Written in the Stars (W.I.P.)

Chapter 3

Dean
I woke up at eight this morning and got myself ready for school.
After, I quickly descended the stairs and when straight out the door, not bothering to wait for anyone else to wake up.
I headed toward my car and got inside, starting it up before peeling out of the driveway onto the street.

When I arrived at the school, I saw Rhys at the wall almost immediately, so I grabbed the backpack out of my passenger seat and got out of the car.
When I started walking over, and he saw me, he smiled and waved, drawing attention to the two of us.
I gently shoved the backpack into his hand and walked past him into the school so we weren't stared at a lot during our interaction.
Not that I cared much anyway, I just didn't want us getting on the drama page more than we already were.
For Rhys's sake, not mine.
As I made my way toward my locker, I felt a soft hand touch my shoulder and I whipped around, ready for a fight, before I saw him.
"Hey." I said, looking him up and down.
"Hi Dean," Rhys said, and he must've noticed because there was a very slight edge to his voice, "I wanted to thank you for bringing this back... I wasn't sure you were going to, since you're kind of..."
I wasn't listening anymore, I was too busy staring into his gorgeous, deep blue eyes.
"Uh... Dean...?"
"...Yeah?"
"Did you hear me?"
"Uh- right, yeah. Sure thing, it's not like I was gonna take someone's backpack unless it had some interesting shit in it." I said, smirking and continuing toward my locker.
"Wait a minute, does that mean you looked through my backpack-" He asked before I grabbed my stuff and walked away, not waiting for him to catch up with me.

During lunch, I got my food and got the hell outta there.
The cafeteria was like where they keep the dogs in prison, so I always ate in the library, which was never busy or loud.
I took my food tray and notebook to the very back of the library at a little gray round table by a huge wooden bookshelf with some of my favorite murder mystery books.
I flipped through my notebook to an empty page and picked up the pen stashed in between the spiral coil and the paper, and began drawing.
Each pencil stroke had a start and an end, like each person around me as I walked these halls, the start of the line began steady and wobbled only slightly as it continued.
The line ended in a point, coming together with other lines like it was all one big part of something, which it was.
When I felt finished, I leaned back in my chair and examined the art sitting in front of me.
The muscles in my chest tightened when I realized what I'd drawn.
I had drawn only a slightly sloppier version of Rhys Dawn.

I stayed in the library drawing and read a little longer even after class started.
I didn't care about going to my classes anymore, especially since, at this point, another tardy wasn't going to make much of a difference.

When I finally decided to get to my sixth hour class, as I opened the door, the teacher said, "That'll be another tardy, Dean Silvers."
I nodded carelessly and sat down as Charlie and Fredrick giggled in their seats at the back of the class.
Not like I give a fuck. I thought, focusing my attention out the window instead of on Mrs. Fara.
The one thing I was ever worried about was the stupid school policy when it came to tardies.
A parent had to be called every third tardy their kid is given, and this would be my third one this week.
Which meant my dad was going to be called.
Plus, he probably already found out about the drama post about me and Rhys, since my twin brother Julien was constantly talking about the posts at home, and he was never quiet about it either.

After school, when I drove home in my car, I could already see my dad shouting at whoever was in the room through the living room window.
Ugh... I made my way up the porch steps and let myself in.
"Dean, get the fuck in here, boy!" My dad yelled, throwing his hands on my shoulders and pulling me toward him.
"I already know what this is about." I grumbled, looking him directly in the eyes.
"Tell me, boy, what in your right mind makes you think that you can just sit around on your lazy ass at school and skip class?!"
"I don't know, sir."
"Well, that's not an answer!"
He threw his hand up in front of him and I flinched as it swung across my face.
"And your brother informed me of that post people have been talking about at your school," he looked at me, you could practically see the fire in his eyes, "it's against God to be gay, you know that, don't you boy?"
"Yes sir, I know." I said as he gave me another show blow to the face.
My blood boiled and I grabbed his hand before he could do it again.
I was so done with all of his shit.
"But what do you care about God? You're just a dumb bitch that uses his own children as punching bags!" I spat, tightening my grip on his wrist.
He forced it away from me and grabbed his belt from his pants, cracking it in the air dramatically before whipping it across my chest, making me wince.
"Don't you ever touch me again you little bastard, understand?!"
I was silent for a moment.
"Do you understand me, boy?" He asked again, raising his belt in the air threateningly.
"Yes sir, I understand."
"Give me your arm." He demanded, I did it.
He took the key ring off of the belt and dragged them across the skin of my arms, tearing at them until he felt better about himself, and let me go.
"Get out of my sight, little bitch," he grumbled, shoving me toward the stairs.
I staggered slowly up the steps, not bothering to grab the banister, and made my way toward the bathroom, where I threw up everything and anything I'd eaten that day.
Motherfucker.

Rhys
When I got home from school, I took my phone out of my backpack, which I threw beside the couch, and sat down.
Melissa scooted over to me and held out her phone.
I put mine down and grabbed her's.
Another drama post.
'Dean and Rhys are doing quite a good job at keeping their relationship out of clear view of the school, which is great for them, but not so great for us. I'm sure Dean loves the attention the two of them are getting though, it must be nice to have all the attention for a while.'
"That is ridiculous!" I exclaimed without thinking.
When the attention of our parents were directed on me from the kitchen, I decided to keep my voice down.
"It really is. I don't understand how they could even think you and Dean have something like that. Unless..." Melissa whispered, teasingly jabbing me in the elbow with her's.
"We don't have anything beyond a slight acquaintanceship." I said quickly, my chest tightening.
Melissa rolled her eyes.
"I mean, sure, of course you're 'only acquaintances'." She paused, meeting my eyes and carefully taking her phone back from my hands, "But that's not all you used to be."
She's right.
I sighed and grabbed all of my stuff before making my way up the stairs.
I don't care about the drama page and I never have, but why do the ones about me and Dean make me feel so angry?
I laid back in my bed, clutching my phone, and closed my eyes.
Ring, ring, ring!
I opened my eyes and sat up.
When I saw who it was, I stared at my phone for a moment before collecting myself.
When I finally answered the call, I said, "Hi Dean, what's up?"
"Hey."
There was silence.
"So why'd you call?" I asked suddenly, feeling a little awkward.
"I just..." He paused for a moment, sighing, "I want to start over."
I was silent for a single moment, contemplating how to respond.
What does he mean by 'start over'?
"You want to start over?" I repeated.
"Yeah... I mean, our friendship, I guess."
He sounded really nervous.
"Really?" I asked.
"Yeah, is that not okay with you?"
"N-no, it's fine. We can... start over."
"Ok, thanks... I just really need another person in my life that I can trust."
"Well, I'd be willing to become that person," I said sincerely.
"Th-thanks..."
There was an awkward silence between us.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." I said, trying so hard to close the conversation.
"Yeah, bye."
"Bye!"

I leaned back in my bed, closing my eyes once again and cherishing the moment for a little longer.
"He's finally coming around." I muttered to myself, smiling.