part 12

"Cool." Danny hadn't run screaming. Either he really did think he was gay, or he was just keeping an open mind, and in either case Laurie was convinced this had been a good idea. And he didn't think that just because he'd gotten to meet Parrish, although that was a nice bonus.

The three of them hung over the balcony and watched the dance floor and the stage until the boy Danny had been dancing with came back with two bottles. Laurie wasn't as bothered as he should have been by the knowledge that his seventeen-year-old half brother was drinking. He was pretty certain it was just the one beer. Admittedly, Laurie didn't know all that Danny and his friends did on the weekends, but he knew his half brother wasn't a lush.

( in which parrish and laurie get to know each other a little better )

words: 1914
total words: 20,882

part 13

If he'd been able to get outside his own head, he might've been amazed at how quickly the tone of an evening could change, how quickly your own emotions and intentions could swing.

"Fuck," Laurie said again, heaving himself off the couch with some difficulty. If Lea noticed that he was still kind of hard inside his jeans, she didn't say anything. "Where'd you see him last? What time is it?"

"On the dance floor with that other boy, and just after eleven. I did make Charlotte blush, I think, and when I turned around Danny was gone."

( in which we find out what happened )

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total words: 23,073

part 13b

Danny was fast asleep in Parrish's car when they finally got to Laurie's apartment. The kid was very hard to wake up, and in fact Laurie and Parrish heaved him out of the car and up to the apartment without him ever coming fully awake.

They took Danny into the bedroom, dropped him on the bed, pulled off his shoes, and pulled the blankets over him. He rolled over and mumbled something into the pillow, and Laurie and Parrish went back out to the other room, first closing the bedroom door behind them. Laurie thanked Parrish again - twice - and Parrish said it was no problem.

( just a short bit )

words: 824
total words: 23,897