Casting Bones

Chapter 4 - Part 2

Casper had already disappeared down the street by the time Desi got outside. It took him a few times driving around the nearby blocks before he finally found the boy, a skinny shadow that he barely saw through the darkness now that it was approaching midnight.

He slowed to a crawl and rolled down his window, waiting to see if Casper would drop the ignoring act. When the boy continued to walk without acknowledgement, Desi let out a playful scoff.

"Come on, Casper. Get in the car."

"I can walk, thanks," he responded, ice on his tone as he stared ahead.

Desi offered a gentle argument. "You live on the other side of town."

"I could use the exercise." Another deadpan reply as he continued forward, picking up his pace as if that was going to help him lose the trailing car.

Desi gave a defeated sigh, slouching forward onto the steering wheel for a moment before shifted to a begging inflection with his next words. "Don't make me feel like more of an asshole than I already do, Cas. Please, just let me take you home. It's the least I can do..."

Casper kept walking, but with the plea, he'd dropped his gaze down to his feet, fingers clenching around the strap of his bag. With a hissed curse under his breath, he slacked his tense shoulders in surrender, and after a few more step, turned sharply and rounded the back of Desi's vehicle to the passenger side.

He dropped into the seat like a disgruntled teenager, tossing his bag into the back and slamming the door. He didn't fasten his seatbelt. Desi resisted rolling his eyes, accepting the minute victory without further argument, stepping on the gas and turning off onto the main road.

The air in the car was stifling, but after a few minutes it felt like Casper was starting to deflate. Desi tested the waters with some grovelling. "Listen... I'm really sorry about... well. I didn't realize it was a big deal at the time but, I shouldn't have told anyone about the whole uh, asking me to prom thing. I knew you weren't officially out but I told people anyway and that was shitty of me. This wouldn't have happened if—."

Casper interrupted with a sharp scoff, folding his arms and slouching down into his seat further. "I don't give a shit about people knowing I'm gay, Jesus Christ."

Desi hummed, picking nervously at the old pleather flaking off his steering wheel while he reevaluated, continuing cautiously. "Still... I imagine you'd want something like that to be on your own terms and not come out because of a slip up from a stupid joke."

Casper scoffed again, this time the sound more like a cough, or maybe a laugh, harsher with his disbelief. "A joke? Please. I know you're too nice for your own good, Desi, but you can't be that naive. That was entirely intentional."

"Come on..." Desi tried at a smile to lighten the tension. He hoped it was just the alcohol making Casper overly dramatic. Like Ashley was when she got drunk. "Ashley's a little hard to swallow sometimes. Believe me, I know. But, we were all joking around... I'm sure she didn't mean for it to be cruel."

"She did," he responded, flatly and without doubt.

Desi resisted rolling his eyes, finding himself a little defensive on his girlfriend's behalf. He tried to let it out with a controlled exhale, but he felt his tone shift as he changed gears. "You barely know her. How can you be so sure?"

Casper didn't respond right away, maybe picking up on Desi's growing irritation and deciding to tone down his own stubbornness. He bit at his lip instead, debating his answer. When he spoke again, it was a softer admission. "I just know..."