Nicotine | bxb [ON HOLD]

13

Byron's POV

Something was different about Rune. Something in his manner was strange, almost reckless. His laugh was too loud and his smile too fake. He hung around the store for the last part of my shift, and when I was off, asked if we could hang out. I let him, but felt slightly uneasy around him with the way he was acting, and the thought of his last texts to me.

Rune knew of a coffee shop within walking distance of the gas station, so we headed for that.

"Once you've tasted their coffee, you'll never settle for that shit they sell at the gas station."

"Oh no. Maybe I shouldn't try it. I was happy in my ignorance."

Rune laughed, but something about it seemed off. I found myself staring at his profile while we walked. He looked the same as he always did, but for some reason, he seemed sad, depressed even. His laughter didn't ease my concerns, the fact that it was so forced made me worry even more.

"That's because you only drink coffee to keep you awake. I drink coffee because I love the taste."

"Eww!" I pulled a face, and he looked over at me, staring at me with a look in his eyes that almost made me blush. "Coffee only taste good with a lot of milk and sugar, and only if it doesn't taste like coffee."

"You just—you don't even like coffee then! You like sugar and milk and you're just using coffee."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic, Rune." I laughed, and felt him looking at me again, but made sure to keep my eyes looking ahead of me. I was scared that if I met his eyes again, I wouldn't be able to look away.

"I just don't like to see people ruin perfectly good coffee. All the shit you put in it is bad for you anyways."

"Oh? And coffee is good for you?"

He scowled at me, running his hand through his dark hair. It was longer than when I first met him, and I suddenly wanted to run my hand through it. Wanted to see if it was as soft as it looked.

I looked away from him quickly, surprised and embarrassed of the thought that had just passed through my mind. Rune was taken. He couldn't ever mean anything to me. He just likes to hang around me and mess with me, that's all.

"What're you thinking about?" He asked when I didn't say anything for a while.

"Just wondering if we are ever going to get to this 'amazing' coffee shop." I lied, face still warm from what I had actually been thinking.

"It's only a little ways from here. Like, two minutes." He reassured. I think he saw that I was blushing, but didn't say anything about it. There was an amused smile playing at the corners of his mouth every time I looked at him.

I had to admit that the coffee at this shop was probably the best I had ever tasted. This earned a genuine smile from Rune, as well as quite a few renditions of  'I told you so'. We ended up sitting down there for quite a while. I lost track of the time and everything else when I was with Rune.

It was then, as I sat there staring at him, that I realized how little I knew about Rune. He talked some of the time, but usually he listened to me. I didn't mind, because he always looked like he was actually interested, and well, I liked talking to him. But now I wondered, as I watched him stare blankly into his coffee cup, what it was that made him want to spend so much time with me today of all days. Why he looked so sad no matter how hard he tried to convince himself and anyone else otherwise.

"Rune?" I said his name softly, and his eyes snapped up to meet mine.

"What?" He looked lost, as if I had pulled him out of some trance.

"Is something the matter?" I didn't know what I could ask Rune, what was a boundary and what wasn't. I wanted to ask him so many things about himself and his boyfriend. I wanted to know if what I thought about his boyfriend's cheating was true or if I was only imagining it to make it seem like I had a chance with him.

"Just thinking of all the shit I've fucked up." He tried to pass it off with a laugh, but I knew he was serious.

"Is it really that much? I think we all have regrets, no matter who we are. That's just part of being human."

He looked up at me, blinked a few times, then looked away, as if meeting my eyes was too much for him.

"It's more than you'd want to hear about. Besides, no one expects anything better from me." He muttered the last part under his breath so that I barely caught the words.

"I do want to hear about you. There's a lot I want to know. And what do you mean?"

"Nothing. It's nothing. You done with your coffee? I'm ready to go." He stood up before I could answer, and I quickly followed him as he walked off to throw away his now empty cup. Tossing my cup in after his, I hurried after him.

"Is today not a good day for you?" I asked him as we walked back towards the gas station. He looked over at me, then sighed, and stopped walking.

"It's not. It's really not. And I'm sorry for acting this way. I'm ruining the whole day, and I wanted—"

"You aren't ruining anything. I've loved this whole thing so much. I...I really like spending time with you, Rune." Please take the hint. Please take the hint. Just take the hint and like me back. I pleaded with him in my head.

"I enjoyed spending time with you too, Byron." Then he was looking at me the same way he looked at me earlier, and it made me feel jittery and warm at the same time.

"Really? Because I know I talk too much and can be annoying and-why are you standing so close to me?" I was so flustered when he stepped closer to me that I couldn't keep my sentence going.

"Because, maybe I like spending time with you, and being close to you." He was even closer to me now, so close that our chests were almost touching.

"We've never been this close before." I said stupidly, and the look in his eyes sent warmth rushing to my cheeks.

"I know. I could get used to it though, couldn't you?" He tucked a piece of loose hair behind my ear, goosebumps following the lazy trail of his fingertips.

"I—I don't know. What about your boyfriend?" I stepped back slightly as soon as I remembered him, hating myself for ruining the moment, but glad that I remembered before I got too lost in Rune's presence.

"I don't have one." His eyes betrayed the smile on his lips, and I quickly got a grip on my racing heart.

"Since when?"

"Does it matter?" He tried to step forward, but I put my hand out, stopping him from getting any closer.

"Yes, it does. As far as I knew, you were in a relationship, and I swore I wasn't going to be one of those people who came between a couple." He opened his mouth to protest, but I didn't let him speak. "And now if this is true, I won't be a rebound, Rune. I just won't. I can't knowingly set myself up for disaster."

"Then what do I have to do?" He asked, after a pause.

"Just...slow down, okay? Don't rush in to anything you'll regret."

"I won't—"

"Rune, come on! Why would you even like me? You're so beautiful and...and when Ace walked into the store a while back...he's so attractive, and I'm just so boring and annoying and—"

"If you don't stop talking, I'm going to kiss until you shut up, and I really don't think that's what you meant by slowing down."

I stopped talking instantly and looked at him in shock.

"You're hot as fuck and extremely cute, and yes, I like you. I'll give it time, because I don't want to hurt you, but no amount of time will make my feelings for you go away."

When I finally made it home that night, I was proud of myself for not giving in to Rune, but part of me really wished I'd let him kiss me.