CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER: 03
After the lunch incident, Topher had told Abe they’ll be going home together later that day to discuss their plan in more detail, considering it was somewhat a disaster earlie
Soon enough, the day had gone by and they were ready to go back to Topher’s.
It was a good look for them to be seen walking with one another too, if Harriet’s bright smile was anything to go by.
By the time they got home, Topher was a bundle of nerves. He knew what he was about to propose would do well in their favors, whether out of revenge or falsehood, but it was still a scary thought for him to try and come to terms with.
He led Abe up to his bedroom, and motioned for him to sit on the bed.
“Look, today was.. good. Joan was clearly jealous, that works in our favor- uh, your favor.” Topher cleared his throat, going to sit beside him.
Abe smiled, turning to sit criss-crossed on the bed, “I know! Honestly, it made me pretty nervous, but it was kind of flattering.”
“Hm, yes, maybe you do have a chance with her after what I saw today.” He frowned, looking away, “Though she was pretty rude to me about it all.”
“Yeah, she’s just like that, sorry.”
“Right..” Topher was silent for a moment, before sighing, “Look, today made me realize we are not as prepared for this as we should be, as much as it pains me to admit.”
Abe instantly sat straighter, “No, wait! I promise we can do better, please don’t bail..”
“Calm down,” Topher leaned back, frowning up at him, “What I’m trying to say is.. It’s good she is jealous, but Joan is also onto us. Look around, do any couples around here not kiss every few minutes?”
He ran a hand down his face, “As much as I don’t want to, we might have to think of the very real possibility that we can’t just get through this with hand holding and smiles.”
Abe instantly looked away, “We’ll probably have to kiss at least once is what you’re saying.”
“Yeah..”
“Well, we can probably fake it. Like in stage plays, they usually put their thumb over their lips.”
Topher’s frown deepened, his hands fiddling with one another. He didn’t want to kiss Abe just as much as the other didn’t, but he also wanted to stick it to Joan.
She belittled him all day today, and sure Abe isn’t total human garbage but she acted as if Topher was nothing compared to him. As if he could do way better than him, and the thought of them together was ridiculous.
It angered him, it left a sick feeling in his gut. His heart hurt, not from any feelings of love, but from feelings of just pure rage.
He wanted to show her that he was worth other people’s time, even if it was fake.
“That could work, but also everyone around us swaps tongue spit on the regular.” Topher shivered, the mere thought disgusted him, “So if we don’t, it might look weird.”
“Well, the last person I kissed was Cleo. So, I have some experience I guess.”
Topher nodded, “Of course, I do as well.”
“Really?”
“.. No.”
Abe laughed, and he immediately began to fluster. It wasn’t all that funny, it was hard getting someone to be interested in you when you’re the clone of a canceled colonizer.
“Stop it! Now I don’t feel even a little bit bad by suggesting this, but we need to practice it!”
“Practice kissing?” He laughed even harder, and Topher glared, punching his arm, “Ow! Okay, okay! We can practice but uh, we wouldn’t really be doing it for anyone to see if we do that. Wouldn’t that be kind of gay?”
Topher let out a sigh, “If you don’t like it as much as I wont, it should be fine.”
“Do we.. practice now then?” Abe awkwardly asked, looking down at him.
The smart decision would be yes, best to get it out of the way. However, Topher was nervous, like he said he had no experience with this. He didn’t particularly want his first kiss to be with a boy, but having gotten himself into this situation he couldn’t really back down.
Plus, it would feel nice to do it in front of Joan. Sure the end goal was to get her and Abe together, but the point of all this is that they’re not. So he could do whatever we wanted.
Did he really want to practice today though?
“Uh.. well, maybe let’s.. watch videos about it first!”
“.. Videos?”
Topher nodded, “Uh-huh! Videos….” he smiled weakly, getting out his phone from his pocket.
Abe stared before shrugging, “Does that mean we’ll be watching adult-rated videos?” Topher almost immediately dropped his phone, startled by the question as he stared wide eyed at him.
“Absolutely not! I was thinking more-so kissing scenes from movies.”
“I see.. but, earlier today we told them we were taking it slow. Couldn’t we just use that as an excuse to not kiss in front of them?” Abe made room for Topher to lay down next to him as the other flipped his phone sideways.
Topher frowned, thinking back to earlier. That was true, and could very well be a good excuse for them to at least not have to practice any time soon, however.. well, Topher wasn’t really that great of a person. He saw an opportunity to fuck with Joan, and he wanted to take it.
“I have a feeling if Joan sees you kissing someone, it would push her full drive. The sooner the better right?”
