#stayingstills.

[aperturcs]

closed starter for @stayingstills.

it wasn't any different. a new city and a new team, but the same habits had followed taylor from one to the other, and aiden always happened to be caught in the middle of it. he couldn't count the number of times that he had shown up drunk and bruised at aiden's door, begging him to let him stay the night, or how many times his heart had been broken and he had cried about it to him and swore that he would never do it again, that he was done.

but he knew when it happened again that aiden would welcome him with open arms. so he showed up again, and again, and again tonight. he didn't bother knocking; he would if the door was locked, but with whatever luck he still had, the door was open and taylor let himself right inside. "aiden?" his calls to chase had gone straight to voicemail and his imagination was already creating images in his head of finding aiden with his girlfriend instead of with the space for him before he could even make it to the empty living room.

a sigh of relief escaped his lips as he dropped himself onto the couch with his head in aiden's lap and his legs kicked over the arm of the couch. "hey, bud." his head turned to the tv, barely registering what was playing on the screen. "order us some food. i'm starving. pretty sure i'm gonna perish away in like 45 minutes, so make it a speedy delivery."

[aperturcs]

closed starter for @stayingstills.

you've got to be fucking kidding me. he was supposed to be here for a vacation before he went back home for a visit that might as well have been a hockey camp. he had only seen him out of the corner of his eye earlier and called it a figment of his imagination. what were the chances that they were at the same place? he told himself none then. wishful thinking that never worked out for him.

everything logical was telling him to turn tail and walk away. he didn't need this right now; nothing good would come of it and he could still make it out with a vacation unmarred by the worst person he knew. instead his feet carried him towards justin - he'd swear it was against his own will, maybe the alcohol, maybe the line he had twenty minutes earlier - and his mouth opened. "you look like one of those car wash guys when you dance."

[aperturcs]

closed starter for @stayingstills.

"will you hurry up?" his voice was gruff and loud as he opened the door to his truck from inside to call out to justin who was still jogging away from his front door. he had already been waiting ten minutes and despite just going to an end of the season party, adrian wasn't interested in being late - especially not when the party was at his house. "you ask for a ride and then you're not even ready when i say. you do realize i have things to do?" his head shakes as justin gets into the passenger seat, forcing a fond smile back from his face. "no dawdling."

[aperturcs]

after asking nolan to come home with him... well, after nolan had somehow manipulated zeke into asking him to come home with him, zeke hadn't been able to calm the nerves growing about what his parents would thing or what nolan would think about his family. they were fine, mostly. and that's what zeke told everyone. the suv that he had been convinced would be a bad decision was coming in handy now, making it easier to convince nolan that prolonging their arrival by spending two days in the car driving would be more fun and then they wouldn't have to rent a car. besides, his was big enough that nolan could lay out in the back while zeke drove.

"you ready?" zeke's bags had been packed in the trunk since the night before, making it easier to spend the night and wake up slowly at nolan's instead of having to rush over to make sure his friend was still on track. "don't tell me you didn't fuckin' pack, dude." he couldn't see nolan, still laying flat on the couch with his eyes closed, ready to go back to sleep if their departure would be pushed off. "make me coffee while you're moving around so much." @stayingstills

[aperturcs]

he probably should have just stayed at the lake house, but he hadn't wanted to overstay his welcome or bother his brothers. he still felt like at any moment, they would decide to just stop trying. instead, a week after leaving, he was dragging elias back across the country. "maybe we should just stay longer this time." he was mostly thinking out loud while he repacked his bag. it only took a moment before tate glances up, studying elias. "i mean, me. you don't have to stay. i know you have your own shit to do, probably." he actually didn't know. he had been so distracted since finding out about chase and jasper that he hadn't even thought to ask what elias had planned for the summer. "i should know that." @stayingstills