Dave entered the house after John, taking off his shoes like the boy did, and stopped in the living room. "You can put your stuff down and sit on the couch," John said, doing exactly that. Dave nodded and slid his bag off his shoulders, taking out his chemistry book, along with the papers that he was required to fill out. He plopped down next to John, setting the books on the table in front of him. "First things first, what are we looking at?"
"Equations that I don't understand."
"What don't you understand?"
"The different typed of bonding and switching things."
"Alrighty, I got this." For the 15 minutes, John explained everything the teacher had, just in a simpler way, a way Dave could understand.
Dave nodded along, filling out a few problems every now and then. Not even a half hour later, the worksheet was done and back in his bag, along with the heavy book. "That was great, Egbert," he ruffled his hair. "Thanks, I can understand and pass for at least another week. maybe."
John smiled and attempted to fix his hair. "No problem, Dave. Oh! Dad's cooking some cake," he make a disgusted face. "Do you want any?"
"Is it bad cake. is that why you made that face? Is it poisoned? I can't be eating poisoned cake, yo. Peeps will miss me."
"No!" John laughed, shaking his head. "I just don't like cake, he bakes it a lot because I told him when I was younger, that my favorite food was cake." Dave just nodded, glancing towards the door where the cake was hidden.
"So, when do I get to taste this cake that you dislike oh so much?"
John shrugged, pushing up his glasses. "No doubt soon, Dad loves to shower guests in cake. I don't know why, it's just a thing of his." Dave managed a slight smile at Johns words.
"What do you have to entertain me before I get kicked out and have to go home?"
"Video games."
"Oh? What kind?" Dave's interest was instantly perked, his head turning to look at John curiously. His eyes followed him from behind the shades as John went over to the rack that held all his games. He allowed himself a once over of his back side, appreciating the view.
"Well, we have Call of Duty: Black Ops, Black Ops II, Ghost. Then we have the older games of Modern Warfare, Medal of Honor: Airborne, things like that."
"Ghost, Definitely Ghost." Dave replied, slipping his legs into a crisscross applesauce position. He caught the controller that John tossed at him with ease, leaning back into the leather couch. "How often do you play?"
"Too often, for Dad's liking. Friend's don't come around much, they're usually busy, so I occupy my time by playing games, along with other things." Dave merely nodded, turned his controller on, and waited for John to get onto the couch to get the game started. John set everything up, and waited patiently for Dave to sign in. He didn't seem to mind when Dave created a new class, either.
"What are we playing?" Dave spoke up after a bit while finishing off the last touches of his class.
"I usually play Drop Zone or Kill Confirmed..." John trailed off, glancing over at Dave.
"Drop Zone is good. Let's beat the other teams so bad, they cry." Dave smirked slightly, focused entirely on the game. John clicked on the category they decided on, and the game began a minute seconds after. Dave wasted no time in rushing forward, his reflexes saving him on multiple occasions throughout the time limit of the game. John followed behind him the best he could, getting the guys Dave couldn't while they both searched for the drop zone.
Dave hissed as he was shot from behind. He quickly respawned and rushed back to the spot, hoping whoever was there, was gone. They weren't.
"Fucking camping ass little bitches," he muttered to himself, much to John's amusement.
"You're quite... Colorful with your words, aren't you, Dave?" Dave hummed in response, scoping out another area before having his guy run up the stairs. He shot the camper from behind, holding his controller up in the air, letting out a quiet 'yes!'. John just smiled and continued on with the game, bunking where the drop zone was. Dave was beside him a few moments later, and together they shot anyone who came near them, along with a couple other teammates who were in the drop zone, racking in points for their team. Eventually, the drop zone changed, and off they raced, searching for it.
When the match ended, John's dad walked in, two plates in hand. On the plates were a slice of cake and a fork, and Dave's mouth starting watering at the aroma coming from the kitchen. "Cake?"
