Project: Neverbound (A Double Life AU fanfic)

25 - Planning a Reflection

While the rain the night before left a chilled wind in the air, for the most part, it was starting to warm up on the outside. The fur on the back of Ren's neck soaked up the rays of heat amidst the minor cold, giving him a quick shiver as he stepped outside with BigB to meet Grian and Scar.

The days passing by seemed longer and longer to Ren, and not in the good way either. All he could ever think about was his soulbound, how badly he wanted to just go back to the way things were with his silent crush and hope. Hope that one day he would be brave enough to confess his feelings and that they would be reciprocated.

Simply by existing, Grian managed to change all of that. The way he and BigB talked and laughed with genuine interest to each other, how closely together they would walk until one of them hit the other's hand with a sway of their arm and stammered an apology before only letting the gap between them get an inch or two longer and closing it off in less than seconds as if nothing ever happened. Ren could see BigB's smile absolutely beaming as Grian would go off the rails of their conversation and start over explaining something, usually something useless like learning how to fly. BigB doesn't even have wings, Ren would think to himself, why is he so interested? Does he just like hearing Grian talk? He never looks at me like that when I talk to him.

What was worse, Grian gave the same look back to BigB. B didn't talk nearly as much, he was never that type of guy, but of course Grian would have to go silent at some point during their two-way conversation, and every single time, it was the same look of joy directed at his best friend. Ren couldn't stand that look. It was why he and Scar were now opting to stay at BigB and Ren's place while the other two walked. It was Scar's idea, and he helped back Ren up on this change of pace by convincing Grian he'd rather not deal with the hassle of getting his wheelchair outside, and frankly, that was only partially a lie.

Best friends, Ren thought, his gaze unconsciously growing mean and judgmental at the two going down the street, best friends my ass. What does Grian have that I don't? You haven't been seeing him for the past few years. You haven't been living with him for the past few years. He hasn't been head over heels for you for the past few years. All of a sudden he meets you again out of pure coincidence and all you can ever talk about is him?!

"Helloooo, earth to Ren," Scar called, waving a hand in front of the dog-hybrid's face whilst his other hand leaned on his cane. Ren shook his head, clearing his mind.

"Oh, sorry my dude," he said.

"It's fine," Scar said, waving his hand dismissively. "So, anything new about you and B?"

He asked the last question with intrigue, and therefore was sorely disappointed when Ren hesitated to answer.

"Oh come on!" Scar groaned in anguish, his inner drama flaring. "It's been like a week!"

"He's not going to accept me, okay?!" Ren cried, his ears folding back as Scar moved a foot behind his other at the sudden outburst. "Just look at him! Look at him for a second and tell me he's not in love with Grian! If you two weren't soulbound, I would go nuts on that-!"

"Woah woah, take a breath there," Scar said, "nobody needs to be going nuts on anyone, we're playing matchmaker, not mafia."

Ren let out a sigh, though his fur refused to sit back down. Scar was right, there was no need for him to be angry at all, yet it felt like he'd never been more infuriated in his life.

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked. "I can't just force B to love me."

"But we can nudge him a little in the right direction," Scar said. "Tell you what, if, completely hypothetically, Grian already had a boyfriend, then B wouldn't be able to take him."