Uphill Battle | Solby

Chapter Four

TO:
Brennen the BrenMAN: hey, you gonna be free tomorrow? I wanna meet up.

TO:
Brennen the BrenMAN: Brennen?

TO:
Brennen the BrenMAN: dude, did I do something?

FROM:
Brennen the BrenMAN: I'm busy.

TO:
Brennen the BrenMAN: busy today or tomorrow?
Read 7:54pm

Colby shut off his phone with a sigh. He didn't know why he texted Brennen in the first place. Actually, that was a lie. Colby was lonely. Sam, his boyfriend, seemed to avoid him and Colby's other friends never seemed to be around anymore. The brunette wished desperately that he could go back a few years, back to a time when it was just him and Sam against the world.

He missed that, the simpleness of it all. He missed Sam.

Colby ran a hand through his hair and slipped his phone into his pocket. He'd set up their dinner at a small restaurant away from the main streets of town. It was a nice, quiet place and Colby knew the head chef. All he needed now was his boyfriend.

But Sam wasn't there.

Colby waited outside Sam's door for a minute or two before entering. The room was empty, just the usual Dan Howell bedsheets and an unnaturally tidy floor. Sam's laptop was on charge and surprisingly, Sam's phone was sitting on the bedside table. Colby's heart plummeted.

Had Sam simply forgotten or had he ditched?

Either way, it hurt. Colby's chest constricted and he sucked in a sharp breath as he pressed his fist to his mouth, desperately trying not to cry. He thought they'd be okay, he thought that when they started dating that everything would even out and they would be okay.

Why couldn't everything be okay?

He stumbled downstairs, bumping into Aaron.

"You look sick," Aaron said, concerned.

Colby smiled, hiding his pain. "You seen Sam?"

"He went out around ten minutes ago. Said something about meeting with Brennen."

Brennen?

Colby didn't remember walking outside or getting in the car or driving. He just remembered walking into that little restaurant and sitting at the table for two and staring at the empty seat until the place closed and he was asked to leave.

He didn't remember going home.

***

It was after midnight when Sam got back home. He'd been out with Brennen, trying to mend the broken friendship between them, even if it was only for Colby's sake. And he'd needed to start working on his Valentine's Day plans.

The house was quiet when he got back. Oblivious to the tension, Sam wandered up to his room, suddenly just wanting to kiss Colby until they saw stars. They'd lost parts of themselves over the last few months and Sam just wanted to get them back.

Colby wasn't in his room and Sam searched the house. Only Aaron had seen him and when he informed the blond on how sick his partner had looked, Sam understood. He fucked up, he knew that. Colby was already unstable in the relationship and Sam was too, but at least Colby would be okay if they broke up.

And it was Colby's fault that Sam started his downward spiral in the first place.

The hurt and the sadness was still there, Sam could feel it simmering beneath the surface but each day when he got up, he pushed it down and tucked it away so it could t hurt anyone else again. He took after Colby now and pretended things were alright.

Sam raced back op to his room and snatched up his phone, dialling the number he knew so well. It rang and rang and rang and Sam nearly started crying until someone answered.

"Colby?" He breathed.

"Hey Sam." Colby's voice was quiet but it was signal that Colby was alive and Sam slid down the wall.

"I could kiss you right now."

"Only now? I'm still sick you know."

Sam huffed a laugh. "In that case never mind. Where are you?"

Colby's voice instantly became colder but he still fought to keep his tone light. "I'm just out for a walk."

"You've been out in a walk for over four hours, dude."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Colby, come home. I don't want to lose you." Sam held his breath. They hadn't openly talked about the past. In fact, they hadn't said anything at all. They'd talked about things that didn't matter, they hadn't spoken about the terrors that haunted them or the fears that might very well become real.

"I don't know where I am," Colby said. "If you can find me Sam, I'll come back."

Somehow, Sam didn't think Colby was just talking about his current location.

"I'll find you," he promised. "And I'll bring you home."

And the uphill battle began.