Atticus used the towel in his free hand trying to wipe off whatever sweat he could. Well it was not really trying, more like using whatever focus and attention he could without being clumsy. Part of his attention slipped to maneuvering his way around gym equipment and people. Was not long till the call was picked up. By the time the phone stopped making the dialing sound stopped, he did not even recognize it. In fact, it took him a couple of moments to register what he was doing.
Jumping as the door closed, he dropped the towel. A curse managed to slip out before he began to chuckle to himself. "Hello? This is Atticus Lee from the Superhero and Villain Investigation Department. There has been some suspicious activity reported down at the park.", he stated in a serious tone, "Would you like to join me there, Silas Chen?" He bit on his bottom lip hoping he would not start laughing or giggling. Not that what he said was funny, for some reason he felt the need to laugh. More like Silas's greeting was adorable; his tone was warm and sweet. That's pretty normal to say, right? Perhaps it was just because they are on the phone, makes sense hopefully.
He decided to head to the locker rooms as he waited for a response. Going down the stairs, he held the phone up as he kept his eyes low. The locker room was on the second floor while he was on the fourth. Atticus just went down a flight before deciding to wait. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his leg over.
Was this a good time to call? Something inside of him was saying it might not be. He thought back to the day before when he managed to have found Silas again after all this time. Really he hoped he was not being a bother to his old friend. On the other hand, there is this weary feeling that he just cannot shake off. Positive or not, who knows? Though it would be nice if it was just butterflies in his stomach type of weary and not hair standing on the back of his neck kind. Whatever, now is not the time to analyze why he is feeling very very strange. He is the one who started the call after all.
Silas went cold for a moment at the greeting before realizing that it was a joke. Good god, was he really that tightly wound today? Well, he had literally just gotten blackmailed by his ex and then decided to kill him within an hour of each other, so he figured he could be cut some slack. He left the coffee shop, his feet already carrying him toward the park before his mind caught up. Of course his body would lead him to the place that Atticus had mentioned. There was just something about the other boy that caused Silas to react before he knew what he was doing, almost like a magnetic pull. No, that was weird. Whatever.
"Indeed I would," Silas responded, playing along. "In fact, I'm already on my way. ETA, fifteen minutes. You should get there ASAP." He smiled slightly, his mood actually lifting a bit at Atticus's voice on the other end. Despite the way he'd been frightened by the initial introduction, the joke that Atticus was making was kind of cute. Silas felt his cheeks warm even though he was technically alone. He was walking down a somewhat busy street, the phone at his ear, nothing out of the ordinary.
Silas wondered how his younger self would feel about this situation. He'd doubtlessly be thrilled that he'd reconnected with Atticus. Silas's younger self would've told Atticus all of his problems in a heartbeat, and he probably would've been under the delusion that Atticus could fix him. Anyway, it was good that he was talking to Atticus now. Seriously, his day had gotten so much better just from seeing the guy's name light up his phone screen, and as he spoke to Atticus he already wanted to be standing next to him instead of talking through a cellphone.
Uncrossing his leg, he stood away from wall and continued heading to the locker room. It felt so hot just standing there, and yet the air around him was cold even as he was trudging back. His feet dragged a bit as he headed to the locker with his things. He still bit on his bottom lip in hopes of maintaining a serious tone. And yet, it was no match after hearing Silas's voice. Atticus ended up chuckling a little for a few seconds till bringing back his somewhat serious bit.
"Of course, I will do my best to get there as soon as I can," He stated. Taking the phone away from his ear, he took a moment to clear his throat. Even with just being on the phone with Silas, it made his heart pump so fast that if felt like it would jump out. And all they were doing was just talking to each other on the phone. How or why he is feeling so strange is beyond him. The only thing he knows is that he cannot wait to see him once again.
Atticus placed the phone back on his ear as he took out his clothes, setting them on top of the bench. Usually he is fast at getting ready for anything, well, he has to obviously. Although, when he sat down, there was a giddy feeling in him. Not the typical anxious feeling he'd normally get, it's a different kind of adrenaline. One that he has not felt in a while. One that is leaving him sitting there with a huge beam on his face. Gosh, is this something normal to feel?
