room 207 | shyland ✓

twenty two

"decide." the word flashed in front of my eyes and echoed down my spine and etched itself onto every inch of my skin.

"sh- shane." i blurted and my eyes widened and my head snapped upwards because i hadn't even felt the words fall out of my mouth.

the mask's straight lipped smile morphed into a smirk. "it's a shame, ryland. but it's too late now. you don't have a choice anymore. perhaps you never did." his grip on shane's bleeding body loosened and he went plummeting downwards and i awoke to the sound of his screams.

at first, as i sat shuddering in my own immature state of panic, i couldn't catch my breath. as i tried to control my lungs, the only question running through my mind was why on earth had i dreamt of choosing him? it wasn't as if anything was still there between us, there never would be, and regardless of whatever the little slip up had been yesterday, we were done.

"ow, fuck!"

i screwed my eyes closed as my mind continued to play tricks on me. i could hear shane's cursing in pain softly in the background and i shook my head rapidly, running my hands through my hair as i squeezed my eyes shut.

"motherfucker!" i heard and my eyes widened because by this point i'd fully gained consciousness and i was not dreaming anymore. begrudgingly, with nerves trickling down my skin, i hauled myself out of bed and stretched before putting on my glasses and walking over to my window. i clicked my little desk lamp on. it was the end of june, and the weather was hot and sticky at night. the only thing that covered my body was some nike running shorts and this huge t shirt that i'd bought at target the month we broke up because it had that stupid fucking band he liked on it and back then i thought that maybe i could cling onto the last little memories i had left of him without tearing my family apart.

my eyes adjusted as i stared into the dark, the sidewalk and my driveway illuminated by the dewy glow of the streetlamps. i blinked a few times and squinted, trying to see who on earth was hopping around my driveway with their foot in their hand with a unanimous object beside them.

"stupid thing." the figure muttered in annoyance and went to kick it before whining as his foot hit the object once more. i recognised the voice and my breath hitched, my stomach doing flips on itself.

"what the fuck are you doing?" i whisper-shouted through the window and shane's face jerked up to meet mine, a sheepish look crossing his face.

"well, you see.." despite the distance, i could clearly see him bite his lip as he scratched the back of his neck. he leaned down and picked up the cylinder at his feet, before raising it slightly in the air. "this is part of your drain pipe."

"what the fuck." i repeated, this time to myself under my breath. "why are you stood in my driveway in the middle of the night with part of my plumbing system in your hand?"

he grinned a little and it took all of my willpower not to let his infectious smile travel onto mine. "i was trying to climb up your wall and through your window to speak to you, but it turns out this whole romeo and juliet thing is not all it's cracked up to be."

"go home, shane. please." i begged, my heart aching at the mere sight of him. his presence pained me and the affect he had on me hadn't altered, not even half a year later.

the auburn boy's face fell. "look, you just left earlier, and i have something important to tell you. please. please let me come up." he pleaded and i hesitated, feeling every fibre in my body telling me to shut the window and go back to sleep and pretend none of this was even happening. "please, ryland. i fell, like, at least six feet trying to scale up your drain pipe and sneak inside without your mom and dad hearing. i know they've still got those electric locks on the door, i can hear them beeping from outside."