"I need space." Those were the words Jacky said to Ryan the night before they both left for separate colleges. Now, each of them will try to learn who they are without the other. Will their paths lead them back together?
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Ryan
Ryan hadn't gotten a text back from Jacky immediately, so he had gotten up and started wandering. Knowing how Jacky would likely react, he hated that he'd even sent the text. He paused by a booth where college students were lined up for wheel of fortune that mostly gave out lollipops as prizes. Other students could get excited about a lollipop, while Ryan felt like he'd never had fun since he arrived at college. Everything felt like so much work.
"There you are," Marina said, jumping in front of him. "I got you some cotton candy."
"Oh." Ryan accepted the rainbow-dyed cone of fluff.
Tearing off a piece, Marina said, "It's from the LGBT Center booth. I figured you would like it," before popping it into her mouth.
"I mean, it's pretty." Ryan took a piece. The cotton candy dissipated in his mouth almost instantly.
"So why do you look like someone kicked your puppy?" Marina asked conversationally.
Ryan shrugged.
Marina grabbed the cone away from him. "Tell me or else."
He shrugged again, swallowing, before he told her about what Charlie said and what he'd texted Jacky.
"I don't get why you look so depressed when you communicated your needs clearly," Marina said.
"Because I feel bad for ruining his night."
"His feelings are irrelevant. You have something you want to discuss. He can be an adult and discuss things, or he can be a whiny baby about it. You're allowed to have feelings too."
Ryan wasn't sure what he'd been expecting her to say, but this certainly wasn't it. "You don't know Jacky," he mumbled, and at that moment his phone rang. The caller ID told him it was who he thought it was.
He was about to answer it when Marina grabbed his wrist to stop him. "Don't let his emotions override yours. You can set the boundaries."
She released his wrist, and he answered the phone.
"Hi, Jacky," he said.
"Hi." Jacky's voice sounded strangled and breathless, but Ryan couldn't quite gauge his mood from that short syllable.
When Jacky didn't say anything else, Ryan said, "I didn't expect you to call right away."
"Yeah." The breathy way he said it made it sound like he was almost laughing.
The silence was too loud – Ryan couldn't help himself. He had to fill it.
"Look, I just wanted to talk about our relationship. It wasn't an emergency or anything. We can talk later if you're still busy ice skating with your friends."
"I don't fucking care about ice skating, Ryan!" Jacky snapped.
Now Ryan knew exactly where Jacky's head was at. He started to walk away from Marina to give himself a little privacy. This wasn't going to be an easy conversation.
