Title: Do You See the Signs?
Author: Liat
Disclaimer: You know the drill
A/N: sorry, y'all. Don't know how much longer this is gonna be, but it's just flowing! The next one'll be shorter, I promise. So do y'all think the next one should be Ephram/Colin, Ephram/Bright, Colin/Bright, or a non- slash? Let me know!
Part 3:
Bright slurred,
"God, I'm drunk, huh, C?"
Colin laughed, supporting Bright as they walked to the car.
"You sure are, Bright. Lucky for you I'm not."
Bright smiled lop-sidedly. He reached up and ruffled Colin's hair. He said,
'You need a haircut, C."
Grinning, Colin shoved Bright into the passenger seat of his little Miata. Colin slid into the driver's seat before Bright could climb into it himself. Bright pouted,
"Hey! I wanna drive."
Colin shook his head,
"Sorry, Bright. You're just a little to wasted."
Bright grinned, forgetting his pout.
"I am, ament I? Golly, it's late, huh?"
Colin glanced at the clock.
"Only 12:15, man."
Bright squinted at the clock and said,
"No. 2:15."
"Just sit back, Bright." Colin swatted at Bright's hand. "Leave the radio off!"
Bright went back to his pout and sat back, but seconds later he was asleep.
* * *
Bright woke up with a groan. Holding his head, he sat up slowly. Being careful to keep his eyes mostly shut, he stood up, grabbing onto the headboard of his bed while the room spun once, twice, then settled. Bright hobbled to the bathroom down the hall, immediately stripping out of his clothes and slipping into the shower, turning it on full-blast, cold.
Colin sighed, walking down the hall. He heard the shower running and muffled curses from inside it. He called out, standing in the bathroom doorway,
"How ya feeling, Bright?"
Colin barely heard Bright mumble,
"Not bright, that's for sure."
Laughing, Colin entered the bathroom, scooping up Bright's clothes and tossing them into the hamper. He said, flipping down the toilet seat and sitting on it,
"Do you remember any of last night?"
"Well, I remember up until Amy and Ephram left.then I remember part of the car ride.how much am I missing?"
Colin snorted,
"Enough. Want some coffee?"
Bright stuck his head out of the curtain, trying to smile. His eyelids were drooping and his hair was hanging over his eyes and he needed to shave. He looked like hell, but he felt marginally better. He said,
"That would be absolute heaven."
Colin grinned, stood, and left the bathroom.
* * *
1 week later
Bright picked up the ringing phone. He mumbled sleepily,
"Hello?"
"Isn't is wonderful? Oh, Bright, I'm so happy! Aren't you?"
Bright sat up, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands he said, shifting the phone,
"Mom? Jeez, it's, like, 6 o'clock! On Sunday!"
Rose Abbot could barely contain her excitement. She bubbled,
"Oh, honey, please. It's 8 o'clock here. Anyway, Amy and Ephram just got here yesterday and told us the news. I thought you father was going to just keel over! Oh, I'm so happy. Why don't you come and visit, honey?"
"I have school, mom."
Colin popped his head in the doorway and said,
"Who's on the phone?"
Bright mouthed 'mom' while he listened half-heartedly to his mom blather on about how life is in Everwood and about how excited she is about the baby and how she wishes Bright and Colin would come visit more often and about some stuff Bright didn't really catch. Bright had to interrupt his mom.
"Mom. Mom-"
"-don't interrupt me, Bright."
"But Mom, I need to go! I'll talk to Colin and we'll plan a visit, okay? I love you Mom, tell Dad I said hi, okay? Bye!"
Bright hung up, then laid back down, cuddling under the covers. Colin said,
"Dude, we have to be out of here in 45 minutes."
Bright sat up again.
"What? Why?"
Colin rolled his eyes and entered the room.
"We've got errands to run."
Bright rolled his eyes,
"You sound like an old Mom, C."
Colin grinned,
"We have no food, Bright. And we need to go to the Laundromat."
Bright stood up and followed Colin out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. Sitting at the table, he said,
"Hey, when's the last time you saw Shawn, C?"
Colin shrugged, occupying himself by making some coffee. He mumbled something Bright couldn't understand, then walked out of the room to get dressed. Bright sighed and followed Colin. He said,
"What's wrong, C? You guys have been together for, like, 2 years, almost." Colin shrugged, pulling on some jeans and a T-shirt. He sat down on his bed to pull on some sneakers. He said,
"I don't know.I just think.maybe it's time we started seeing other people."
