I Think I Love You | Randy

track 11. you've got a friend - carole king

Rye shrugged. "Yeah mostly. We would just talk about stuff, you know? He was helping with... you know what? It doesn't matter. It's done."

"Helping with what?" I urged. I didn't understand what Rye could possibly have going on that made him feel like he needed someone like Sonny to confide in when he had me. Sure. I had Brook and the musical and school, but I was always going to put him first when he needed me and he knew that. It was why he had called me tonight.

"Let's just go to bed," Rye decided, getting up off the couch. I watched him walk into the bathroom, desperately wanting to follow so I could push him further. But I knew it would be useless.

I went to bed, thoughts spinning. Rye clearly didn't want to talk about it, but whatever had happened had obviously affected him, it was clear from the way he sounded on the phone, and the way he had broken down when I found him. He had been scared. I knew that was something Rye wouldn't easily admit to, but I could sense it on him. I only hoped it was enough for him to realise that whatever he got out of hanging out with Sonny wasn't worth it.

I felt the bed dip behind me as Rye shuffled under my duvet. "Can I sleep here?" He asked in a whisper. I just hummed a yes back in response, somewhat relieved that he still needed me even if he couldn't talk to me about it. His arm wrapped around me and I snuggled back against him as he buried his nose in the crook of my neck, this all feeling so natural with him. I hated how much better it felt than cuddling with Brook. But I supposed he was just familiar. Somewhere along the line, the shape of his body against mine had started to feel like home.

He placed a soft kiss against my neck, the placement of it, however accidental, touching a sensitive point on the skin, a soft sigh slipping past my lips. I played it off as sleepiness, snuggling down further into my pillow, but though the hair stood up on the back of my neck. Rye kissed me there again, his lips slightly parted this time, wet against my skin, and I had to bite back the moan that wanted to escape. He was just being affectionate, nothing out of the ordinary, yet it made my heart speed up. I willed my body to calm down, forcing myself to give in to sleep. I tried to remember that his heartbeat against my back, matching mine best for beat, was just a product of the adrenaline probably still pumping through his system, even as my dreams would inevitably try to convince me otherwise.

***

Rehearsals intensified in the weeks leading up to Christmas break. The show was due to open early January and we needed to be at a stage in our performance where we could go straight into tech week once the break was over. It was going to be a hellish time, with exams starting shortly after the show closed, but I was used to the overcommitted schedule that came with being a theatre kid.

Brooklyn had told me that my apology wasn't necessary when I offered it to him in our first rehearsal back after the Rye incident. But he had become distant nonetheless, sticking closer to Jack than I preferred, who in turn was way too convincing at playing a character who hated my character's guts. Brook and I also hadn't fooled around in nearly two weeks which made sense due to our schedules but was worrying all the same, making me feel like I blew my one chance at sex with him that would actually be satisfying for me. But there was nothing I could do but wait and see what happened, and right now I was so tired from the constant rehearsals. I sat down next to Olivia at the end of our final session before break, rubbing my shoulder.

"That looked like it hurt that time," she commented. In the scene we had just played, Jack had to barge past me in the 'school corridor' and when he'd done it this time it'd just about knocked me flat with how much force he used.

"I'm not being crazy right? He hates my guts."

"He hates everyone's guts," Olivia pointed out rightfully. Jack was no friendlier with the rest of the cast, but in my case it just seemed like he went the extra mile.