DT Serum, Primary Testing In Progress

Layla huffed and gladly went with Lex. Ashton followed, and once out of Chris's sights, he dropped the poker face and let his unhappiness show to his best friend.

"What's with the face?" Lex asked Ashton, frowning at him.

"N-nothing." Ashton lied. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Why you're making that face, first," Lex said, giving Ashton a look that said he wasn't going to drop the subject.

Ashton hesitated. "Well, how would you feel if you saw Layla kissing another person's cheek and saying she loved them?" He glanced at Layla. "No offense." She nodded back. "None taken."

Lex considered.  "Was it a joke between friends or serious?"

Layla shook her head. "That wasn't serious." 
Meanwhile, Ashton shrugged. "Would it have made a difference to you?"

"Yes, unless I didn't know the other guy," Lex said honestly.  "Like if it was you? I'd just shove you or something."

Ashton shifted a little. The topic was making him uncomfortable, so he tried to change it. "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Uh-huh," Lex muttered.  "Go talk to him about your issue.  As for the other thing, let's walk outside."

Ashton nodded, very wary now as he followed Lex. What was so important and secretive he felt the need to talk all the way outside to prevent from being overheard?
Layla looked at Lex. "Want me to come too?" She asked.

(I don't remember exactly what I was thinking of, so I'm just going to go with this thing I was thinking of, but not sure if it was the original or not.)

"Not this time, but thanks," Lex said, indicating for Ashton to head out the door.  "Keep an eye on Tramp.  If he's trouble, call me.  Or just have Sam beat him up."

Layla nodded and went to read in the living room while Ashton headed outside on the front porch. "What's up?"

"First, teach your boy some manners.  It'll save all of us some headaches," Lex grumbled.  "Now, as for the other thing... I've got an idea for what you and I could do for fun and maybe money."

Ashton nodded. "And what would that be?" He asked curiously.

Lex leaned against the railing.  "Weird thing happened while I was out.  These two people came up to me and asked if I knew Tony.  You remember Tony, right?  Lost kid, just surviving, probably regrets running away."

Ashton thought for a moment. "Yeah... rail thin scrap trying to thief for money, right?"

"That one," Lex nodded.  "Turns out, they were his parents trying to find him.  Figured maybe we should talk him into giving them a chance."

Ashton turned a bit wary. "What was your impression on the parents?"

"Desperate," Lex said bluntly, "and they weren't putting on a show, either.  They meant it."

Ashton still remained wary. "Did you know or remember why he ran away in the first place? There's always a reason..."

"Yeah, and usually it's a stupid reason like, 'they won't let me see boys,' or 'they don't understand my goth style,'" Lex pointed out.  "But no.  That's why I said talk to him about giving them a chance."

Ashton nodded, relaxing a bit. "What's the potential turnout for this?"

"The parents are offering a small reward for information, but it's not much, and I don't care about it.  Potentially, we could get a kid back with his parents.  If it's something bad, they never have to know where he is," Lex shrugged.

Ashton nodded. "If you want, I can take a walk and see what I can gather now to help later."