"It's a regret to inform everyone that the upcoming fest has been postponed to 17th December. Hopefully all the classes have enough time to prepare for their performances. Do well and make us proud".
That's what the notice board said. Ryan was kind of unhappy but happy too. He had enough time to practice his dance but was bummed at the fest being postponed.
"What's up sugar?" Ash suddenly appears beside him.
"Can you stop calling me that. People will hear-
"You do realize they don't care right?" He smirks.
Ugh what a jerk.
"Come on, I'll introduce you to my group. They're waiting in the cafeteria". He casually grabs Ryan's hand which caused him to flinch and gasp. Ash was startled but soon understood.
He's still getting used to all this.
"My bad. Let's keep going". He says and lets go of his hand. Ryan felt terrible but he needed time to get used to all this. He was trying his best.
Soon the boys reached the cafeteria and Emma waved her hand. They go up to them and Ash gives them each a warm hug. Ryan was awkwardly standing there, knowing that the group probably doesn't like him.
Michelle stared at him like she was gonna kill him any moment. Ryan kept his eyes on the floor and played with the hem of his shirt, feeling scared. Seeing this, Michelle's eyes softened a little.
Poor boy is so scared.
She gets up and moves towards him, standing in front of him. "Let's start over shall we? I'm Michelle". She brings her hand out for a handshake. Ryan was surprised at the gesture but nonetheless smiled and reciprocated the handshake.
The group had held their breathes and finally sighed in relief, thanking for the tension to disappear.
"Well take your seat buddy, from now on you're in our group". Liam cheerfully says making Ryan smile.
They all sat and had a merry time together. Ryan got to know that the three first met when they were 11. He felt soft seeing how their friendship has still stayed this strong even after so many years.
"And then Liam was so stressed out because he didn't know what to gift Michelle. So he tied a ribbon on his head and acted like he was the gift". Emma says making Ryan laugh. Whereas Liam wanted to strangle her for exposing him like that.
"You guys are really close.." Ryan softly says. "Yeah we've been through a lot of shit so I guess the bond is strong". Ash says.
From a distance, Ryan saw a male couple kissing and laughing. He felt uneasy looking at it. No matter what, it still irked him a little seeing all these homo couples. It was still new to him.
"If it makes you feel any better then there are straight people studying here too". Michelle joked, trying to ease the boy a bit.
"N-No...it's just that, I'm still trying to accept all this. I've never been exposed to such an environment so..."
"We get it, we're glad you're ready to change your thinking. Not everyone is like that you know". Emma says.
"Unlike your shitty parents". She thought.
-
"I'M SO SICK AND TIRED OF TELLING YOU IDIOTS THAT YOU'RE MISSING SOMETHING IMPORTANT IN YOUR PERFORMANCE. YOU HAVE TIME TILL DECEMBER AND IF YOU DON'T FIGURE IT OUT BY THEN, I WILL TIE YOU TO THE CEILING!"
The dance instructor, she's sweet but when she's mad. Do. Not. Mess. With. Her.
Ryan was shaking in his boots while Ash had a neutral expression on his face. At this point he was bored. He simply came because of his love for piano. His music.
"Well then why don't you tell us what we're missing if it's frustrating you so much". He casually back answers, making Ryan fear for their lives. He slapped his arm lightly, warning him to keep quiet.
"Like I've said before, this is something that I'm not allowed to say. But i'll give you a hint, it should be coming from the both of you naturally and not by force". She rubs her forehead in frustration.
Before Ash could say anything, Ryan immediately nods and tells her that they'll catch hold of it before the fest, calming the angry teacher. She leaves the room, leaving the boys once again confused.
"How could you back answer to her like that?! That's so disrespectful". Ryan exclaims, making Ash chuckle.
"She looks funny when she's angry, how could I miss the opportunity sugar?"
Ryan simply rolled his eyes at the tall boy before huffing out of stress.
Ash couldn't help but notice the adorable boy letting out a small pout from his rosy lips.
Just how soft are those lips
He shook his head, getting out those thoughts. That's not what he's supposed to do.
"Anyways, I just realized that we didn't share our contact. Give me your number". Ash says to which Ryan furrowed his eyebrows, before he could say anything, Ash cuts him off.
"Don't give me that look. Think of it as emergency contacts. We won't text each other all the time". Ryan thinks for a while before agreeing. It's best because to have your roommates contact anyways.
They exchange numbers and walk to their respective classes. But unknown to Ryan, the tall boy turned around to look at with with a sad smile.
It's better for him to hate me but it's warming to see his kind soul overpowering his hatred.
-
"Seriously he has no clue about it?" Liam asks his lovely girlfriend who nods her head while sighing. "He's absolutely clueless and still brainwashed, Those fuckers really did him and us dirty". She lowly says, darkening Liam's soft eyes.
"Those bastards will pay. But Ash going ahead and using Ryan is a bit too much. The boy is way too soft and I'm afraid he's gonna break, either after knowing the truth about his parents or the fact that Ash used him..." He says.
"It's personal for Ash and you know that....because that affected him the most...more than us". She could feel her tears forming in her eyes and Liam instantly pulled her into his strong arms, rubbing his hands on her back which calms her down.
"I miss him Liam....I miss him so much. I won't forgive those rascals". She quietly sobs against his chest, making his heart churn. Of course he misses him too.
"I miss him too baby".
