The next morning, Mush came home from his paper route to see something he had never seen before noon: Jack.

He was sitting at the dining room table, playing air guitar while a bowl of instant oatmeal steamed in front of him. He knew Jack to be a child at heart, so it was safe to assume that his oatmeal contained those colorful mini-marshmallows shaped like dinosaurs in it since it was all he made David get him, although most of the time he refused to actually eat the oatmeal (which was often actually accompanied by a very convincing pout and a bad-tempered "I don't wanna!"), as was proven by the fact that Muffin the kitten was getting the lion's share of Jack's breakfast.

Mush gave him a look of surprise and Jack glanced up, read the look and grinned.

"What?" he asked innocently.

Mush shrugged. "I've never seen you in the morning before. At least, not conscious."

Jack's grin widened. "I know. I hate myself for it. I just wanted to get down here before everyone else."

Mush went into the kitchen to get his own breakfast. The two boys didn't say anything for a while as Mush poured cereal into the porcelain bowl and got milk out of the refrigerator. Finally, the silence was too much for Jack—a boy with a phobia of no one speaking for more than two minutes—and he started babbling.

"I'm just sick of how David treats me sometimes," he said irritably, smacking his spoon down in his bowl for emphasis, despite the fact that he hadn't actually used the spoon. "He treats me like I'm a little kid or something."

Mush came and sat down next to him, nodding but not really sure of what he was saying.

"I mean, I'm older than he is and he refuses to…uh…see that. You know?"

Mush nodded again, wondering why Jack was suddenly confiding in him. This kind of thing was usually reserved for Racetrack, who thrived on hearing about other people's relationship problems. But, then again, it was Jack. The boy just loved the sound of his own voice. He'd probably tell all of this to some homeless man on the street.

As if on cue, David came downstairs with something in a bag and gave Jack an apprehensive look.

"Jack," he said tiredly. "I thought I told you last night to wash the dishes. I swear, you're the laziest person I know."

He set the bag down by Mush's backpack and shook his head. Jack glowered at him.

"Man, if you weren't on the other side of the room right now, I'd so slap you for that."

Mush rose, not really wanting to get into Jack and David's little Ike and Tina Turner-like argument and decided to head off to school early.

"Don't forget the bag."

Mush turned to see David gesturing to the old shopping bag he had laid near his knapsack. "What?"

He rolled his eyes and gave a look to Jack, like, Can you believe him?

Mush found it almost funny that when they were arguing, they could still consider him a moron. Almost.

"Your friend's jacket," he explained. "Oh, and take notes for me. I can't come today."

Mush nodded and looked at the jacket. The puffy thing that Blink was wearing. That hid that perfect, athletic body…he got chills just thinking of him. "Thanks, Dave."

"Jack, what are you doing?" David's hands found their way to his hips, which, given the bathrobe and slippers he was wearing, caused him to look not unlike a frustrated housewife. "Why is Muffin eating your oatmeal?"

"Well, clearly, he's hungry."

"He has cat food! Jack, the marshmallows can't be good for him!"

"They're marshmallows. They can't be bad for him."

"Jack, seriously. Either eat your breakfast or do the dishes like I told you to yesterday."

Mush was heading out the door when he heard the argument finally hit its peak.

"I TOLD YOU, THEY'RE SOAKING!"

Yeah, he decided, definitely time to go.

--

"Where do you think you're going, young man?"

Blink stopped in his tracks, his hand resting on the doorknob. "Um... school? Where else would I be going, Mom?"

"Without a coat? It's probably below zero out there! Are you out of your mind?" Blink's mother threw her arms up, a flustered look on her face. "You'll catch pneumonia and die, and then who will be here to take care of me?"

"Mom, I'll be fine. Sni-- Tobias is picking me up. There's heat in his car, it's not like I'm going to freeze to death."

"Baby, you aren't fooling me. I know that the heater in that truck is about as warm as Antarctica in January."

Blink shuffled his feet, staring down at the floor. "It's summer in Antarctica in January." He decided to ignore the fact that his little retort held absolutely no significance at all.

His mother just gave him a withering look and shook her head. "I have a coat you can wear. You'll wear my parka," she said, flouncing toward the closet. "You'll look positively adorable in it, anyway, baby. It'll suit you."

