𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒾𝓉 𝒶𝓁𝓁 // BL

𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘻𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵..... (𝘟𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘳'𝘴 𝘗𝘖𝘝)

I don't know what it is about Kace. We're both complete strangers and in less than a day I'm already telling him my entire life's story.

I tell him all about the grueling weeks of dry text messages that shouldn't have gotten to me but did. I tell him about Europe, and Stephanie's sudden and unexpected news that she would be staying for much longer than just a semester. And her vagueness surrounding the whole situation altogether.

I tell him....everything I couldn't tell her.

And the most exhilarating part is, he actually listens.

It's almost a relief to be getting everything off of my chest. And the way Kace listens...it's different from Steph. He doesn't make me feel judged, or like my opinions don't matter. He doesn't let me talk for awhile, and then start taking about something completely different altogether, like I hadn't said anything at all.
He just.....leans forward, chin resting in his hands, and listens intently. Every now and then he'll ask a clarifying question, but besides that he sits there quietly, looking very thoughtful.

He warm brown eyes hold only encouragement, and a hint of sadness as he listens to what my past month has been like. From the joys of celebrating Stephanie's success, to the pain of not really being able to communicate with her. I tell him how it feels like she's been drifting away from me, and even though I can't believe I'm sharing so much information with a stranger, in a way I feel like he really understands me.

I take a deep breath, finally leaning back in my chair as I finish recapping the entire story to him.
"—So now I just don't know what to do...you know?" I start to rub my forehead, at a loss at what more I could say. After a quiet moment, he says, "Geez... thats rough man. I'm really sorry you're going through all that." Out of words to say, I simply nod. He continues softly, "I just got out of a relationship like that too. We were never able to communicate, and sometimes I would get so wrapped up in all her problems that I'd just....forget about my own. Like, I just felt small, you know? and suffocated. Like she was the ruler of the world and I was just her shadow, but sometimes not even that."

I glance up at him, surprised at how well he empathizes with what I'm feeling. He's looking down at his hands now, his empty mug much farther away from him than it was before. He must've pushed it away. As I study his face, I notice for the first time that he has freckles. A lot of freckles. God must've bumped the freckle jar over with his elbow while he was stirring up the ingredients to create him. Must've thought, "Whoops, I'll just leave that there." They suited him though. With the way the ginger hair framed his face it made the freckles look like constellations. I almost wanted to trace over them with my finger. I blush. What a strange thought.

I awkwardly touch the back of my neck. "Yeah, thats exactly how I feel with Stephanie sometimes. I mean as awful as that seems I just feel like she never really hears me. Like I'm never really there." As he's opening his mouth to reply, a different waitress comes to our table. She smiles reaching past us both to collect our cups. "Is there anything else I can get you gentlemen today?" She asks kindly, already reaching for the check. I look at Kace and he shakes his head. Looking back to the waitress I smile. "No, I think that'll be all for now."

***

It's dark out now. I have no idea how long we had been in there talking, but now, as I walked along the empty parking lot, I see that the streetlights are on. I look out into the deep purple horizon with my hands in my pockets. Kace and I had parted ways, but surprisingly enough he had asked for my number, saying he didn't really have anyone to talk to and he wanted to check up on me anyways, so I gave it to him. Plus, I wanna make sure you don't try to choke someone out again he had added with a mischievous glint in his eye.