-
"You know I can cook too right? When are you gonna let me cook again?" Ash asks while watching his roommate prepare dinner. Ryan simply shrugs his shoulders, "it's fine, I should contribute something as well".
Well it was still kind of hard to believe that his homophobic- okay may be not so homophobic roommate actually making things better between them, but why so suddenly? What caused such a huge change?
"May I ask why you're suddenly so kind to me? Last time I checked, you loathed my existence right?" The chopping stopped as his breath hitched. He took a deep breath before answering.
"Hate is a really strong word. I don't think it's fair to just hate someone like that unless they've done some serious damage to you..."
Serious damage has already been done sugar, I don't understand how clueless you are.
"And it took you what, 2 months to understand that?" He snickers, making Ryan unintentionally pout and Ash regretting it. Fuck that pout is gonna be death for him.
"I'm sorry..." he mutters, making Ash a little soft. "You don't have to force yourself to instantly love them sugar, respecting and treating us nicely is more than enough. We're humans regardless of our identity or sexuality".
"I know...it's just, My parents never let me-
"Yeah they never let you near to us blah blah. The question is, why didn't you ever raise a question to them as to why they did what they did". Now that was a question too difficult to answer. He himself doesn't know why he never asked them. Probably out of fear or not wanting to disrespect them by counter asking questions.
"I don't know..." he whispers. Ash hums, not wanting to make the boy feel overwhelmed.
"Anyways, I should let you know something". Ryan says.
"Go on".
"My parents are gonna visit me day after tomorrow".
Ash's entire body went cold on the revelation. But he kept his calm. He couldn't let the boy know the turmoil going on in his head as he tried his level best to not smash the vase next to him against the wall.
"S-So w-will you s-stay here o-or-
"I'm not staying here". His voice stern and sharp. "I'll stay with Liam till your parents leave. Do not tell them about me and one more thing...
Do not reveal my name to them".
"But why? What's with telling your name? It's not like your name is fa- gay..." he stuttered in the end, regret immediately filling his body.
Silence started to linger in the air. Too painful. Only the sounds of their breathing was heard.
"Looks like you'll take a lot of time to get out of that mindset". He says with sarcasm. "I'm gonna eat outside. Don't wait for me to come back". He says and grabs his jacket and leaves before Ryan could even apologize.
"Ugh!! Why did I say that! Everything was going fine and I just had to ruin it!!" He cries and plops on the table in dismay. He really didn't mean that, but years of brainwashing and hatred wasn't gonna go in just a few weeks times. And considering his parents are gonna visit is making his head spin.
How was he supposed to hide the reality of this place? There are homos left and right. And he's sharing a room with one on top of that!
"God please....help me". He prays, not even sure if it's ever gonna be heard.
-
Just like that, the day of his parents arrival came. Ash already left the room. They didn't speak to each other after that uncomfortable talk and the tension was obvious.
Ryan was more worried about how his parents are gonna react to this environment? He was waiting near the gate when a Rolls Royce stopped in front of him, his parents.
The bodyguard opened the door for them and there they were, all blinged up and dressed like luxury. It was no doubt that they were filthy rich, expensive jewelry, clothes, cars, you name it. But love and affection?
Pfft absolutely zero.
"Hello dad, hello mom". He politely greeted to his parents who just hummed at him.
"How's your studies?" His mom asks? Ouch.
"It's going well, i'm excelling in my classes". He lied about taking dance as his minor subject, fearing that they'll immediately withdraw his name.
"That's good to hear son. Show us your dorm". His dad says while wiping his glasses and putting it back. He nods and guides them to his dorm, praying to the gods that no homo couples are roaming around.
Surprisingly, throughout their walk to the dorm, not a single gay or a lesbian couple was seen. Strange? The ones that Ryan recognized, behaved as if they were friends or classmates. No PDA and no holding hands.
Strange.
They reached the room and Ryan opened it with his keycard, welcoming his parents.
"The room looks good. You and your roommate have maintained it well. Speaking of him, where is he? We would like to meet him". His mom says, making Ryan stand still in his place.
"U-Um he went back to his hometown for personal reasons. He'll come back tomorrow". He quickly made up an excuse and thankfully his parents bought it.
Now you must be thinking that all three would be having a loving family reunion and chatting and laughing together right? Wrong.
The only thing discussed was how Ryan was supposed to take over their company and what all was required, including the thought of arranging his marriage with a girl of their standard. The little hope that Ryan was also crushed.
He just could never get that loving family time he wishes for.
"And about your marriage, we won't rush into it until you finish your graduation. After that we'll first train you then hand you over the company and at last your marriage will take place. So don't stress too much about it". Max says and Ryan simply nods with a yes.
Not like he could say no.
The thought of marriage was churning his insides. He wasn't ready for all this. His elder brother William is far suited for this position, but of course he couldn't.
They would rather die than have a gay or in their terms a faggot son take over their empire. It's been three years since he ran away and left poor Ryan all alone. Of course he despised William for being a homosexual, but now with all the mindset change,
He can't help but miss his brother dearly.
"Alright son, we'll be leaving now. Take care and do well". His parents stand up and don't even bother to hug him and simply went out the door.
Ryan sighs as he takes out his wallet and looks at a picture.
His brother William.
He still remembers how lonely he looked when he came out to their parents. William looked at Ryan with some hope but of course, Ryan dismissed him and called him brutal slurs. The incident still haunts him.
"I'm sorry big bro....I'm sorry I didn't stand up for you".