The Halls of Westwood [BxB]

Chapter 25

"I'm done" Aiden's hands shook as he clutched onto the back of one of Sebastian's living room chairs. Aiden was once small, some may even say weak. He was easy to push around, easy to use, and manipulate. Sometimes he thought he still was... But for the first time in his life, he was standing up for himself. He was voicing what he needed after an accidental confidence boost from Xander... If Xander could stand up to their mom and Micah he could ask for a little respect from his boyfriend.

"With?" Sebastian barely spared him a second glance as he mindlessly scrolled through his phone.

"I want to go back to how we were... At least for now... I'm not ready for that stuff" Aiden barely managed to force it out without stammering over his words. "I feel gross... And it hurts and you're supposed to care about me" Sebastian groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned off his phone and finally looked up at the younger boy.

"I've had a long day. I seriously don't have the patience for this" Sebastian deadpanned. He halfheartedly shoved his fluffy dark hair out of his eyes. "You asked for it. Remember? You told me it was okay. You can't just take it back because you're in a mood" Aiden's throat tightened. He had agreed out of fear that Sebastian would leave him... Did that really count? Sebastian said it did... So it might. He wasn't so sure.

"I'm not... I just don't want to do anything for a while... Can't we just go back to movies and kissing?" Aiden brought his gaze to the floor. All courage and the thrill of confrontation were gone. He felt small... Weak... Pathetic.

"Aiden" Sebastian sighed before pulling the younger boy toward him with a warm smile. "You should have just said something sooner... Those are the best parts of my day" He hummed before pressing what Aiden had once believed to be a loving kiss to his cheek. Aiden sighed in relief and melted into the older boy's embrace. Sebastian wasn't angry... It was okay. He was safe.

"I love you"

"I love you too, bub" Sebastian chuckled before pulling away. "I'll drive down to the store and pick up some ice cream, yeah?" Aiden let a small smile slip and nodded. It was okay. Things were back to normal... Sebastian was back to normal. He had no reason to dread seeing him anymore.

Sebastian didn't uphold his promise. He never planned to... He never did... He just wanted to shut Aiden up... He knew that now.

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"We need to talk" Tai announced as soon as Aiden pulled open the door to the boy's dorm. Aiden's eyebrows shot up in surprise. His eyes were baggy and he was physically exhausted. He was a little bit happier... Beau had started attending classes more often and if Aiden was lucky he managed to talk him into joining him for dinner or breakfast, but never lunch. Beau had stopped asking for things completely... Aiden wasn't sure how he felt about that. Instead of telling him where he stood with Beau, Beau had decided to eliminate any physical affection from their relationship as a whole.

Now, instead of staying up late with Beau, he was staying up late stressing out over everything. Sometimes he avoided sleep as a whole. He had woken up to panic attacks in the past and it wasn't fun to explain to Austin that he wasn't dying or just having a bad day... That somebody had just fucked him up and now he had to suffer the consequences.

"What about?" Aiden hummed before sitting down on the opposite end of Tai's bed.

"Beau..." Tai glanced down at the sheets of his bed, nervously twirling the tag on one of his pillowcases around his finger. "I know you like him" Aiden's face fell and he quickly lowered his gaze feeling somewhat guilty.

"It's... Complicated"

"No, it isn't" Tai sighed. "The other day... When we were with Jullian and Jayce... The way you reacted when you thought Beau could get hurt... I'm not your first choice, am I?"