For a brief moment, he did not say anything. His mind wandered off thinking about seeing Silas. Oh those brown eyes, just imagining how they'd look when he'll look into them made him sigh. A chill ran down his spine as he sat up. Right, he's still on the phone. "Well….well…Till then, I guess or, do you want to stay on the phone till I see you?"
Silas wondered what the brief silence and the sigh had been about, maybe someone had been trying to talk to Atticus? Silas had no idea where Atticus was or what he was doing, so it was possible. He found himself curious, trying to picture his friend and what he was doing. Probably something that would benefit himself or someone else, something actually worth the time it took to do. Silas didn't remember him as someone to waste his time like he himself was prone to do.
He shrugged before realizing the other couldn't see him, not really wanting to say goodbye yet, even for a few minutes, but also not sure why they would need to stay on the phone. "We can if you want," he responded as he kept walking, dodging around a lady and her dog. "It'll probably just be us breathing at each other, unless you have something to talk about."
Besides, if he was talking to Atticus, he was busy thinking of how kind and sweet and generous he was, instead of the thoughts of Evan lingering in the back of his mind. He could think about how stupidly excited he was to see Atticus, something he hadn't really felt in a long time. A tingly feeling started in the pit of his stomach, working its way through his nerves like bubbles, making him feel like maybe things would all be okay somehow. It was almost strange, how he became someone else in the mere presence of Atticus. It was like he had the power to change Silas's entire mindset. Was this what it was like to really care about someone? He hadn't really felt that for several years, and it felt both exhilarating and scary at once.
"I'm perfectly fine with that," He admitted as he started to get dressed. Making sure that the phone wouldn't fall out, he tucked it into the aide of his neck. "If only shoulders weren't aching, maybe I'd have something worth your time to say. I'm sorry, but I am just happy to be on the phone with you."
Atticus was not sure what to say at all. Funny how he asked if they should stay on longer, yet here is with his mouth open and nothing coming out of it. Only a small chuckle happened to escape from him as he headed to the parking garage with his bag.
There was always this sensation of eagerness whenever he were to meet up with someone, but something feels absolutely different about going to see Silas. Adrenaline is just soaring throughout all the veins in his body while he's just sitting there on the phone. They aren't in the same place, although he feels an empty space in him being filled. He does not remember the last time he ever felt this way, it must have been a few years at least.
Somehow he managed to get himself up once his mind snapped back into reality as he got on his motorbike. "I should go, I'm not sure if I stay on the call while driving over, but I promise to be there ASAP," He assured. "See you there Silas, bye!"
After pressing the button to hang up, he shoved his phone in his pocket. He put on his helmet, making sure that it was secured, then headed off to the park. The smile on his face still remained, except it grew a bit more every second.
Silas chuckled slightly, enamored by Atticus's obvious enthusiasm. He was glad to think that the other was as excited to hang out with him as Silas was. But the difference was, Silas hid his true feelings underneath a veneer of careless calm, and Atticus didn't mind everyone seeing his effervescent personality without trying to hide things. He set his phone back in his pocket, continuing to walk.
As Silas made his way there, his mind wandered. His thoughts were focused on Atticus, partially because since he'd seen the guy, he couldn't stop thinking about him. But also because he was trying to avoid thinking about Evan or about the deed he would have to commit tonight. For now, he could just pretend that he was a normal teenager going to hang out with his friend. Because they were friends, right? Somehow the label felt slightly off, though he couldn't exactly say why.
It wasn't as if Atticus didn't have a life outside of him, despite his efforts to consistently spend time with Silas. But he couldn't tell whether that was out of sheer kindness or because Atticus really didn't have anything better to do. He did know for sure that Atticus cared about him–he'd made that clear, after all. He was doing his best to live up to Atticus's expectations of him, not only when the guy was around, but slowly he was starting to rethink the path he'd started out on. Could one person really have such an effect on him?
He must've been closer to the park than he thought, arriving there first. He stood there, hands in his pockets against a lamp post, waiting for Atticus. He checked his phone again, luckily nothing new there, and slipped it back into his pocket. Atticus should be there soon.
Atticus was not that far away from the park, just a few blocks or so. The traffic was not too congested given the time of day, but he found himself looking around every time there was a red light. The smile on his face dimmed a little, yet the excitement of getting to see Silas was still there. In fact, his eagerness almost caught him off guard once the light turned green. A car behind him honked which prompted him to jump up before making a left turn to the park.