Blink's visible eye widened as he thought of the parka – bright pink with purple rabbit-fur trim. There was no way he could show his face in school wearing that. He'd be shot on sight. "Mom, I'll be okay. Really. I mean, it's not like I'm going to be going outside today or anything... not for more than, like, two seconds, anyway."

"Don't argue with me, pumpkin," Mrs. Wilhelmsson cooed, opening the closet door. "I'm going to keep you safe and healthy if it kills me, which, by the way, I'm surprised it hasn't done yet. Killed me, I mean. You're a lot of work, Blink." She sighed, jutting a hip out as she pawed through the various items in the closet. "Now, where is that parka? ...Here we go!" She pulled the girlie monstrosity out of the closet, swirling around to face Blink.

AWOOGAH! The sound of Snitch's horn blared from outside, and Blink felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Well, I'm off! See you tonight, Mom. Love you! Bye!" And he was out the door like a bat out of hell, with his mother chasing after him.

"YOUNG MAN, IF YOU COME HOME DEAD TODAY, I'LL KILL YOU," she shouted after Blink as he hopped into the truck.

"Another loving and harmonious start to the day in the Wilhelmsson household, I take it?" Snitch smirked at Blink as he pulled away from the curb, driving through the snow towards the school.

Blink just glared at him and buckled his seatbelt.

"Blink, where the fuck's your coat?"

"Shut up, Snitch."

--

"Alright then, my little future convicts, I guess that's it for class today... oh, and please don't forget that both your campaign posters and your proposals on Iraqi withdrawal strategies are due this Friday. Absolutely no excuses," Mr. Weisel, the Contemporary World Problems teacher, squawked from his desk as he shoved a ham-and-cheese sandwich into his mouth. "Three pages, single-spaced, twelve-point Times New Roman with one-inch margins. I will know if you try to pull a fast one on me," he added, looking pointedly at Snitch. "Three spaces after each period are far more obvious than you think."

"You got it, Mister Weasel," Snitch chirped with a self-assured smile.

"Tenita!" Mr. Weisel took his feet off his desk and began to rise. "How many times do I have to tell you that if you ever call me--"

The bell rang, and Snitch was off like a rocket, with Blink close behind him, shaking his head. "Snitch, have I told you lately you're an idiot?"

"Not lately, no."

"You're an idiot."

"I love you, too, Blink."

Blink sighed and walked down the hallway toward the cafeteria. "So, how far are you on that Iraq paper?"

"Blink, you are so naïve. Like I'm really going to do that bullshit paper." Snitch smirked and shrugged. "Not like Weasel's going to actually fail me. He wants me out of here too badly."

"I'm going to repeat that to you when you don't graduate."

"Whatever, Blink. Hey, look! There's Holly McCoy." Snitch shook his head and elbowed Blink in the ribcage. "Man, you ever take a gander at the jugs on that chick? They're like a gift from God."

"Yeah, okay, Snitch."

"I'm serious! Have you ever really looked at them? They're... glorious."

"Sure. What do you want for lunch?" Blink hoisted his backpack further up on his shoulder and picked his pace up a little, hoping Snitch would follow suit.

"I think I'm actually gonna go find out what Miss McCoy and her ample bosom are doing Friday night." Snitch shrugged. "Catch you later, dude."

Blink stopped and stammered for a minute. "But what about lunch?"

"I'm sure you can chew without me," Snitch called over his shoulder as he jogged over to Holly and her gaggle of girls. "And don't forget to swallow!"

Blink sighed heavily and shuffled to the cafeteria to find no tables open. After looking around for a moment for anyone he found vaguely familiar, he shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked out with his shoulders hunched. He walked to the nearest deserted hallway and slumped down against the wall, staring in irritation at an unidentifiable greenish-blackish stain on the gray carpet.

A door at the end of the hallway opened and Blink groaned inwardly. He'd thought he was alone. Though this was the performing arts wing, so it wasn't like any of the band geeks or drama nerds were actually going to speak to him.

"Hey!"

Shit.

Footsteps made their way towards him, and Blink looked up into a familiar, caramel-colored face. He felt a strange sense of relief; he was glad it was Mush. That is, he was glad it was Mush and not some pimply-faced band geek wanting him to help out with their fund raiser.

