Categories > Original > Romance > MindStalker
Nobody said highschool was easy, and Reona knows it best. He's gay, he's in love, and guess what? He reads minds, but the only person his powers won't work on is Ashton, the way-out-of-his-league c...
1Exciting
Ashton knew something was wrong. He was used to drawing attention, to being stared at when he walked by, to having people move out of his way to give him passage, even to the somewhat overboard reactions he got from his self-proclaimed fan group, a bunch of eerie girls who were way too willing to kiss the very floor he walked on – but this was taking it to a whole other level.
The crowd parted like the red sea to let him through, and he could feel them all staring, almost drilling holes into his skull. The gossip buzz was definitely louder, and he could tell a lot of people were laughing. At him? He looked down at himself but nothing seemed wrong enough to explain the snickering. Was it is his bed hair? Or maybe there was something on his face, like toothpaste, but if that were the case, his sister would have told him. Maybe not. She could be laughing herself to tears that very moment, for all he knew. That’s what you got for having the devil for a twin.
He turned around the corner and walked up to his locker to drop his sports bag, and a piece fell into the puzzle. The word ‘cocksucker’ was graffitted hot pink across the metallic door and the lock was busted. He almost laughed out loud – after almost three years clean of harassment, at last someone wanted to take the piss out of him. Popular as he was, he was bound to be on someone’s black list. Whoever the guy was, he sure had balls, because Keith was probably the only one with enough bulk to take him on. He shook his head and opened the little cabinet, and felt the realization slap him in the face.
His locker was stuffed with anything that could fit ‘gay’ and ‘flamboyant’ in the same sentence, from purple laced G-strings to jelly anal plugs, not to mention the confetti-like strips of paper with phone numbers and obscene sex invitations. Ashton just stared at the contents, his hand gripping the metallic so hard it shook. Okay, so someone had found he’d been fooling around with a guy, but did they know who? He was pretty sure he didn’t act gay, so it’d either been someone’s slip of tongue or he and Reona had gotten caught. The rooftop, he realized. Damn.
If that were the case, there was no way he could track down whoever had spied on them and started the rumors. Wait, Mae caught us on our first date. The girl was awfully insightful at times, so she might have noticed there was something more to it than tutoring. But then, he’d always thought of Mae as a good friend. She wouldn’t let him down, would she? And then there was Ashley. Sure, she liked to give him a hard time, but she wouldn’t fuck up his life for a bit of fun, right? And then…
Ashton’s body froze, and then began to boil. Elliot. The sneaky bastard had acted on his threat to break them up after all. Best friend my ass. The nerd couldn’t possibly be that smart if he thought Reona would run into his arms just because of that. Reona was in love with him, that much he knew. Anyway, if Elliot had been the one to let the cat out of the bag, he would’ve kept Reona out of it, if he cared for him like he claimed. Maybe Reona was still safe. Maybe there still was a way to undo this mess.
---
Reona walked into the classroom and the class instantly quieted, only to start buzzing twice as furiously. This ‘taking them on like a man’ thing was easier said then done, and his confidence had dropped several notches since his mental war declaration at the school gate. He could literally feel his tail between his legs. He nearly dashed to his table, tripping twice before he could slump beside Elliot, who was looking at him with a mix of ‘I told you so’ and sympathy.
“Hey. So, how bad is it?”
“Bad enough. I feel like I’ll get jumped and eaten alive any second,”
“That’s what you get for dating celebrities,”
Reona shot him a dirty look and pinched him in the arm. He should be glad his friend was so supportive of him, especially after the spiteful idea that’d flashed through his mind earlier – that Elliot might have been the source of the rumor – because his best friend would never do anything to hurt him. It’d been a plain stupid, deeply unfair thought. Elliot was there for him, and always would be.
“Uh, Reo?” Mae called him in a soft voice, twisting her fingers in an overly awkward manner. “Can we, uh, talk for a sec?”
“Uh, sure.” She knows. Of course she knew. Mae was great, but everyone knew she’d give her right arm for the latest gossip. He felt Elliot’s thoughts stir. “Can he come too?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess,”
They both followed her outside and into the empty classroom next door. They sat on a table, but Mae stood, shifting on her feet and twirling her fingers with a guilty look on her face.
