FicWad

Roxanne had gone home after giving Dru her number. Dru went to kitchen and got himself a beer from the fridge. He slumped on the sofa and turned on the TV to E4. It was 2am and the only thing on for hours was Switched. He decided to text Ash.

‘Hey, did ya find him?x’
No reply.
“Must be no signal.” He said to himself and watched the TV

Ash’s phone buzzed. But he ignored it. He took a deep breath, Stef looked like he had just seen a ghost. Those big brown eyes staring right into his own. “Stef...” Was all Ash could say. He couldn’t find any words in his mind that were appropriate to say aloud. ‘Oh my god, how have I never noticed?!’ He thought to himself.
Stefan began to speak. “Ash. I…How long were you stood there?” he asked hesitantly.
“Long enough.” Ash replied.
‘Oh God. He heard the whole thing.’ Stef thought. ‘What now?! Will he hate me? No. Why would he hate me? He’s my friend. He’d understand, wouldn’t he?’ His thoughts were going haywire.
The silence was broken by the three girls from earlier all saying “Awkwaaaard.” And then giggling childishly.
“C’mon Stef. Let’s go home.” Ash said, walking away from the pub and to the car.
Stef said goodbye to the woman and joined Ash in the car. The car journey was silent and slightly awkward.

Dru’s phone rang he answered it before looking who it was.
“Hello?” He said.
“Hey Dru…” The girl on the other line said. Dru’s chest suddenly hurt, it was his ex-girlfriend.
“Um…Hi Keavagh…Nice to hear from you.”
“Yeah, I did kinda just walk away from our relationship…” She said sadly.
“I know that. But why are you phoning me at 2:30am? In fact, why are you calling me at all?” he said a little too harshly.
“Oh...Uh…”
“Before you say anything.” Dru interrupted. “I went to Cyprus without you.”
There was silence for a second.
“I know.” Keavagh said. “I saw you there.”
Dru didn’t say anything so she continued. “I saw you there and felt awful for everything. I went home literally crying the whole flight home. I refrained from calling you these past few days to try and think of what I’d say to you when I did ring you. And…I’ve forgotten it all, every word. So I’ll just say this. I was a douche for leaving you like that, I was a douche for leaving you anyway. You’re perfect Dru. And I hate myself for only just realising it. I love you. And I mean it.” She broke down and began to sob.
Dru was staring into space, barely holding onto his beer. He listened intently to everything she said. He felt something drop on his arm, he was crying. The tears were flowing from his eyes like rivers.
“Keavagh, I…I’ll have to get back to you.” He said and hung up. ‘Fuck. What the hell do I do now?’ he thought when he remembered Roxanne. ‘I really need to sort me life out.’ He shut off the TV and went to bed, leaving the half-empty beer can on the coffee table. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Stef’s phone started ringing. He checked who it was and ignored it.
“Who was that?” Ashley asked, continuing to look at the road ahead.
“Unknown number.” Stef said.
“Oh.” Ash replied. Ash thought for a moment. “Stef…”
“Yeah?” Stef said, turning his head to look at him.
“Why did you keep this from me?” He asked.
Stef looked down at his feet and then out the window. It had started raining. “Well…because I couldn’t find the right time to say anything. And when there was an appropriate time, I chickened out.” He said, fiddling with his sleeves.
“Right. I understand.” Ash said, trying not to sound sarcastic. Ash tightened his grip on the steering wheel and breathed heavily.
“You okay, Ash?” Stefan asked.
“Yeah…Just a bit…unexpected.” He used his hand to move his hair out of his eyes.
“Well…You weren’t meant to hear it like that…” Stef chuckled nervously.
“I don’t think I could imagine hearing it any other way.” Ash said.
“Oh. Okay…” Stef said, he had become confused.
Ash parked the car outside their building and got out the car. He suddenly smiled when he got to the door.
Stef stepped out of the car and the door shut with a ‘slam’ he froze when he saw Ash smiling.
“Why you smiling Ash? It…it looks kinda creepy.” He raised his eyebrows. ‘Does he find this funny?’ Stefan thought.
“I just wish you could have told me sooner.” Ash said, his smile disappeared, he turned to face Stef. It was the first time he had looked at Stefan since the pub.
Stef looked down at his phone to check the time. 3:30am. He looked up to find Ash practically inches away from him, he jumped slightly. Stefan was a little scared of what was going to happen next. But what happened next was much higher than Stef’s expectations. He thought Ash would’ve started yelling at him, he didn’t know why he was expecting that kind of thing. He thought that until he looked properly at Ash’s expression, he looked relaxed and he was looking deeply into Stef’s eyes. “Why? What would be different if I’d told you sooner?” Stef asked, looking back at Ash just the same way.
“This.” Ash said as he leant in and kissed Stef. Their lips met briefly but Stef pulled away quickly, he was staring at Ash, wide-eyed and his breath was quickened.
“Wh…What’s going on?” Stefan asked frantically. Ash went closer to him and took Stef’s hand in his.
“Stef. I’ve had feelings for you. For a long time. I went out with so many girls because I thought I was going crazy. When I eventually came to the conclusion that I loved you, I thought I was a fool for even think for a second that you’d love me back.” Ash bit the inside of his lip. ‘Finally. I told him.’ He thought, smiling to himself.
Stef tried to speak but all that came out from his mouth was a high-pitched squeak. He covered his mouth with his free hand and looked down. He heard Ash chuckle. He looked back up at Ash and moved his hand from his mouth. Ash ‘pinged’ one of Stef’s curls. “Your hair’s all frizzy.” Ash said, smiling at him.
“I know.” Stef tightened his grip on Ash’s hand.
“I love you.” Ash pulled Stef in for a hug.
Stef hugged him tightly. “I love you too.” He said softly.