Mr. Lone Boy /BoyxBoy/

||Sixteen||

He let out a struggling laugh. "You have no idea."

"Ask her out."

"What if she says no?"

I shrugged. "What if she says yes?"

He shook his head, looking sick to the stomach just at the thought of asking this woman out.

"Okay...try talking to her first. Let her see you for you," I tried.

"How?"

"Rob, what do people love the most about you?"

He shrugged. "My skills. In bed."

I almost face plamed. "I meant personality wise."

He frowned. "I don't know."

"Well, you're kind of funny. And you're always happy to help out," I said. "Show her that. Talk to her, be yourself, and I'm sure all those traits will come out of you naturally."

I watched as his face slowly transformed from distraught to hope. The creases on his face smoothed out and his frown turned upside down.

Then he stood abruptly and said, "Thank you so much, Nate."

"Sure."

"I'll see you around!" he grinned and rushed to the door.

"You're going now?" I asked, standing up from my position.

"Yes! Thanks again, bye!" he grinned before rushing out the door.

I watched the door shut behind him and I sunk back in the couch.

I wasn't usually one to give advice. Usually, advice would be given to me, not the other way around.

Usually, I wouldn't feel so sad after seeing someone so happy.

But usually I was alone, and that's exactly how I felt then.

Alone. Lonely.
~

"So...I kind of just left," I said as I finished summing up what happened with Devin, Ian, and most importantly (to Tom, at least) Jake.

The café was having one of its lazy days, where not many customers filled up the chairs, and the band's only audience were the workers and the few people in the building itself.

"Wait, you guys broke up?"

"That's the thing," I said. "We were never really together to begin with. You said it yourself, things with him were not...normal."

"I know. What you had was dangerous, and one of you was bound to get hurt. It just happened to be Jake."

"I'm hurting too," I said, but both of us knew it wasn't the same kind of hurt.

"What went wrong?"

I shrugged. "He said he liked me and I just freaked."

"Why?"

"I don't know!"

Tom sighed. "He said you were scared..."

"Do you think he's right?" I asked, my heart clenching.

"Maybe," he shrugged.

"I know. But it doesn't make sense..."

"What?"

"The way I feel," I said impatiently as I rapidly tapped my shoe against the tiles. "My stomach flips when he kisses me, my heart races, I feel butterflies and all that cheesy stuff...you know, the signs."