“Uh, Reo, before I tell you about it, I want you to know that I never meant any harm. I have nothing against, uh, gay people. Really, I don’t. I kinda already knew. About you, I mean. Ash was a complete shock though. Looking at him, you’d never say he’s…” she trailed off, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, “Anyway, remember that time I saw you guys downtown? At the diner? You were, uh, studying,”
Elliot snorted. Reona elbowed him, and signaled her to go on.
“So, I told Candy about it. I mean, that Ash was hanging around with people outside his circle, you know? And she got really interested. I think she was jealous, you know, trying to find out if he was already seeing someone else, so I… I…” Mae swallowed dry, “I told her maybe Ash had started batting for the other team. It was a joke, I swear, but she took it seriously, and next thing I knew she was following you guys around and she… she saw you. I’m so sorry,”
Reona gave her a half smile. “It’s okay, Mae,” Well, it’s not like being angry at Mae would make it better. Now that the deed was done, the who and how didn’t really matter.
Mae fidgeted, like there was more to tell. “It’s just that, you see, the first thing she did was tell the hockey team about it. The guys weren’t so happy their captain might be… you know. So they yapped to the coach. I hear he wants to talk it out with Ash,” She shot him an anxious look. “You know what that means, right,”
Reona felt something inside him clench. He’d never really given much thought to how their dating would affect the jock’s life, but they were keeping it secret for a reason. One thing for sure, he didn’t regret being with Ashton, but couldn’t help but feel bad about it. Part of him felt he was responsible for leading him astray, despite how pretentious it sounded.
“It’s not your fault,”
He glanced up at Elliot and smiled appreciatively, smoothing a hand up and down his arm. Elliot looked away, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his mind already lost to some math homework that wasn’t due until next week. Reona would’ve found it strange if he wasn’t so used to it.
“Have you told Ashton?”
“I still haven’t seen him today and, uh… I thought you’d be easier to tell,” Mae confessed, her vivid blue eyes dropping to the floor, “Sorry,”
“I need to talk to him. You think you could set us up?”
“Sure,” she beamed, glad for an opportunity to redeem herself.
“Tell him to meet me bellow the bio block’s stairway on lunchbreak. I doubt he’lll feel up to eating in the cafeteria anyway,”
Mae nodded, grinning, but Elliot’s sharp glare shot her down. She fished her cell phone and typed furiously. “There,”
Reona closed up to her for a hug. “Thanks for telling me,” he said, regretting it almost immediately when she hugged back, squeezing the life out of him. Well, he could deal with that. At least he had friends he could count on.
---
It was getting out of hand. At first Ashton had played it cool, acting like he didn’t know what was going on, but he was about to lose it. Some scrawny little shrimp, no better than a sophomore, whom he clearly remembered shriveling with fear and awe at his passage, had just bumped against him on the corridor without so much as apologizing, and had even mouthed something he’d understood as ‘fucking homo’, but he’d been so shocked at the time he didn’t even have the nerve to turn around and drill his fist into the guy’s stomach like he should. Ashton didn’t mind the comments and dirty looks – not before, not now – but he wasn’t up to being disrespected. He might like men, but he wasn’t a pussy.
He shoved his books into the broken locker, the glitzy contents only adding wood to his fire. Maybe he should chase down the kid and give him a lesson after all. Let it all out. Blow off some steam.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Ashton,” Keith walked up to him, snickering. “What’s up? Not up your ass, mind you. I’ll pass the sordid details,”
“What the fuck, Keith,” Ashton roared, incredulous.
“So, you like the décor? Thought pink was more your color,”
Ashton was too baffled to react. Sure, he knew Keith for a dick for half the time, but they were friends. They’d known each other since middle school, and he’d lost count of the times he’d saved his sorry ass before he’d gotten him to start playing hockey and build up some bulk. He’d even helped him get a girl desperate enough to pop his cherry. Hell, they were best friends.
“So, how’s Reona? You making him cry much? Unless he’s the one making you cry – hell, that’s one nasty thought. Anyway, how’s he feel? The bitch moans like a girl, I bet he feels like one, huh? Bet he’s tight. You should lend him to me sometime,”
“Fucking shut your trap!” Ashton snapped, grabbing him by his jock jacket and slamming him against the lockers. Keith chuckled and shoved him away with one effective push that nearly threw him off balance.
“Too bad, dude. You’re tall, but I’m bigger. You can’t take me on,”
And what’s worse, it was probably true. The guy was walking muscle. “What the fuck, Keith? What’s the matter with you?”
