Kyle barely had time to register the soft hand landing on his head before — splat — his face sank straight into cold whipped cream.
For a second, he just froze, completely unprepared for that level of betrayal from his sister.
Then he jerked his head back up.
Sweet cream blurred his vision, sticky against his skin.
"Meg!!" he snapped.
The curse of getting shoved face-first into a birthday cake had finally caught up to him too.
Megan's laughter rang through the kitchen.
"Sorry-y-y," she wheezed between laughs. "But you had to experience it at least once in your eighteen years!"
Kyle wiped the cream from his eyes and shot her an annoyed glare. For several seconds he just stared at her silently, brows drawn together.
A muffled laugh came from beside him.
Kyle turned his head.
Darren had a hand over his mouth. At first the laughter stayed quiet, almost restrained — but then he couldn't hold it back. His shoulders shook, his eyes squeezed shut slightly as tears gathered faintly at the corners. His hand was barely helping anymore.
Kyle's face suddenly softened. He let out a long breath — and couldn't help but smile too.
The drying cream pulled at the skin around his mouth. He tried wiping his face with his hands, but Megan, finally calming down, handed him some napkins.
The last of their laughter still trembled faintly in the air, slowly fading.
Kyle scrubbed at his face harder than necessary, irritating his skin, only stopping once the sticky feeling finally disappeared.
He crumpled the napkin and tossed it onto the table.
Then looked at the cake. Or rather — what was left of it.
A heavy, defeated sigh escaped him.
And then something warm suddenly touched his cheek. Kyle flinched and darted his gaze to the right.
"You still had some here," Darren said quietly, still smiling.
Kyle's entire body instantly turned to stone.
Darren's thumb carefully brushed along his cheek — from his cheekbone downward — before stopping right at the corner of his lips.
The touch, warm at first, suddenly felt almost burning.
The second stretched out far longer than it should have.
When Kyle looked back at Darren, there was a strange half-smile frozen on his face, and his gaze felt far too serious for such an ordinary moment.
Darren slowly pulled his hand away.
He brought his thumb to his mouth — and casually licked the cream off it without taking his eyes off Kyle.
"The cake's good," he said calmly.
"Kyle's favorite," Megan added.
Kyle immediately turned away and forced all his attention onto the ruined remains of the cake.
Heat still pulsed in his cheeks, all the way to his ears. He could only hope his face already looked red from all that scrubbing.
"Okay," Megan said, still chuckling, "go wash up — and then we get to the best part."
Kyle didn't need any convincing. He got up from his chair far too quickly and practically fled to the bathroom.
He stayed there longer than he should have.
The frosting had long since washed away. The heat, however, stubbornly refused to leave.
Only after splashing cold water on his face for what felt like the tenth time did Kyle decide his reflection looked more or less normal again.
Only then did he calm down.
By the time he returned to the kitchen, familiar voices and laughter were already drifting toward him.
The number of empty beer cans on the table had noticeably increased while he was gone. There was less cake, too. The dirty spoons beside the box explained exactly why.
At the edge of the table now sat a colorful gift box tied with a ribbon — and the same black bag Kyle had noticed earlier in Darren's hands.
Kyle sat back down.
The beer can in Megan's hand landed on the table with a dull thunk. She gave Darren a pointed look.
"You first."
Darren nodded, picked up the black bag, and held it out toward Kyle.
"Happy birthday."
Kyle frowned slightly and eyed the bag suspiciously.
"...Is there a bomb in there?" he asked seriously.
A laugh escaped Darren.
"No, obviously not."
"Then what is it?"
"Look inside."
Still smiling faintly, Darren kept holding the bag out toward him.
Eventually, Kyle took it.
And the second he looked inside, every trace of suspicion disappeared. His breath caught. His eyes lit up, excitement pulling at the corners of his lips.
"...Is this?.."
"Yeah," Darren answered simply.
"What is it?!" Megan immediately leaned forward.
Kyle pulled the box out and examined it from every angle, almost mesmerized. Behind the clear plastic window sat a sleek black gaming mouse with subtle patterning.
"And it's a limited edition…"
"Wow," Megan said, genuinely impressed. "You nailed that. Kyle seriously needs a new mouse."
Darren only smiled, saying nothing.
"Thanks," Kyle said quietly, still unable to look away from the gift.
"Use it well."
Carefully, Kyle placed the box back in the bag and set it down beside his chair.
"Well then," Megan said, pleased with herself, sliding her own box toward him, "my turn."
"Oh, this already looks aggressively your style," Kyle commented.
Inside was a large mug — not a simple one. Its entire surface was covered in photos. Mostly embarrassing ones of him and Megan.
"Where the hell did you even find this many?"
Kyle looked genuinely horrified. He hated being photographed. Even with Megan — and only because she kept catching him off guard.
"This is my personal four-year archive," she announced proudly. "I selected the best ones."
Darren leaned forward with interest.
"Can I see?"
Kyle silently handed it over, though it made him oddly self-conscious.
Darren turned it slowly in his hands for a moment.
Then said:
"Wow. You're so little and cute here."
