Oh God.

Graham.

He had to have seen it too by now.

"...Graham's going to fucking hate my guts!" His hands were over his eyes as his head moved back down.

"I didn't know you two were..." Jamie tried to look for the words. "...that serious." His tone sounded as if he were trying to be careful with what he said.

Damon groaned. "We're not. Or...Maybe...No, we're not." His hands stayed over his eyes. "If we had anything it's probably fucked now."

The other boy didn't say anything for a moment. Damon was beginning to get paranoid that this would change things between them, too. Jamie was his best friend. They'd been best friends since before he'd even gone into show business. When Damon wanted to move to get away from it, the first thing Jamie had said is that he wanted to come too. "It'll be like extended vacation," he'd reasoned. "Mum won't mind. She likes you well enough anyways. Mostly because I do."

What did he think of him now?

Did he even think anything?

He heard him sigh. "What's done is done. Not like you can do anything about it now. But...You like Graham, don't you?"

"Too much, I think." Isn't that why we're in this mess? He thought.

"Then I think you should go to him."

Damon raised his head to turn and look at him, his hands resting at his sides. "I can't do that, he won't want to even look at me, I know it."

"If you really care about him, you'll at least try to explain." He elaborated. "And if he really cares about you, he'll listen."

That was all the explanation he needed.

Quickly, Damon got to his feet and put on his shoes and jacket, ready to head out. As he stood at the door, he turned back to his friend. "Oh, um...Does mum know about this yet?"

"That's who you should explain things to next."

"Got it."

He turned back to the door, but then remembered another thing he had to say. "Oh, Jamie?"

"Yeah?"

Damon smiled. "Thank you."

Jamie met his smile with one of his own. "It's what I'm here for."

And with that, Damon was off into the gray and cloudy afternoon, now left with only his thoughts and the trip ahead.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Instead of knocking on the door, he figured it would be wisest, ironically enough, to knock on the window. "Graham? You in there?"

The curtains were pulled over the glass, but he saw a hand on the corner of them move them aside a bit, only to immediately move them completely to one side, revealing Graham's figure on the window seat. Slowly, the window opened, allowing him to speak. "Oh. It's you."

Damon was a little disappointed by Graham's flat tone of voice, but he ignored the feeling. "Yeah. It's me." He cleared his throat, nervous butterflies roaming in his stomach as he searched for what to say. "Listen, Graham, I-"

"You don't have to say anything." He interrupted. "I saw the paper."

"Graham-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" His voice sounded genuinely heartbroken. "I might've been a little starstruck at first, but...It would've been better than finding out this way!"

"I didn't want you to know, okay?! I didn't want anyone to know! The reason I left London was to get away from all of it!"

"Well, it looks like it caught up to you, doesn't it?" Graham's voice was cold, which only made Damon feel all the more guilty.

"Graham..." Damon stepped closer to the window. "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? That's all you have?" Graham was clearly very upset. "Do you have any fucking idea what all this has caused?! My parents saw the paper before I could even get to it! Th-they won't even look at me the same way!" His voice was breaking, the pain beginning to show more with each word that fell out. "A-And now everyone knows! The band, the whole fucking city, everyone! Everyone knows I'm..."

Damon could see small tears forming in the boy's sad, brown eyes. It was tearing him apart. "Please, Graham, I didn't know they were going to see us! I didn't want any of this to happen!" Even he was starting to get choked up now, his voice a plea, filled with all the sincerity he could muster. He didn't care about how loud he was being. "I care about you, Graham! I...I love you!"

No one said anything for a moment. Graham's eyes, shining with tears, were locked onto Damon's. He looked like at any moment he would break down, but his face looked vulnerable. He looked as though maybe his words may have gotten through to him. Damon was hoping that he felt the same, but he knew he had very slim chances after what all had happened. Or did he?

Suddenly, Graham blinked, the tears streaming down his face, and straightened his posture. "I-If you really love me," he placed emphasis on the word love. "You should go."

Damon could practically feel his heart shatter. "What? Graham, please."

He just shook his head, then looked away. "You've done enough. Just go."

Damon blinked, trying to hold back his own tears. He could only just stand trying to catch his breath. He felt completely hopeless. Everything hurt. Especially this. Suddenly, he clenched his fist. "W-Well, yknow what? Fine!" He snapped. "I will go! I-I'll go back to London, and we can pretend none of this happened!"

Graham didn't say or do anything except just shut the window, moving the curtains back to their previous position. This only hurt Damon more.

"Alright, be that way!" He shouted, though it immediately felt wrong to say. "I give you my heart and you fucking stomp on it! Bastard!"

He regretted everything he said the moment he said it.

Maybe Graham was right. Maybe he should just go.

With a heavy heart, he turned away and began to walk back home, and just as quickly as he'd arrived, he was gone.

really could happen 💛 | blur + gramonWhere stories live. Discover now