Parking the motorbike close by, he stayed on it for a while. He removed the helmet and fixed his hair so that it wouldn't look too messy. Normally he wasn't one for being so focused on how he looked, yet he found himself looking into the rear mirrors to double check.
Gazing around, he tried to find Silas. His eyes scanned for his friend for a couple of seconds till he finally found him. It didn't take even a second for a beam to blanket over his face. Just staring at Silas left him frozen like a statue.
The loud thump his heart made him snap back into focus. With his bag slumped over his shoulder, he used his other hand to wave. Atticus got up from his bike then rushed over to Silas.
"Sorry for the hold-up," He panted, "You weren't waiting too long, were you?"
"No, only a couple of minutes," he responded, glancing up with a small smile blooming on his face as well. "I didn't get here too long ago." It seemed as though Atticus had hurried as fast as he could to get there, and something about that made Silas's stomach twist in a way that wasn't entirely awful. It was the first time in a while someone had actually been excited to spend time with him.
Silas made an effort to stand up a bit straighter, rolling his shoulders back in an attempt to be closer to Atticus's height. Hopefully the other wouldn't notice that, he thought to himself. At any rate, Atticus was here now and Silas was so excited and a bit nervous and more happy than he'd been all day, but now that his friend was standing in front of him, he had no clue what to say.
"So, how has your day been?" he ended asking lamely, hands in his pockets. He stood there in his typical casual, relaxed manner, trying to hide how much he wanted to be beam back at Atticus the way Atticus was smiling at him. But his face was only a small hint of a smile, though admittedly a sincere one. His conversations with his old friend seemed to be at once the most lies and most sincerity he showed at once lately.
The grin on Silas's face made him smile even more. A small trail of giggles left from his throat afterwards. His friend is still so adorable and cool even after all this time they spent apart. Atticus is just so overwhelmingly excited that they're able to meet up again.
He pulled out his phone to get a quick glimpse of the time. "Good, I was a bit worried that I'd get stuck in traffic and keep you waiting." When he slid his phone back into his pocket, his eyes flickered over to his friend. Atticus tried to hold in a laugh as he saw how Silas's shoulders were rolled back. He decided to copy him, but ended up pushing his chest out and giving a wink.
After a couple of seconds, he relaxed into his usual position. His shoulders were starting to hurt a little. When Silas asked him the question, he completely forgot all about it. What did he even do before this? His eyes lowered to the ground for a moment till he finally had an idea on what to say.
"Oh it was okay. Just….well…I guess," He answered while nodding. "But now…..now it's great. How about you?"
Silas chuckled to himself quietly as Atticus tried to copy him, blushing faintly. Luckily, he had more of an olive skin tone, so his blushing wasn't too terribly noticeable. He tried not to think about that, or about how easy it was for Atticus to make him smile, or even make him blush, after all this time. It was almost annoying, but Silas wasn't sure that anything coming from Atticus could be considered annoying.
At any rate, Silas had to keep the conversation going. "It's been okay," he said, shrugging vaguely. "It's better now though." He gave another one of his small, elusive smiles toward Atticus. He really did mean that part. He may lie or leave out parts of the truth, but he was genuine now. Silas tried to be as genuine as possible when speaking to Atticus, except when his friend asked too much about his past or his personal life. He wanted to give Atticus the truth, but he couldn't stand to disappoint his closest friend.
Glancing up, his eyes observed Silas. They took in every little detail he could or at least he tried to. The only way he can get a good look is if he got close… Again, he lowered his chin and stared at the ground for a couple of seconds. His cheeks began to feel a little bit warm. While rubbing the back of his neck, he shifted his weight to his right foot.
Atticus let out a gentle sigh as he watched Silas smile. There was just something about his friend's grin that made him feel better. It was cute, he couldn't get over it. He chuckled again for a while before taking a deep breath.
Throwing his head back, he ruffled his hair. Looking back at Silas, he gave him a wink. "It is? I wonder why it has gotten better now," He wondered out loud. Atticus took a second to fix the sleeves of his hoodie. "Is it because the weather is nice? Or is it because we're at the park?"
