Cut

“Darn it,’ Kris muttered under his breath, but loud enough to catch his roommate’s attention.

Footsteps began to pace towards the bathroom. Kris didn’t know what to do, hesitating with the razor in one hand before carefully wiping off the blood that started to trickle down his neck with another.

“What happened?” A voice gasped; Adam’s eyes landed on Kris’s bloody fingers the moment he reached the bathroom door.

Kris startled. “I, uh...”

Kris glanced at the red substance on his fingers before giving the taller man a sheepish smile. Faint smudges of shaving cream surrounding his mouth, “I cut myself.”

“Let me see it,” Adam entered the small room suddenly, causing younger man to take a few steps back.

Adam stopped right in front of him and gently tilted his head up; trying to get a better view of Kris’s wound. The moment Adam’s fingers touched his skin Kris sucked his breath in as he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. He tried to catch a glimpse of Adam’s face, but the styled, dark hair of the older man blocked his view.

“It looks pretty deep,” Adam spoke softly, “Hold on,”

Adam turned to retrieve a small first-aid kit from the drawer, opening the white box before setting it on the marble sink. He poured out a small box of cotton balls onto a dry spot and took two into his hand, wetting them under the tap before returning to Kris.

“This might hurt a little,”

Kris stood quietly. He never had seen any man that cared so much for him before. When he was little his father would only pat his head and tell him to stop crying every time he injured himself, and it was his mom who did all the cleaning and bandaging on his wounds.

As a matter of fact Kris did feel like he was a small boy again, except Adam was the one helping him out and he wasn’t quietly sobbing on the sink like he used to. Adam’s actions reminded Kris of his mother; he was being really careful not to hurt Kris, gently dabbing the damp cotton onto his cut and frequently asking the younger man if it’d hurt. Kris tried to respond, but the moment Adam’s fingers brushed under his chin Kris gasped and his fingers tingled.

The dark haired man seemed to notice when his eyes came up to meet his, “You alright?”

“Yeah,” Kris almost squeaked, cheeks flushing to bright pink.

Adam believed him and went back to work. Kris shut his eyes for a second and made a silent prayer, thanking the Lord he didn’t screw up that moment. Kris had never felt so nervous since the day he met his partner Katy; but when Adam and Kris met in the auditorium during the first round of Hollywood Week, Kris was certain he felt a spark. Right then watching Adam through his reflection on the mirror, Kris didn’t feel the sting when the wet cotton touched his cut. He only felt his heart flutter.

Kris knew that Adam preferred guys than girls. Adam didn’t tell Kris, but he did introduce his boyfriend to Kris during their performance night two weeks ago. Adam’s boyfriend was exactly like him; the look, the hair, the tight pants. But to Kris, everything looked better on Adam. Even in makeup, those turquoise irises stood out perfectly under the dark shade of cosmetic powder around his eyes. Kris knew that Adam’s eyes were turquoise because he stared at them more often than necessary; he’d start a conversation with the beautiful man just so he could get a glimpse of those eyes every single day.

But it saddened Kris when he realized he wasn’t Adam’s type. After the show he hid himself in the bathroom, staring at his own reflection. Kris was the innocent, mama’s boy with the whole clean cut personality. Adam on the other hand, was the total opposite of Kris. Kris was upset, and he felt even worse when a voice in his head reminded him that he had a wife back home. Kris tried to avoid the older man for a few days after that incident; but when Adam came up to him and asked what was wrong, Kris knew he couldn’t stay away from Adam any longer.

“There,” Kris didn’t know how long he had been lost in his thoughts, but when the rocker’s voice brought him back to reality he noticed that his face was wiped clean, with a small bandage over the cut.

Adam pressed the nude colored plaster firmly against Kris’s skin, giving a satisfied smile to the smaller man. “Feeling better?”

‘Not yet,’ Kris thought. ‘Mama usually kisses my boo-boo before she walks away.’

Kris was tempted, but he didn’t want to make things awkward between them. He darted his eyes away and exhaled a laugh, placing a hand behind his neck and rubbing the hairs that stood earlier.

Kris was uncertain if Adam liked him how he liked Adam, so he didn’t dare to take the risk.

“Yeah,”

It took a lot of guts for Kris to look at Adam’s eyes again. When he did his heart sank, feeling extremely frustrated at the situation.

“Thanks.”