Kdin went ahead and took a seat next to Ray on the bus, although the second he sat down, he felt hands on his shoulders. He looked up expecting to see Gavin, but it was Michael, staring down at him with a small smile.
“Can I sit here today?” He asked Kdin.
Kdin furrowed his eyebrows and looked over at Ray for an answer, but Ray wasn't paying either of them attention. With a sigh, he nodded and got up, allowing Michael to take his place as he sat down in the seat behind them. Michael knew Ray wasn't going to talk to him, but he wanted to be near him, just in case.
Gavin noticed Kdin sitting alone, and he was going to join him, but Lindsay being the last to get on the bus, she decided to sit next to Gavin before he could leave. Gavin frowned a bit, though he smiled when she looked at him.
“Hey, Gav,” she greeted brightly.
“Hi, Lindsay,” he hoped he didn't sound off to her in anyway, but he might have, because she squinted her eyes slightly at him for a moment.
“Everything alright?” She ended up asking when she apparently did notice something wrong in Gavin's expression.
“I've just been thinking a lot about Ray,” Gavin nonchalantly answered, but he gasped when he realized he shouldn't have said anything.
“You mean like how he's been acting extra fidgety lately?”
Gavin's eyes widened as he stared at Lindsay, although he decided to play it a little dumb. “What do you mean?”
Lindsay sneaked a glance at Ray and Michael before sighing. “Michael told me that Ray came home the other night completely freaking out, but he doesn't know why because Ray won't tell.”
Well, that was certainly something Gavin wasn't aware of. He honestly assumed what he and Michael witnessed with Ray was going to be kept between them, for Ray's sake. Gavin raised his eyebrows as he looked over at Michael who was currently sitting next to Ray like they were absolute strangers.
“Michael told you all of that?” He asked Lindsay.
“Yep,” Lindsay replied.
There was no hiding the bit of irritation Gavin was feeling bubbling up inside, but really, it was over something so silly that he could have laughed at himself for it. He swallowed roughly and shook his head.
“I shouldn't be surprised that he told you,” he said softly, looking down at his hands.
Lindsay frowned and waited at first to see if Gavin would say more, though when he didn't, she asked, “Uh, is that a bad thing or?”
The corners of Gavin's mouth struggled to curl up as he looked Lindsay in the eye. “It's not bad at all,” and then he sighed loudly. “I'm sorry, Lindsay; I'm sure you two will be great together, but I just-”
Things never sounded as confusing as they did when Lindsay heard that, so she had to cut him off there and get some answers that hopefully did make some sense.
“Wait, Gav, what the hell are you talking about?”
Gavin tilted his head, but the more he realized Lindsay didn't know what he was talking about, the more that little irritation was turning into embarrassment. He breathed out a nervous laugh and shrugged.
Lindsay narrowed her eyes at him. “Gavin, tell me,” she pleaded.
“Linds, spare me from feeling completely idiotic.”
Lindsay's expression softened and Gavin's embarrassment grew.
“You thought there was something going on with Michael and me, didn't you?” She questioned him.
Gavin licked his lips and looked away. “Can you blame me for thinking that? You two just looked so together.” He wanted to sink into his seat, but he was torn from his thoughts when something hit the back of his head. It didn't take him long to know that Lindsay had smacked him there. He lifted his hand up to massage the spot she hit and hissed through his teeth, “Ow.”
“I can't believe you actually thought that,” Lindsay laughed.
“I made an assumption and my imagination ran wild with it.”
“Yeah, a little too wild. I mean, I'm not saying I never would, because Michael's absolutely adorable in every way, but I never would.”
Gavin raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled before further explaining.
“I'm just not interested in him like that.”
Gavin sighed in relief and Lindsay's eyebrows knitted together at that sound until she thought it over, and then she gasped softly. Gavin mentally cursed to himself for making himself look even more obvious, because he already knew what Lindsay was going to say to him.
“Oh my god, you like him,” she whispered, a grin forming on her face.
“How do you possibly do that?” Gavin asked her.
“Do what?”
“How do you always figure out the answers? All I had to do was sigh and you knew!”
Lindsay's smile faltered a little as she faced forward and shrugged. “My dad was a lawyer, so figuring things out was kind of his thing. I used to listen in on him trying to find ways that he could help his clients, and well, his witty thinking... I can never forget it; I think it kind of rubbed off on me.”
Gavin smiled sadly at her and when she looked back at him, she smiled a little bigger.
“Does he know?” She asked.
Gavin nodded. “Yeah, we've... we've had our moments,” he looked down, “Uh... we've kissed and-”
“So, wait, does that mean-”
“No,” Gavin quickly cut her off as he faced her, and he could see her smile slowly fading, “No, it doesn't.”
