About an hour later, the living room was still full of complaints. Mostly directed at Nick. Nick, meanwhile, couldn't have cared less. He was sitting exactly where he'd been before. And Chase was still asleep against him. Eventually, Chase stirred. A few moments later, one eye slowly opened. "Ugh..." "Morning," Nick said. Chase immediately groaned. "Why is everyone so loud?" "Because of him," Adrean said, pointing at Nick. "I haven't done anything." The entire room shouted at once. "YES YOU HAVE." Chase blinked slowly, still half asleep. Then he looked up at Nick. Nick looked down at him. For a moment neither of them said anything. Then Nick smiled. "Feeling better?" "A little." "Good." Before Chase could respond, Nick leaned over and kissed him. The room froze. For exactly one second. Then it erupted. "WHAT?!" "NO WAY!" "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" "AGAIN?!" The shouting was so loud that Chase nearly jumped. His face immediately turned bright red. "Nick!" "What?" Chase looked completely embarrassed. The tips of his ears were red. His face was red. Everything was red. Instead of answering, he immediately buried his face in the crook of Nick's neck. Trying—and failing—to hide. The room absolutely lost it. "HE'S HIDING." "CHASE IS BLUSHING." "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS." Nick looked entirely too pleased with himself. Meanwhile Chase refused to look at anyone. "Nope." "Chase." "Nope." "CHASE." "Nope." One of his friends was laughing so hard they could barely breathe. Adrean looked personally offended. "This is ridiculous." Nick casually rested an arm around Chase's shoulders. "I disagree." "Of course you do." Chase groaned from his hiding spot. "Can everybody stop yelling?" "No." "Absolutely not." "Not after that." Chase only buried his face deeper into Nick's neck. Which somehow made everyone shout even louder. And judging by the smug look on Nick's face, he was enjoying every second of it.
The room was still shouting. Chase was still hiding his burning-red face in Nick's shoulder. And Nick was still looking far too pleased with himself. Then Adrean finally snapped. "Oh, come on!" Before anyone could react, he marched across the room. "Adrean?" one of his friends asked. Too late. Adrean stopped in front of the couch. Chase looked up in confusion. "What are you—" Adrean gently grabbed Chase's chin and turned his head toward him. Then kissed him. The room exploded. "WHAT?!" "NO WAY!" "HE ACTUALLY DID IT!" "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Chase froze. Completely froze. His brain seemed to stop working. His face somehow turned even redder. Which nobody thought was possible. For a solid five seconds, he just stared. "..." "..." "..." The entire room watched. Then Chase immediately buried his face in his hands. "Oh my God." One of his friends pointed. "HE'S A TOMATO." "He is literally the same color as a stop sign." Meanwhile, Nick had gone completely still. Not angry. Just staring at Adrean. The kind of stare that made everyone suddenly very interested in the floor. "Oh no," someone whispered. "Oh no." Nick slowly stood up from the couch. At 6'1", that was already intimidating. The room immediately became nervous. Chase noticed too. "Nick." "What?" "Be nice." Nick looked at Chase. The second Chase spoke, his expression softened. Only slightly. But enough. Adrean crossed his arms. "See? He listens to you." "That isn't helping." The room dissolved into chaos again. Half of them were yelling. Half were laughing. And Chase was still bright red, wishing the floor would open up and swallow him whole. Unfortunately for him, nobody was going to let him live this down anytime soon.