"Hey, Mush... what're you doing back here?"

Mush smiled that big, shiny smile of his. "Oh, um. Choir." He shrugged, and he looked like he might be blushing a little, though Blink couldn't tell whether it was out of pride or embarrassment. "What about you? Are you in drama? No, wait. Let me guess. Do you play the piccolo?"

Blink couldn't help but laugh, although he laughed perhaps a little bit louder than was appropriate for the joke. "No, uh, I'm hiding."

A perplexed look came over Mush's face. "Hiding from what? The feds after you or something?"

"No, it's just... Snitch abandoned me and I didn't want to have to sit in the cafeteria by myself, so I came back here because it was less likely for someone to bother me."

"Sorry, am I bothering you?"

Blink smiled and shook his head. "No. No, you're pretty much the only person who's not bothering me right now."
Mush bit his lower lip, smiling. He sat down beside Blink and rested his arms on his knees, looking over at his friend. "So where's your other half?"

"Trying to score with Holly McCoy and her 'glorious jugs.'" Blink sighed and shook his head, rolling his eye.

"Holly McCoy?" Mush snickered. "Well, I'd like to see him manage that."

"I know. I bet half the football team is going to kick his ass for even looking at her."

"Well, yeah, that and the fact that she is more a fan of the vagina might hinder his progress a little." Mush smirked.

Blink nearly choked on his own spit and looked over at Mush, wide-eyed. "What? Holly McCoy's a lesbian?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," Mush said as he began to giggle.

"Well, they're meant for each other, then... her and Snitch, I mean, because I'm pretty sure he's denying the fact that he's really gay," Blink said between chuckles.

"Again with the gay comments, Blink," Mush sighed, leaning his head back against the wall. "You're awfully obsessed for a supposedly straight guy."

"Well, see, the thing with it is, it's like a sixth sense for me." Blink smirked.

"What is?"

"I have a finely-tuned gaydar."

"Oh, you do, do you?" Mush was grinning now, and Blink found himself grinning back involuntarily.

"Yeah, I do. It's impeccable, really."

"Really? Care to prove it?"

Blink smirked. "Well, see, I knew the minute I walked into the club for the first time... that everyone there was gay."

Mush burst out laughing. "Wow, Blink. That really is incredible. You should have your own television show."

Blink began to laugh with Mush, realizing what an idiot he just made himself appear to be. He sighed when the bell rang to signal the end of lunch and pushed himself to his feet, smiling down at Mush. "Well, thanks for hanging out with me, Mush. Um... I appreciate it."

That hint of a blush came back into Mush's cheeks as he stood up. "It's nothing, Blink. Thanks for putting up with me." He smiled a little shyly and then looked down at his shoes. "What class do you have next?"

"Health," Blink said, slinging his backpack over one shoulder. "You?"

"Gym. So, uh, I guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah, later." Blink turned and headed in the direction of his health class before Mush called his name again. He spun back around to see Mush jogging toward him, reaching into his backpack.

"You, um, you left your coat at my house yesterday," Mush said, handing him a bag.

"Oh!" Blink smiled gratefully. "Thanks a lot... I was wondering what I'd done with it."

"Yeah. David found it this morning. Anyway, um, I'll talk to you later."

"Hey, Mush?" Blink tucked the bag under his arm and looked into Mush's eyes. "Uh, who do you have for CWP?"

Mush rolled his pretty brown eyes. "Weisel. Why?"

"You wanna go to the library with me after school and work on that paper? I really need to finish it and I don't want to have to do it by myself... and God knows Snitch isn't going to do it."

Mush's face lit up so quickly he couldn't even try to hide it. "I'd love to!" His voice squeaked a little, and he cleared his throat. "Um... wh-where did you want to meet?"

Blink shrugged. "Bike racks, right after school?"

"Sounds good." Mush nodded, that smile spreading across his face again. "I'll see you then. But I really have to get to gym, or Mister Gaines is going to kick my ass."

"Okay. See you after school. Bye, Mush."

"Bye, Blink!" Mush turned and hurried up the hallway toward the gym, and Blink wasn't sure why, but he couldn't help but stand and watch him walk away.

