bleach

“Did you come up here just to smoke?”He pulls the joint away, turning opposite from Tyler to exhale. Turning back to Tyler, he shrugs, repeating Tyler’s earlier words, “Was loud.”Tyler begins to fidget with his hands in his lap, stumbling over his words the same way he does every time he gets defensive — embarrassed, “I— I was just asking cause, like, people are smoking down there too.”His swallow following is loud enough for Alex to hear, following the sound with his eyes as he follows a path up Tyler’s throat. Alex licks his lips, “Yeah, but they’re all passing around a bong.”The other boy nods, pressing his lips together and staring down at his lap, legs crossed. And then it clicks.“Have you ever smoked? Like— anything at all?”