The Sight (bxb)

Chapter 56 - One Last Try

Evan should have guessed that the fact that Kieran stopped avoiding him would not bode well. When he met him right after the second period in the hallway, he lowered his head and waited for him to pass, but after he saw someone stop in front of him and smelled his scent, an alarm went off in his head.

He slowly raised his head, bracing himself for anything, and when their eyes met, Evan felt like time stopped for a moment. Kieran stood before him with a determined expression that lacked his usual lightness, his hand tightly gripping the backpack strap on his shoulder.

His mouth was unpleasantly dry, which prevented him from speaking, so he had no choice but to wait.

His eyes wandered over Kieran's shoulder for a second, and he noticed the familiar brunette leaning against the lockers a short distance away with his arms folded across his chest as if ready to step in at any moment if things went awry. Great, Kieran had backup, but he didn't. Evan had no idea where Angie was now, but he had never wanted her by his side as much as now.

Kieran cleared his throat, drawing Evan's attention back to him.

"Can we talk?" Kieran asked him, and Evan winced. It had been weeks since he last heard his voice, and now he felt like it was tearing his ears off. Not that it was unpleasant, but it was like an arrow to his heart and a trigger of his guilt.

Evan had no idea how to answer. He had nothing to say to him, no matter how bad it sounded. Moreover, he already knew that whatever he wanted to talk about, it would definitely not turn out well.

"About what?" he finally found his voice. He tried not to sound dismissive, but he wasn't sure if he succeeded. Kieran frowned, clearly not expecting such an answer, and silence fell between them.

They stood in front of each other like pillars, not one of them showing any movement. It was embarrassing, and Evan could feel the stares of the passing students stopping on him, but he decided to stay put anyway. He couldn't give Kieran an explanation, but he could at least give him the chance to embarrass him.

"Us. I want to talk about us," Kieran blurted out suddenly, and it took him a moment to register his words. He blinked in surprise, speechless, and stared at him as if he were crazy. There were no us left, and they both knew it.

"I-" Evan started but had no idea how to finish the sentence. He didn't want to deny Kieran anything as he felt indebted to him, but he knew this conversation could only end one way, and he'd rather avoid it. He didn't feel like crying in the school toilets again today if he didn't have to.

"Please," Kieran added, noting his hesitation. Evan swallowed dryly and raised his eyes back to him, which he had managed to lower earlier. He looked like he meant it and that he was determined to stand there until Evan agreed.

"Okay," he knew he'd made a mistake the moment he said it, but he didn't take it back.

Kieran bit his lip, obviously thinking, so Evan had no choice but to wait. He didn't know if Kieran was having second thoughts, but he doubted it, since he certainly wasn't that lucky.

As if sensing the awkwardness of the situation, Josh approached them. Evan noticed his movement in the corner of his vision and immediately shifted his gaze to him. Kieran noticed and looked over his shoulder, frowning.

Evan had no idea why Kieran didn't want Josh involved, but he honestly agreed. Josh was the one who was the most honest with him right now, which also meant the cruellest, and even though he knew he deserved it, he was a coward when it came to confrontation.

"I don't need help," Kieran told him when Josh was only a few steps away from them. His best friend shrugged his shoulders in response and continued towards them as if he hadn't even heard him.