Water Bottle Mishap

[Ryland Ren]

His eyes glazed over as the professor continued her lecture. She pulled something up on her projector and began to read it aloud. Why did he get up out of bed this early in the morning to listen to her read what he already read in the textbook?

Suppressing a yawn, Ryland rubbed one eye and then leaned his chin against his palm. He looked down at the notebook in front of him, the chicken scratch that was his handwriting, the open textbook.

He stayed up late last night talking to his boyfriend online. Although he kept telling himself he should get off and go to bed, he couldn't help himself. They were having such a heated conversation, part argument, really. But it was a good one, something politically charged and stupid that they ended up hand waving away afterward.

Sitting up taller, Ryland reached over and grabbed his water bottle so he could take a deep drink of it. Then he focused again on the projector. When he went to set his water bottle back down on the table, he accidentally flicked his hand against the side, sending water spewing all over the back of the person in front of him.

"Shit!" Ryland swore before he thought, standing up and pulling off the sweater he had wrapped around his waist.

"Let me get that..."

[Aldon Huang]

This was a bad idea.

A bad, bad idea.

Aldon told himself that he was just passing through but that excuse became obviously flimsy when he made his fifth round past the classroom door. The girl waiting for the class to end, who was leaning against the wall near the door, gave him a weird look as he sidled by, trying to look inconspicuous.

Except a guy with bleach blond hair was pretty conspicuous already, and his expression of guilt likely did nothing to help. He smiled at her bravely, in an attempt to not look suspicious. That earned him a quirk of the eyebrows and he scuttled away, down the hall, down the stairs and all the way along the hallway... to the opposite end where another set of stairs took him back up.

This repeated several more times until the class ended and people began to file out. Aldon tried to hide unsuccessfully behind a group of people waiting to get into the classroom. They parted, trying to be helpful and to let him through, exposing him.

Then he attempted to blend in with another group, as he sighted a familiar face, but they all leaned away from him--probably wondering why a stranger suddenly tried to infiltrate their group. Finally, in desperation, Aldon pounced on somebody vaguely familiar--a friend of Roe's--and slid an arm around his shoulders.

"Jake! ...why's your back all wet?" Even as he spoke, his eyes were straining out of their sockets to surreptitiously check Ryland out. Did he notice? Did he not notice? Aldon didn't know which was worse. Or better. After that disaster of a break-up (or did it count, when they weren't even together?) he didn't know what to do. Maybe stalking Ryland wasn't his most brilliant idea ever.

It definitely wasn't a productive idea when, seemingly having missed his presence completely, Ryland turned down the hall. Aldon bit his lower lip indecisively. His heart was still a little battered and sore from being rejected--the one time he actually tried to do the right thing. He really wanted to please Ryland but his efforts failed utterly. And why? WHY?

Because of that boyfriend. The one Ryland put before Aldon, even though he probably already knew what Aldon wanted to say to him. That... that really hurt. It hurt not only his pride but his sense of security, being second to someone.

Didn't Ryland want to hear the words? (Or... read them on the pile of sticky notes that Aldon had prepared--now all torn and shredded in a fit of anguish.) Hadn't he been waiting all this time for Aldon to admit that he l... had feelings for him? Strong feelings, of a serious nature?

All right, all right. Love. That Aldon loved him. It didn't mean that he wanted to marry Ryland or anything but it was probably a long time coming, especially since Ryland had been saying the words forever, and Aldon had never reciprocated in turn.

Truthfully, it was still hard to say them out loud--hence the post it notes.

As Jake launched into an explanation about some guy who tipped a water bottle down his back, Aldon abruptly released him. He waved Jake off absently and crept along after Ryland who was now on his phone. Not with Aldon, because Aldon's phone remained sadly silent. With his boyfriend then? A dark cloud passed over Aldon's expression. He wanted to see this boyfriend for himself... but mostly to make sure that he wasn't somehow better looking, or more charming, than Aldon was.

There had to be something there to pull Ryland's attention away from him and Aldon needed to know what it was.

[Ryland Ren]

He was sick with himself.

There were a couple of days where he wished the world away but he forced himself to at least get up, to IM Chris, to make plans.

His conscience chewed at him. Eventually, he was going to have to say something. It wasn't like he just kissed his ex-boyfriend. He full on had sex with him. He fucked him. He literally fucked his ex. The thought made him want to crawl into a hole every time Chris talked to him because he couldn't bear the thought of telling him. The whole world felt like it was shrinking in on him.

School was a welcome distraction but even then, he felt like a screw up. He needed to pay more attention, even if it was "just" a summer class.

Since his rejection of Aldon's attempts to say something to him, Ryland hadn't seen nor heard from Aldon. I really hurt him this time. Well, good. Aldon hurt him so much over the years that he deserved it!

