It was a little past 1 a.m. when Grayson finally made it home from the shop. He crookedly performed a front-park of the VW Beetle in the driveway — he did have enough money saved up that he could buy a used or new car, but he had grown much attached to the rented teal vehicle and decided to hang onto it for another week — then shuffled all the way to the front door with his eyelids half open.

All he could think about was the springy and fleecy comfort of his king-sized mattress. He only had about five hours to get some sleep before it was time to wake up again and get ready for opening day of Prior's Hardware Priorities.

Inside, not a person was in sight and neither of the lights in the living room nor the kitchen had been completely turned off, leaving the first floor of the Prior home peacefully dim. Grayson was too drowsy to realize the lack of teenage boys loitering around the house, and continued his lethargic shuffle towards the kitchen. He draped his satchel over the clothed dining table as he entered and went straight to the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water. There were two slices of Lev's homemade hot pie leftover in the round, metal container that it had arrived in, and it sat unnoticed by Grayson on the top corner of the shelf near the water on the door shelf.

Without a second glance, Grayson lightly slammed the door and turned to leave, when he then noticed a fuzzy black and gold shape sitting idle by the back door next to the counter. It was a basketball. It was Alex's basketball. It had been months, maybe a year almost, since Grayson had seen the thing somewhere other than beneath a pile of clothes inside a closet.

A prolonged yawn escaped him, so he opted to leave the ball where it was for now and feel curious about it later. He continued out of the kitchen, forgetting his satchel on the table but keeping his half-guzzled water on hand, and hauled his feet step after step even as he reached the upstairs hallway. He stopped as he approached the door that came just before his: Alex's bedroom. He at last remembered the sleepover his son was hosting, or was supposed to be. Since he'd entered the home he hadn't noticed any traces of teenage boys partying to their heart's content without parental supervision. But maybe his idea of teenage boys having a sleepover was a tad too blood and thunder.

Grayson tiptoed over to the door and pressed his ear against it, slowly and gently. The door was left opened a crack, but it was too dark to see inside. Grayson thought the two were probably playing video games with the lights off, but all he heard was silence from the other side. He straightened with a deep, jittery breath, and steadied a hand on the doorknob as he opened it inch by inch.

An immense part of him was expecting his son to not even be in the room, to have snuck out to a party in some crevice of the town, in cahoots with one of his new friends — Lev was his name. Though an unbelievable thought, another part of Grayson still hoped it was the case. What he wanted the most was for Alex to enjoy his teen-hood, to experience everything, mistakes and all, to cast aside the old Alex that apparently was never really fond of the company he kept.

It was already a dream come true this past week with Alex willingly going out everyday and spending time with his new group of friends, it'd be another to take this next step in embracing youth by attending a full-blown party. Albeit, his mind did stew on all the mischief one could get into at a party, especially unsupervised, and if Alex had actually gone to one, he would make a mental note to have a sit down with Lev.

With the door opened enough and the light in the hallway shining through, Grayson could practically see inside the room clear as day. It looked the same as it usually did, mostly clean and organized with minimal items scattered in corners. It was quiet too, no sounds of video games or chatter or anything. The bed...there was something on the bed. There was someone on the bed. Two someones...

***************************************************************

Waking up thirty minutes after he was supposed to wasn't the ideal start to the day that Grayson wanted on the store's grand opening. But with the time he still had, he rushed to get ready with the utmost care, leaving a good ten minutes left to assemble a small breakfast.

He sped-walked out of his room with a few folders in hand, passing Alex's room, his bedroom door still a crack open, the way Grayson had left it last night. There wasn't time to check in on his son, so he decided to just text him later on. He jogged downstairs with the folders tucked under his arm, and it was only when he reached the last step that he noticed at last a nutty, milky scent wafting through the first floor. He followed the aroma through the living room, half absentmindedly, half on high alert for a possible intruder in the house. The aroma led him to the kitchen where he saw someone — Lev by the looks of it — manning the stove, concocting something in one of the nonstick frying pans.

"You...you're cooking? In my kitchen?" Grayson faltered. The scent of chocolate was much more potent now that he was in the kitchen, and his empty stomach was making it difficult for him to feel outrageously shocked by the sight he was seeing.

Surprised himself by the sudden company, Lev spun around with a spattered spatula in his hand and pale stains on his black tank top. "Mr. Prior, you're here, and awake...I was just-"

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Grayson mildly snapped. He had managed to pull himself out of his hungered stupor enough to register the scene. Maybe Lev was Alex's friend, and Grayson didn't want to ruin one of his son's few budding friendships, but he also knew he couldn't shirk his fatherly responsibilities because of it.

Lev took a second to reach back towards the stove and lower the heat, then set the spatula down on the counter and turned back to face Grayson. "Sorry...I...I was just trying to make him — Alex — some breakfast. He's still asleep upstairs."

Grayson's brows furrowed and his lips kept a thin, hard line. "What? Why would you be doing that for him?"

"Sorry," Lev sheepishly said again. "Yesterday we played a little ball in the backyard, and we had a competition. Whoever got the most shots, the loser would have to cook them breakfast the next day. I won, but I didn't wanna be the crappy guest that made the host cook for him over a bet."

