One Thousand Paper Cranes

Chapter 11

Eliam and I. I had no fucking clue what we were. I pondered this as I sat on my bed fiddling with one of my cranes, waiting for Greg to get out of the shower. We were friends. That's what the answer was. We were friends and if he ever wanted to be something more then we would be something more.

I let the soft patter of water coming from the bathroom calm me. I found a strange sort of serenity in repeated patterns. Greg turned off the shower, I could hear him padding around in the bathroom, getting dressed.

Roman hadn't showed up yet and I was beginning to think he wasn't going to. I stared around me at my dorm, trying to fight all the thoughts that wanted to swim up to the surface. My eyes fell on a stack of books Greg had left on the floor next to his bed. The Great Gatsby sat on top. Life of Pi right underneath it. I didn't recognize any of the others and their spines were frayed and faded. I stared at them and let my whole mind focus on them and only them.

"Shouldn't Roman be here?" Greg asked as he stepped out of the bathroom. His hair was still damp, but he was dressed. Striped shirt and maroon pants. A jacket was slung across his shoulder and he looked relaxed, something that was never associated with Greg Hanes.

"I'll call him. He's probably watching The Phantom of the Opera again." Though Roman never openly admitted to having a soft spot for classical Broadway plays it wasn't anything he was ashamed of. Greg nodded as if he had already guessed that himself.

I called Roman as Greg went around the room, looking for his shoes.

"Hey, Sammy." He answered, his voice full of glee. He sounded a little too happy.

"Hi, Roman. Where the hell are you?" I asked, calm as can be. I could hear Roman sigh on the other end.

"Shit fuck. Mother of Mary Magdeline." He whispered. "I forgot we were hanging out. How the fuck could have forgotten. Greg reminded me this goddamn fucking morning. I'll be over in a flash." Before I could respond to his sudden outburst he hung up.

"He's coming." I said to Greg. He smiled and not for the first time did I think there was something more there. Roman hadn't told me anything had happened between then, but I'd started to notice things. How Greg always perked up when I mentioned him. How Roman blushed more when he was around him. They were so fucking obvious about it, so I didn't mention it.

"Can I tell you something?" Greg asked, tying the laces of his shoes. He stood up from his bed and walked over to me, sitting on my desk chair. He leaned onto his knees, his head resting in his palms.

"Yeah." I answered, leaning back against the wall. "Shoot."

"I want to ask Roman out. Tonight." He said, sighing when he was finished as if a big weight had been lifted off his chest. "I graduate this year, so I want to seize every opportunity out there. I really like him, Sam."

I smiled. Just the fact that he was confiding in me made me feel great. Greg looked down at his hands and smiled as well.

"I honestly think that is the cutest fucking thing. Listen, Greg, Roman, he's super sensitive. He may not act like it all the time, but trust me he doesn't need heartbreak. Just be careful with him." I felt the sudden need to protect him. He was like my brother. My very gay and super flamboyant brother.

"I wouldn't do anything to hurt him. I would never." Greg said defensively.

"No I know. I just have tool look out for him." I explained. He relaxed, nodding slowly.

***

It took Roman only about 15 minutes to come to us and trailing close behind him was Eliam. His hair was its usual curly self and he wore a grey jacket over a black shirt. He looked good, but that was a constant with him.

"Hey, Sam." He spoke to me as he stepped inside the dorm. He smiled, a bright contagious smile and I could feel my heart beat quickening and butterflies in my stomach.

"Hey," I said breathily. I walked over to him and with a sudden surge of bravery gave him a kiss on his cheek. He smiled again and I could feel it this time. He grabbed my hand and we turned to follow Roman and Greg.

"I see." Roman said, smirking as he stepped out of the door. I shoved his arm and he sped off, taking Greg's hand and laughing.

"Do you want to chase them?" I asked, grinning up at Eliam.

"Fuck yeah I do." He laughed and we darted off, towards the parking lot. I could see Romans black coat flapping up behind him and Greg pushing up his glasses with his free hand, looking over at Roman and smiling.

We sped past them and Eliam looked over at me, his eyes shining with glee. As we neared Greg's car I let go of Eliam's hand and hopped into the back seat, him right behind me. I looked back to see how far away Roman was. They were still quite the distance away. I looked at Eliam, swallowing down my ridiculous fear of rejection, leaned over and kissed him. It was quick, brief but sweet. I smiled when we parted and Eliam grabbed my face between his hands.

"You can't just kiss me then turn away. You're not getting away that easily." I blushed and he leaned down, kissing both my cheeks then my forehead. "There. Now you can turn away." He laughed, releasing me and I let my head fall against the cushion of the seat. Greg's car smelled like lemon. I looked around. It was clean, unnaturally so. It was almost as if he never drove in it. The only thing that showed any signs of use was the front seat. A blanket was covering the entirety of it and it looked like it had been sat on close to a million times.

I looked back out the window and saw that Roman and Greg were here, finally. They looked to be out of breath and they were laughing. Roman opened the door to the passenger side and got in, turning slightly and smiling at us. Greg took the driver's seat and shut the door.

"Where to, Roman?" He asked, smiling over at Ro.

"I don't know. I was thinking we could just drive around. See what this city has to offer." He answered. Roman shrugged, starting the car.

"Okay. I like the sound of that." We pulled out of the driveway and drove toward whatever lay ahead. Roman was not the best person to call the shots so I had no idea what the hell laid before us.

A/N: Hello! I was wondering if you guys would read a spin off of this story. Well, I don't know if "spin off" is the right word. It would be about Roman and Greg and their story. I haven't worked out exactly where I would go with it and even if I'm going to do it. So, I need to know if any of you would actually read it. Thanks!