Oh dear, here we go again.
Lol surprise (again?)! I'm back, did you miss me? I'm not going to be uploading consistently, just whenever I've got an idea!
A R Y A N • ( R Y E )
✵
I look over, tilting my head down to look at Bram (short for Abraham) lying there. His eyes are closed, though not squeezed tightly; his lips are closed, but parted slightly. His hands are folded together, placed on his abdomen. He looks peaceful...
And then he bursts out laughing.
Mr. Evans sighs loudly. "Cut!" He yells, his voice booming across the auditorium. "We're done for today! You boys have to stop messing up this scene! I will recast if I need too!"
Bram sighs, getting out of the fake coffin, taking my hand I offered to help him.
"Well," he says. "That was eventful."
"Oh, do you think so?" I ask sarcastically.
"Abraham and Aryan, may I please speak to you?" Mr. Evans calls from across the stage.
"Look boys, I know you don't want to be in the class play, but it's required participation. Not my choice, might I add, but Principal Jackson's. Please put in some extra practice so I don't have to recast and fail you both." Mr. Evans says, looking between the both of us. "Just promise me. It's Friday evening, I know. Even if it's just for twenty minutes, we have got to get through this scene without laughing."
Both Bram and I nod, turning around and heading towards the exit to grab our stuff.
"I look forward to being able to run through the entire play at practice on Monday without having to stop!" Mr. Evans yells at our backs.
"Well... you wanna go to my house and practice then?" I ask Bram, who shrugs.
"I guess. I drove today though, so I'll meet you there."
✵
Bram and I met in middle school (seventh grade), playing travel baseball. I'd briefly heard of him, but that was only because of travel ball— he didn't go to my school. Over the course of that season, we got really close and started hanging out more and more. Then, on the first day of eighth grade this little best shows up in the cafeteria.
It's our senior year now and honestly, I think we're closer than we've ever been.
I pull into the my driveway, the front door open and my niece, Harley, standing in front of the glass screen door in a yellow shirt and a diaper with her hands pressed against the glass.
Her older sister, Harper, comes running to the door to pick her up so I can come inside.
"Where's Hardin?" I ask Harper.
"I don't know," she says. "Last time I saw him he was with Grandma,"
My older sister, Amayah's four kids are Harper (eight years old), Hardin (six years old), Harley (two years old), and Harmony (four months old).
"Mom, I'm home!" I call through the house. "Bram is coming in a few minutes!"
Harper perks up when she hears Bram's name; I think she's got a little crush on him, but if you asked her, she'd deny it up and down.
Bram's silver Honda Accord pulls in the driveway not five minutes later.
When he reaches the front door, we turn towards the stairs and head to my bedroom, and the entire time I can practically feel Harper's eyes burning a whole in the back of our heads.
"You know Harper has a crush on you, don't you?" I say once we get into my bedroom, closing the door.
He laughs. "Yeah, I kinda figured," he says, looking at me. "But I think I'm a little bit too old for her,"
I laugh. "Yeah, I'd say so,"
✵
Bram is laying back on my bed, and I'm looking over him again, trying to get through this scene without busting out laughing. It's only one line, and it's not even a funny one!
"He looks so peaceful," I say. "I hope he's at peace now."
And then I snort, causing Bram to sit up and laugh.
"At least you got the words out this time!" He points out.
"Yeah, that's a plus!" I say.
After about three more times, I finally get it to where I can hold my laughter in until we'll be off stage, which is good.
I give him a high-five. "I think Mr. Evans will be proud of us!" I say.
He nods, smiling at me, but holds on to my hand. "I'm proud of us," he says softly, looking into my eyes.
I offer him a small smile, which turns into his lips against mine. The kiss is soft and gentle, but quick.
And when he pulls away, he practically sprints out of my bedroom, leaving me standing confused and, honestly, kind-of dazed. I touch my lips, falling back on my bed and smiling more to myself than anything.
"What did you do to Bram?!" Harper demands, storming into my bedroom, stomping angrily.
"I didn't do anything, Harp," I promise her. "We... we were practicing for our school play, and he remember that he had to go do something and that he had do it super soon, so he ran out."
She looks at me skeptically, like she doesn't believe me, but she does at the same time.
I don't get the chance to go check on Bram that night, and all of my texts go with out a response. Amayah comes to pick up the kids, but Harper, Hardin and Harley beg to stay the night with Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Rye, so Amayah only ends up taking Harmony— and the only reason Harmony didn't stay is, well, because she's a baby.
✵
I wanted to go see Bram as soon as possible today, but the kids wanted me to go to the park with them, and then we went and ate lunch, then we went to Walmart, and now they're back at the house taking naps, even Harper who refused and said that she "wasn't tired".
It's four in the afternoon, and I'm finally managing to slip away. I tell my mom I'll be back later and head out to my car with my keys and my phone. Hopefully I can figure out whatever is going on between Bram and I.
Bram's house is only about an eight to ten minute drive from my house, and there isn't much traffic out— considering the fact that it's a Saturday.
I turn onto Bram's street, turning into his driveway a few houses down from the entrance. His car is in the driveway, which is good news.
I get out, going to the door, and knocking.
His mom, Marissa, smiles when she sees me and invites me in.
"Oh, Rye! I didn't know you were coming over!" She says, pulling me into a hug.
"Yeah, I just wanted to see if Bram was okay. He left my house in a hurry yesterday and hasn't answered any of my texts." I explain.
She nods. "He's in the shower right now, but you can go ahead and wait in his room if you'd like!"
I nod, giving her a smile and thanking her.
I take a seat on Bram's bed, trying to plan out what to say in my head, when he walks out of the bathroom, shirtless, with a towel wrapped around his waist, and water dropping from his hair onto his skin.
"Rye—" he says, looking from me to the towel.
My breath gets caught in my throat, and I try to take a deep breath, keeping my eyes on his.
"Um, your mom let me up," I stammer.
He nods. "Okay, I'll be right back,"
He walks back into the bathroom, coming out a couple minutes later with clothes on. He sits beside me on his bed, not looking at me, but at his feet.
"We need to talk about it," I say, not beating around the bush.
He sighs. "I know... I'm just scared. I don't want my best friend to hate me forever, you know?"
I raise an eyebrow. "And I would hate you why, exactly?"
He looks at me, and then takes a deep breath. "Rye, I know we've been friends for a long time, but I really, really, really, really like you and I don't want to mess up what we have, but I can't keep my feelings to myself anymore, and—"
I put a finger against his lips. "It's okay," I tell him. "Bram, it's okay,"
I pull him closer to me, nodding slowly when he looks at my lips. His lips are against mine again, pressing his body into mine gently as he cups my face in his hands. I let my hands rest on his hips, squeezing lightly and holding him close to me.
When he pulls back, he looks into my eyes and then leans back in again, pressing his lips against mine.
He pulls away, and I'm left speechless for a minute as I stare into his deep green eyes. How'd I get so lucky?
He smiles at me, pulling me back in again, a kiss pressing against my lips.
4/12/21
Okay, listen, I know it sucked but I haven't written in a while so...
