Devil's Fate

Other People's Business

The library was quiet, despite being packed, and Mike was surprised to see he was not alone when he looked up from his book and stretched his neck. Somehow he'd managed to get his mind fully involved in studying instead of worrying about Chester and what his day would be like once Jason arrived. Jason. Fuck. I know Ches doesn't want to be anywhere around him. He's desperate. I hope it's not a waste of time. I hope Jay knows Ryan as well as Ches thinks he does, or he'll just be in L.A. for no reason. God, I don't want to see him. I told Ches I don't want to see him. I can hide here all day if I have to.

Mike looked at his watch. It was close to time for Chester to leave out and meet Jason at the coffee shop. Chester had been careful to tell him all about the plan to meet somewhere that wasn't Mike's apartment and wasn't Amir's, either. It had been a quiet goodbye that morning before he left for the library. Even Cheese seemed to know something wasn't right, as though Chester and Mike's worrying had transferred over to her somehow. She lay on the floor with her head between her paws, watching Mike while he got his backpack and kissed Chester goodbye with the promise of dinner later. It had been hard to leave the apartment knowing his boyfriend was going to meet up with Jason.

Jason. Mike sighed. His feelings about the whole situation, and Jason in particular, were complicated. He'd stayed silent, mostly, fearing that he would say the wrong thing to Chester. Despite how good the last several months had been between them, he didn't want to set their progress back with a misspoken word. It had nothing to do with his feelings for Jason; Mike was far removed from the confusion and jealousy that had led him into Jason's arms. There lingered a certain level of love for Jason, but he wasn't in love with Jason. There was no thought of temptation or desire when it came to his ex. All of Mike's apprehension was built around the knowledge that seeing Jason again would only serve to drive home how terrible the decision making, the pain he'd caused Chester, the complete abandonment of his morals, had been. Jason no longer represented a life he thought he wanted, but a life he'd almost thrown away.

Fretting over it now wasn't going to help him pass his finals, and he knew that. It was bad timing all the way around, but Mike hoped Ryan could be found and brought back from what sounded to him like a very dangerous lifestyle. Mike decided his mental break had been long enough. He picked up his coffee cup and frowned. It was almost empty, which meant he'd have to get up in a minute and go to the little cafe on the first floor for more. He ducked his head back to his theory notebook, resolved to finish looking over his notes for that class before he went for more coffee.

Coffee was the first thing on Matt Harris' list when he entered the library before noon. The line wasn't too long, and he ordered two the way he always did. It was one of his favorite ways to start a conversation with Mike Shinoda, and he was certain with finals coming up that he'd find his favorite student in the library. He was continually fascinated with the fact that Mike spent hours in the library when he could just as easily study at his apartment. Today he was dying to find Mike and get the scoop on the woman with the ponytail that had been looking for Chester the night before. It had been the subject of conversation between him and Dan for at least twenty minutes, but they hadn't come to any conclusions, and Matt wanted to know. He almost laughed at how predictable Mike was when he got to the third floor and found his student in the corner, books and notebooks all over the four person table though he was sitting alone.

"Need a refill?" Matt asked, stopping at the chair across from Mike. The surprise on Mike's face when he looked up was thrilling.

"Um, yeah, sure," Mike answered, reaching for the coffee Matt was holding out. "Thanks. I was just about to go down and grab some more."

"It's like I could read your mind," Matt offered as he sat down and leaned over to see what Mike was studying. "Theory? You actually study for my class? Here I was thinking you were just a natural." He loved the way Mike's cheeks blushed at the compliment.