“Why not? Was it because you thought he and I were a thing?”
“It's because he doesn't want anything to happen between us.”
Lindsay raised her eyebrows and she sat back. “Did he say why?”
Gavin's eyes flickered to where Michael was sitting to find that it was the same sight – him and Ray looking like they didn't know each other at all.
“He just doesn't want to be in a relationship,” Gavin answered softly, looking away from Michael.
Lindsay glanced at Michael and then sighed before facing Gavin, “I know he's not exactly the most affectionate person, but if he really likes you, he might want to try someday.”
Gavin smiled weakly and shook his head. “That's the problem, Linds; he doesn't like me enough.” He saw Lindsay opening her mouth to speak some more, so he interrupted her before she could, “Don't say I don't know that, because I do.”
Lindsay slowly closed her mouth in defeat and frowned. She decided not to say anymore on the subject for the rest of the bus ride and although neither of them said anything about it, she knew this wasn't something she was going to go on and tell anyone.
The quietness between Michael and Ray was beginning to be the most uncomfortable thing that Michael finally rolled his eyes and spoke.
“It's your business, your privacy, so I get why you don't want to tell any of us what's going on with you, but Ray, I hope you never forget that we're here to listen.”
Ray side eyed him for a moment before scoffing and turning his attention back to whatever was going on outside.
Michael ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Ray, just saysomething.”
“Something,” Ray bitterly replied, although he did turn his head to look at Michael, “Get it in your head that I'm not going to tell you anything, because I just don't want to.”
“I already told you that I know that-”
“Then why do you keep talking to me?”
“I can't talk to you now?”
“No, because every time you do, it's about that, and I don't want to talk about that. I don't fucking care that you and everyone else is there for me. I don't, okay? So leave me alone and get over it like I'm trying to.Alright?”
Michael squinted his eyes at him, but his expression softened seconds later and he didn't bother saying anything more as they both turned away from each other.
It had been a few hours since Griffon and Geoff returned home. Geoff had called in and said he needed to take care of more things at home, so he stayed to talk the whole thing over. They hadn't been doing much talking, though, mostly just exchanging looks and shaking their heads as they went over the situation in their minds.
The digital clock on the stove caught Griffon's attention as it changed. She looked over to find that the kids would be arriving anytime soon.
“I don't think we should tell Gavin,” Griffon whispered to Geoff.
“Maybe he has the right to know. It is his mom and as much as I hated hearing her go on and on about how she does love him, I do think Gav should know about it someday.”
“I don't know, Geoff. Just imagine how he'd feel if he did know about this, though.”
“Know about what?” Gavin asked as he, Michael, Lindsay, and Ray walked through the front door.
Griffon spun around to see the four of them staring back. Geoff licked his lips and threw his hands up. He did think Gavin needed to know, and it was best if it was done now.
“Michael, Ray, and Lindsay,” he spoke, “Could you three go upstairs or something? Griffon and I have to talk to Gavin about something.”
Lindsay nodded and hurried up the stairs, but the other two boys lingered behind for a moment. Ray was the next to head up to his room, but Michael stood there, looking curiously from Gavin to Geoff.
“Michael, please,” Griffon said as she stepped forward, “I don't mean to push you away, but this is private.”
Michael sighed and rolled his eyes, but he obliged and was out of sight within seconds. Though once he was at the top of the staircase, he opened Gavin's bedroom door (being that it was the closest one) and closed it to make it sound like he was no longer around.
Geoff and Griffon took the noise of the door as cue to talk.
“You can sit down if you want,” Geoff told Gavin, but Gavin shrugged and stood still.
Griffon sighed deeply and smiled at Gavin. “Gavin, listen, I hate admitting this, but for months now, we've been getting calls from Sarah. You remember her, right?” Gavin nodded. “She told us a woman had been calling her to ask for you.”
“What?” Gavin asked, his eyebrows squeezing together in confusion.
“That was our reaction at first,” Griffon told him, but she couldn't go on. How was she supposed to break something as huge as speaking to his mother to Gavin? Geoff noticed she was having trouble, so he stepped in.
“Look, buddy, you know we'd do anything for you kids, right?”
“Who was the woman?” Gavin asked, completely ignoring Geoff's question. He was feeling nervous now and it was because he had an idea that he knew the answer to his own question.
Geoff and Griffon exchanged a look before Geoff quietly said, “It was your mother.”
From the top of the staircase, Michael let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He shook his head and leaned against the wall as he continued to listen.
Gavin closed his mouth as he began to get an ache in his chest. A part of him wanted to laugh and say “You're kidding.” but the other part of him knew they weren't. They definitely were not kidding.
“Sarah called us again today,” Griffon said after a moment of terrible silence, “She said that your mother was there and that she wanted to see Geoff and I.” Gavin slowly shifted his gaze to the floor as his eyes welled up a bit without his control.