Grayson relaxed, though his eyebrows continued to furrow, more surprised than upset. "You and Alex...were playing basketball? Yesterday?" his gaze flickered over to Alex's black and gold basketball still loitering on the floor by the door. "He was really playing basketball? With you? And he lost, you said?"

Lev nodded slowly, looking as sheepish as he had sounded when he apologized a moment ago. "Yeah, but I'm pretty sure he just let me win. No way the guy who shot the game-winning basket at championships during his sophomore year, would get dunked on by someone who barely knows the rules to the game."

Grayson chuckled at that. "So you're cooking for him anyway?"

"Yeah, it's no big deal to me. I shoulda lost anyway. If he had actually managed to wake up before me then I probably wouldn't be doing any of this."

"Whatcha making over there, by the way?" Grayson went over to the dining table and pulled up a seat, startling Lev a bit. "Smells chocolate-y."

"Uh...yeah. Pancakes. Chocolate pancakes. I wasn't sure what to even make, but then I saw some pancake mix and chocolate chips in the cabinet and thought 'why not?'"

"You can't go wrong with choco-cakes," Grayson mused. The table had been set with two plates and a fork and knife paired with each one. His satchel had been placed in the seat next to him, so he scooped it up and stuffed his folders inside. "I'll take two, if you don't mind."

"O-oh...seriously? You sure?"

"Well I was on my way here anyway to cook up some buttered toast or something for myself since I gotta get to work, but pancakes are always a better option. I know you must've whipped up a batch to feed an army over there. No way you made any less when you've met my son."

Lev managed a steady chuckle. "Yeah, yeah you're right about that." He swiveled back around to the stove, snatched the spatula back into his hand, and turned off the stove before removing the frying pan and carrying it over to two saucers stacked with the rest of the pancakes he'd already made.

Lev brought both saucers to the table and served Grayson the two cakes he asked for. Then he beelined back to the stove, poked around a nearby cabinet, and returned in seconds with a silver kettle in one hand, and a packet of hot chocolate mix along with a customized green mug in the other which had 'Best Dad Ever' written on it in yellow, and the last 'd' in 'Dad' had a tiny black fedora hanging over it.

"Hot chocolate to go with it?" Lev offered.

Grayson's eyes glittered with thirst. "Hot cocoa too? You really doubled down on the chocolate, boy! Well bring it on then!"

While Lev placed the mug down near Grayson, and poured steaming water into it, he started to say, "Mr. Prior...uh, can I just ask you about something?" Grayson had stuffed a massive chunk of syrup-coated pancake between his lips, so he only nodded and hummed a 'yes'. "It's none of my business, but when did you get in last night? I don't think me or Alex saw you at all after you left yesterday."

Through a crowded mouth Grayson said, "oh, sometime after one in the morning. You and Lex were already asleep by the time I got home, and I just went straight to bed not long afterwards."

For a moment that seemed to drag on seconds too long, all Grayson heard was the noisy friction of his chewing. He looked up from his gooey plate to Lev, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

"...you knew we were asleep?" Lev apprehensively asked. "Which means you saw us? Alex and me...in the same bed-"

"Sleeping," Grayson finished. "I saw two teenage boys who just fell asleep next to each other after a long day of horsing around. Nothing wrong with that. Heck, isn't that what happens at sleepovers?"

"Uhm, yeah, I guess," Lev chuckled nervously. "So, like, you weren't upset or anything?"

"Why would I be upset? Listen Lev, since my son has met you, I've been seeing sides to him that I've never seen before. He even tossed around the rock just when I thought he might never pick it up again, even for fun." Despite it not having much time to warm down, Grayson took a long sip of his hot chocolate before continuing. "Even if something other than sleeping happened between you two on that bed, that's still nothing to be upset over. But I will draw the line if something involving either of you getting completely undressed happens under this roof. Lex's still too young for that anyway. You are too. Just remember to try not to move so fast. Also remember protection if something were to happen and you're not under my roof."

Lev chuckled again, finally relaxed, or at least no longer as nervous as before, as he leaned back against the counter. "I got it, Mr. Prior, and thanks."

Grayson raised a fork in the air briefly in a silent 'you're welcome', then dropped it back down onto his cleared plate and yanked the sleeve of his shirt up to check his wristwatch. "Oh-kay, time for me to bounce! Thank you for the much needed breakfast, Lev, and could you let Alex know later that I left?"

"Yeah, sure. But uh, I have something for you too — if you want it, that is."

Grayson paused, his arms over his head ready to sling his satchel onto his shoulders, and turned to Lev who had moved to the other side of the counter to take something out of the microwave. It was two of the plastic food containers that were stored inside one of the cabinets; one blue while the other orange. Lev placed them both in what Grayson noticed was one of the blue reusable bags folded in the upstairs hallway closet.

"For you," Lev said, offering him the bag, "and that guy you work with — Harry? Yeah, Harry. It's hot pot pie, homemade. A slice for both of you. It was Alex's idea, but he almost ended up eating the whole thing. I stopped him before that happened."

Grayson stared between him and the bag before a smile quickly cracked wide. He took the bag from Lev, got his satchel on, then hurried out the kitchen. "Thanks, Leven!"