unpolished || miniminter || completed

.22

'Vik?'

His room was dark, but not so dark that I couldn't see the smaller boy's frame tucked tightly under his bedcovers. Hie eyes were closed, but as I went to leave the room, he opened them.

'I'm not asleep.' I smiled slightly, and moved over to sit on the end of his bed.

'What's going on, Vik?' I murmured, as he lay flat against the bed, arms pressed tightly to his side and his eyes fixed on the ceiling.

'I love him.'

'I know. But why are you doing this to yourself?'

'Because I'm not worth it.'

His eyes started to well up with tears, and my heart rose to my throat.

'Vik, that's not it. Just because JJ isn't gay, doesn't mean you aren't any less important.'

Vik didn't say anything.

'JJ might seem like 'the one' now, but he won't be. If he doesn;t love you in the same way, he can't be.' Vik choked out a small sob.

'That isn't to say he doesn't love you- he sees you as a little brother, regardless of what he is tweeting. That's probably why it seems so... weird to him. It's like, me coming on to you.'

Vik frowned slightly.

'That would be weird.'

'Exactly. That's what it's like for JJ.'

He fumbled at the duvet covering him with trembling but nimble fingers.

'I can't make him like me, can I?'

'No. Not if you want it to be real.'

Vik swallowed, nodded, and then sat up against the bed.

'Are you gonna come eat? You look starved.' I asked, a hand reaching to brush his shoulder.

'Nah. Gonna stay in here for a bit. Got a lot to think about.'

'Don't think too hard, V. If it's not meant to be, it won't be.'

Vik nodded distractedly, still leaning up against the headboard of his bed.

'You're wise for someone who can't make a bowl of soup without ending up with 3rd degree burns.' He muttered as I stood up, my dodgy ankle resounding a dull pain up my leg.

I grinned at him, and walked out the door, knocking a bowl from his desk on my way.

'Clumsy!' He yelled, rushing out of the bed to clean up the cereal that was now all over his carpet.

'I did it on purpose!' I yelled back, the lie sounding almost believable, even to me. 'That was for the burns comment!'

~~