“She just wanted to know how you were,” Geoff continued for Griffon, “and we told her. She had no-”
“Why didn't you tell me?” Gavin interrupted to ask as he looked back up at them. Geoff blinked. “You said Sarah has been calling you for months now, yeah? Why didn't you tell me from the start that a woman was looking for me? It's only obvious it was my mother.” He was frantically looking back and forth from the two, waiting eagerly for his answers.
“I did know from the start that it was her,” Griffon admitted.
“Then why didn't you tell me?!” Gavin hadn't meant to shout out that question, but with the sudden frustration he was feeling, it wasn't something he could exactly stop.
“We didn't want to worry you-”
“That's the biggest bullshit I've ever heard!”
“Hey, Gavin,” Geoff said more sternly, “Don't talk to her like that-”
“Oh, but it's okay for her and you to keep secrets from me?! Especially when they pertain to me?!” Gavin asked as he pointed to himself. Michael frowned, almost tempted to go down there and pull Gavin away, but he resisted and remained in his spot.
“We weren't trying to keep it from you now, Gav,” Geoff told him, “We were ready to tell you, but we also didn't think you would care to see or speak to her-”
“That part doesn't matter! What matters is that I should have known about this, Geoff! I should have known!” Gavin gasped for air from not realizing that he had been practically crying out his words. He took a deep, shaky breath and shook his head. “I should have known,” he whispered to them.
Griffon started walking towards him but Gavin didn't give her the chance to reach him, because he turned around and ran up the stairs.
“Gavin!” Geoff called after him, but Gavin didn't stop or turn back.
Michael was still standing near Gavin's bedroom when Gavin made it to the top, making the Brit halt in his tracks when he was noticed.
“You should have known,” Michael whispered to him, but with that, he walked off towards his bedroom and he didn't even glance at Gavin once before entering.
Gavin bit down on his lower lip to prevent it from quivering, but it did so anyway, and he walked into his own room. He locked the door and took deep breaths, hoping it would still his urge to cry, but he couldn't. He couldn't stop it, not after that. He had to drag himself over to his bed and when he finally managed to lay on it, he buried his face in his pillow and allowed the tears that had been threatening to fall to come out.
Geoff was fully indulged in what he was cooking up on the stove to notice when Griffon walked into the kitchen. He jumped at her touch on his back and she laughed softly.
“I didn't mean to scare you,” she told him.
“It's fine. I was just caught up in my own thoughts,” he practically grumbled. He took a deep breath and turned around to look at his wife better, “After he ran off, I know you told me to give him space, but does a whole night count as giving him space? Because I can't wait any longer. I need to talk to him.”
“We need to talk to him,” Griffon corrected him, though she smiled softly, “He didn't even come down for dinner. I have never had to experience such a quiet meal.”
“He must be starving then, which is why I made this,” Geoff said as he turned back around to check on the pancakes.
Griffon stepped aside as Geoff walked towards the staircase and called up for all of them to come down. Griffon wanted nothing more but for things to already go back to how they were, with Gavin his cheerful self and not mad at them. She heard many footsteps making their way down the stairs; Lindsay and Michael were the first to walk into the kitchen, but right behind them was Gavin. Griffon looked over at Geoff to see Geoff giving Gavin a smile. Gavin merely glared at him, though.
Griffon had to resist the urge to run over and hug him, but to do so, she decided to get out of his way. She gave Geoff a quick kiss on the cheek and grabbed her car keys on her way out.
Geoff's smile fell a little after noticing the way Gavin was glaring at him, so he managed to keep it up as best as he could. “I made some of your favorite, Gavin,” he said as he held up the pan to show the blond.
Instead of an answer, Gavin huffed loudly, and purposely. He walked right passed Geoff and over to the refrigerator. Everyone was silent as they watched him grab a water bottle out and then start heading for the front door.
“I'm taking the bus this morning,” he announced, the clear and sheer anger in his tone.
Lindsay frowned, but she didn't try stopping him from walking out the door, neither did Geoff. More footsteps came down the stairs and a few seconds later, Ray walked, or rather, dragged himself into the room.
“Okay,” Geoff sighed, “How about you three? Up for some pancakes and bacon? If you're not, maybe I can make something else real quick.”
“Pancakes and bacon sounds delicious,” Lindsay happily said as she took her seat at the table. Michael reluctantly did the same.
Ray pursed his lips as he just stared at the two beginning to eat. Geoff looked over at him and held up an empty plate.
“What would you like, Ray?”
Ray looked down at his feet as he quietly asked, “Geoff, can I... can I stay home today?”
Michael paused from sticking his pancake filled fork into his mouth to look at Ray with a questioning expression.
