How Green Becomes Wood

Daizi had already put Ivy in bed by the time Dark came back inside, but he met Daizi on the couch, where they spent many of their evenings. and stood for a few moments watching her after stepping inside. Although she didn't see him, obviously Daizi heard the door open, so when Dark didn't speak, she asked, "What are you doing?"

"Just looking at you," He replied. This was going to be a damn hard secret to keep. Well, Daizi had known for a few days she was pregnant with Ivy before telling him, so he supposed this was somewhat fair. Even though he would have to sit on this for two weeks. But that was the woman who had made him a father, and he did truly believe he wouldn't have become the twins father had she not been there. And she was going to adopt them, like they dreamed about. The possibility of Xander not wanting it didn't even cross his mind. But Daizi was just lounging on the couch, unbothered, and he liked getting to simply witness her.

"Why?"

"Because I adore you." He answered, bending to take off his shoes before joining her on the couch, and she didn't question this. Instead, she altered how she was resting to settle down into his embrace.

"I'm gonna fall asleep down here," She mumbled, "just so you have to carry me to bed. Because I've missed you."
 
The next morning, the twins got up a little earlier than usual, and Xander got breakfast started while Alec cleaned up and got everything prepped for the day. It was a nice way to start the morning, and when Ivy was up, Alec took her to give Daizi a morning to herself as much as he could until they had to head off to school. Neither of them said a thing about what had happened the day before.

The school day felt strange. Everything was so normal. Except that Milo wasn't there. Xander still found himself looking for Milo even though he knew he wasn't there. Peter was there, but he was oddly distracted and constantly looking at his phone. He didn't seem too worried, just distracted. It was a strange day. Not a bad day, but a strange one. It was a relief to drive home at the end of the day.
 
Again, Dark found it difficult to leave Ivy and Daizi, and on days when Xander drove himself and his brother, it was even less tolerable. Spending that time alone in his car used to be something he enjoyed, but now it just meant he had extra time in his day to think about where he was going, and what he was leaving behind. That next morning, the dread he felt about going into school filled him with guilt: The night before, Alec had said he wanted to talk about adoption. And teaching at the school meant he could be there for his boys in ways most parents didn't have the chance to be, so he thought he should appreciate it. But he found it difficult to feel that way. And sharing what he had with Alec didn't bring any peace, either. Instead, he was thinking about it all again. Everything that had happened, all of the unanswered questions. With a drive all to himself to dwell on it.

That same day, Sloan tried to stick around Peter, because she could tell he was off, and she was trying to keep an eye on him without prying or seeming overbearing.

The following day, the first day of May, Milo walked up to Xander at the start of lunch, having kept to himself for most of the morning. He looked tired, and even though he never stood up straight, and his hair was always floppy, somehow he seemed to slouch even more, and his hair was even floppier. "Hey."
 
Xander glanced up and looked Milo up and down. Milo reminded him of something, but he couldn't quite think of what it was. He asked no questions, only nodded to an empty seat next to him. "Wanna sit?"

"Hi, Milo!" Alec greeted from Xander's other side. "Welcome back. I think." He frowned slightly. "Sorry. I know it's complicated."

Peter sat in his usual seat when he was with this group of friends, across from Xander, but he had his eyes on his phone screen while his free hand occasionally remembered to pilot food to his mouth. He mumbled a vauge greeting, not even looking up.
 
Milo shrugged, but sat down with them. "I wanted to stay home again today. My grandparents thought it wasn't a good idea."

Sloan watched Peter carefully. She knew they had gone to Australia for his grandmother, who wasn't doing well. And now this was the second day where he wasn't really chatting with them, and she was worried. "You doing okay?" She asked quietly, keeping her eyes on him.
 
"Sometimes it's good to stay home and take time. Sometimes it leads to festering," Xander acknowledged, knowing there were many days he would have happily skipped school for even the most minor of inconveniences. "Least now you can kind of catch up in the classes you're behind on, I guess. Kind of a dull silver lining."

"You certainly sold that well," Alec said dryly.

"What? School sucks, no matter how necessary it is," Xander protested.

It took Peter a second to pull his eyes away from his phone, which had what looked like numbers on the screen before he clicked the button to darken the screen. "What's that? Oh, yes, I'm good. How about you, Sloan?" he asked politely.
 
"They're scheduling a meeting with all my teachers and my guidance counselor," Milo admitted, looking down at the table. "I think they're going to make me take a lot of tests to figure out what I'm behind on. I know it's probably for the best, because I don't want to be stupid--" He paused, then corrected himself, "Uneducated. But it's not something easy to get excited about. Especially since it'll probably lead to all my teachers, if not the entire school board, knowing all my issues."

"I'm okay," Sloan said, "I'm shocked it's already Wednesday. And I'm shocked it's already May. The year's almost over."
 
"Not all of them. I doubt your grands would spill all the beans," Xander commented. "You'll get a couple of teachers who will be stupid about it, but not all of them. Some of them will be real good to you and for you. Still really sucks that you're going to get called out like that." He paused and held out one of the small treats Daizi had made for them.

"True," Peter agreed, his eyes straying to his phone though he did not turn it on. "This year has really gone by fast. What was your favorite part?"
 
"They'd spill enough." Milo replied, resting his chin on his hand, "I thought when I told them we'd talk at home and they listened it'd mean I'd be able to voice my opinions more. That's not exactly how it went."

"I don't know, that's tough," Sloan said, following his gaze, "Probably that party, I guess. Or maybe my meet where I nailed my Bars routine, but that's not really related to the school year. I know all of that happened somewhat recently, but this year kinda sucked." She shrugged, "but I got to hang out with my friends. I'm glad you didn't move."
 