He started to search up videos from movies, not taking his eyes off of his phone, “This whole thing isn’t about us being a realistic couple, it’s more like just trying to get you with Joan in the fastest way possible.”
Abe hummed, “That makes sense, but do we actually need to watch something to practice? It wouldn’t be my first kiss, I can just teach you the basics.”
Topher’s typing froze, and he slowly looked up towards him as he continued, “I mean, we’ll have to kiss eventually anyways, so are the videos that necessary?”
He knew that he had a point, but that didn’t change the fact that Topher just did not know how to handle kissing someone, let alone Abe, let alone a boy. He didn’t want to admit that anxiousness to Abe, but he also couldn’t just say no and leave it at that.
They did have to practice, and he knew that. They would have to kiss, sooner or later, and he knew that.
It did not make this any easier, though.
He half regrets suggesting it, but he knew it was necessary. Plus, like he’s said prior, he really wants to have something over Joan.
“I suppose you’re right, you did kiss a guy before.”
“Hey man, I don’t even remember who he was,” Abe ignored Topher’s comment of ‘That makes it worse’, and went on “but I do remember it was to help him, so all in all I’m a pretty good guy actually.”
Topher frowned, staring deadpan at him “Sure.. but what exactly am I supposed to be doing?”
Abe sat up, taking Topher’s phone and setting it aside on the bed, “I’m just as nervous about this as you, y’know. So just relax knowing that we are on the same page.”
“I’m not nervous, just curious! Confused, like what am I supposed to do with my lips?”
He listened to the other laugh, “I had the same confusion, but you just follow the other person I guess?”
“Why was that a question?!” Topher pulled the sides of his hat down angrily, the pressure from all of this slowly getting to him.
“Woah man, just chill out! Look, we don’t have to do it today? Maybe tomorrow, or sometime this week at least.”
Abe held up placating hands, and Topher only stared.
“I don’t want to do this either, but if it gets Joan quicker than I’ll do it. Only if you want to, you don’t need to do stuff for me just because of this situation.”
Topher continued frowning, groaning as he put his face in his hands. He sat there like that for a moment, before breathing in deeply and huffing it all out.
“Alright, let’s do it.” He ran his hands back, taking his hat off.
Abe blinked, staring for a moment longer than necessary, until Topher glanced at him and raised a brow, the other clearing his throat, “Right, okay!”
Topher sat up himself, turning to face Abe completely once again.
“Do you want to practice uh- mouth kissing? Or tongue kissing, first?”
He thought about Abe’s question pretty thoughtfully. Honestly, just lips for now should be fine, it was just for practice after all.
“Let’s skip the tongue for now, he can do a quick kiss tomorrow at our lockers. It will be a good look for us, and Joan will definitely see if we time it right.”
Abe smiled, “Good call, a peck should work.”
Topher looked at him questioningly, “A peck? No, I said a quick kiss.”
“A quick kiss is a peck.”
“No but, isn’t a peck very quick?”
“What do you mean by a quick kiss then?”
They both sat confused as Topher did his best to explain, which honestly wasn’t that great, “You know, a kiss that’s.. used for weddings! It’s not long, there’s no tongue, but it’s not short enough to just be a peck.”
“You’ve lost me.” Abe sat there dumbfounded.
Topher groaned, “You’ve kissed before, how do you not understand what I mean?”
“Just- try and show me, then.”
Instantly, all the breath was knocked out of him. He was expecting Abe to take the lead, this was practice for Topher specifically after all. He had no idea how to show him what he meant, not really anyways.
“I could.. try. Uh, here just..” Topher scooted closer, and Abe helpfully leaned down.
“I’m just going to put my lips on yours. It’s not kissing, it’s just to show you the duration I mean.”
Abe nodded, almost headbutting him, “No right, I got you.”
Topher grimaced slightly, putting his hands on Abe’s shoulders to balance himself, as he was now sitting on his knees to get some height. The longer it took for him to close the distance completely, the more he could feel his hands sweating onto the other’s shirt.
It wasn’t his fault, really. He just did not want to do this, in terms of being the one to have to put in the work. Which, wouldn’t be much. This was just to show what he was saying, of course.
Nothing more.
It took a while for him to gain the courage however, and just as he leaned in Abe went to open his mouth to speak, which resulted in Topher immediately smashing his lips into the other’s front teeth.
Instantly he leaped back, having nicked his lip on a tooth, “Jesus Christ!”
“Oh man, I’m so sorry! It was taking you so long, I just wanted to try and say you didn’t have to!”
“Please, shut up!” Topher held a hand to his mouth, flicking his tongue over his lip to taste if there was blood. Thankfully, there wasn’t, but the pain still was a bit sharp.
Abe had his head in his hands, repeatedly saying sorry but quieter after Topher yelled.
