Fixing The Scatter [boyxboy]

Some nights I dreamt about Gideon Marchesane.

In those dreams, Gideon and I would lie out on the bleachers together. Sometimes Gideon would hold my hand. Sometimes he'd talk, though I could never remember what he said when I woke up.

But some nights, I wished I'd never dream of him again.

On those nights, I'd dream that we were standing in a room together. Gideon would look at me with eyes that weren't quite his. He'd speak in a voice that didn't belong to him. It was familiar, changing, cruel. He would tell me

Ethan

that we were through, that he was breaking up with me, that he was angry at me because

Sonnet

I'd screwed up and there was nothing I could do to fix it, and then he'd say the thing I dreaded the most, he'd tell me

Benji

he didn't love me anymore.

Then I'd wake up, breathing too heavily. I'd wake up with my chest aching, desperately missing Gideon.

All because his friends had ruined us. Ethan. Sonnet. Benji. They'd ruined the relationship that I'd had with Gideon.

And then Benji had stolen him from me. Now Benji walked hand in hand with Gideon in the hallways at school. They kissed each other and Gideon would always smile when he pulled away from Benji. It drove me crazy.

"Jude?"

There was a knock on my door. I opened my eyes, looking up at the blank ceiling. I made no attempt to move or respond.

The knock came again. "Jude, I'm coming in!"

My door creaked open as my father stepped inside. I kept my gaze on the ceiling, body sprawled lazily on my bed.

"Hey, it's a nice day out. Do you want to go get lunch? We can eat outside at that place you like," dad offered.

"Not hungry." I had no desire to go out to eat with my father. He would just try to talk to me about school in hopes I would let something slip about Gideon. I hadn't told my parents the details behind our breakup, and I knew my dad was desperate to find out what had happened. He felt like he couldn't help me unless he knew.

Dad came over and lightly kicked at my bed. "I'm sure the ceiling is very fascinating, but would you mind looking at me when we talk?"

I let out an excessively long sigh as I let my gaze roll to him. He gave me a little smile and kicked at the bed again.

"Don't be a drama queen," he said.

"Can you leave? It's hard to be a drama queen with you here," I said.

He shook his head. "No can do, kid. It's a nice day out and I'd be a terrible father if I let you hole up in your room."

"What, do you want me to go out and tan?" I gestured to my already crisply tanned skin.

"I want you to go out and enjoy some fresh air," he said. "Why don't you invite your friends over? It'll be fun."