"You could try writing them a letter laying out what you think and your fears in the matter," Alec offered. "I think they are desperately afraid of your future with your current schooling - their generation put a lot more emphasis on schooling and what it meant for your job future than people do today - but they need to understand what you fear, too. Some people get so caught up in what they are doing and their own fears, they forget who they are doing it for."

"Yeah," Xander said slowly, staring at Alec, "but maybe we can just relax a little bit sometimes and not overthink things?" He turned to Milo. "Whatever your grands tell your teachers, the teachers won't be talking about it to the students. If they do, tell me."

"Those are excellent highlights!" Peter agreed, one hand lightly fiddling with his phone. "That party was one of the best I've ever been to, and I've been to a few. That would certainly go on my favorite moment's list."
 
Milo looked down at the table as Alec explained an option, "I doubt they'd listen even in a letter. They're really passionate about telling me what I ought to be doing. I asked if I could stay with my mom in her hotel room while she's here, but they thought it wasn't a good idea."

"I'm worried prom will seem like a letdown next year," She said with a little laugh. Then, after a few moments asked, "Are you expecting an important text?"
 
"They'll loosen up a bit once they aren't so worried about you," Alec promised.

"Or not, but at least now you can actually finish out a year in one school," Xander remarked. "You still haven't shown me all of your hiding holes. I thought I knew a bunch until you came along and showed me up." He chomped on a carrot stick, chewing it with more vigor than technically necessary."

"Maybe, but at least it's a ways away so it won't be in direct comparison," Peter grinned. At her question, he glanced at his phone. "What? Oh, no. Well, yes, kind of, but not really. It's not a big deal. Do you have any summer plans?"
 
"I just wish things didn't just happen to me." He said, bouncing one leg, "And I guess things would've just happened if I had gone with my mom, too, but..." He shrugged, "I hope I don't start getting in trouble for hiding now that I'll be staying. I need to be able to get away from everything. There are too many people, and I don't like fluorescent lights."

She wasn't certain she believed him, but if there was an issue, Peter clearly didn't want to talk about it, so she decided to drop it, "Not really. Just more gymnastics, but I might have a pool party once we get ours ready for the season again. What about you?"
 
"They haven't figured it out yet," Xander pointed out and crunched another carrot stick as hard as he could. "So. Do you wanna do something this weekend? There's a..." He trailed off, looking behind Milo as Toby walked toward them. "I can't remember the last time I've seen him actually walking."

"Pool party? Nice! I haven't been to a pool party in years," Peter admitted wistfully. "I'm not sure yet. Our family is in talks right now about what we're going to do. We each have our own idea we want to follow."
 
"Not this weekend," Milo answered. While his mom was nearby, he was going to spend as much time with her as possible. Because as soon as she left, he had no way of knowing when he'd ever see his mother again. Then he looked at Toby, "If I'm not noticed, he probably was. His wings are clipped, like with a bird."

"You should come, if you're around to," Sloan said, "If you were fully and exclusively in control of what you did this summer, what would it be?"
 
"How long's your mum going to be in town?" Xander asked Milo quietly as Toby approached, not sure if Toby actually wanted to talk to them or was just passing by. It was sometimes hard to tell with him.

Peter rubbed his chin. "Well, I'm actually working on a project right now that I'm not sure how long will take, and I'd like to focus on that, but if that wasn't a factor... I'd want to do some exploring of the city. I actually haven't had the time to really check out a lot of places. I've heard of a few music venues around here, but most are bars, but i don't have time to figure out which is which. Also, arcades. I'd love to do some arcade games. An American teen summer! At least, like how they show in the movies."
 
"She hasn't said. A week, at least. But she's going to have to look for a job when she's down there, so she can't stay here for too long." Milo answered, keeping an eye on Toby. It wasn't like he was ever going to initiate a conversation with someone who was, ostensibly, a stranger. But it was curious.

"What project?" Sloan asked, stretching up curiously. "It was fun when we all went to the arcade for Alec and Xander's birthday. It would be pretty cool to do all of those classic American teen things. I'm a senior next year, so I guess it's the perfect time to knock it all out. Or, well... I forget if in movies it's before or after senior year teens in movies have the wild, unforgettable summer."
 
"Week's not bad," Xander agreed, "and she can start looking online and stuff. Takes time to land a job."

"The movies kind of seem to be all over the place," Peter remarked and would have said more except for Toby's arrival.

Toby approached their table and grinned at them. "Hey, guys! Xander, Alec," he got them backward, "Sloan, and..." He hesitated, looking at Milo and Peter. "Friends!" he concluded, looking just as happy to see them as the people who's names he could remember. "How's it going?"

"Good," Xander, said slowly while Alec waved an excited greeting. "Hi, Toby!"
 
"I was asked not to ride it indoors," Toby said mournfully. "It's a safety hazard for others, apparently, even if I am really careful. Anyway!" He brightened. "I've got a competition coming up soon, and they always give us extra tickets. Most of my friends are either in the comp or already got tickets from someone else, so I got extras. I thought since you're my neighbors," he gestured to the twins and Sloan, "and you're my neighbor's friends," a gesture to Milo and Peter, "I'd offer the tickets to you guys. I only have four, sorry."

"That does sound like fun," Peter said. "I'll have to check with my folks first."

Xander started to say something when Alec tapped his shoulder. Xander leaned back, and the pair had a quick discussion. Then Xander turned to Milo. "Think your mum would like to go?" he asked quietly while Peter asked Toby for the details.
 
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