Frustration -SERIES- [Part 2] Headphones & Reveries [boyxboy]

Chapter Twenty Two

After collecting myself and trying not to get too stupidly emotional over Conor, it was time to make good on the second half of my promise to Rachel.

'Where are you going?' Conor asked as I started to get ready to leave the room.

'Gotta have this talk with Josh,' I told him, then stopped, looking up at him. 'Without the marriage bit, obviously.'

'How long will you be?' he asked, then, at my expression, explained, 'I'm gonna have some separation anxiety for a while but I think that's probably normal.'

I laughed. 'No more than an hour, I promise. Then I'm all yours.'

'Tyler?'

'Yeah?'

'Are you really walking in Fashion Week on three continents?'

I grinned. 'Yeah.'

Conor shook his head. 'I'm so fucking proud of you.'

I beamed at him, and turned to leave, but then remembered something, and went to sit on the edge of the bed again instead.

'There's one more thing,' I said tentatively.

Conor looked alarmed. 'What kind of thing? Like a bad thing?'

'No, but... Well, it's the kind of thing I would have usually talked to you about first, and also I would really appreciate if you didn't make fun of me about it.'

'Not really in the mood to make fun of you right now, Ty,' he said dubiously. 'All things considered. What is it?'

'Well,' I started, but then decided to just go for it and pulled my shirt off over my head, turning to face him as I began to peel the bandage off my tattoo. 'Chloe called it "reclaiming ownership of my body".'

'Oh my god,' Conor mumbled, looking at the fresh, reddened, still slightly inky tattoo of Name Withheld's logo I'd had permanently printed on my chest.

'You promised not to make fun of me,' I warned him, even as I realised he had done no such thing.

'I'm not gonna make fun of you, I'm gonna cry,' Conor whispered, moving closer to me and inspecting the tattoo closely. I wasn't really supposed to touch it other than to apply aftercare balm, but I figured a couple of seconds couldn't hurt so I took his wrist gently and positioned his forearm so his matching tattoo was resting just over mine, his hand on my shoulder.

He watched what I was doing and then looked up at me, and our faces were closer together than they had been in weeks. We both felt my heart speed up.

'Hey, you,' I whispered.

'Hey, you,' he whispered back.

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When I made my way back to the living room I noticed that almost everyone was sitting there now - including Josh. They must have noticed that Conor and I had disappeared because they all looked up at me cagily when I paused by the side of Josh's armchair.

'Hey,' I said to him, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

He looked up at me, scowling. 'Hey,' he muttered.

'Can we talk?'

'Say whatever you want,' he muttered.

'Josh,' Rachel, sitting beside Chloe, who was eyeing me intently, snapped, and he made a face.

'You too,' I said to her, and started walking towards the second living area and hoping they would follow me, trying not to feel like I was bouncing around the suite in some sort of self-pitying redemption dance.