“Why, what's wrong, Ray?” Michael asked him, turning in his seat to face the younger lad better. “Stomach hurts? Feel like throwing up? Or do you have the runs?”
Ray's face fell even more and he looked away, but he did say, “It's none of your business.”
“No, I get that it's not,” Michael told him, “but I mean, you're gonna have to say what's wrong with you, because Geoff's gotta tell the school something if he's gonna let you stay home.”
“Shut up,” Ray mumbled, still not daring to look at Michael.
Lindsay lightly punched Michael in the arm, causing Michael to actually silence himself, because that punch to the arm was the slap in the face he needed to realize how rude he was sounding. He honestly hadn't been able to help himself. After what happened on the bus the day before, he was annoyed, but not really at Ray for what Ray told him, but at himself for being so persistent. He had to admit, though, that he didn't know until now exactly how much he cared about Ray.
Geoff looked back and forth between the two boys, seeing the guilt on Michael's face and the uncomfortableness in Ray's, so he stepped before either of them could say anymore to each other.
“It's fine,” he said to Ray, “I'll just make up an excuse for you.”
Ray's eyes lit up at that and he sighed in relief. “Thanks, Geoff.”
“No problem, bud. Just go on upstairs and rest for a while. You can eat when you're ready.”
Ray nodded, but before he could leave, Michael said to him, “Feel better, Ray, and I'm sorry.
Those last two words sounded so genuine that Ray smiled a bit at Michael and mouthed, “Me too.”
Michael watched as he ran up the stairs, then he turned to Lindsay.
“Well it was nice that you apologized, but you shouldn't have said anything at all,” Lindsay scolded him.
“I know, I know, but I don't know what the hell got over me. I just can't stop thinking about what's been going on with him,” Michael told her.
“Michael, I know he's been acting strange,” Geoff immediately cut into the conversation, “- which is the reason I'm even letting him take a break from school today, but we gotta be easy on him. Whatever it is, it's probably difficult, or it's probably nothing but it feels like everything to him. Either way, we can't pressure him into talking about it.”
“Can I ask you something, though?” Lindsay asked Geoff, and he nodded, “Something's going on between you and Gavin, but what is it? He seemed really upset last night when I ran into him in the hallway.”
“Nothing that we can't resolve,” Geoff assured her.
“It was really bad, wasn't it? I've never seen him skip a dinner because he wanted to avoid seeing you and Griffon.”
“Wait, did he actually tell you guys that?”
“Yes,” Lindsay and Michael both answered together. Geoff closed his eyes as he rubbed his forehead from feeling the beginning of a headache.
“Geoff, Gavin loves you,” Lindsay reminded him, “so whatever did happen between you guys, like you said, it'll get resolved. I know you two will be able to talk it out and things will go back to the way they were.” She then looked to Michael for help, “Right, Michael?”
Michael got up from his seat and grabbed his backpack. “Yeah, sure,” he mumbled as he headed to the door. He knew they were both staring at him, wondering where he was going, so he told them, “If I run, maybe I can still catch the bus, but if not, I'll walk. Either one is fine with me.”
“Check up on Gavin, then,” Geoff said, because he wasn't even going to bother with arguing with Michael.
Michael nodded. “I plan on it.”
As it turned out, though, Michael wasn't able to make it to the bus on time. The walk to school didn't feel too long anyway. Michael made it there before Lindsay did, which surprised him, but he was just a little relieved that he didn't end up late to his class. Struggling to maintain a decent grade was one thing, but it didn't make him look any better if he was late so much.
Part of him was irritated that he didn't get to speak to Gavin on the bus, but that irritation was wiped right after first period when he went up to his locker. As he began to take out the textbook to his next class, he saw someone walking over to him from his peripheral vision.
“I'm so bloody tired, Michael,” Gavin said to him.
Michael looked at him and widened his eyes, but Gavin continued to talk before he could say anything in return, “So much has happened in such a short amount of time. I just wish I could know why. Everything was going fine.”
Michael closed his locker and placed a comforting hand on Gavin's shoulder. “Hey, I know. Life fucking sucks a lot of the time-” he paused as he rose his eyebrows and he put his hand down. Gavin blinked at him, recognizing that look on Michael's face.
“What are you thinking?” He had to ask.
The corners of Michael's lips twitched up slightly. “A lot of shit has been happening lately, and you know what, I think we deserve a break.”
Gavin breathed out a laugh and shook his head. “How do you expect us to do that? Life doesn't just stop because you want a break.”
“Yeah, that's true,” Michael said as he nodded, “But that doesn't mean we can't have some fun.”
It took Gavin a moment, but as he looked over Michael's face, he knew just what Michael meant. A grin slowly started making its way on his face as Michael's smile increased as well.