"Are you gonna tell him that?"
Colin stood up, hunching his shoulders defensively,
"Yeah.eventually."
Bright shrugged and left the room, calling behind him,
"Whatever, man. Your life, your boyfriend, your choice."
* * *
Bright strolled casually into the room and settled into a chair across from Colin. Colin was staring blankly ahead, his fingers laced together across his stomach. Bright sat forwards,
"So? How'd it go?"
Colin shifted his gaze to Bright and shrugged,
"How do you think it went?"
Bright gave Colin a sympathetic smile.
"So, was he pissed, or anything?"
"A bit. He didn't react how I thought he would. I guess that's a good thing, though, because I was expecting it to be bad."
Bright stood up and sat next to Colin on the couch. He patted Colin's knee and said,
"Look at it positively. You're single."
Colin slanted Bright a look and said,
"Yeah. Single. And lovin' every freakin' minute."
Bright grinned, giving Colin's knee an encouraging squeeze,
"That's the idea, dude."
Bright stood up, absently scratched an itch across his ribs, and grinned down at Colin. He said, wiggling his eyebrows,
"Well, I gotta go get ready. Got a hot date."
Colin gave a half-hearted smile and said,
"She got a brother? Or a sister?"
Bright smiled,
"Really?"
Colin shrugged, standing up,
"Yeah, sure, why not?"
Bright nodded, impressed with Colin's speed of recovery, then went for the phone.
* * *
Colin glanced disdainfully around the palm fronds at their table. He whispered to Bright,
"Why am I having sudden, horrific flashbacks of a certain Will & Grace episode? You know? The one where Leo-"
Bright cut him off,
"-I know what you're talking about, C. hey, why don't you just give him a chance, okay? He could have a great personality! You never know."
Colin checked out his 'date' again. He turned to Bright, a note of desperation in his eyes, in his pleading tone.
"Bright, he barely comes up to my shoulders. He's like.one of the Keebler elves! I mean, send me an elf looking like Legolas from the Lord of the Rings and I won't mind, but a Keebler elf? Please, Bright. Don't make me go."
Bright sighed,
"Okay. Fine. Here's the bit. We tell him about Shawn. But put a twist on it. He broke it off, you're real broken up about it. You thought you were ready to date again, but now you realize you're not. Hey, you're good at acting, fake some tears or something as we tell the story, okay?"
Colin nodded, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Okay, chief."
Bright smiled, rolling his eyes. He grabbed Colin's arm and steered him towards the table. As they neared it, he let go of Colin's arm and began to rub his back as if consoling him. Immediately, Jeff, the date, stood up. He put a hand on Colin's arm and said worriedly,
"What's wrong, Colin?"
Bright helped Colin into his chair, then sat down next to him so he could keep 'comforting' Colin. He looked at Jeff with a pained expression. He said quietly,
"I'm really sorry, Jeff, but Colin's not feeling so great right now."
"What? Why not?"
Colin looked up at Jeff, tears swimming in his eyes he said, his chin quivering,
"It's just." Colin sobbed, turned his head into Bright's shoulder and said, "you tell them, Bright. I just cant. I cant."
Bright rubbed Colin's back and said,
"he just got out of a 2 year relationship. The guy broke up with him and he's really been affected. We really thought he'd be ready to start dating again, but when we got here.he just lost it. We thought he'd dried up all his tears. Been crying for days. Guess not, though."
Jeff looked at Colin and said,
"Oh, God, Colin I'm so sorry! Maybe I should take you home."
Bright said quickly,
"Oh, no, Jeff, that's quite all right, I'll take him. tuck him into bed and all.I'm really sorry 'bout this."
Jef shook his head and stood up with them,
"Oh, no, don't be! I just hope he'll be okay. Is there anything I can do?"
Colin shook his head, looking down at Jeff, then at Carrie, Bright's date. He said,
"I'm so sorry I ruined your night, guys. I just don't know what I was thinking."
Bright turned to Carrie and said,
"I'm so sorry, Carrie, I just really need to take care of this. Rain- check?"
Carrie smiled and nodded, then she and Jeff walked with them to their car. Bright helped Colin in the car, then went around to the driver's seat. He waved to Carrie and Jeff as they pulled out of the parking lot. As they turned the corner, Colin began to laugh. He crowed,
"That was perfect!"
Bright grinned, checking the rearview mirror. He pressed the button to lower the roof and sped off towards their apartment.