“God, maybe this isn’t a good idea..” He took his hand from his mouth, wiping the saliva on his pants leg. Topher watched as Abe let out a sigh, shaking his head, “I’m really sorry. We totally don’t have to do this, Joan can wait!”
At the mention of her, Topher paused, eyeing Abe quietly. He didn’t want to continue today, not really, but he knew he wanted to show up tomorrow and smack that smug look off of Joan’s face, not literally though.
Well…
No, not literally. Though a kiss would do just the same, and he knew he wanted that more than anything. He wanted Joan to get jealous, because he knew she would be playing right into their trap, and it gave him an advantage even if for only a moment.
“Enough, Abe. We’re doing this.”
He crawled back over, snatching Abe by the chin as the other kept trying to say it was alright, “Again, this is just to teach you what I meant. It will be quick, so be quiet this time.”
Abe grimaced at the iron grip that held him, and just nodded.
Topher smiled slightly, “Good.”
He took in a breath, mostly for courage, and leaned in once more. This time, his lips managed to meet something other than teeth, which is a good sign all things considered.
It was pretty warm, which he figured it would be. The saliva coating his lips made it a bit wet though, and he wasn’t sure if he enjoyed the texture all that much. If this is what kissing was, he definitely wasn’t missing out on much.
He could feel Abe hum slightly, and rolled his eyes. Of course he would enjoy this slightly, after all Topher wasn’t the first man he’s kissed.
Topher couldn’t exactly place what emotion he felt when it was worded that way.
Eventually he pulled away, the kiss had felt like an eternity, but he knew for certain it was about probably 5 seconds max. A quick peck was hardly 1, so he knew he proved Abe wrong.
Speaking of Abe, he had just stared at Topher after he leaned back.
It wouldn’t be all that jarring, except Abe had closed his eyes during the contact, so seeing the intense stare creeped him out just a bit.
“Look, see? Longer than a peck, this is what we will do tomorrow.”
It seemed his voice brought Abe out of his thoughts, as he just shook his head before nodding, “Right, I see what you meant now. We can definitely do that tomorrow, do you really think Joan will pay attention?”
Topher nodded, having let go of Abe sometime after he spoke, and putting some distance between the two of them.
“As long as we get there before her, we should be able to do it just as she’s walking by. It should be perfect, just about.”
Abe made a noise of acknowledgment, before wiping his lips with the back of his hand.
“Alright, so that’s all we’re doing today?”
Topher smirked slightly, “I don’t think I want to practice kissing much more after all, what with my mouth getting gnawed on.”
He watched the other drop his jaw, as he instantly got defensive, “I didn’t do that, we didn’t even use tongue!”
“Oh, is that what you do when you do use tongue?”
Abe spluttered, his face reddening, “No!”
“Sure.. well, that’s all we need to do for tomorrow, we don’t need to pull out all the stops. It will be quick, just like I said.” Topher went to stand from his bed, stretching slightly before going to pick up his hat, “Her seeing us have any lip contact should do enough, for now. Especially after today.”
“Right, good point.” Abe leaned against the wall, watching Topher as he moved around, “So, when will we be actually practicing then?”
Topher smiled down at him from where he stood, “Why, are you that excited about it?”
“No! I mean, I’m just excited to.. get Joan. Also, it’s just interesting you haven’t kissed anyone before.”
“Well, technically I just did.”
Abe frowned, squinting at him, “You said it wasn’t a kiss though.”
“Uh- well technically like I said, it was, but I won't be counting it genuinely.”
Topher watched as the other nodded smugly, and Abe found some odd pride in the fact that he was the one that was Topher’s first kiss.
Abe will most definitely not be unpacking that any time soon though, or ever, because he didn’t like men. It was surely just him feeling like a good friend, that’s it.
“So we’ll be having another sleepover I take it then?”
“Yes, all I wanted you here for was to practice for what we need tomorrow. It is getting late though, so you may stay again.”
“Wow, thank you so much.” Abe said blandly, though they both knew it was jokingly.
Topher nodded, “Just don’t try to smother me in your sleep again, it was very jarring to wake up to.” Abe looked away, frowning at the wall, “I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Whatever, keep that up and you’ll sleep on the floor, which I should have been making you do from the start.”
Abe instantly looked back at him, pretending to have been wounded, “Is that any way to treat your boyfriend?”
The other glared, “Shut up, we’re not actually together. Just be lucky I let you on my bed.”
Topher went over to his computer, as Abe stared after him. He ignored that small part of him that took offense to the instant rejection. It didn’t make sense, and he didn’t want it to.
Abe will let resting dogs lie, for now.
CHAPTER END