--

When two o'clock rolled around, Mush could barely stand being in class any longer. He tried to convince himself that he was just excited that he was doing something other than sitting at home and watching Under the Tuscan Sun with Racetrack for the eight hundred and sixty-fifth time, or that he was happy to have someone help him with his CWP project (which, admittedly, he almost had done, he just had a closing paragraph to write up), but deep down he knew that it was really because he had a crush on Blink. A full-fledged infatuation, complete with butterflies in his stomach and quite a few sleepless nights. He had even caught himself absentmindedly doodling Blink's name in his geometry notebook on more than one occasion.

And now they were spending time together after school. Alone. Well, okay, not alone alone, but the library pretty much left you isolated from anyone else, so it would provide for a lot of one-on-one time. Mush had a vision in his head of Blink leaning over his shoulder, reading his paper and stopping to correct the spelling of one of the words. Mush would look up at him and smile, thanking him and telling him he was really smart, and Blink would smile back and their gazes would lock and linger for a moment before they would slowly close in on each other and...

Rrrrring! Mush was snapped rudely back to reality, glancing up at the clock. Two-oh-five. Sweet freedom! He hurriedly scooped up all his belongings and rushed out of class, practically sprinting through the hallway and down the stairs to the foyer. He stopped a moment to catch his breath and shove his notebooks into his backpack, then strolled coolly out to the bike racks.

Blink hadn't quite gotten there yet, but Mush didn't mind waiting. It gave him time to come up with something suave and charming and witty to say when Blink arrived. Something that would make Blink realize that he really wasn't as straight as he thought as he was and that Mush was, in fact, the right guy for him. Something that would ultimately win him over so they could be together forever and...

"Hey, Mush."

"Jesus!" Mush nearly jumped out of his shoes. He turned around to see Blink and let out a breathless laugh. So much for charming and witty.

"You can call me Blink." Blink grinned and zipped his coat up.

"You scared me," he said, his face twisting into a slight pout for just a second.

"Sorry." Blink patted Mush on the shoulder and shrugged. "You ready to go? I wanna get to the library before the homeless people start coming in for the night."

--

It was nearly silent in the library, with only the occasional punctuation of fluttering pages and tapping keyboards. There were hardly any people inside, save for a cluster of college students thoroughly engrossed in their thick textbooks and a few tired citizens fighting off the cold for a while with an uncomfortable armchair and a well-worn book.

The snow was falling outside, glistening in the glow of the streetlights, and the sky was darkened to that snowy, dim nighttime lighting, but no one seemed to notice. It was warm inside, and with the silence, it actually seemed calm.

"Finally," Blink muttered as he set his pen down, massaging his right hand and sighing in triumph.

Mush pretended to be looking at something else for a moment and then looked back at Blink. He'd finished his paper over an hour ago and had been staring inconspicuously at Blink from over the top of his geometry textbook for almost as long. He couldn't help that Blink was so freaking cute when he worked, the way he'd get this crease between his eyebrows and would readjust the strap on his eye patch about every five minutes. Mush smiled a little. "Finished?"

"Yeah," Blink grunted as he stretched. "This son-of-a-bitch assignment is out of my life forever." He flashed an exhausted smile, scratching the back of his neck.

Mush laughed a little and nodded. "Yeah, it was kinda hard, wasn't it?" When Blink nodded, he set down his textbook and leaned back in his chair. "What'd you say in yours?"

"Basically, I said we should stay in Iraq until we kill all the worthless camel jockeys and turn it into another one of the states in grand old America," Blink said with a shrug.

Mush creased his brows together, confused. "Well... I'm sure... that you'll get an A on that, at least." In his head, he asked himself how someone as great as Blink could be so full of hate and such a... bigot.

Blink looked at Mush's face for a minute, trying to read it, then gasped. "No, no, Mush, that's not what I really think!" He dragged a hand through his hair; he looked adorable when he was flustered.

"Oh... well, what do you think, then? And why would you write a paper like that if that's not what you thought? It's supposed to be a proposal on withdrawing from Iraq in a way you think would be appropriate."

"See, Mush, I've learned to really work Mister Weisel. You've got to cater to is ultra-conservative, gun-toting, flag-waving, Republican tastes. This way, I didn't have to do a lot of thinking, I just had to fill up three pages with bullshit and he'll be happy. It doesn't make a lick of sense, but he won't even notice, because he'll be so thrilled that not everyone in our generation is lost to the mental disorder of liberalism." There was that smile again, smooth and easy and just a little cocky.