TBC
Author: Liat
Disclaimer: You know the drill
A/N: sorry, y'all. Don't know how much longer this is gonna be, but it's just flowing! The next one'll be shorter, I promise. So do y'all think the next one should be Ephram/Colin, Ephram/Bright, Colin/Bright, or a non- slash? Let me know!
Part 3:
Bright slurred,
"God, I'm drunk, huh, C?"
Colin laughed, supporting Bright as they walked to the car.
"You sure are, Bright. Lucky for you I'm not."
Bright smiled lop-sidedly. He reached up and ruffled Colin's hair. He said,
'You need a haircut, C."
Grinning, Colin shoved Bright into the passenger seat of his little Miata. Colin slid into the driver's seat before Bright could climb into it himself. Bright pouted,
"Hey! I wanna drive."
Colin shook his head,
"Sorry, Bright. You're just a little to wasted."
Bright grinned, forgetting his pout.
"I am, ament I? Golly, it's late, huh?"
Colin glanced at the clock.
"Only 12:15, man."
Bright squinted at the clock and said,
"No. 2:15."
"Just sit back, Bright." Colin swatted at Bright's hand. "Leave the radio off!"
Bright went back to his pout and sat back, but seconds later he was asleep.
* * *
Bright woke up with a groan. Holding his head, he sat up slowly. Being careful to keep his eyes mostly shut, he stood up, grabbing onto the headboard of his bed while the room spun once, twice, then settled. Bright hobbled to the bathroom down the hall, immediately stripping out of his clothes and slipping into the shower, turning it on full-blast, cold.
Colin sighed, walking down the hall. He heard the shower running and muffled curses from inside it. He called out, standing in the bathroom doorway,
"How ya feeling, Bright?"
Colin barely heard Bright mumble,
"Not bright, that's for sure."
Laughing, Colin entered the bathroom, scooping up Bright's clothes and tossing them into the hamper. He said, flipping down the toilet seat and sitting on it,
"Do you remember any of last night?"
"Well, I remember up until Amy and Ephram left.then I remember part of the car ride.how much am I missing?"
Colin snorted,
"Enough. Want some coffee?"
Bright stuck his head out of the curtain, trying to smile. His eyelids were drooping and his hair was hanging over his eyes and he needed to shave. He looked like hell, but he felt marginally better. He said,
"That would be absolute heaven."
Colin grinned, stood, and left the bathroom.
* * *
1 week later
Bright picked up the ringing phone. He mumbled sleepily,
"Hello?"
"Isn't is wonderful? Oh, Bright, I'm so happy! Aren't you?"
Bright sat up, rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands he said, shifting the phone,
"Mom? Jeez, it's, like, 6 o'clock! On Sunday!"
Rose Abbot could barely contain her excitement. She bubbled,
"Oh, honey, please. It's 8 o'clock here. Anyway, Amy and Ephram just got here yesterday and told us the news. I thought you father was going to just keel over! Oh, I'm so happy. Why don't you come and visit, honey?"
"I have school, mom."
Colin popped his head in the doorway and said,
"Who's on the phone?"
Bright mouthed 'mom' while he listened half-heartedly to his mom blather on about how life is in Everwood and about how excited she is about the baby and how she wishes Bright and Colin would come visit more often and about some stuff Bright didn't really catch. Bright had to interrupt his mom.
"Mom. Mom-"
"-don't interrupt me, Bright."
"But Mom, I need to go! I'll talk to Colin and we'll plan a visit, okay? I love you Mom, tell Dad I said hi, okay? Bye!"
Bright hung up, then laid back down, cuddling under the covers. Colin said,
"Dude, we have to be out of here in 45 minutes."
Bright sat up again.
"What? Why?"
Colin rolled his eyes and entered the room.
"We've got errands to run."
Bright rolled his eyes,
"You sound like an old Mom, C."
Colin grinned,
"We have no food, Bright. And we need to go to the Laundromat."
Bright stood up and followed Colin out of his bedroom and into the kitchen. Sitting at the table, he said,
"Hey, when's the last time you saw Shawn, C?"
Colin shrugged, occupying himself by making some coffee. He mumbled something Bright couldn't understand, then walked out of the room to get dressed. Bright sighed and followed Colin. He said,
"What's wrong, C? You guys have been together for, like, 2 years, almost." Colin shrugged, pulling on some jeans and a T-shirt. He sat down on his bed to pull on some sneakers. He said,
"I don't know.I just think.maybe it's time we started seeing other people."
