Frustration -SERIES- [Part 2] Headphones & Reveries [boyxboy]

Chapter Three

'You were amazing today.'

I looked over at Conor, surprised. I could feel a blush starting to creep over my face and muttered, 'Shut up,' embarrassedly.

'No, seriously,' he insisted, reaching for my hand. We were alone in the hotel elevator on the way back to our room. 'You were great.' He pointed towards my head with his other hand. 'And stop whatever hamster-wheeling in going on in there trying to come up with reasons why you weren't. Just accept it.'

I wasn't really sure what to do so I did nothing. I'd been really steeling myself for trying to appear nonchalant and told-you-so when Harley inevitably told me that my pictures sucked and he wouldn't be using them; the fact that it seemed to have gone okay was throwing me a bit.

We arrived at our floor and Conor pulled me out of the elevator and down the hall towards our room.

'You're not just saying that?' I asked as he swiped his key card. 'Be honest.'

He pulled me into the room and closed the door and put one hand on either side of my face and looked me in the eyes and said seriously, 'You were amazing today.'

I looked down, sill embarrassed, but a big smile spread over my face. 'Thanks.'

'Now,' Conor went on, manoeuvring me towards the bed and pushing me down on it. He put one hand under my right knee and pulled it up, the pushed my left hand over my head. 'Where were we...'

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'This is so weird,' Josh muttered. 'I do not feel prepared.'

It was 5am on a Saturday morning and we were sitting at one of the picnic tables outside the Coffee Dock, nursing a take-out cup each. In an hour we'd leave for the airport and then we wouldn't be back at Glenstal Abbey until our graduation ceremony in September. For all intents and purposes, it was our last day at school. Ever.

'Like I'm not gonna say I loved every second of it but it does kind of feel like somebody is demolishing the house I grew up in,' I muttered.

'Would it be weird if you and I continued to share a room for, like, ever? I'm not saying I'm so used to sleeping with you five feet away that I can't sleep without you but, yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying,' Josh mused.

I laughed. 'I'm not sure whoever your roommate at Stanford ends up being will be too on board with that.'

'What are you guys gossiping about?' Rachel demanded, dropping on the bench next to Josh with her own cup of early morning caffeine. I glanced through the windows of the Coffee Dock to see Name Withheld and Jackson still waiting for their orders.

'The logistics of Tyler and I entering into an lifelong asexual homo-romantic union.'

'Oh. Cool.'

At that moment my phone beeped and I cringed. I was sure I'd set it to silent but I'm not too reliable this early in the morning.

'Is that them?' Rachel piped up, her energy levels rising with caffeine and excitement.

'Probably not,' I muttered, focusing on my coffee.

'Come on, look and see.'

I ignored her studiously.

'Come on dude,' Josh prodded me. 'It can't be that bad, Get it over with.'

Harley had promised us that he would send us the finished ads before we got on our flight to LA, and while I'd been hoping he'd sleep through that deadline, he seemed to have kept to his word. Silently, I reached into my pocket to retrieve my phone and handed it straight to Josh.