Through a strange series of encounters, a delinquent high schooler and upright university student find love. *****
No longer interested in clubbing, kissing girls, and committing petty crimes, 18-year-old Riley is trying to find meaning in his dull...
There was a too-long silence before Riley replied, "What about my apartment? The rent includes utilities and is wired straight to the landlady. It's not like I can tell my dad I'm leaving home when he's paying to keep it."
"He's paying for an empty apartment. The month is over; won't your dad notice the amount difference? Or is the landlady dishonest enough to give him false numbers? Even if you worked out a deal with her to keep him from finding out, do you really think you can keep up that lie?" Oh... Am I being too harsh?
Riley was looking down, his sad eyes shifting as if he were looking for adequate answers.
"I'm not saying you have to live with me. I just want you to know what can happen if things stay as they are." Does... Does he actually think his dad will come back home? Even if he showed up, it wouldn't be permanent. Does he really think that or is he trying to fool himself? It's not like I'm telling him to abandon his family. Eran then realised something. Oh. That's what that apartment stands for. His family. I shouldn't have asked.
"Are there any other reasons you want me to move here?"
"It's okay. Nevermind. I don't want you to stress about it." When hell breaks loose, I'll be here to protect him. So if he wants to run away, it's okay.
"I'm not—" Riley stopped in hesitation.
Crap. I have no choice but to... "I love you." That got Riley's full attention. Is this another result of our age gap? If he was past being completely supported by a parent... "Whatever it is—I mean, for anything, you can take as long as you need to decide. Because I can wait. And if you need me to, I'll protect you."
With the way Riley was staring, Eran was a little worried about what would happen next. So he stood up and started to clear his dishes from the table. "Well, I'm going to take an early shower." He started walking towards the bathroom. "Oh," he paused and turned halfway around to Riley, "I'll always support you too." Quickly, he escaped to the bathroom. Even after a minute of leaning against the bathroom door, he heard no signs of Riley moving.
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"Eran..." Riley called softly from the couch as he ran his fingers through Eran's hair.
Eran was sitting on the floor typing notes on his laptop. "Hmm?" he hummed. Riley's fingers felt good in his hair and he fantasized about them moving with more force and passion as the couple—if Eran kept thinking, blood would be rushing to more places than just his cheeks...
"If I had never confessed to you, where do you think we'd be now?"
Eran pondered for a moment. "You mean from the time we first met, up to now, you never told me about your feelings." Eran once again was silent as he thought. Finally, he responded: "I confessed because I realized my feelings only when you confessed. So, maybe I'd have gone on not understanding my feelings for you. Apparently, I'm dense, but if I noticed without you telling me... I'm not sure. I might still realize my own feelings but hide them out of fear. Or kiss you, knowing you'd kiss me back. If I realized my own feelings, but not yours, I probably wouldn't confess."
