imma post this to make up for such a sad chapter bc i'm inna GOOD MOOD NOW and no longer want to die for the time being :)

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TOM'S LAUGH WAS THE first thing the boy heard when he woke up. he refused to open his eyes, wanting to hear nothing but the older boy's laugh for as long as possible. all the sickening thoughts from the day before were gone and he already knew he would be in a good mood that day. alec's dumb laugh ruined the moment and chase accidentally groaned, rolling over to look at the two boys. they were sitting on the other side of the bed with chase's baby scrapbooks in front of them.

"seriously?" chase practically squeaked as he snatched the books and threw them on the opposite side of the room. "don't show him that stuff! it's embarrassing!"

alec continued to smile as he looked at his little brother. "how're you feeling?"

chase huffed, "well i was great until i saw you showing tom my disgusting baby pictures."

"you were cute." tom laughed. "i wonder what happened."

chase narrowed his eyes at the older boy. "i got hotter."

tom's mouth immediately closed and his laughing died down. "did not see that response coming."

alec laughed, "he's naturally cocky, which means that he's back to normal."

the young brunet rubbed his eyes. "what time is it?"

alec looked at his phone. "almost ten."

chase's eyes widened, "i slept all night? shit, i have school."

"since when do you want to be at school on time?" alec questioned. "i called you out sick."

"did you guys stay in here all night?" chase asked and alec nodded.

"well i took a nap, but tom stayed up the whole time."

chase's eyes wandered over to tom and the older boy's gaze was in his lap where his phone sat. he didn't look remotely tired to the younger boy and he wondered if he ended up sleeping too when alec wasn't in the room.

"well, thanks." chase gave them both a small smile.

"i have class," alec stated, "but tom doesn't so he was going to stay with you if you wanted him to. we kind of planned this incase you still felt gross."

chase shrugged his shoulders, looking at the older boy again. "that's fine."

"alright, cool. i have to go get ready." alec left the room and the two brunets sat in an awkward silence. neither knew why it felt awkward, but it did. they remained that way until alec returned to say his goodbyes.

chase decided to get up and shower since tom was still mute. he closed the bathroom door behind him and turned on the water. he took a quick shower and dried himself off before he wrapped the towel around his waist and headed back into his room to grab clothes. tom was no longer in his room, but he didn't question it as he got dressed. once he was finished he grabbed his phone—which one of the two older boys thankfully plugged in for him—and made his way into the kitchen.

he noticed tom outside by the pool pacing back and forth on the phone. he opened the cabinets and let out a frustrated sigh since there wasn't anything good to eat. he sent out a text to the group chat telling everyone to let him know what they wanted. he planned on going to the store later to restock.

as he headed towards the couch he collided into tom, not realizing he had come back inside. his blue eyes locked with tom's brown ones and he opened his mouth to speak. when nothing came out he looked at the floor, but tom grabbed the younger boy's chin and brought his gaze back up to meet his.

"i'm glad you're okay." chase was still speechless and his stomach twisted in a knot. that had been happening a lot around tom within the last couple days and he hated the feeling. "let's go out for breakfast." a lopsided grin formed on tom's face. "like as a date or something."

chase fought back a smile, but failed as he nodded. "okay."

the two headed out to tom's car and headed out for breakfast. chase had no idea where they were going, but he physically couldn't speak because tom's hand was rested on chase's thigh. chase's cheeks felt hot and he hoped they weren't red as hell.

upon arriving to a place called andie's the two got out and made their way inside. the restaurant was small, but nice. all but three booths were filled and tom brought them to one near the counter. once they were seated a girl around tom's age approached them with a smile.

"hey tom, how're you?" she placed a menu in front of both boys.

tom looked at chase with a smile before turning to the girl. "i'm good. is my mom around?"

her name tag read macy and her girl brown hair bounced on her head as she nodded. "yeah, i'll grab her. can i start you both off with something to drink?"

"chocolate milk for both." tom said before looking down at his menu.

chase sat up straighter and slowly opened his menu. "your mom works here?"

tom nodded, looking up at the boy. "she owns it." chase looked surprised and tom simply laughed at his reaction.

"hey sweetie." a girl that looked way too young to have a child approached the both. tom stood up to give her a hug and chase rubbed his hands nervously together under the table. "who's this?"

"chase," chase spoke quietly as he stood to shake her hand.

his mom rose an eyebrow as she shook his hand and she turned to look at tom. "the chase?"

the younger brunet looked over at tom and tom's cheeks flushed a light pink. "uh, yeah."

"you're a lot younger than i thought." she hummed and chase slowly sat back down as did tom. andie slid in the booth next to tom and smiled at macy as she brought over the two chocolate milks.

"can i grab you anything, andie?" she questioned.

"no, thank you, sweetheart. are you two ready to order?"

tom cleared his throat. "i was going to suggest the chocolate chip pancakes for chase."

chase nodded quickly, "yeah, sure."

macy nodded and turned to tom who ordered the same. she noticed the tension and gave chase a small pat on the shoulder before heading back to give the chef their order.

"how old are you, chase?" andie questioned and the blue eyed boy's cheeks turned a light pink as he looked at tom. tom simply gave him a nod and chase licked his dry lips.

"um, i'm sixteen." his voice was quiet.

andie looked over at tom as she sat back in her seat. "i see."

tom rolled his eyes as he rubbed his jaw. "i may have told her i was into a guy and called you my boyfriend."

"he also told me you were younger, but i didn't realize you were sixteen." she added on. "that makes you a sophomore or junior?"

"junior." chase answered and andie nodded.

"does your mom know?" she asked him and chase let out a dry laugh before covering it up with a fake cough. "i'm taking that as a no?"

"mom," tom mumbled. "he's sort of alec's little brother." he glanced at chase. "you're kind of the only one that knows about this."

andie smiled, "well, i feel honored, but how do you think your mom will feel about you dating someone so much older? tom is almost twenty, you know?" she paused. "how do you think alec will feel about this? is it worth possibly losing a friendship or sibling relationship if he isn't happy?"

chase felt the knot in his stomach tighten as he opened his mouth. his eyes locked with hers and he refused to look at tom. "mrs. holland," he began and she scoffed.

"just call me andie, please."

"andie," chase corrected himself as he nervously played with his fingers under the table. he knew what he was about to do and knew he probably shouldn't, but he needed to. "i get that we're well off in age, but—" he paused, sitting up straighter as he placed his hands on top of the table. "you know what it feels like to be in love with someone. i mean, you have a husband that you love dearly, right?" he didn't wait for a response. "i've never been in love before, but your son—" he swallowed the lump in his throat. "i'm in love with your son, regardless of his age." he let out a small laugh. "trust me, i know i shouldn't be and that this could badly damage my brother's relationship with not only me, but tom. i'm just—i'm not ready to let go of tom yet. i know i should, but i can't." chase looked over at tom and was unclear of his expression. chase's heart was beating harder than ever and he was surprised andie nor tom couldn't physically see it. "sorry," he started to slide out of the booth. "it was nice to meet you, but i think i should just go."

he quickly walked towards the exit, running his fingers through his hair as he stepped outside. he started down the street, hands shaking from nerves and he stopped to catch his breath as he placed his hands on his hips. he took deep breaths and squeezed his eyes shut, only to be grabbed and spun to face tom. he couldn't find the courage to talk anymore, so he continued to simply stare at the older boy.

the older boy shook his head and grabbed chase's head, pressing his lips to the younger boy's. chase practically melted in tom's hands and the older boy laughed into the kiss as he held chase up. andie stood in the doorway of her restaurant with her arms crossed over her chest and a smile on her face, nodding to herself in approval.