Unexpected Attraction (BxB Fantasy) | Completed

Chapter 6

Mikael's eyeballs were stinging from how much he had been staring at his phone on the side table next to his bed. He had waited for hours to get any kind of sign that Raphael was okay or if he needed help. Mikael had never been so worried for someone outside of family before. Perhaps part of it was the unease he'd felt watching that weird exchange had really been a cold slither of dread pooling in the pit of his stomach.

His phone screen suddenly lit up from an inbound text, so Mikael reached up and snatched it. He turned down the brightness even more and peered at the sender. It was an unknown number, which lit the fire of hope, but when he read the message on his lock-screen his hopes were dashed. It was just spam with some diet plan that a celebrity had used. Mikael bit his lip. He wished there had been time to figure out Raphael's number.

"I need to sleep." he whispered, putting the phone back and then rolling over.

Maybe Raphael will have messaged in the morning. With that, Mikael took a few deep breaths to relax himself and hugged another pillow. It didn't take long for sleep to draw him in.

But when he awakened the next morning, there was no text from Raphael. Mikael was more worried than hurt. Was Raphael unable to text him? Was he injured? Maybe unconscious?

Mikael had to find out. As he resolved himself to figure out what was going on, the teen received a text. He wondered if it was spam again, but he was relieved to see that it was the text he was waiting for from Raphael. However, the content was normal. Mikael's boyfriend was just saying good morning and asking if he'd slept well.

"Was I overthinking?" murmured Mikael aloud.

But every time he felt something bad in his gut, he'd never been wrong. But Mikael would hedge his bets and not be confrontational about something he wasn't sure was actually happening. That could offend Raphael and actually hurt their relationship. Mikael would wait for a sign to intervene and, at the very least, make sure that Raphael knows that he could come to the other teen whenever because he was trustworthy and capable enough for that to happen.

Mikael texted back a simple reply that his boyfriend wanted to see, then pushed himself out of bed with a yawn. He was planning to snag Raphael to eat lunch together or hang out a little bit after school. First things first, though, he had to get ready for the day. The teen's textbooks and homework had been packed up the night before. Mikael had also showered before bed, so he messily styled his hair and grabbed a casual outfit from his closet.

He did like form-hugging knit jeans and oversized tops or jackets for school whenever the weather cooled down and winter came around. He picked a thick, dark hoodie and a thinner white t-shirt to wear underneath so he wouldn't get overheated while walking around. Mikael pulled on a pair of white ankle socks and Converse, then he felt somewhat ready for the day. He finished getting ready with his weekly facial scrub and his unscented daily moisturizer.

Mikael traipsed back into his bedroom and grabbed his phone off the bed, picked up his bag, and then headed downstairs. He didn't feel particularly chipper that morning because of his concern, but Mikael had a plan. He felt determined enough to execute it. But could he do it without arousing suspicion?

"Kael, are you okay?"

Mikael realized he had been frowning, so he relaxed his facial muscles and managed a small smile towards Kirill. "I am okay, Kir. I just have a lot on my mind."

"Okay." Kirill went back to eating cereal.

Annika had to leave early for work today and Anton wasn't a baker or chef, so the trio were on their own this morning. Mikael could actually do a little cooking, so he decided to make some eggs and toast. He had a feeling he might not be able to eat with Raphael today, so he had to have something filling in his stomach.