," he said, almost choking on his words when they left his mouth. It didn't feel right, but he needed a lie. He didn't want Cody to be weirded out by him.

Cody didn't ask any questions after that. He just looked at the ground before muttering, "can I have Pepsi?"

"Sure, I'll get that for you," Quinn said, turning and heading to the fridge, almost running judging by how quick he was walking. As he looked through the lineup of drinks Quinn wondered what to do with his feelings. He barely knew Cody, and how quickly he was growing attached to him both excited and scared him. A part of him thought that maybe he understood what his friends meant when they spoke about missing their girlfriends. A part of him was also starting to understand how quick some of his friends were to profess someone was good looking. He was starting to understand all these because he felt the same way about Cody. Maybe he was gay like Lindsey suggested, and knowing that brought him some relief. He wanted to understand himself further, and he wanted to explore the feelings he had for Cody.

There was a small barrier, though.

Okay, a big one.

Sure, they were both boys, but Quinn wasn't decided on whether he would express his feeling yet or if at all. Starting a friendship with Cody would be good for now. He could figure out the complexities of them both being of the same gender later.

A few minutes later Quinn and Cody met at the counter, and Quinn ended up paying for the snacks and the comic book Cody brought with him. He insisted it was fine when Cody tried to stop him, so the smaller boy had just watched on as Quinn exchanged money with the cashier. They left the convenience store together when Quinn got the bag of stuff they'd just purchased. They rested their backs on the walls, finding cover from the burning heat under the metal sheet roof that peaked past the store's brick walls.

"Here," Quinn said, fishing the bottle of Pepsi out of the black nylon bag he was holding before handing it to Cody who was quick to thank him.

"It's no problem," Quinn muttered, feeling his face burn. Their fingers had touched in the exchange, and now his heart was racing.

The boys stayed by the wall together, talking lightly as they both drank from their bottles of fizzy drinks. Their words were laced into short sentences and far between, but neither of them felt like the atmosphere was awkward. It felt comfortable in an oddly refreshing way.

Noticing the sun was retreating into the clouds, Quinn decided to make the face that he would leave soon heard. "I should be leaving soon. I'm supposed to help my mother move some things down to the apartment lobby, and the elevators aren't working." He looked at Cody who hadn't reacted. The boy's eyes were focused on the streets ahead. "Do you live around here?" Quinn asked out of the blue, making Cody blink before staring at him with wide eyes.

"Yeah, I do," he said, looking away from Quinn, and focusing on the now empty bottle in his hand.

"Great, do you want to walk back together?" he asked, getting excited.

Cody shook his head.?"No."

Quinn felt his blood drain at the short rejection. "Why not?"

Cody remained quiet, and Quinn felt bad. A no was a no, he shouldn't have been quick to push for reasons.

Quinn let out a sigh before.?"Okay then, see you later I guess," he said, before stretching his hand holding the nylon bag to Cody. It had the snacks and comic book he'd gotten for him. "Don't forget this," he said.

Cody thanked Quinn, taking the bag from him before watching the older boy walk away.

A fond smile played on Cody's face after Quinn left. The boy sighed, turning the can of empty Pepsi in his hands one last time before crushing it and tossing it into the nearby trash can. He bit his bottom lip as he felt his jean pocket for the paperback comic he'd folded and put there. He stared at it, flipping through the pages and still feeling warm in the chest at Quinn's gesture of kindness.

There'd been a high chance that Cody might have taken it out of the shelves and found a way to slip through the door without being unnoticed, but Quinn had come around and paid for it.

The smile on Cody's face was starting to feel a bit painful. He put the comic away, touching his lips as his hand with the nylon bag of snacks swung a bit in his grip. Quinn had not been the huge bully he'd thought him to be just from appearances. He seemed rather nice??good-willed??and a tad overbearing, like a mother would be.

Cody hummed, twisting strands of his dark hair between his fingers. Cody did want to cut it??well, at least make it look presentable, but he rarely had money of his own to do anything, and he wasn't the best at using scissors. His face warmed up thinking about Quinn. The boy never poked fun at his looks or presentation. He knew something stood out about his looks, but Quinn never mentioned it.

He liked that.

He had wanted to walk home with Quinn, but he didn't want to be home today??the next few days even. With one last look at the streets, Cody made his departure. There had to be a nice bench in the park to spend the night.