Mush cocked his head to the side slightly, his face still twisted in confusion. Suddenly, his expression softened, and he began to laugh. "Blink, you are a genius."

"Oh, I know."

"Excuse me, boys," the librarian said softly as she approached their table. "The library is closing now, and you'll have to go home." Her smile was sweet, and both boys smiled back before gathering up their belongings.

As the boys stepped out into the snow, Blink looked down at his watch. "Wow, I didn't realize it was this late," he said.

"What time is it?"

"Eight-oh-two."

"We spent five-and-a-half hours at the library?"

Blink laughed. "Yeah, apparently. Aren't we just good little schoolboys?"

"I guess we are," Mush said with a chuckle. "So, you need to get home right away then, huh?"

Shrugging, Blink shook his head and smirked at the snowflakes that tumbled out of his hair. "Nah. My mom would've called by now if she was worried about me. She's probably asleep in front of General Hospital reruns on the soap channel at this point. And she probably won't wake up until tomorrow morning, so we're golden. No curfew tonight for Blink."

"Oh." Mush nodded, shoving his hands into his pockets and wondering where he'd put his gloves. "Well, you want to go get something for dinner or... something?" Immediately after the words left his mouth, Mush regretted asking. Why on Earth would a guy like Blink want to go to dinner with a guy like him? Blink probably had something better to do, something straight to do, like... lift weights or... watch porn... or something. Except Mush liked to allow himself to think that Blink wouldn't ever watch porn. He was way too classy for that. But anyway, Mush thought, the idea that he would want to go out and be seen in public with him was almost laughable.

"Sure."

"Really?" Mush's voice cracked on the first syllable of the word, giving away his shock and excitement. He cleared his throat and tried to pass it off as his throat being dry, but deep down, he know the damage had already been done.

Blink looked at him, his eyebrows knitted together in what might have been confusion or perhaps disgust... Mush was betting on the latter. "Yeah... unless you were just asking me as a courtesy, and didn't really want me to go..."

Mush laughed. "What?"

"You know, how like when you ask people how they are, and you don't really want to know, and then they say they're bad or miserable or shitty or whatever, and then you have to stand there and listen to them complain about their crappy lives and really, you just want to go home and crack open a beer and fall asleep on the couch. Is this one of those things?"

"No... well... maybe... I... I don't know, Blink, you lost me about five words in." Mush scratched his head and raised his eyebrows helplessly.

Chuckling, Blink threw his arm around Mush's shoulders. "Where do you want to go for dinner?"

"There's a twenty-four-hour diner just a couple blocks away. They have good cheeseburgers, but that's about the only safe thing to eat."

"It's a good thing I like cheeseburgers, then." Blink smirked.

"Great." Mush smiled back at Blink. "My treat."

"I knew I liked you, Mush," Blink said, standing with him for a moment before biting his lip and hurriedly bringing his arm back down to his side. "So, um... let's go."

--

Blink sat back and exhaled heavily, blinking sleepily at his empty dinner plate. "Man. I am full."

"Me, too," Mush said, pushing his plate away from him in disgust, though there was nothing on it but a few stray French fries. He let out a huge yawn and ran his hands over his face, groaning. "What time is it?"

Blink looked at his watch and let out a whistle of surprise. "Wow. Quarter after eleven."

"Crap." Mush stood up, pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. "You should get home, shouldn't you?"

"Well, in theory, but my mom is paranoid about me losing my house keys and someone breaking into the house, so she won't give me a house key. I can call Snitch, though, and crash at his place tonight." Blink shrugged and stood up, stretching his arms up over his head.

"You don't have to do that, Blink," Mush said, picking up the bill. "Just stay at my place tonight. You can sleep in my bed, and I'll sleep on the couch. Well, more likely the floor, because Race is probably camped out on the couch with Sex and the City by now, but still. Stay at my place. You can borrow clothes in the morning if you need."

"Well..." Blink thought about it for a moment. It kept him from having to face Snitch's mother and her huge Romanian breakfasts, and it kept him from freezing to death that night. What was there to lose? "Yeah, okay. Thanks, Mush."