"Yes, please," Dave eyes the cake some more, holding out his hands for the plate. John's dad left as soon as John took his plate. Dave took the fork and dug in, eating as politely as he could while savoring every last bite of the cake. "This is so good," he basically moaned, taking the last bite. John just laughed softly at him, pushing his own plate towards the blonde.
"You can have my serving. I'm gonna set up a new class for the next game."
Dave grabbed his plate gratefully and ate a bit slower. He shifted so his back was against the armrest, the plate resting on his knee. He took his time examining John, getting a good look at him while he was focused on the screen in front of him.
John was cute. There was no denying that. His blue eyes were captivating, and his glasses made him look like a dork, but he pulled it off. He was shorter than Dave, but not by much. The top of his head came up to Dave's eyebrows. While Dave was long-limbed and gangly, John was built. He had some muscle in all the right places. His arms weren't like noodles, unlike Dave. They were toned, but not a lot. Dave quite enjoyed what he was looking at, his eyes flickering from his body to his face. John stuck the tip of his tongue out of his mouth as he concentrated on picking everything he needed. Cute, Dave thought, forking another piece of cake into his mouth.
He finished it off and set John's plate on top of his own discarded one before stretching. "You got any AJ?"
"Any what?" John paused his creation, looking over to Dave, his gaze lingering on the piece of skin visible below his shirt as Dave stretched.
"Apple Juice, bro. Nectar of the gods. The best drink out there."
"Uh.. Lemme check?" John stood up, walking quickly into the kitchen, looking flustered. Dave smirked to himself and stood up. He grabbed the plates and followed his new friend into the other room.
"Yo, Egbert, what am I doing with the plates and forks?" John was leaning into the fridge, moving things around.
"Uh, sink please," came his muffled response. Dave followed the request, and leaned against the island after, waiting for John to reappear from inside the refrigerator. "Ahah!" He re-emerged, his hand on a container of AJ. He sifted through the cupboards quickly, pulling out two glasses. They clinked as he set them against the marble counter. Dave watched as the liquid filled up the glasses, waiting patiently to be handed one of the two glasses. When he was, he took a sip, resisting the urge to make a face.
"Thanks."
"Mhm!" John smiled, walking out of the kitchen, plopping his bum back into his original spot, and Dave followed him, much like a puppy would.
After setting his now half filled glass on the table, he took his seat and picked up the controller.
"What're we playing this time?"
"Kill Confirmed? That sound good?"
Dave nodded, getting ready to play another game. The game started, and again, they kicked ass. An hour later, Dave's phone began ringing from inside his bag. He sighed and set the controller down, sifting through the bag in search of the damn thing. He pulled it out not long after, hitting the 'accept' button. "Hello?"
"David," her voice was silky, and he recognized it instantly.
"It's Dave, not David. How'd you get my number?"
"My sister Roxy is friends with Dirk."
"Shit, man. Your sister is Roxy? She's fuckin' rad." Dave held the phone between his shoulder and ear, and picked up the controller again.
"Yeah, she's cool. Not why I called. Are you okay?"
"Uh.. Why wouldn't I be?"
"Hm, nothing. Just know I'm here if you need me, okay?"
"Rose, no offence, but... I've known you less than a day. Going to you for help won't come so quickly."
He could hear the smile in her voice as she responded. "I figured. Just letting you know. I'm assuming you're with Johnathon. I'll let you go now, enjoy your time." She hung up before Dave could answer her, so he just let the phone drop into his lap as he focused completely on the game again.
"Rose got your number?" John spoke up after a little, curiosity filled in his voice.
"Yeah, she got it from her sister who got it from my brother. Apparently her sister is this rad chick named Roxy. She gives me cool shit every Christmas and on my birthday."
John smiled and nodded, shooting some guy that came after him. "Yeah, I've never met her." He glanced at the time and frowned a little. "After this match, you should probably head home. It's getting late, and I need to shower."
