Stay (Boy × Boy) ✔

CHAPTER 4

Then came the day when the serene summer days were only a memory: it was time to go back to school.

William was now on his sophomore year at college, whereas Aydan started his senior year. Although they were on different class, they still saw each other a lot. They still had their morning and evening practices, and as they were at the same college, William usually drove there and back with Aydan.

Combining the swimming practices with school was tough, and it took some time to get used to that again. The first two weeks William was so exhausted he sometimes fell asleep during the classes, and when he got home he had to take a nap before even thinking about doing his homework.

William was an A student, just like George had guessed, but it wasn't because he was a genius or significantly smarter than anyone else in his class. He simply paid attention in classes and studied on his free time.

Getting good grades was one of the things William's parents required for, or as his dad said ''intelligence won't make you rich, hard work will.'' So, even if swimming and school was a tough combination, William had to make sure his grades remained eminent. If they didn't, he wouldn't be allowed to continue swimming.

This was one of the things Aydan never understood. He kept asking why William took school so seriously and why he had to be ''perfect'' in every subject. He seemed to think that William's parents would grant William to swim even if his grades weren't that good, that they somehow didn't actually mean to be that strict about it.

William, who had always gotten good grades, didn't dare to test Aydan's theory. Besides, it wasn't just William's parents who expected only the best — William was demanding for himself too.

So, instead of going out with friends or playing games, he rather spent his evenings studying. Thus it was good that Aydan was at the same swimming club and they were forced to see each others daily, so that William had at least one friend in his life.

Time passed quickly running from school to practice and from practice to school, and one day William realised he had been on his sophomore year for a month already.

He had successfully avoided Aydan's invitations to go to the club, where Aydan went every weekend nowadays, but he had had to see Claudia a couple of times. William still wasn't sure why Aydan wanted him to join them, because he was and would always be only a third wheel.

Claudia was as sweet and polite as always, but no doubt she would rather have spend her time with just her boyfriend, without some quiet and gloomy brat following them around like a shadow.

They had just finished their evening practices and William was ready for a quiet evening home. He would eat something good, study and maybe watch a movie to unwind before going to sleep. He no longer swam before bed, because he was too exhausted to have sleeping issues.

William's efforts to forget his love for Aydan took their toll, and to be honest, he wasn't sure how long he could keep going like that. He had given his all to the practices, so he was exhausted physically, and studied more intense than ever, so he was just as exhausted mentally.

William made sure he gave his all in every practice, but you couldn't say the same about Aydan. Ever since he had met Claudia and her friends, his record had gradually gotten worse. He was still the second best in the swimming club, but if he continued like that, he wouldn't be for long.

Aydan didn't skip practices, but he didn't seem to take swimming as seriously anymore, like he had somehow lost his passion for it. Couch had already told him to improve his records, but it didn't seem to make any difference.

''You're smoking now?'' William exclaimed, when Aydan lighted a cigarette outside of the indoor swimming pool.

''Relax, it's not a big deal.'' Aydan sighed and inhaled the smoke from his cigarette.