The Dream Boys Stick Together

When Sweet Turns Bitter

The darkness of the room swallowed them up; the only light to be seen was that of the moon. Through the window the tops of buildings could barely be seen glowing in the light. Tobi curled himself up against Wes's chest. His skin felt smooth. Wes hugged him tighter and ran his fingers through Tobi's brown-red hair, then all the way down his back, then up again. He kissed his neck.

"Wes... does Fumio still bother you? Is it hard for you to be around him?"

"Hm, no. He knows that I'm not interested in fucking up my life and yours for him. I stopped being angry at him a while ago. I still don't like the dumb shit though," he laughed. "Did today bother you?"

"No, I was just afraid that seeing him might have dredged up some hard feelings. He doesn't scare me." Tobi took both hands and held Wes's face in front of his. He smiled.
"Look at my face. This is a once and a lifetime face. He never had a chance."

Wes wrinkled his nose and chuckled. "You're right!" The smile on his face softened; he studied Tobi's face, and gently traced the outline of his jaw. "You're right," he whispered. He pressed his lips into his. "I love you, Tobi. I would never let you go."

"Neither would I. I love you too."
They took each other in closer, and began to drift to sleep.

Tobi's phone rang. He opened his eyes and sighed. His arm flung over to the nightstand to reach it.
"Leo."
His stomach dropped, and a cold sweat quickly raced across his body. Wes took his phone and turned it around to read the caller ID. A deep growl came from his throat.
"Don't answer."
Tobi started to shake. They waited until the phone went silent. A moment later, it lit back up.
"I know you're awake. I want to talk."
Anger welled up in Tobi's eyes. He furrowed his brows in frustration and ground his teeth together. Wes took his phone, read the message, and blocked the number.
"It's no use, he just uses a different one every time... Whenever I change my number he still finds it."

"Well, this'll hold him off for a little while." He handed the phone back to him. "I'm gonna kick that slithery bastards ass."

"No, it's fine..."

"Tobi! He stalks you. He's done so much messed up shit to you. Don't you want him to stop bothering you?"

"I do, but I don't want to hurt him... I feel like I just brought that stuff on myself... it feels like my fault that he's like that."

"That's bullshit. Tobi, he's like that because of something that happened to him a long time ago. He can't control how he ended up because of that, but he can control his actions now. He doesn't have to pass his suffering onto somebody else, but that's exactly what he's doing to you. Leo saw that you have kindness to give, and he took that to his advantage. Tobi, he's manipulating you. Did you hear what you said? That's exactly what he wants you to say. I'm not gonna let you take that shit anymore." His face was serious. He gently took Tobi's chin.

"Get rid of him," his voice came to a whisper; there were hints of sadness and anger.

Tobi knew that Wes hated seeing him like this; it made him feel powerless. Tobi always felt bad for making him worry.

***

His apartment was stylish. Black leather sofas lined the wall on the opposite side of the large room. A large picture of black horses hung on the wall. The rest of the room was made up of dark colours, with the strategically placed bursts of red and orange. The wall facing the door was all window from top to bottom. To the right, a kitchen was tucked into the corner. A bar with tall metal chairs separated the kitchen from the living room. It's colours were similar to the rest of the room.

Tobi had visited Leo several times. He was often invited over for lunch or dinner, but Wes was rarely invited to come too. Wes didn't think much of it.

"Tobi, make yourself at home. Dinner will be ready soon. Do you want something to drink?"

"Water's fine. What's for dinner?"

"Lobster bisque with ciabatta bread."

"Sounds good."

He sat himself at the bar and cupped his hands around the glass Leo sat in front of him.

Leo had his back turned to Tobi. He was adding the finishing touches to dinner. "So how was your day today?"

"It was fine. Just the usual. I actually came onto a difficult part to read in that book, and I was stuck for a good hour."

"Are you still reading the German one?"

"Yeah, it's pretty lengthy and the author chooses funky sentences."

"Let me have a look sometime, I could probably make some sense of it."

"You probably could. You grew up in a multilingual household, after all."

He turned around and smiled. "That is true."

Tobi watched the slim figure move around the kitchen. He was waiting for him to say something else, but Leo stayed silent. This was odd because he was usually talkative; always talking about his family or asking Tobi a list of questions.

"You ok? You're quiet."

Leo poured the soup into the bowls and placed the bread to lay on the side of it. He turned around and said, "I'm fine, really. I've just got a lot on my mind today." A smile curled at the ends of his lips, and he raised his eyebrows slightly. "Come sit."

Only small talk was made at the table. Tobi felt tense in the silence. After they finished, Tobi stood up to take away the plates.
"Uh, sorry to leave so soon, but you don't seem to feel well. I'll see you later, ok?"

"Tobi. Wait."
Strands of black curly hair hung out of the spaces between the fingers that covered his eyes and forehead. Removing one of his hands, he patted the chair next to him. "Sit."

Tobi hesitantly moved himself to the seat. Something was changing. Neither of them said a word. Only the ticking of a clock could be heard.

Leo breathed a heavy sigh. He looked at Tobi. "I've grown fond of you, Tobi. You're one of the only people that have really paid attention to me. I... really admire the softness you show."

He knew what he was saying. Bluntness wasn't necessary. "Oh, but I-"

"I know," he said as he ran his fingers through his hair, "you find yourself already committed to Wes. I know..." Leo paused for a long while again. "...What do you see in him, Tobi? What can I do to make myself better than him?"

The room started to spin a little as Tobi started to be taken over by anxiety. "It's just... he's Wes. I feel a strong connection to him; I don't know if I could love anyone else but him. I'm sorry, Leo."

"...It's not fair. He doesn't deserve you." An angry undertone came into his voice. "He's taking the happiness you could give me away. I'm all alone and he knows it. You know it too."

Tobi couldn't help but to feel like an object when Leo talked about him that way. "But you're not alone, Leo. I'm still your friend; I'm still here for you."

He scoffed. "That's not true. I thought I could trust you. I thought you would change for me, but I guess you're not what I thought you were."

The sting of his words made Tobi flinch a little.

"It's your fault that I feel this way... just go home, Tobi. Back to your empty relationships." With that, he stood up and went to his room. His walk was slow.

Tobi was hurt. On the way home, guilt riddled his thoughts. "This is really my fault, isn't it? I hurt him. He thinks I'm a bad person..." He gritted his teeth. "No, he's the bad person. I'm not meant for your beck and call, Leo."

The following weeks consisted of on and off text messages from Leo. Some of them were apologies, others were aggressive messages demanding he respond. Wes grew increasingly worried as Tobi became increasingly distant. He offered to talk to him, but Tobi wanted to take care of Leo by himself. After a while, Leo's persistence finally wore off.