the chapter is in continuation and yes, I'm still alive! Some of you took my ending the book joke to heart huh 😭
*
After helping Nathan stand again, Royce laughed, a little forced, a little uneasy, and gently freed his hand from Nathan's grip, who was engrossed in staring at him but either way, the awkward silence setting between them was unbearable. Once together, they were so many things but it was never awkward. Royce was unfamiliar with this feeling so he could only break into a nervous laugh.
Nathan too broke from whatever trance he was stuck in, mumbling a stiff. "Sorry,"
Royce flinched at the apology, sighing. "You don't have to say sorry for every little thing." His gaze settled on Nathan's cheek and before he could overthink his next actions, Royce stepped on his toes, forcefully pulling down the long sleeve of his sweatshirt over his fist and raised his hand to wipe Nathan's tears, gently patting his cheekbones. "All better now."
Nathan but all followed every move of Royce with his eager eyes but not exactly looking into his eyes and nodded in a thankful gesture. He seemed to be at a loss for words.
Royce pulled back, intertwining his fingers and faked a cough. "I guess I should get going?" For some reason, it came out as a question. He mentally smacked himself.
Nathan tilted his head, slowly asking. "Or you can." hiccup. "Stay if you'd like?"
"You still get hiccups after crying?" Royce raised a brow, surprised.
Nathan diverted his gaze, somewhat flustered. "Yeah." He hiccuped again, his ears turning a light shade of pink. He probably thought it was embarrassing which made Royce bit back his smile. It was kinda cute how he still had this habit. Some things never change.
"It's fine. I'll get going." Royce looked down at his feet, biting at the corner of his lips. "Plus, Wren's covering up for me so I should definitely head back."
"Okay." Nathan agreed, not pushing in further. "I'll walk you home. It's not safe to go alone especially this late."
The refusal was at the tip of his tongue but before Royce could protest, Nathan was already telling him, "Wait here."
He slid open the glass window, walking right into his room which was connected with the balcony. Not wanting to intrude, Royce turned around, waiting. It didn't take long for him to come back but he had something on his hands. "It's cold tonight. Here, wear this."
It was a jacket.
Although Royce was wearing a sweatshirt, the material was really thin. He was shivering not quite but faintly, his hands sort of freezing and he could feel the goosebumps rising on his arms every once in a while. Nathan was very observant and thoughtful as always.
Royce took the jacket, his fingers tracing the soft fabric as he tried to grasp the warm feeling spreading across his chest, tried to soak this moment. Nathan was half bent, tying the laces of his shoes. After a while, he spoke in a sincere tone. "Thank you, Nate." Royce meant it for pretty much everything. For all the times when he desperately wanted to say these words but didn't know how to convey, couldn't show his gratitude. Hopefully, Nathan will get the hint.
It felt good to get this off his chest.
Nathan stopped moving, peering at him with a newfound interest. As if nothing mattered to him than this moment, nothing other than what was right in front of him.
Royce was putting on the jacket but when Nathan kept staring, he said curiously. "What?"
"Nothing." The corner of his lips pulled up into a grin as he shook his head and ruffled Royce's hair affectionately. "You've been calling me Nate all night."
"Oh." He shrugged, clutching the edge of the railing, getting ready to slide down through the pipe. "Guess we're back to our old ways."
"I like it that way." The intensity of Nathan's gaze was so strong, even someone as stubborn as Royce couldn't stand it. He hurriedly made his way down, barely slipping in the process but reached the ground in one piece. It was his turn to feel embarrassed. Nathan joined him soon after and they walked side by side, under the same sky, down the same road, secretly enjoying each other's company.
***
Just want to break it down that all this time we were going through the consequences... cause you know...they're already...
*can't type anymore cause my keyboard stopped working*
:')