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(spencer - tuesday morning)
Jun. 23rd, 2014 05:00 pmIt's still early when Balto wakes Joel up by walking across his face.
The sun hasn't quite broken over the horizon yet and he bats his cat away, knowing he'll have to get up in a few minutes to feed her, but not wanting to interrupt this moment yet just. Spencer is in his bed, the hand in a cast resting on Joel's pillow, his hair sticking up in the back and his lips parted as he breathes slowly and deeply. He's still asleep and for a second Joel just watches him, smiling, then presses a kiss to his forehead before he slips out from under the covers and goes to feed his cat. He thinks about starting coffee or breakfast, but he can't bear the thought of waking Spencer just yet, so instead he sits down at his laptop in the small kitchen on the other side of the apartment.
He spends half an hour looking for new stock online before an e-mail from his sister pops up in his inbox. The subject line is just a series of angry emoticons and Joel laughs before he opens it to find a colourfully worded invitation for a Skype date in another half hour. He sends her an answer, telling her he'll be there, then returns to his bed to check on Spencer. Confident he's still sleeping, Joel goes to the bathroom and has a quick shower, then brushes his teeth and pulls on a fresh t-shirt before returning to his computer just in time for Charlotte's invitation to pop up on his screen.
"Mom and dad read the news," she says as soon as their window opens up and her face fills his screen.
"What news?"
"Siren Cove news, dummy," she answers. "They read about Mark Fuller coming to try and beat the hell out of you or whatever he did. They're super pissed you didn't call to tell them."
"Tell them what? That the maniac who helped chase us out of Shediac came and sprained my wrist?" he asks, rolling his eyes. He's trying to keep his voice down so Spencer can continue to sleep, but Charlotte has always made it hard. He loves her dearly, but most of the time he also wants to shout at her until she stops talking.
"The paper says he tried to kill you and that librarian dude. What's up with that anyway? Why would he give a shit about the librarian?" Charlotte grins, leaning closer to the camera on her computer. "Did you make a friend? Hey, maybe if you tell mom and dad that you're not a total loser loner freak anymore, they'll forgive you for not telling them you almost got your dumb ass killed by a psycho."
Joel rolls his eyes, but he realizes this is a pretty good opening. "Look, Charlie, I have to tell you something."
"Besides the fact that you almost got your dumb ass killed by a psycho?" she asks.
"Yes, besides that," he says and she immediately drops the act, leaning her elbows on her desk. He's grateful for it, grateful that she always seems to know when to cut it out with her teasing, that she's so in tune to his thoughts that she can feel what he needs from her even five hundred miles away.
"What's up?" she asks. "You're okay, right? I wouldn't have given you a hard time if I thought-"
"Charlie, I'm fine," he insists. "Really. I'll tell mom and dad what happened, but I need to tell you something first. Something... it's sort of a big deal." He glances back over his shoulder to make sure Spencer is still asleep, then looks back at his laptop again.
"You did make a friend," she says, her mouth opening in surprise. "Holy shit."
"Yeah," he says with a laugh and he's relieved that she knows him so well that he hasn't even really had to say it. One look over his shoulder and she'd instantly known. She doesn't know everything, though, and the fact that Spencer isn't a woman is the next thing he needs to spit out. He really doesn't imagine his sister will have much of a problem with it, but it still makes him nervous and he has to wet his lips before continuing. "I'm... I mean, we're dating. I mean... he's my boyfriend."
She's quiet for a moment and then she smiles, wide and bright. "The librarian."
"Yeah," Joel says and it feels like a weight has been lifted. "The librarian."
"Good job, he's super cute," Charlotte tells him.
Joel frowns, trying to remember if there's any reason for Charlotte to have met Spencer in the past few summers they've come to visit. "How do you know?" he asks.
Her smile grows wider and there's a hint of wickedness as she leans close and says, "Because he's standing behind you."
Joel spins around in his chair, slamming the laptop shut at the same time, as if that might undo everything Spencer has to have heard him say. And it's nothing, really, it's not a big deal, except he's never once called Spencer his boyfriend to his face.
