MIXED MESSAGES ─ blyke x isen

v ─ secret?

He wasn't ready for people to know all of his business.

He wasn't ready to define what was going on between him and Blyke.

He wasn't even sure of his sexuality.

He wasn't ready for backlash.

He wasn't ready to be publicly posted on social media.

He wasn't ready for a round two of what happened when he was 12.

But how was he supposed to tell Blyke that? He didn't need to put that on his plate. Isen could handle it. Blyke didn't need to know.

"I'm not sure."

The two sat in silence for a couple of minutes. Not the good kind. The tense kind.

"We can keep it a secret," Blyke finally said. "For now."

Isen sighed in relief. "Okay," he replied. "For now."

Blyke went back to unpacking his things, and the two went back to sitting in silence. Less tense, this time. At least, Isen thought so.

"You can sleep on the side closer to the door," he suddenly blurted out. "So if someone breaks in, you'll be the meat shield."

Blyke raised an eyebrow and pointed at the curtains next to them. "And what if they come in through the window?"

"Eh, unlikely."

At that moment, the door opened, proving Isen's point. John walked through, gripping onto his backpack strap like it was about to run away. The door closed behind him.

It had just occurred to Isen that John was going to be in their room. He cleared his throat and looked over at Blyke. "See? What'd I tell ya?"

Blyke didn't respond.

"Where do I put my stuff?" John asked.

Isen watched as Blyke shut his eyes for a second. He was trying to calm down. Isen had the strong urge to go over and hold his hand. Secret, though.

"Anywhere's fine. As long as no one trips over it." Blyke made some gesture with his hand as he spoke.

"Okay," John replied.

The door to the bathroom suddenly opened. Arlo walked out, towel in hand. He immediately stared at John.

John opened his mouth to speak. "Arlo-"

"What the hell are you doing here?" He interrupted.

"I came here because you told me to."

"I told you to?" Arlo questioned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You voted for me!" John sputtered.

"And you took it as an invitation? What kind of reasoning is that?"

Blyke leaned over towards Isen. "It'd be really funny if they kissed right now," he whispered.

Isen nodded. "Perfect movie scene," he whispered back.

"I know you need me for something!" John shouted. "Don't try and hide it from me, Arlo!"

"Hey!" Blyke called out, clapping his hands. "HEY!"

Arlo and John turned to look at him.

"It's quiet hours, so keep it down!" He chided. "You're gonna wake our neighbors up!" He paused for half a second to calm down. At least, that's what Isen assumed. "Besides, we need to get ready for bed. We've got an early day tomorrow."

"Uh, so..." John started. "I thought it was two to a room. Why are there four of us?"

"Well, we didn't have time to make additional reservations. Arlo signed up last minute..." Blyke glared daggers at John. "And you weren't even supposed to be here." He sighed.