The Consequences of Falling In Love

25: The Consequences of Always

Back in the present timeline!

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"Always my foot," Royce muttered, wanting to smack himself which was nothing new, just the usual in his very normal life. Walking from one class to another, he could not help but feel something awkward setting into his bones and you may wonder why.

Well, who wouldn't be after waking up to the screams of the bus driver telling them to scram at their stop while he and Nathan were busy cuddling into each other's shoulder half asleep? Royce shivered in horror as the image popped into his head yet again. He was definitely going to get nightmares about that one.

For the last few days, he felt extremely bitter and the thought of facing Nathan made him tense and uneasy to no ends. Not to mention Royce was an absolute idiot for helping him in the first place. Somehow, someway, he always lets his emotions get the best of him and that sucks. He hates himself for being nice.

Nathan was supposed to be returning to school today. His three-day suspension was over and Royce had been devotedly avoiding any sort of interaction or running into him all day. So far he did a pretty good job.

Royce dragged himself to his last class, the one he had been dreading the most, the one he dislikes the most, and sat on the first desk because apparently, kids don't like sitting on the first row. His eyebrows were drawn together in a frown as he recalled the old times.

"You look constipated." Royce's gaze slid on the culprit of the voice and he hoped his glare was enough to show how annoyed he truly felt just by that one line, let alone their presence.

Nathan dropped on the empty seat next to Royce and although most of his bruises were healed, they were still somewhat visible if you focus really hard, not that Royce was staring or anything!

Nathan propped his chin on his bandaged fist, giving his full attention to him. "I was just kidding. You can stop glaring at me."

Royce's features melted into a cool expression and he lightly tapped his fingers to show he was totally unbothered while everything inside of him was crumbling into chaos. What was wrong with him? Did he hit his head on the way? Since when Nathan was this . . . casual and friendly with him?

The war's barely started.

"Very funny! Look I'm even laughing. Hahaha." Royce said in a monotonous voice, far from showing any sort of joy and clicked his tongue, burying his nose into the textbooks as fast as he could. In the hiding, his face contorted into a grimace. What a pain. Ten minutes into the lecture, he could barely understand a word.

Royce's fingers twitched every two seconds and he was hyper-aware of his surroundings, foot moving anxiously. Nothing was making sense to him. Physics never felt this difficult before, to be honest. To put it simply — Nathan's presence bothered him a lot.

By the time when the bell rang, Royce was sweating profusely, his thoughts a mess. He sprang out of his seat, collected his belongings, and left the classroom in a hurry. His mind was dead set on never looking back until a very familiar voice called him.

"Hey, Ray! Slow down." Nathan caught up to him, huffing out a breath. "I know you hate me and you have every right to do so . . ."

Royce shifted his weight from one leg to another. "Get to the damn point, Nathan."

". . . but I wanted to say thank you." His words carried the same sincerity Royce once loved seeing but now he hated him with a passion for being sincere and honest. Nathan readjusted the strap of his backpack and ran his fingers through his loose curls. Was he avoiding looking into Royce's eyes? "For . . . you know, uh, helping me." He scratched his ear, which was turning a light shade of pink. "I appreciate it."

Royce looked down to check the time on his watch. "Are you done?"

Nathan blinked, then the corner of his lips pulled up as if he was full-on expecting that exact response. "Yes, I am. You can leave."

"Okay." Royce walked out with a heavy feeling weighing him down. How could Nathan say those words with such ease?

Because he couldn't do the same.

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[A/N:- I sacrificed my sleep to get these chapters done. I wanted to post something on my birthday. I turned twenty today (or should I say yesterday since I'm late lmao!) Hope y'all enjoyed it. I'll be putting all my focus into finishing this book so expect lots of updates!]