Fighting Butterflies (BoyxBoy)

Fifteen

"I..." Ryan breathed in as he licked his lips, suddenly feeling shy and slightly self-conscious. He had thought about what to say during the entire drive back from the Alpaca Sanctuary, but for some reason, now that he and Drew were parked in front of his house, Ryan wasn't sure how to get the words out.

It wasn't that Ryan was scared or even confused by the situation at hand... he felt strangely satisfied with how things turned out. For someone who had just gone on his first ever date with the person he shared his first kiss with, with the person he saw as his first love, Ryan didn't feel particularly bothered by the sense of finality that had started to leak in his heart like water from a broken pipe. Now that Drew had gone on a date with him, he couldn't possibly want Ryan anymore, could he? The blond boy wondered if this was really the end. He knew it was coming, and though he had thought he would be heartbroken by it, it didn't hurt yet.

"You okay?"

"Hmm?" Ryan's eyes widened as he turned to Drew.

"Are you okay?"

Ryan squinted his eyes in confusion but only for a moment before he nodded quickly. "Yeah, of course. I am," he stated, forcing a smile. But the look on Drew's face showed that the dark skinned boy could see through him clearly.

"Tell me, what's going on up here?" Drew tapped the side of Ryan's head gently as he asked that which made the blond boy blush slightly.

Taking in a deep breath, he smiled softly at the senior, genuinely this time. "I... I wanted to say that I really enjoyed the date," he said.

Drew grinned widely. "I did too," he said as he took Ryan's small hands in his. "I'm glad you agreed to come with me."

"Me too," whispered Ryan. The two remained quiet for a moment as they stared into each other's eyes, their hearts beating loudly against their chests. Drew leaned in first, his face drawing closer and closer to Ryan. And right when the blond boy thought Drew's lips was gonna fall on his, the boy turned slightly and kissed Ryan on the cheek. And all Ryan could think, or perhaps hope, was for Drew to say that maybe... that maybe there was a slight possibility that he enjoyed their date so fucking much that he couldn't think of dating Nora.

Ryan could hope. Hope wasn't a crime. But even he knew when the last candle was meant to be put out.

"Think your dads are back yet?" Drew asked as he glanced at the house in front of them. Ryan turned to look at the house as well, noticing that only the lights on the front porch was on.

"I don't think so," he said. "It's their date night and they usually- oh my god," he gasped as his eyes landed on a hooded figure who stood only a few meters away from the car. "That's Ruxie."

"Your friend?" Drew questioned as his eyes followed Ryan's line of sight. The blond boy nodded. "Think he saw us?"

"They," Ryan immediately corrected and shrugged. "I'm not sure. I... I think they did," he sighed. "I mean, it was gonna come out in the end anyway." Biting his lip, Ryan turned to Drew, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and a whole lot guilty at getting caught in the car with him. This was not how he had imagined for all of this to go down. He hadn't given it much thought, but maybe this was his karma; to be caught red-handed in a car with Drew after being on a date with him.

And while Ryan felt guilty for the entire situation, he felt even more guilty for being relieved that it was Ruxie who stood in front of his house watching him and not Nora.

"You gonna be alright?"

Ryan wet his lips as he brought his eyes away from his friend and looked at Drew. He nodded, sighing. "I have to be," he said, knowing that there was no way to get out of this.