"Are you gonna tell him that?"
Colin stood up, hunching his shoulders defensively,
"Yeah.eventually."
Bright shrugged and left the room, calling behind him,
"Whatever, man. Your life, your boyfriend, your choice."
* * *
Bright strolled casually into the room and settled into a chair across from Colin. Colin was staring blankly ahead, his fingers laced together across his stomach. Bright sat forwards,
"So? How'd it go?"
Colin shifted his gaze to Bright and shrugged,
"How do you think it went?"
Bright gave Colin a sympathetic smile.
"So, was he pissed, or anything?"
"A bit. He didn't react how I thought he would. I guess that's a good thing, though, because I was expecting it to be bad."
Bright stood up and sat next to Colin on the couch. He patted Colin's knee and said,
"Look at it positively. You're single."
Colin slanted Bright a look and said,
"Yeah. Single. And lovin' every freakin' minute."
Bright grinned, giving Colin's knee an encouraging squeeze,
"That's the idea, dude."
Bright stood up, absently scratched an itch across his ribs, and grinned down at Colin. He said, wiggling his eyebrows,
"Well, I gotta go get ready. Got a hot date."
Colin gave a half-hearted smile and said,
"She got a brother? Or a sister?"
Bright smiled,
"Really?"
Colin shrugged, standing up,
"Yeah, sure, why not?"
Bright nodded, impressed with Colin's speed of recovery, then went for the phone.
* * *
Colin glanced disdainfully around the palm fronds at their table. He whispered to Bright,
"Why am I having sudden, horrific flashbacks of a certain Will & Grace episode? You know? The one where Leo-"
Bright cut him off,
"-I know what you're talking about, C. hey, why don't you just give him a chance, okay? He could have a great personality! You never know."
Colin checked out his 'date' again. He turned to Bright, a note of desperation in his eyes, in his pleading tone.
"Bright, he barely comes up to my shoulders. He's like.one of the Keebler elves! I mean, send me an elf looking like Legolas from the Lord of the Rings and I won't mind, but a Keebler elf? Please, Bright. Don't make me go."
Bright sighed,
"Okay. Fine. Here's the bit. We tell him about Shawn. But put a twist on it. He broke it off, you're real broken up about it. You thought you were ready to date again, but now you realize you're not. Hey, you're good at acting, fake some tears or something as we tell the story, okay?"
Colin nodded, a hint of a smile on his face.
"Okay, chief."
Bright smiled, rolling his eyes. He grabbed Colin's arm and steered him towards the table. As they neared it, he let go of Colin's arm and began to rub his back as if consoling him. Immediately, Jeff, the date, stood up. He put a hand on Colin's arm and said worriedly,
"What's wrong, Colin?"
Bright helped Colin into his chair, then sat down next to him so he could keep 'comforting' Colin. He looked at Jeff with a pained expression. He said quietly,
"I'm really sorry, Jeff, but Colin's not feeling so great right now."
"What? Why not?"
Colin looked up at Jeff, tears swimming in his eyes he said, his chin quivering,
"It's just." Colin sobbed, turned his head into Bright's shoulder and said, "you tell them, Bright. I just cant. I cant."
Bright rubbed Colin's back and said,
"he just got out of a 2 year relationship. The guy broke up with him and he's really been affected. We really thought he'd be ready to start dating again, but when we got here.he just lost it. We thought he'd dried up all his tears. Been crying for days. Guess not, though."
Jeff looked at Colin and said,
"Oh, God, Colin I'm so sorry! Maybe I should take you home."
Bright said quickly,
"Oh, no, Jeff, that's quite all right, I'll take him. tuck him into bed and all.I'm really sorry 'bout this."
Jef shook his head and stood up with them,
"Oh, no, don't be! I just hope he'll be okay. Is there anything I can do?"
Colin shook his head, looking down at Jeff, then at Carrie, Bright's date. He said,
"I'm so sorry I ruined your night, guys. I just don't know what I was thinking."
Bright turned to Carrie and said,
"I'm so sorry, Carrie, I just really need to take care of this. Rain- check?"
Carrie smiled and nodded, then she and Jeff walked with them to their car. Bright helped Colin in the car, then went around to the driver's seat. He waved to Carrie and Jeff as they pulled out of the parking lot. As they turned the corner, Colin began to laugh. He crowed,
"That was perfect!"
Bright grinned, checking the rearview mirror. He pressed the button to lower the roof and sped off towards their apartment.
TBC
