Stay (Boy × Boy) ✔

CHAPTER 18

Despite of all William's resistance earlier that week, he had conscientiously showed up in all their practices so far. Although he barely said anything, Aydan wasn't going to let that unnerve him.

It didn't matter, if it took months to get William to talk to him again. Aydan was going to make it happen no matter what. There was literally nothing that would make him stop now that he had gotten so far.

''Yes! You're already making progress.'' Aydan got excited as soon as he saw William's new record on the small screen. They were practicing at the mansion, in the indoor swimming pool, and they had the entire room just for themselves.

William looked at his new record seemingly indifferently, yet there was something new in his brown eyes: a tiny glimmer of hope. It was gone in a second or so, but it had undoubtedly been there.

It took nearly two weeks, in other words 13 practices, before William finally said something other than the mandatory 'hey' and 'bye'. By then Aydan was already so used to the quietness, that at first he didn't realise William had said something.

''Sorry, what did you say?'' He asked.

''I asked why are you doing this? Why are you still helping me?'' William asked as he picked his towel from the back rest of one of the divans near the pool.

His body was already looking a tiny bit stronger, but he still looked fragile in Aydan's eyes. He wanted to tell William to eat more, but somehow that felt inappropriate in their current relationship.

''Because you're my best friend.'' Aydan answered and in his mind he continued: and because I feel responsible for what happened to you.

Even more than that, though, because he wanted to see William smile again. William nodded, his expression unreadable, and they fell back to silence.

They were done with the practices of the day, so Aydan took his towel as well and started drying his body. There was so much he wanted to say to William and so many questions he was dying to ask.

Yet he didn't know what he could say and if saying something would send them back to the starting point. Aydan was already on his way to the door, that would take him back to the other parts of the mansion, when he turned to look at William one more time.

''I'm really glad I get to practice with you again.'' Aydan said and a small smile spread on his lips.

''Yeah.'' Was all William said, but the cold look in his eyes softened when he looked at his friend smiling by the door. That was definitely something.

''See you tomorrow.'' Aydan smiled, before turning to leave the room.

***

William's seizures were coming more and more infrequently, and he had got only one bad seizure during the month they had spent at the pool together. The other seizures occurred mostly out of the pool, when William just stopped responding to his surroundings and stared blankly in front of him.

He usually knew beforehand when those absence seizures were about to come, because he could smell or taste something that wasn't there.

Aydan still dreaded the seizures, and he knew the risk he was taking by staying at the pool with just William, but he had gotten a good initialisation about what to do and what not to do.

So far William hadn't got another seizure in the pool, which was a relief, because he either had his premonitions — the smells and tastes — and he knew to get off the water or they had finished practicing and William was already off the pool.

So, they had had luck, but Aydan was always more or less on the alert: he wanted to be 100 % certain nothing bad happened to William.

One day, when Aydan came for the afternoon practice, William was sitting by the pool and dipping his bare feet in the water. Aydan walked to him and sat on the cold tiles next to him.