Even though he had a strong feeling what Aldon wanted to say to him, Ryland still couldn't bring himself to do it. Aldon couldn't be assed to tell him when Ryland said it to him more than once. He couldn't be fucked to do it unless it meant he might seriously lose him. Well. Now he had. How did that make him feel?

It made Ryland feel bitter. And sad. But mostly bitter. He was holding onto that part to keep from drowning. It helped, though, having Chris. It helped a lot.

In fact, that was the person he was so engrossed with on his phone. They were supposed to be meeting up with Christian's friends after his class. He smiled before he sent out another quick message, then turned to make sure cars weren't coming so he could cross the street over to the parking lot.

And his gaze lit on a familiar form. Ryland didn't cross the street. He was too dumbstruck for a few seconds. Really, Aldon?! He almost said it aloud, even opened his mouth to do so--then decided engaging with him was a bad idea. Instead, he darted behind the next oncoming car and made a beeline for Chris' car.

No, not today.

[Aldon Huang]

Aldon was doing surprisingly well for himself, trailing behind Ryland unnoticed. That was, until Ryland suddenly turned and he had nowhere to hide. The streets were a poor place to play hide-and-seek anyway; he was caught out in the open, trying to look like he just happened to be where he was, when he was, purely by accident.

...except Ryland seemed to know anyway. He always did--know, that was. Whenever Aldon got up to no good (or contemplated it), it was like some sort of mini-alarm went off in Ryland's head that told him something was up. Well, he was right. Something was definitely up.

As he watched, a hopeful little smile spreading across his lips, Ryland coldly ignored him--after looking like he wanted to yell or something--and walked away. Into oncoming traffic. Aldon's heart gave an uncomfortable lurch and for a few seconds, he was a little too surprised to do anything except stand there, staring after Ryland, while the smile faded and melted away like ice cream on a hot summer day. Ryland approached a parked car; it looked like it was waiting for him. Probably the boyfriend.

Usually, this was where Aldon yelled after him and made a scene. Ryland would get embarrassed, and to prevent further humiliation, he would usually give in to whatever crazy demand Aldon had at the time. Usually that ended up with Aldon winning him over, and Ryland reluctantly accepting that he just couldn't resist Aldon's (dubious) charms.

But.

But.

The boyfriend. It had to be him, in the car, waiting for Ryland to get out of class. There was no way Ryland would be that absorbed in his phone without the person on the other end meaning something to him. Aldon kept staring after him, at the car, at their silhouettes getting closer,through the windows, from across the street.

[Ryland Ren]

Did he follow him? When Ryland looked back, it didn't look like it. But he could see that Aldon was still around. He dug his fingernails against his thumb's cuticles and bit his lower lip, breathing in hard through the nose. How dare he, anyway? Follow him around like a stalker? How dare he make Ryland feel like a piece of shit for finally drawing a line in the sand?

Still, his chest and throat felt tight and stuffy and he could feel a familiar ache in the back of his head. Breathing in deeply again, he approached Chris' car and opened the door. He did not look back over at Aldon again.

He greeted his boyfriend with a smile. He leaned in. His hand slid over Chris' and he gave him a gentle kiss before he sat back and drew his seatbelt across his chest. Was Aldon still out there? Ryland stared blankly through the window for a long moment, then slowly dipped his gaze downward before he looked up at Chris and smiled as he spoke to him.

This was just how it was now.

Goodbye sounded so final.

[Aldon Huang]

Goodbye, Aldon.

He remembered that. It was still in his phone, the last line from Ryland that was like a death knell for the tattered remains of their relationship.

Goodbye sounded so final.

Goodbye was final.

Aldon saw the smiles, the kiss. He felt lost, somehow, as he stood watching, hands drifting listlessly down to his sides. Ryland had boyfriends in the past but that never stopped Aldon from trying to win him back. Boyfriends never stopped Ryland from getting back with him, either, but this time something was different. Something was wrong.

It was... everything. The boyfriend. The way Ryland smiled. The confession Aldon never had a chance to make. The fact that Ryland didn't want to hear it, was apparently over it and over him.

Ryland put the new boyfriend before him--would have gone out with him before he showed up to hear Aldon say that he loved him.

That pretty much said it all, didn't it? Aldon wasn't his number one priority anymore. Finally, some might say. Rightfully so, deservedly so.

How many times did Ryland say the words, only to be met with silence? Did it hurt like this each time? That hollowness in the chest? The ache and sting behind the eyes? Rejection never felt so bad, so lonely, as it did in that moment and Aldon couldn't even say that he didn't deserve it.

Slowly, he lowered his head and turned around, back the way he came.