-Scared to Speak- •TomTord• DISCONTINUED

chapter 9 : salmon swim upstream

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The male clad in dark green frowned down at Tord. Tord seemed frozen in place, staring up at the other. 

Eduardo let out a low, sinister chuckle. 

"Aren't you that dorky kid from highschool? I'd recognize you by your camera... guess you're still into that stupid hobby..." He remarked with a bit of remembrance, sending a shiver down Tord's spine.

He knew he'd never be able to find Tom if he was stuck here. Oh, why did he have to run into this particular person?

"Y-yeah... no- no, I'm not- I just like wearing it... for some reason..." Tord glanced at the ground in shame, but also in thought.

Maybe he could run.

He only wanted to find Tom, not deal with Eduardo.

 Tord's heart pounded in his chest at the thought of running. He could. But he might get himself into quite the wrong spot if he did.

 "So, uhm... Met any... New people, lately..?" Tord decided to try and play it safe for the time being, using his skill of talkative-ness to get out of the situation. "Graduating really opened up the opportunity to stumble across someone you've never met... And want to know more about..."

 Eduardo raised an eyebrow, then almost surprisingly, shrugged. "Nah. I prefer to stay with the same friends I've got. I wouldn't want to run into a loser like you, and be forced to talk to them." He said with ease. Tord wasn't sure whether to feel hurt or frustrated at the moment.

 "Yeah, yeah...! Same here..." 

 "Speaking of which, I've got better things to do than talk to you. But I'll be sure to find you elsewhere."

 The taller of the two shoved Tord aside before he continued walking the way he was going before Tord ran into him.

A wave of relief and panic hit Tord like a truck.

He continued walking in his own direction to find Tom, but now he had another thing to worry about. Eduardo doesn't know where he lives. It could be possible to avoid contact if he stayed at home. Yeah, yeah. He could do that.

But what about Tom? This whole kiss situation was starting to bug Tord. When he did find Tom, what was he supposed to say?

'Oh hey I know you hated yourself for kissing me back there but it's all good we can pass it off like it never happened.'

No that sounds dumb. Especially when spoken in his mind.

Maybe, 'Hey, I forgive you for whatever you're actually sorry for, kissing me or running off I don't know, '

...

Tord hit his knuckle against his forehead as he walked, mentally scolding himself for thinking of those things. Tom was sensitive. And Tord knew that. So why couldn't he just pick something nice to say?

He sighed and let his silver gaze dart around on the search for his friend.

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Tom crouched down on the soil and rock, falling down onto his knees soon after. Tears pricked his void-like eyes once again as he stared at the river before him. 

Fish swam without a care in the world, splashing about without worrying about, well, anything.

As Tom carefully watched them swim; envy swelled beside his sadness. 

These fish probably had way better lives than he did. They dream of making it to the other side of the river, and they swim and swim, and they make it. Tom had a dream to become a poet and possibly an artist. He tried and tried, but he never succeeded. How come the fish are able to but he can't?