“That should be my line. Years putting up with you getting all the hot babes and it turns out you’re a fag. You’re fucking pathetic, man,”
Ashton laughed, wryly. “Like you wouldn’t have fucked Reona if you had the chance. I know you better than that,”
“Yeah, I’d like to fuck him alright, I give you that. But as far as I know, fucking isn’t all you been doing. You’re actually dating the little fag. You crossed the line,”
“I’m not gay, if that’s what you mean,”
“Of course not, your boyfriend just is,” a female voice interjected.
Candy walked an imaginary runway, perfect in her fake beauty, perched on Landon’s arm as if she were dragging him by a leash. Ashton briefly wondered if he’d looked so dog-like next to her, and hoped not.
“I see you bounce back fast,” he commented, pointing at Landon with his chin.
“Look who’s talking. Although I’m not sure if changing teams counts as a rebound, so you might have a point there,” she mocked, taping a pink nail on her chin, “Besides, someone needs to step in for the run now that you’re out,”
But of course, it was all about the prom. Now that Ashton was as likely to become prom king as everyone in the bottom of the food chain, she was holding on to the next in line – Landon, the hockey team’s alternate captain.
“Ashton, uh, dude,” Landon started, clearly avoiding eye-contact, “Coach wants to see you tomorrow morning,”
“But there’s no morning practice tomorrow,”
“Coach only wants to see you,”
Oh, shit. Ashton was doomed. Coach would have him stripped off his captainship if he got lucky, and out the team if he didn’t. He’d lose his scholarship. No college for him – not with his grades. No moving out. He’d end up waiting on tables with his highscool diploma, stuck in that godforsaken small town with a homo reputation to boot.
Some people saw the life they’d led flash before their eyes when they died. Ashton was seeing the life he’d lead, and thought he’d rather die.
---
Ashton wasn’t there yet when they got to the stairway. Elliot had insisted on coming along, worried that the jock might not be taking it too well and decide to vent out on Reona. It was silly, he knew, but it didn’t hurt to reassure his friend. Besides, it’s not like they’d be doing anything inappropriate in the current circumstances.
The jock turned around the corner, looking over his shoulder with a hint of paranoia. His face softened into a half smile when he saw Reona, but instantly melted into a scowl when he noticed the third wheel. Elliot flashed him a provoking smile, and the jock charged at him, only stopping when Reona jumped in.
“It wasn’t him, Ashton, I swear,”
“How do you even know?” the jock demanded, shooting Elliot a rock-hard glare, “He had every reason to,”
“We know who it was. Candy,”
Ashton seemed to calm down a bit at that. “I’m not surprised,” he confessed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Coach wants to see me tomorrow,” he said after a moment of silence, playing with a rock with the tip of his sneakers.
“What does that mean?” Reona asked, anxiously.
“I can get kicked out the team, for all I know.”
Reona bit down on his lip. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to comfort the jock, hold him in his arms, pet his hair and tell him everything would be okay, but he knew it wouldn’t. Ashton wouldn’t be himself without hockey, that much he knew. He touched him, tentatively, but the jock inched away, rebuffing him ever so subtly.
“So what if you get kicked out?” Elliot threw in, leaning against the concrete wall with his arms folded on his chest. “So what if you can’t be a hockey team stud anymore? Life still goes on,”
Ashton glared at him, smiling coldly. “I won’t bother explaining it to you,”
“Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to understand, even if you keep it down to monosyllables. I don’t expect much from a jock,”
The jock made for him again, and this time Reona had put his arms around him to stop him. “Don’t, Ashton, please! He was just about to leave, right?”
Elliot unfolded his arms and pushed against the wall, giving Reona a meaningful look before leaving. Ashton hugged him back, almost possessively, resting his chin on the top of his head. Reona breathed him in, the heady scent that was Ashton’s alone. He’d rather not have a sense of smell at all if it meant he couldn’t bury his face in that taut chest and smell him to his heart’s content ever again. He loved his smell, his body heat, the touch of his skin. He loved Ashton. He did.
The jock pulled away from him, his hands running up to hold his shoulders. Reona felt each and every one of his cells beg Ashton to kiss him, and something fluttered inside his stomach when he started leaning in with his eyelids already at half mast, and closed his eyes, waiting.
