Felix crams the notes back into his pocket, looking furtively around, as though bullies or thieves would come to snatch his money away. Kade doesn’t doubt that they have in the past, but that was before he’d chased Felix’s bullies off.
Felix shrugs. “I’ll give you some if you want. I don’t know what to buy with them, anyway. There’s lots more at home.”
Kade thinks about all the ice cream cones Felix can buy with that money, and salivates. “Let’s get you some ice cream!”
Felix glances at the canteen doors, wincing. “The bell will ring!”
“And the truck’s almost gone! C’mon!” Kade scrambles to his feet. The ice cream truck’s on the other end of the street now, its jangle starting to fade. Kade’s heart constricts. If they run, they can catch it three blocks away. “Screw the bell!”
Felix pushes his feet under himself, brushing his sandy palms off on his shorts. Kade grabs his hand. They sprint in a wide loop along the school buildings, away from the playground and the field, to the parking lot. Then they duck behind the cars, out of sight. Felix squeezes Kade’s hand.
“We’re going to get caught!” Felix pants, his shoes slapping against the asphalt.
“No, we aren’t,” Kade says. The metal gates are closed. But the wire fences have sturdy holes that fit their shoes, and Kade scales it like a monkey.
“I can’t climb that high,” Felix cries, his eyes wide.
“I’ll catch you,” Kade says, dropping back to the ground next to him. “Hurry! The truck’s almost gone!”
Felix sticks the toes of his shoe into the fence, climbing slowly. Kade grabs his butt and heaves, and Felix squawks. He makes it to the top of the fence, swaying, his face pale. Kade climbs back up, helping Felix haul his leg over the flat edges of the fence.
Once Felix is on the other side, still clinging to the fence like a cat, Kade leaps off the fence. Felix whimpers, and Kade stretches his arms out. “Jump!”
Felix glances between the concrete sidewalk and Kade, and jumps.
He crashes into Kade’s chest, a bundle of flesh and bone, knocking Kade’s breath from his lungs. Kade staggers backward. Felix is heavier than he expected. “You okay?”
Felix nods, shaken but otherwise fine. Kade looks him over. Limbs intact, nothing broken. Two blocks down, the van makes a left.
“Just a bit more,” Kade whispers, his heart fluttering with excitement. He’s never been outside during school hours. But he’s with Felix, and they’re doing this together, and that’s all he can think about right now. Get Felix some ice cream, show him what an ice cream truck is like.
He glances at the far-off children at the playground, and the teachers’ cars in the parking lot. No one has noticed them. So Kade slips his hand back into Felix’s and runs, Felix puffing behind him.
Three blocks later, they catch up with the van. Kade waves his arm madly at it, out of breath. The van slows.
An old man pokes his head out, wrinkles lining his face. “How did I miss you boys? You look like you’ve just run a long ways!”
Kade slows down, Felix huffing behind him, his cheeks flushed. “Maybe—maybe you didn’t see us,” Kade pants, his cheeks burning. They’d just run out of school. Mom will probably spank him or something, if she finds out.
The ice cream man studies them thoughtfully. “Well, I hope you didn’t just run out of school to catch lil’ old me!”
Felix’s face turns a bright tomato red. Kade cringes inwardly. So much for keeping it a secret.
“We’ll go back right after this,” Kade huffs. “I just wanted Felix to have some ice cream. He’s never had any from an ice cream truck.”
“Oh?” The old man unbuckles his seat belt, waving them over to the back of the truck. Then he peers at Felix through the long window. “You’ve never seen an ice cream truck, boy?”
“Not up close.” Felix squirms, his sandy fingers digging into Kade’s palm, his eyes wide and tentative, as though he thinks the ice cream man will scold him. “Just from the windows at home, I guess.”
Kade pulls his quarters out of his pocket, looking uncertainly at Felix. What if he dragged Felix all the way out here and Felix doesn’t want ice cream? “You do want an ice cream cone, right?”
Felix nods, his gaze roving over the different flavors. “There’s so many to choose from!”
“My favorite is chocolate,” Kade says, the tension in his shoulders easing. He sets his quarters down on the counter, squirming at the $1 on the poster. Next time, he’ll save up more money to afford an entire ice cream cone for Felix. “Which do you want? I’ll help pay for some of it.”
“I think... the vanilla cone.” Felix looks over. “Are you having a chocolate one?”
Kade blinks. “No, I’m just helping you pay for yours. I’ll pass.”
Felix’s mouth falls open. He glances behind them, at the street they’d just run down to catch the ice cream truck. Then he looks at Kade’s flushed face. “You like ice cream.”
Kade rolls his shoulders, uncomfortable. He’ll save up for ice cream for them both next time. “Doesn’t matter.”
Felix pulls out his rumpled bills again. Then he peels two out from the stack, tiptoeing to hand them to the ice cream man. “One vanilla cone for me, and a chocolate one for Kade.”
“That’s not right,” Kade blurts. “You’re my omega. You shouldn’t be paying for things for me.”
“I want to,” Felix says, lifting his chin. “Besides, you haven’t presented yet. So you could be an omega, too.”
The old man takes the notes from Felix, sliding Kade’s coins back toward him. Kade frowns. “I don’t think I’ll be an omega. You should take the fifty cents, Felix.”
“No, you keep it.” Felix scoops the coins off the counter, takes Kade’s hand, and presses the quarters into his palm. Then
