the boy on the bridge ✔️

55. back boy

Chapter 55 — back boy

"I think I'm gonna leave," Josh tells Valerie.

"What?" she yells back, due to the loud music.

"I think I'm gonna leave," Josh enunciates each word clearly and loudly; they are standing rather close to the speakers so it is hard to hear each other.

"But we just came,"

"I know, but I don't think I'm well,"

"Oh come on, Joshy just stay a little while longer,"

"No-," he starts to say, but Val is dragged away by some other girls and Josh is left alone again.

He huffs, then looks around for Zach, but he has lost him in first ten minutes he arrived at the school gym and hasn't been able to find him ever since. He sighs, thinking why he even agreed to this. He should have just stayed at his house in his bed, binge watching some mind-numbing movies with popcorns till he fell asleep. But instead here he is amongst a sea of people laughing, making a fool out of themselves in the name of dancing, with loud, headache-inducing music.

He sighs, deciding to stay for a couple more minutes, but immediately gives up when another song that sends the crowd into a craze started. He just can't be there anymore.

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There is a minivan parked right at the school entrance and he immediately recognises the van to be Dolce's delivery van. He knows it because–

He shakes his head, not wanting to visit the memory which was once sweet but now just too painful recall. Maybe Val made that cake order after all, he shrugs. He just wondered what hurry Jules must have been in to leave the backseat door open. He is just about to leave when he hears footsteps behind him.

It would be rude to leave without greeting Jules — no matter what had happened between him and her nephew, she is still a genuinely kind woman and Josh respects her. Josh turns around with a smile, "Jules, hey," he says.

He can't quite see her as she is standing in the shadows, but his heart takes an immediate plunge upon seeing the figure before him which he just assumed to be Jules. It isn't her, his brain knows that, but his heart just won't accept that. It is adamant.

He left, his heart reminds him of the harsh truth.

But Josh can't quite ignore what was before his eyes either. The way the very air shifts upon seeing whoever-it-is in the shadows, the way his heartbeat picks up, how he is having trouble breathing. And when the silhouette starts to move, it is just getting harder and harder to deny it — the way he moves, it just–

Josh doesn't know what to think anymore.

The boy involuntarily steps backwards — it is hard to get rid of a habit, but he wills himself to stay there instead of running away.

The, whoever-it-is, in the shadows at last fully steps away from the shadows and although Josh has somewhat guessed who it is, it still takes him by surprise when he sees his face.

It is like he just saw him yesterday, but when in actuality it has been a long, long thirteen days.

He can't believe his own eyes, maybe it all can just be just his imagination. However Josh knows it isn't — he doesn't have to pinch himself to figure that out, he just knows. He is standing a good few steps away from him, but still Josh can just feel his presence. And that's what makes it all the more worse; the fact that he is so close to him, just within his reach and how Josh feels torn between wanting to be as close to him as possible and just run far, far away from him at the same time.

The blond can't bring himself to look away. He stares at him, but the other boy — he has his gaze strictly fixed on the ground and all Josh wants to yell out is, look at me, but he doesn't.

A few more moments pass before Josh can force himself to look away from him, just so he can at least breathe properly. He takes one more glance at the boy and that's all it takes — one final look.

"I can't do this anymore," he whispers, and turns around and starts to walk away.

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