.𖥔 ݁ ˖˚☽˚｡⋆
frank tastes like gum - mint flavoured gum, with the slightest hint of blood.
tyler doesnt know how to react when he kisses him. he just stands there, in shock, for a moment. an arm sneaks its way around his waist eventually. and thats when he blinks, and kind of snaps out of it.
he pushes frank off him immediately.
"what the fuck?!" he breathes out, a cold breath of air leaving his lips as he gasps.
"ty." frank sighs, and he bats his lashes and theres this almost pleading like look in his eyes. he takes a step towards tyler again. "we can make this work. i wanna make this work. if we just try, just give me a chance -"
"no!" he yells, shoving the other male off him as he grabs his arm. "frank, seriously, stop. i dont like you."
"why?" frank frowns. his sadness morphes into anger; tylers there to see it as it happens. "why the fuck are you doing this to yourself?! hes not the love of your life."
"what the fuck makes you think that you are?"
"i might not be. but why cant you just give it a chance? itll be fun. we can watch movies, and get ice cream, and done all that couple shit." he grabs his hand again. "you dont know how much i've liked you."
tyler doesnt say anything. maybe thats the worse bit; he just stares blankly at frank for a while - like hes some stranger. for a moment, it feels like he is. tylers not sure if he wants to punch the other male in his face or just storm off and never see him again.
had it always been like this? was tyler too fucking stupid to notice? why does he feel so guilty? he looks at frank one more time before sighing.
"i liked you." its a small mumble. he looks up at the other male, slithers his hand off his. "as a friend. fuck - it felt like you were the only person who understood me. but you cant do this. hurt the people i love - and do fucked up shit."
frank looks at him desperately. "i know. ill do better."
tyler shakes his head. "no. im going." he says, finally. the air is cold, his hands are raw, his head aches, and his chest is racing. he wants to see rakim. talk to him. he turns around. "im going to go see rakim, and see if hes okay."
he stands there for a moment, waiting for frank to respond - another yell, another attempt for him to try to stop him.
"okay." he says, instead. its quiet this time. "ill see you later."
tyler nods, but he cant find it in him to turn around. "yeah. see you tomorrow."
the walk back to school feels excruciatingly long even though its only a minute or so. syd and domo are standing there; seemingly not having moved since he had left.
"what the fuck is wrong with that nga?" domo mumbles, then looks at him. "did you get to him?"
tyler shakes his head. "nah. he ran off before i could."
theres a moment of silence. syd opens her lips to say something but tyler beats her to it.
"actually, i left my phone." he starts walking towards the entrance.
"aight." syd nods. "we'll be in the car."
"go on without me. ill walk."
she frowns. "you sure? its cold as hell -"
"yeah, see you tomorrow."
"text me when you get home -"
he lets the door behind him and begins to walk through the hallways - school is pretty empty now, since it ended about twenty minutes ago. theres still some kids lurking around for clubs, some talking about the crazy fight - hell, when tyler stops at franks last class, there's a small group of students crowding the area, as well as a few teachers and school security.
after some shoving, he finally lands inside the classroom.
thats when he sees him, sat on a desk, an ice pack held to his cheek. rakims nose is bloody, and his eyes slightly bruised.
he seems to notice tyler immediately; and his shoulders kind of perk up.
he sits on the desk beside him. "you look like shit." his hearts pacing - but he cant tell if its from what-ever-the-fuck frank just told him or the fact this is his first time talking to rakim in months.
rakim snorts and looks at him. "yeah. i feel like shit, too."
"frank looked worse."
his eyes widen. "you saw 'im?"
tyler nods.
"he started it. mother fucker just punched me outta nowhere when i was trying to leave class."
"yeah." tyler nods. "he likes me."
"oh." rakim breathes. "shit, really? i wouldnt have guessed."
he shrugs. "yeah. 'ts weird. he just confessed and gave me one of those cheesy movie monologues."
rakim snorts. "so, what'd you say?"
"i said i liked him as a friend. but he went too far."
rakim nods. "what, he tried to kiss you?"
tyler glares. "he did kiss me. but its not that." theres a pause. "he hurt someone i love. someone i care about. thats fucked up. i cant forgive someone who does that."
rakim nudges, smiling at him. "i was pissed at him, but now i get why he did it. especially if it was for you."
tylers midway into smiling but then pauses. "listen, i need to talk to you."
rakim nods, grabbing at his bag. "i was 'bout to leave anyway."
they eventually make it out of the class and walk through an empty hallway on the second floor.
"y'know, i broke up with my girlfriend. she came to see how i was, all concerned. and i just broke up with her. i feel bad but it is what it is." rakim says. tyler feels his chest skip a beat. he looks at the other male.
"why?"
"why the fuck you think, ty?" rakim smirks.
tyler frowns. "listen - this is what i wanted to talk to you about. what are we?" he pauses, but not long enough for rakim to answer. "i know you like me - but your too scared to be in relationship with me, so you wanna avoid me, but now your tellin' me you broke up with your girlfriend. and its getting tiring as hell; playing this shit back and fourth. being non chalant and casual." he stops walking, and rakim follows. "do you want to date me? yes or no? because i dont wanna play around anymore. its boring. and fuckin' lame."
rakims smile drops. he looks at the ground for a moment then looks back at him. "im sorry. i know im a dickhead. and you have every right to be mad at me." theres a moment. "but im ready now - i shouldve been ready before. and i know. and im sorry. but for what its worth, im finally ready."
"—but you have to understand it wont always be easy for me." he adds. "im - im not ready to tell the whole world. and you need to understand that i may not be able to do shit like making out in public, or all that cheesy pda. i - i just cant, ty. i love you, but i cant. and im telling you this cause i love you - and i dont wanna hurt you again. its gonna be annoying sometimes. and your probably gonna wanna punch me in the face. and you can. ill let you. but i still wanna make this work. i wanna make us work. it wont be perfect. but we're young anyway. we're stupid - do stupid shit like sneak out of windows and get so drunk we throw up and fight each other. so,"
"so?" tyler echoes, he looks at the other male.
rakims lips tug at a smile. "so, yeah i wanna date you."