“Sorry, I… can’t,”
Reona stared after the jock as he dashed away, fighting back the stinging in his eyes. Yes, he loved Ashton, but that didn’t mean he loved him back. Or that he ever would, for that matter.
The crowd parted like the red sea to let him through, and he could feel them all staring, almost drilling holes into his skull. The gossip buzz was definitely louder, and he could tell a lot of people were laughing. At him? He looked down at himself but nothing seemed wrong enough to explain the snickering. Was it is his bed hair? Or maybe there was something on his face, like toothpaste, but if that were the case, his sister would have told him. Maybe not. She could be laughing herself to tears that very moment, for all he knew. That’s what you got for having the devil for a twin.
He turned around the corner and walked up to his locker to drop his sports bag, and a piece fell into the puzzle. The word ‘cocksucker’ was graffitted hot pink across the metallic door and the lock was busted. He almost laughed out loud – after almost three years clean of harassment, at last someone wanted to take the piss out of him. Popular as he was, he was bound to be on someone’s black list. Whoever the guy was, he sure had balls, because Keith was probably the only one with enough bulk to take him on. He shook his head and opened the little cabinet, and felt the realization slap him in the face.
His locker was stuffed with anything that could fit ‘gay’ and ‘flamboyant’ in the same sentence, from purple laced G-strings to jelly anal plugs, not to mention the confetti-like strips of paper with phone numbers and obscene sex invitations. Ashton just stared at the contents, his hand gripping the metallic so hard it shook. Okay, so someone had found he’d been fooling around with a guy, but did they know who? He was pretty sure he didn’t act gay, so it’d either been someone’s slip of tongue or he and Reona had gotten caught. The rooftop, he realized. Damn.
If that were the case, there was no way he could track down whoever had spied on them and started the rumors. Wait, Mae caught us on our first date. The girl was awfully insightful at times, so she might have noticed there was something more to it than tutoring. But then, he’d always thought of Mae as a good friend. She wouldn’t let him down, would she? And then there was Ashley. Sure, she liked to give him a hard time, but she wouldn’t fuck up his life for a bit of fun, right? And then…
Ashton’s body froze, and then began to boil. Elliot. The sneaky bastard had acted on his threat to break them up after all. Best friend my ass. The nerd couldn’t possibly be that smart if he thought Reona would run into his arms just because of that. Reona was in love with him, that much he knew. Anyway, if Elliot had been the one to let the cat out of the bag, he would’ve kept Reona out of it, if he cared for him like he claimed. Maybe Reona was still safe. Maybe there still was a way to undo this mess.
---
Reona walked into the classroom and the class instantly quieted, only to start buzzing twice as furiously. This ‘taking them on like a man’ thing was easier said then done, and his confidence had dropped several notches since his mental war declaration at the school gate. He could literally feel his tail between his legs. He nearly dashed to his table, tripping twice before he could slump beside Elliot, who was looking at him with a mix of ‘I told you so’ and sympathy.
“Hey. So, how bad is it?”
“Bad enough. I feel like I’ll get jumped and eaten alive any second,”
“That’s what you get for dating celebrities,”
Reona shot him a dirty look and pinched him in the arm. He should be glad his friend was so supportive of him, especially after the spiteful idea that’d flashed through his mind earlier – that Elliot might have been the source of the rumor – because his best friend would never do anything to hurt him. It’d been a plain stupid, deeply unfair thought. Elliot was there for him, and always would be.
“Uh, Reo?” Mae called him in a soft voice, twisting her fingers in an overly awkward manner. “Can we, uh, talk for a sec?”
“Uh, sure.” She knows. Of course she knew. Mae was great, but everyone knew she’d give her right arm for the latest gossip. He felt Elliot’s thoughts stir. “Can he come too?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess,”
They both followed her outside and into the empty classroom next door. They sat on a table, but Mae stood, shifting on her feet and twirling her fingers with a guilty look on her face.
“Uh, Reo, before I tell you about it, I want you to know that I never meant any harm. I have nothing against, uh, gay people. Really, I don’t. I kinda already knew. About you, I mean. Ash was a complete shock though. Looking at him, you’d never say he’s…” she trailed off, awkwardly scratching the back of his head, “Anyway, remember that time I saw you guys downtown? At the diner? You were, uh, studying,”
Elliot snorted. Reona elbowed him, and signaled her to go on.