Dave shrugged and nodded. "Yeah, cool, that's fine, yo. Let's make this last match count then."
5 minutes later, Dave was shoving his shoes on and walking out of the house, and John was walking to his room with a slip of paper in his hand, reading 'turntechGodhead', Dave's chumhandle.
"In case you wanted to contact me sometime not via phone." Dave had explained when handing it to him.
Dave walked out of the house and began his trek home, taking his sweet time. He liked being outside when it was getting darker out. It was soothing to him, for some reason. He walked with a little jump in his step. He was happy. He thought he made a friend, and that was amazing for him. he's had trouble making friends. He has never been well liked, and has always generally been left alone. Dave stopped by the nearby park. He sat on one of the swings and gently pushed himself back and forth with his foot, looking up at the moon. It looked so peaceful, just floating out there in space, without a care in the world. He wished he could be like that. He took out his phone to check the time before standing up. He shoved the phone in his back pocket and jogged home the rest of the way.
"Welcome home, enjoy your date?" Dirk smirked the instant he was in the house.
"Not a date," Dave called back, rushing up the stairs into his room. He grabbed his camera before following his footsteps down the stairs, shouting that he'd be back later. His brothers let him go, knowing exactly what he was doing, and that he would be fine.
Dave made his way back to the park, the camera strap hung over his shoulder and the camera secure in his hands. He stopped every so often in the darkening night to take a picture of something. Sometimes it was a tree, others it was just the sky. When he reached the park, he kneels on one knee, positioning the camera so he could take a picture of the moon. After a shot, he moved back, taking a picture of the lone swing set. He walked further into the park, near the woody area. He made an impulsive decision and decided to walk into the woods. Dave looked up at the canopy of leaves and smiled to himself, pointing the camera up as well, snapping a shot, and then another not too far away.
Nature was beautiful, and Dave loved having pictures of it. he wondered briefly if he would ever be able to get John to post for him somewhere. He snorted softly, shaking his head. Dave wouldn't be showing this hobby to anyone. Only his brothers, and Roxy, knew of his photography. Bro got him his first camera when he was seven. Granted, it was a shitty one, but Dave loved it nonetheless. He took picture after picture, always showing Bro with a big smile on his face. He couldn't contain his happiness when taking the pictures, or showing someone them. He was just beginning to learn the whole irony thing he brothers had, and was still in practice of controlling his facial expressions. Years came and went, and Dave mastered both of those things. Bro got him the camera he was holding as a 'back to school' present, along with some film. Dave thought it was more of a 'I'm thankful you're not fucking dead, you dumb shit' present, but he wouldn't say that to Bro.
Not much later, he came across what looked like an abandoned tree house. He climbed the broken, wooden steps carefully, almost falling a couple of times because of how bad they were. Once at the top, he poked his head in slowly. He couldn't see a thing, everything was in shadows, so he ducked back out and pulled out his phone. He reappeared and clicked a button, the screen on his phone coming to life and providing him the light that he needed. The inside was almost completely bare of anything. Besides the debris of tree leaves, sticks and twigs, and a birds nest, there was a book shelf nestled in the far corner. Dave pulled himself up, being aware of his camera so he wouldn't accidentally break it by hitting it on something. He stepped carefully over to the bookshelf, using his phone to look at the books filled on the shelf. He blew on them, and the dust flew into the air like confetti, catching in the light of his phone as it fell to the ground, settling once again. Dave coughed into the curve of his elbow before pulling a book out to look at the title. It read "Passion" by Lauren Kate. He noticed it was part of the Fallen series. He put the book back and slid out another. A few tries of that in, he realized that most of the books were romance novels. He knelt down to check the bottom shelf, and almost laughed when it was all the Harry Potter books.
He put the books back into the rightful place and descended the steps, jumping to the ground when there were only 3 left. He looked back up at the opening and smiled, nodding to himself.
Right there, he decided on something.
The tree house was going to be his safe haven, his escape from the world.