"...I was literally fourteen."
"Exactly. Little."
Kyle rolled his eyes and quickly grabbed the mug back.
"I think it's time to use it for its intended purpose," Darren added with a smile.
Kyle looked at him questioningly.
Darren demonstratively lifted his beer can and gave it a light spin.
Kyle immediately frowned. Looked at the can. Then glanced toward Megan for support. She very deliberately stared into her own beer and pretended not to notice.
"Oh, come on," Darren said. "It's just beer. You've seriously never had one with friends?"
Megan immediately coughed, the implication completely transparent.
"Never," Kyle answered flatly.
Darren went quiet, catching Megan's eye.
"Well." He shrugged. "First time for everything."
Then looked back at Kyle.
"So today, I guess, you'll finally have one with a friend."
Kyle froze.
"...Are we friends?"
"Probably, yeah," Darren answered right away, with a small smile.
Kyle looked at him. At the beer can in his hand. At the mug.
"Fine," he gave in without much resistance.
Golden liquid poured into the mug with a hiss, foam rising almost to the brim.
"Ahhh, drink before it spills!" Megan yelped.
Kyle didn't even have time to think before he'd already followed her advice.
Soft foam touched his lips, a refreshing bitterness with a faint tang spreading across his tongue.
He swallowed.
"Well?" Darren asked.
"It's fine," Kyle answered calmly.
"Pffft, I expected a way bigger reaction," Megan complained.
Kyle took a couple more small sips.
The cans gradually emptied, taking over more and more of the table.
Their cheeks slowly flushed — Kyle's most noticeably, drinking for the first time; Megan's too, already well past her fifth can. Darren's barely at all.
Surprisingly, there was almost nothing left of the cake either.
Megan drained her can in one go and added it to the row of empties.
"Oh, right!" she suddenly announced, a little too loudly. "Dad called yesterday."
The color drained from Kyle's face instantly.
Megan kept going before he could say anything:
"He asked how things were going with economics. And apparently your teacher complained again…"
Kyle rolled his eyes hard and clicked his tongue.
"Even though your grades have obviously been improving!"
"Well, no surprise there," he finally muttered. "Dad's impossible to please. Especially when it comes to me."
He let out a short, bitter laugh and took a long drink straight from the can.
"I seriously don't get him!" Megan continued. "You scored a 1460 on the SAT!"
"Wow," Darren finally cut in. "That's actually a really good score."
"Not enough," Kyle answered shortly.
"Dad wants at least 1500," Megan explained. "Ideally 1550. So Kyle's retaking it in the fall."
"Damn," Darren exhaled quietly. "Having to go through all that again…"
"If I have to retake it, I'll retake it," Kyle said flatly.
He took a long sip.
"What did you get?"
"1570," Darren answered, a little awkwardly.
Kyle and Megan's eyes went wide at the same time.
"Jesus."
"You're insane."
Darren looked away, rubbed the back of his neck — and only then smiled.
"Well… I studied a lot."
Kyle took another drink. His gaze had already started going hazy from the alcohol.
"Hah. Bet you were on the football team too," he said flatly.
"Yep."
"Captain?"
"Yep."
"...What a surprise."
"He was also in the debate club," Megan added. "How did you even manage all of that?"
"Well…" Darren gave a small laugh. "It's not like I had much of a choice."
"I'm genuinely in awe of you," Megan said, shaking her head. "I nearly lost my mind from the student council alone."
Kyle looked at Darren first, then Megan…
Incredible people. Carrying so much — and barely complaining.
And him?..
A brief silence settled over the table. Then Megan hummed softly, as if something had just come back to her.
"Maybe you should help Kyle with studying on a regular basis?" she asked Darren. "He has Macroeconomics and Government & Politics next May."
Kyle tensed up immediately.
"No," he cut in quickly. "I can handle it myself."
"Well why not—"
"Sure," Darren said calmly. "I'll help."
Kyle stared at him in disbelief.
"I'm a very busy person, though," Darren continued, completely serious. "And a highly qualified specialist. My services don't come cheap."
"Maybe we should actually not—"
"And what exactly do you want in return?" Megan interrupted. "Not money, obviously."
Darren turned a steady gaze toward Kyle.
"Round-the-clock tech support."
Kyle exhaled quietly.
"Only until nine p.m."
"Ten."
Silence spread between them. They held each other's gaze — a strange, wordless standoff.
Kyle looked away first.
"...Fine."
"Then we have a deal."
Darren held out his hand. Kyle stared at it blankly. Darren gave his palm a small nudge in the air.
Eventually, Kyle reached out and touched his hand, turning the contact into a weak handshake.
Darren tightened his grip in response, closing his fingers around Kyle's.
And somehow from that simple touch, Kyle suddenly held his breath. His cheeks flared hot again.
Probably the two beers…
Darren let go, taking the warmth with him and leaving behind a strange emptiness against Kyle's skin.
"I think that calls for another drink," Megan said.
Kyle wrinkled his nose.
"Maybe you've had enough already?..."
Megan burst out laughing.
And a few seconds later, both guys laughed with her.