Fighting Butterflies (BoyxBoy)

Eighteen

Ryan winced in pain from the tight grip of Cain hand around his arm. He frowned, pouting as he glanced at the boy's hand and looked back up at the senior. It had been about five minutes since the two left the grocery store. Cain walked ahead, pulling Ryan along the streets near the park. The blond boy remained quiet as he watched the senior, but his mind was anything but as he wondered what was going through Cain's mind.

"Where are we going?" He breathed out, asking him again.

"You'll see," Cain mumbled.

Ryan swallowed and averted his eyes, feeling slightly annoyed by the lack of actual answers from Cain. Cain couldn't be that angry with him, could he? He wasn't sure why he thought he was getting punished for avoiding the tall boy in front of him, but for some reason, Ryan's mind loved being extreme and he hated himself for it. He bit his lip and glanced at the back of Cain's head, stopping in his steps and pulling the senior back to an abrupt stop. Cain turned to him, eyes dark and narrowed.

"Can you let go of my hand then? You're hurting me," Ryan grumbled and Cain's hand opened as if on impulse, releasing him.

The senior gulped, his eyes moving over him slowly as the boy rubbed his arm gently. He hadn't meant to grab him so forcefully but it was the only way he knew to get Ryan to stop running. "Sorry," he said softly, lifting his eyes until they met Ryan's curious gaze. As if by default, Cain's stopped and stared into them for a minute, somehow curious as to how a person could look so innocent. It didn't make sense. Nothing did.

"It's okay," Ryan sighed, rubbing his hand gently which was still warm. "Can you tell me where we're going? It's kinda late and my dad's gonna look for me." He breathed out, stretching his arms and putting them on his waist.

The tall boy watched him for a moment, as if trying to figure him out. And if he had to admit, there wasn't much about Ryan to figure out. The boy was an open book. He wore his emotions on his sleeve, his face... his eyes. Cain pinched his nose, his lips turned up slightly and he composed himself as he ran his hand through his hair, messing up the middle part but it bounced back perfectly anyway. Turning to face Ryan fully, he put both hands on the boy's shoulders, leaning in so their faces were mere inches apart.

Ryan shivered. He gulped, tried to take a step back but Cain kept him still, like an anchor keeping a ship steady.

"Just... walk with me for a bit. No talking. That okay?"

Ryan's brows knitted into a frown as he tried to make sense of the situation. He wanted to say no, to go back home where he was safe and not at the mercy of someone who knew his secrets, but for some reason, he found himself nodding. Cain smiled at him... it was a quick one. Ryan wouldn't have even noticed if he hadn't already been staring at the senior's face, but it was there.

He can smile? The blond boy scoffed, shaking his head as he followed Cain who had now put his hands in his pocket instead of grabbing Ryan like before. He watched him... there was a lot going on here that Ryan couldn't make sense of. And it wasn't like he didn't try to figure it out. Cain was just... a mystery.

"You gonna stop staring at me?" The tall boy questioned out of the blue without looking back. "I feel like you're trying to stab me in the head with your eyes."

"Uh... sorry."

Cain scoffed. He nodded and bit his lip. He blinked, his heart raced and he gulped.

Ryan took out his phone to send a text to his father. And mostly because he had been caught looking and he wanted to anything but that. I'm with a friend right now. See you later. He sent the text and put his phone on airplane mode. Before he knew it, he and Cain had walked all the way from the grocery store near the park to the mall which was about a twenty minute walk.