“We’re treating it like a New Year’s celebration.” Dylan puckered his lips.
Sandra scowled, oozing disgust for Dylan’s attitude or presence. She never hid her feelings for Dylan or really anyone, seeing as she found most people irritating, including her own kids.
“Seems you’re having one of these fundraisers every other day,” she said snidely. “The least you could do is pay Kaiden for his time.”
It was obviously easier for Kaiden to ditch his babysitting duties when working, so Dylan shot Sandra a tight smile and nodded affirmingly.
“Darn homeless teens demanding things like food, shelter, hygiene resources, health check-ups, and all that.” Dylan’s smile nearly folded into a grimace from Sandra’s glare. “These fundraisers really are imperative to their well-being.”
“Yeah, whatever.” She tied her hair back into a tight bun. “What about my well-being?”
Dylan ignored her attitude; he also ignored the sound of a video game blasting from the nearby den. Sandra lived here with her husband and three children, but her husband never babysat the kids on his own. Whether he was working or between jobs, child rearing always fell to Sandra, who often passed it off to her mother during the days and bullied Kaiden into handling nights and weekends.
Since Kaiden lived with his parents rent-free, he made the most of the tough situation. Heat filled Dylan’s chest while Sandra continued running her mouth about how inconsiderate Kaiden could be.
The thing that got to Dylan was that Kaiden didn’t actually live rent-free. He did all the grocery shopping, paying for the whole household. If his sister bought stuff, she labeled it or bought things outside of Kaiden’s diet restrictions. Kaiden helped his parents with utilities, too. He shared his bedroom with his nephews, while his sister only shared her room with her newborn.
“I’m going to go find Kaiden,” Dylan blurted, fighting to keep the cheer in his voice.
Life had thrown hell at Dylan from an early age, but he’d learned long ago that smiling through the pain made it easier to bear. Fewer questions, too. But some folks wore on his good nature and made it challenging to stay so optimistic.
He turned to make his way down the hallway toward Kaiden’s bedroom.
“He’s in the basement,” Sandra shouted.
Dylan shuddered, then cut through the kitchen. Since Kaiden shared his bedroom with his nephews, they’d moved some of his belongings into the basement, including his makeup station. Naturally, the family decided Kaiden’s lifestyle would be far too confusing to explain to the boys. Men didn’t wear makeup, so if Kaiden wanted to continue doing that, he needed a space away from the boys.
Of course, his parents sided with Kaiden’s sister when it came to ‘lifestyle choices,’ rooming accommodations, and all things in general. Dylan didn’t think about punching people very often, but Sandra was on his list. Along with her total provider of a husband, who Dylan only ever saw plastered to the couch. Kaiden’s parents, too. The nephews on occasion, but Dylan would wait until they were unruly adults. Maybe they’d become better people.
“Die, die, die!” screamed one of the boys as he attempted to shove Dylan down the basement stairs.
Bewilderment stunned him silent, and both boys ran away faster than he could comprehend. Sandra started screaming at them from afar, possibly yelling at her crying baby too, but Dylan didn’t stick around to clarify. He made his way down into the house dungeon.
Dylan hated the basement. Originally, when he learned Kaiden’s family had moved some of his more flamboyant things downstairs, Dylan encouraged Kaiden to just move into the basement entirely. But as it turned out, this wasn’t a livable basement. Dylan swung the door wide open, took a deep breath, and braced himself before heading down the steps. They creaked like a rickety bridge. The hollow gaps between each step sent a shiver through Dylan’s body. That subconscious fear of a monster snatching him by the foot and tripping him always put him in a chokehold.
It didn’t help that the basement had zero overhead lighting since the electrical had gone haywire years ago. Dylan had offered on more than one occasion to assist. He wasn’t an expert, but he’d learned a lot of home maintenance hacks from Jasmine over the years while she kept their last home afloat. Sadly, Kaiden didn’t want any improvements made to his parents’ place.
He lived here reluctantly, doing his best to save up for his own place eventually.
“You’re early,” Kaiden said, applying eyeliner.
The makeup vanity had cool lining around the mirror, helping brighten the darkness around Kaiden. He kept a few portal spotlights around the station, using them to scrutinize every tiny detail of his makeup.
“Well, I didn’t want to risk being late for the fundraiser.”
Kaiden scoffed. “Is she still bitching about that? This is why I said fundraiser. I could be giving an orphan my kidney, and she’d complain it inconvenienced her. And the only reason she’s pissed at me is because Mom is yelling at her about watching the boys all day and night, but like, why not make Tommy get off hislazy alpha ass and watch his own kids? Oh, because that’s not manly, blah, blah, blah…”
“I know, I know,” Dylan said as he leaned forward to position his head in line with the mirror, next to Kaiden’s face. “I played along. Always do.”
“Thank you.” Kaiden puckered his lips and blew a playful kiss at the mirror.
He went back to work, finishing his makeup, while Dylan stood anxiously in the basement. There was nothing in the shadows, but it didn’t stop Dylan’s imagination from playing tricks and suspecting monsters lurking nearby.
Dylan focused on Kaiden, studying him as he worked on applying his makeup. Honestly, Kaiden was cute enough without all the glam, but he always looked quite majestic after painting his face. Even when he kept his look subtle or natural or whatever the right makeupology term was. Kaiden remained flawless.
“What do you think?” Kaiden asked, framing his face with his hands.
Only his hands were turned in a way that flaunted his pink fingernails. Dylan attempted to piece it together, thinking maybe the blush was pink, but he wasn’t sure if Kaiden had put any on. Then he looked for pink accessories. Kaiden wore a black corset vest with silver designs and lacing up the back. He wore a white dress shirt underneath and black slacks. Nothing pink. His lips, maybe? Nope. Not even a light gloss.