“So, I told Candy about it. I mean, that Ash was hanging around with people outside his circle, you know? And she got really interested. I think she was jealous, you know, trying to find out if he was already seeing someone else, so I… I…” Mae swallowed dry, “I told her maybe Ash had started batting for the other team. It was a joke, I swear, but she took it seriously, and next thing I knew she was following you guys around and she… she saw you. I’m so sorry,”
Reona gave her a half smile. “It’s okay, Mae,” Well, it’s not like being angry at Mae would make it better. Now that the deed was done, the who and how didn’t really matter.
Mae fidgeted, like there was more to tell. “It’s just that, you see, the first thing she did was tell the hockey team about it. The guys weren’t so happy their captain might be… you know. So they yapped to the coach. I hear he wants to talk it out with Ash,” She shot him an anxious look. “You know what that means, right,”
Reona felt something inside him clench. He’d never really given much thought to how their dating would affect the jock’s life, but they were keeping it secret for a reason. One thing for sure, he didn’t regret being with Ashton, but couldn’t help but feel bad about it. Part of him felt he was responsible for leading him astray, despite how pretentious it sounded.
“It’s not your fault,”
He glanced up at Elliot and smiled appreciatively, smoothing a hand up and down his arm. Elliot looked away, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his mind already lost to some math homework that wasn’t due until next week. Reona would’ve found it strange if he wasn’t so used to it.
“Have you told Ashton?”
“I still haven’t seen him today and, uh… I thought you’d be easier to tell,” Mae confessed, her vivid blue eyes dropping to the floor, “Sorry,”
“I need to talk to him. You think you could set us up?”
“Sure,” she beamed, glad for an opportunity to redeem herself.
“Tell him to meet me bellow the bio block’s stairway on lunchbreak. I doubt he’lll feel up to eating in the cafeteria anyway,”
Mae nodded, grinning, but Elliot’s sharp glare shot her down. She fished her cell phone and typed furiously. “There,”
Reona closed up to her for a hug. “Thanks for telling me,” he said, regretting it almost immediately when she hugged back, squeezing the life out of him. Well, he could deal with that. At least he had friends he could count on.
---
It was getting out of hand. At first Ashton had played it cool, acting like he didn’t know what was going on, but he was about to lose it. Some scrawny little shrimp, no better than a sophomore, whom he clearly remembered shriveling with fear and awe at his passage, had just bumped against him on the corridor without so much as apologizing, and had even mouthed something he’d understood as ‘fucking homo’, but he’d been so shocked at the time he didn’t even have the nerve to turn around and drill his fist into the guy’s stomach like he should. Ashton didn’t mind the comments and dirty looks – not before, not now – but he wasn’t up to being disrespected. He might like men, but he wasn’t a pussy.
He shoved his books into the broken locker, the glitzy contents only adding wood to his fire. Maybe he should chase down the kid and give him a lesson after all. Let it all out. Blow off some steam.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Ashton,” Keith walked up to him, snickering. “What’s up? Not up your ass, mind you. I’ll pass the sordid details,”
“What the fuck, Keith,” Ashton roared, incredulous.
“So, you like the décor? Thought pink was more your color,”
Ashton was too baffled to react. Sure, he knew Keith for a dick for half the time, but they were friends. They’d known each other since middle school, and he’d lost count of the times he’d saved his sorry ass before he’d gotten him to start playing hockey and build up some bulk. He’d even helped him get a girl desperate enough to pop his cherry. Hell, they were best friends.
“So, how’s Reona? You making him cry much? Unless he’s the one making you cry – hell, that’s one nasty thought. Anyway, how’s he feel? The bitch moans like a girl, I bet he feels like one, huh? Bet he’s tight. You should lend him to me sometime,”
“Fucking shut your trap!” Ashton snapped, grabbing him by his jock jacket and slamming him against the lockers. Keith chuckled and shoved him away with one effective push that nearly threw him off balance.
“Too bad, dude. You’re tall, but I’m bigger. You can’t take me on,”
And what’s worse, it was probably true. The guy was walking muscle. “What the fuck, Keith? What’s the matter with you?”
