The Chaotic Interim (boyxboy)

Chapter 34

“Fuck, I’m so nervous,” Carson whined. “I think I’m gonna throw up.”

Josiah cracked an eye open and watched his boyfriend who was laying down next to him. They were both out in the courtyard on campus, laying on the green grass. It was the middle of their second week back in classes and the sun was shining right through the leaves in the tree that they were under.

“Babe, don’t be nervous,” Josiah muttered lazily. Carson rubbed at his face with his hands. Josiah took one hand from underneath his head and held out his arm. “Come on.”

The brunet sighed and moved over so he could settle himself closer to his boyfriend. Josiah closed his eyes again and held Carson close to him. He felt so peaceful being there with the gentle breeze blowing over his heated skin in the shade. A bead of sweat rolled down his temple and he wiped it away with the back of his hand.

“Oh my God,” Carson whispered, horrified.

“Car, relax. Please.”

“Easy for you to say,” the brunet mumbled. “You don’t have to go meet Ayd in like five minutes.”

Trying to keep his annoyance at bay, Josiah said, “At least she wants to make up with you. She reached out to you, not me. You should be happy.”

Carson pursed his lips and leaned up to kiss his boyfriend on the cheek. “Sorry. I just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“It probably won’t be that bad. The last time I talked to her she tried to kill me.”

Carson laughed and sat up. He looked around and watched people walk by, heading to class or back to their dorms. “I hope that’s not how this will go.”

Josiah smirked and opened his eyes, sitting up as well. He leaned his face close to his boyfriend’s. “You should be fine. There will be witnesses.”

Carson closed the distance between their faces and pressed his lips softly to Josiah’s. They kissed for a few seconds and then the brunet backed off. He got to his feet and pulled his backpack up onto his shoulders.

“I’ll call you when we’re done. You can walk me home.”

“Of course,” Josiah said, putting a hand over his heart and pretending to be offended. “What kind of boyfriend would I be if I wasn’t already planning on it.”

Carson hummed and made it look like he was thinking hard. “Gee, I don’t know, maybe a non-clingy, less-paranoid one?”

Josiah smiled. “Luckily that’s not me. Now get going, you don’t wanna be late. And to make up for my protective tendencies, I’ll buy you ice cream on our way back to the apartment.”

The brunet grinned and bent down to give his boyfriend one last kiss. When he straightened up, he waved and said, “Bye, love you.”

“Love you too.”

Carson tried to shake the nerves off and headed towards the coffee shop he and Ayden had planned to meet at. It was only a couple minute walk away and when he got there, he spotted her right away. He put a smile on his face, hoped he didn’t look too nervous, and walked over to the small table in the back that the blonde was sitting at.

Ayden smiled brightly when she saw her old best friend. Her chest ached with the knowledge that she had gone months without him. That hadn’t ever happened during their decade-long friendship before. She didn’t care what she had to do, she was getting her gay best friend back. She missed him too much.

“Hey, Car,” she said, keeping calm.

The brunet’s smile instantly became genuine. “Hey.”

The blonde gestured at one of the empty chairs next to her. “Sit down. How’ve you been?”

Carson took the seat and shrugged. “Eh, alright. How are you doing? You look amazing!”

Ayden smiled. “Thanks. I feel a lot better. About everything, really.”

Carson nodded, understanding. “Oh, well that’s good.”

“Yeah, so we have a lot to talk about.” Ayden paused to see if her friend was going to say anything. When he stayed silent she said, “Why didn’t you bother telling me about what you and Joe did?”

The brunet tried to keep his expression under control. He felt like he was going to start sweating like a pig, he was so nervous again. He really didn’t want to say the wrong thing. He took a breath and ran a hand through his locks.

“I was hoping we could pretend nothing ever happened,” he said honestly. “That’s why I broke up with him. I was so confused back then, I just really didn’t want to hurt anybody.”

Ayden nodded, letting her mind process the words. “I’m not gonna lie, Car. You did hurt me. You both did.”

The brunet frowned. “I’m so sorry. I’m not even sure you can understand how awful I feel about it all.”

The blonde smiled lightly. “I know you are. I’ve been trying to forgive you. I think I’m almost there.”

Carson’s eyebrows shot up. “You are?”

Ayden nodded. “Yeah. My dad is really persuasive as you know. You may have fucked me over, but you’re still my best friend. I love you, Car. I think I can let it go.”

Carson’s shoulders immediately slumped in relief. “Oh my God. You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to hear that.”

“Are you and Joe back together?”

Carson hesitated but eventually said, “Yeah...we are.”

“Will you break up with him?”

The brunet tried not to let his eyes bug out of his head. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn’t. He was speechless and floundering for words.

Ayden grinned. “You really love him, don’t you?”

Carson’s brows knitted together in confusion. “What? Yeah, I do, but...”

“Car, I’m not going to make you break up with him in order to be my best friend again,” the blonde said. “I just wanted to see how you felt about him.”

“And?”

“And...I know you’re not a bad person, I know you. If you’re actually willing to pick a guy over your best friend then I think that shows you really, really love him. You guys may have done something really stupid, but I think I can try to support your relationship.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m not saying that I won’t give you guys crap about it. And I am still a little bitter, but I miss you. I want my best friends back.” Ayden flipped her hair over her shoulder and pretended to look smug. “Besides, there’s plenty of other guys out there who are much better than Joe. Ones that are straight.”

Carson snickered and Ayden joined in. “I’m so lucky to have you,” the brunet said. “I think you’re the only person who would bother to forgive us for what we did.”

Ayden simply shrugged. “You win some, you lose some. I may have lost a boyfriend, but I’m not gonna lose the friendships that were there all along.” Ayden raised a brow curiously. “How long have you liked him for?”

Carson blushed. “Honestly? Since high school.”

The blonde’s eyes went comically wide and she exclaimed, “Holy fuck, Carson! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because! No one knew I was gay. And he was supposed to be straight.” Carson pursed his lips. “I’m sorry I stole your man, Ayd. I really did think you guys were cute together.”

Ayden grinned. “Find me someone better and we’ll call it even, okay?”

Carson chuckled. “You got it.”

The blonde spread her arms and said, “Okay, bring it in. We gotta hug it out now. We’re officially back on best friend status.”

Carson didn’t hesitate for a second to lean in and wrap his arms around the blonde. Getting his best friend back made him feel more accomplished and blessed than ever before.