The sun hasn't quite broken over the horizon yet and he bats his cat away, knowing he'll have to get up in a few minutes to feed her, but not wanting to interrupt this moment yet just. Spencer is in his bed, the hand in a cast resting on Joel's pillow, his hair sticking up in the back and his lips parted as he breathes slowly and deeply. He's still asleep and for a second Joel just watches him, smiling, then presses a kiss to his forehead before he slips out from under the covers and goes to feed his cat. He thinks about starting coffee or breakfast, but he can't bear the thought of waking Spencer just yet, so instead he sits down at his laptop in the small kitchen on the other side of the apartment.
He spends half an hour looking for new stock online before an e-mail from his sister pops up in his inbox. The subject line is just a series of angry emoticons and Joel laughs before he opens it to find a colourfully worded invitation for a Skype date in another half hour. He sends her an answer, telling her he'll be there, then returns to his bed to check on Spencer. Confident he's still sleeping, Joel goes to the bathroom and has a quick shower, then brushes his teeth and pulls on a fresh t-shirt before returning to his computer just in time for Charlotte's invitation to pop up on his screen.
"Mom and dad read the news," she says as soon as their window opens up and her face fills his screen.
"What news?"
"Siren Cove news, dummy," she answers. "They read about Mark Fuller coming to try and beat the hell out of you or whatever he did. They're super pissed you didn't call to tell them."
"Tell them what? That the maniac who helped chase us out of Shediac came and sprained my wrist?" he asks, rolling his eyes. He's trying to keep his voice down so Spencer can continue to sleep, but Charlotte has always made it hard. He loves her dearly, but most of the time he also wants to shout at her until she stops talking.
"The paper says he tried to kill you and that librarian dude. What's up with that anyway? Why would he give a shit about the librarian?" Charlotte grins, leaning closer to the camera on her computer. "Did you make a friend? Hey, maybe if you tell mom and dad that you're not a total loser loner freak anymore, they'll forgive you for not telling them you almost got your dumb ass killed by a psycho."
Joel rolls his eyes, but he realizes this is a pretty good opening. "Look, Charlie, I have to tell you something."
"Besides the fact that you almost got your dumb ass killed by a psycho?" she asks.
"Yes, besides that," he says and she immediately drops the act, leaning her elbows on her desk. He's grateful for it, grateful that she always seems to know when to cut it out with her teasing, that she's so in tune to his thoughts that she can feel what he needs from her even five hundred miles away.
"What's up?" she asks. "You're okay, right? I wouldn't have given you a hard time if I thought-"
"Charlie, I'm fine," he insists. "Really. I'll tell mom and dad what happened, but I need to tell you something first. Something... it's sort of a big deal." He glances back over his shoulder to make sure Spencer is still asleep, then looks back at his laptop again.
"You did make a friend," she says, her mouth opening in surprise. "Holy shit."
"Yeah," he says with a laugh and he's relieved that she knows him so well that he hasn't even really had to say it. One look over his shoulder and she'd instantly known. She doesn't know everything, though, and the fact that Spencer isn't a woman is the next thing he needs to spit out. He really doesn't imagine his sister will have much of a problem with it, but it still makes him nervous and he has to wet his lips before continuing. "I'm... I mean, we're dating. I mean... he's my boyfriend."
She's quiet for a moment and then she smiles, wide and bright. "The librarian."
"Yeah," Joel says and it feels like a weight has been lifted. "The librarian."
"Good job, he's super cute," Charlotte tells him.
Joel frowns, trying to remember if there's any reason for Charlotte to have met Spencer in the past few summers they've come to visit. "How do you know?" he asks.
Her smile grows wider and there's a hint of wickedness as she leans close and says, "Because he's standing behind you."
Joel spins around in his chair, slamming the laptop shut at the same time, as if that might undo everything Spencer has to have heard him say. And it's nothing, really, it's not a big deal, except he's never once called Spencer his boyfriend to his face.