“That should be my line. Years putting up with you getting all the hot babes and it turns out you’re a fag. You’re fucking pathetic, man,”
Ashton laughed, wryly. “Like you wouldn’t have fucked Reona if you had the chance. I know you better than that,”
“Yeah, I’d like to fuck him alright, I give you that. But as far as I know, fucking isn’t all you been doing. You’re actually dating the little fag. You crossed the line,”
“I’m not gay, if that’s what you mean,”
“Of course not, your boyfriend just is,” a female voice interjected.
Candy walked an imaginary runway, perfect in her fake beauty, perched on Landon’s arm as if she were dragging him by a leash. Ashton briefly wondered if he’d looked so dog-like next to her, and hoped not.
“I see you bounce back fast,” he commented, pointing at Landon with his chin.
“Look who’s talking. Although I’m not sure if changing teams counts as a rebound, so you might have a point there,” she mocked, taping a pink nail on her chin, “Besides, someone needs to step in for the run now that you’re out,”
But of course, it was all about the prom. Now that Ashton was as likely to become prom king as everyone in the bottom of the food chain, she was holding on to the next in line – Landon, the hockey team’s alternate captain.
“Ashton, uh, dude,” Landon started, clearly avoiding eye-contact, “Coach wants to see you tomorrow morning,”
“But there’s no morning practice tomorrow,”
“Coach only wants to see you,”
Oh, shit. Ashton was doomed. Coach would have him stripped off his captainship if he got lucky, and out the team if he didn’t. He’d lose his scholarship. No college for him – not with his grades. No moving out. He’d end up waiting on tables with his highscool diploma, stuck in that godforsaken small town with a homo reputation to boot.
Some people saw the life they’d led flash before their eyes when they died. Ashton was seeing the life he’d lead, and thought he’d rather die.
---
Ashton wasn’t there yet when they got to the stairway. Elliot had insisted on coming along, worried that the jock might not be taking it too well and decide to vent out on Reona. It was silly, he knew, but it didn’t hurt to reassure his friend. Besides, it’s not like they’d be doing anything inappropriate in the current circumstances.
The jock turned around the corner, looking over his shoulder with a hint of paranoia. His face softened into a half smile when he saw Reona, but instantly melted into a scowl when he noticed the third wheel. Elliot flashed him a provoking smile, and the jock charged at him, only stopping when Reona jumped in.
“It wasn’t him, Ashton, I swear,”
“How do you even know?” the jock demanded, shooting Elliot a rock-hard glare, “He had every reason to,”
“We know who it was. Candy,”
Ashton seemed to calm down a bit at that. “I’m not surprised,” he confessed, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Coach wants to see me tomorrow,” he said after a moment of silence, playing with a rock with the tip of his sneakers.
“What does that mean?” Reona asked, anxiously.
“I can get kicked out the team, for all I know.”
Reona bit down on his lip. He didn’t know what to do. He wanted to comfort the jock, hold him in his arms, pet his hair and tell him everything would be okay, but he knew it wouldn’t. Ashton wouldn’t be himself without hockey, that much he knew. He touched him, tentatively, but the jock inched away, rebuffing him ever so subtly.
“So what if you get kicked out?” Elliot threw in, leaning against the concrete wall with his arms folded on his chest. “So what if you can’t be a hockey team stud anymore? Life still goes on,”
Ashton glared at him, smiling coldly. “I won’t bother explaining it to you,”
“Don’t worry, I’ll do my best to understand, even if you keep it down to monosyllables. I don’t expect much from a jock,”
The jock made for him again, and this time Reona had put his arms around him to stop him. “Don’t, Ashton, please! He was just about to leave, right?”
Elliot unfolded his arms and pushed against the wall, giving Reona a meaningful look before leaving. Ashton hugged him back, almost possessively, resting his chin on the top of his head. Reona breathed him in, the heady scent that was Ashton’s alone. He’d rather not have a sense of smell at all if it meant he couldn’t bury his face in that taut chest and smell him to his heart’s content ever again. He loved his smell, his body heat, the touch of his skin. He loved Ashton. He did.
The jock pulled away from him, his hands running up to hold his shoulders. Reona felt each and every one of his cells beg Ashton to kiss him, and something fluttered inside his stomach when he started leaning in with his eyelids already at half mast, and closed his eyes, waiting.
“Sorry, I… can’t,”
Reona stared after the jock as he dashed away, fighting back the stinging in his eyes. Yes, he loved Ashton, but that didn’t mean he loved him back. Or that he ever would, for that matter.
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