Fighting Butterflies (BoyxBoy)

Ten

"Hi, I'm Nora. We go to the same school."

Ryan rolled his eyes inwardly as he listened to his friend practice her line again and again. They had been at Rollies since school closed, none of them even taking the chance to go home and change. All three had marched to the ice cream bar to support Nora on her new adventure, however stupid Ryan thought it was. Of course, he didn't want to be there, especially not after what he had been doing with the boy in question. And he was this close to telling Nora to shut up and just get on with it, but for his own mental well-being... as well as physical well-being, Ryan kept quiet and listened to her, smiling whenever she met his eyes.

"Gosh guys, I don't know what to do..." Nora stated, shaking her hands before rubbing them together.

"Aww, look at you," Ruxie cooed, pouting their lips as they looked at their friend. "I can't believe you're actually gonna do this. It's so cute," they said in a baby-ish tone that made Nora's cheeks redden.

"It would be if I wasn't such a mess," the black-haired girl stated, letting out a sigh and shaking her head as she ate a spoonful of ice cream. "I'm so nervous!"

"Don't be!" Ruxie exclaimed. They took Nora's hand in theirs, brought her fair and dainty hands to their lips, and pressed little kisses to her knuckles. "You're gonna walk up there when he comes, tell him your name, and ask for his number! And he's gonna give it to you without hesitation because guess what, you're fine as fuck and he'll be lucky to have you!" Ruxie stated with conviction. Then they turned to Ryan who had remained silent all that while. "Tell her I'm right, Ry!"

"Huh? What?" he asked, seeming confused as he had not been listening at all. He soon realized what was happening when he saw Nora's and Ruxie's clasped hands and when Ruxie nodded towards the backdoor of the ice cream bar which Drew had just come out of.

"Oh! Yeah, you have nothing to worry about," he said dismissively.

"Ryan, be serious!" Ruxie scolded and he rolled his eyes, sighing.

"I am! I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

"Uh, that he rejects me?" Nora all but screamed, glaring at Ryan. "Don't jinx it!"

Ryan took a deep breath. "Trust me, I'm not. You feel nervous now but when you go to him and say hi, it's not gonna be as scary as you think. Trust me," Ryan advised. And though he hated telling her to absolutely go ahead on this adventure, he knew he had to. Nora had talked about this for ages and telling her to not go ahead now would be quite hypocritical of him.

"Trust you? Why? Are you and Drew friends now or something? Nora scoffed, her brows raised in curiosity.

Ryan spluttered the smoothie he had been drinking, quickly wiping his lips with a tissue. "No, of course not. I've never even spoken to the guy," he rushed out. "I'm just saying, he's just a normal person like all of us."

Nora sighed. "Alright. He's standing there right now... I'm just gonna do it," she stated, taking in a deep breath.

As he watched his best friend stand up from their table and walk toward the bar, Ryan's only wish was for he and Drew to have had more time. He needed more time until Drew was no longer his to look at, until Drew was no longer his to touch, his to kiss... he just needed time. Two weeks of hanging out with the guy he's wanted for the last two years were not enough. Two weeks of learning how to kiss with Drew had not been nearly enough for Ryan to savour and keep in his memory.

But even then, he still could not tell Nora to not go ahead. And Ryan hated the thoughts he had within him, he hated hoping that Drew would somehow reject Nora right there and then. Ryan loved his best friend, but he wished she liked somebody else. Maybe that way when Drew decided it was time to stop what he and Ryan had, Nora would reject him and he'd come running into Ryan's arms for comfort.