you in my voice (bxb)

vingt-sept

Vingt-sept - Twenty-Seven

"E!" Fay called out, veering away from Eisley and Cal to catch up to the taller boy. Just as Eden was about to head towards his next class, he heard the cries of Fay and turned around to face him.

It was still a strange sight, witnessing Eden Ramsey walking down school hallways without his infamous black beanie on. It appeared as though he was maintaining the untangled hair pretty well. Fay felt warm inside whenever he thought about just how hard Eden truly was trying.

"What?" He mumbled, looking a bit tired. But then again, when did he not seem tired. Eden tucked his hands inside of his sweatshirt pocket lazily.

"Just wondering if you had anywhere to be tonight." Fay told him.

This wasn't a hookup. They had both seemed to mutually agree that those were over with. This was for Fay and Eden to act like two teenagers. Fay wanted to just be friends with Eden. To hang out with him and show him little by little that the world was so much brighter than he once believed. That he was worthy of having fun and smiling that beautiful smile of his.

"No." He shook his head, blonde hair catching the artificial light like a halo.

"Good." Fay smiled brightly, taking a few steps closer so that they weren't so far apart. "Do you want to come by mine? Maybe watch a movie or something?"

Eden stared at him for a long moment. It hurt, that warm feeling that was growing inside of his stomach every time Fay smiled at him. He liked Fay a lot more than he wanted to. And that scared him. Especially when he told himself he wasn't allowed to have him.

However, it sounded nice. To just hang out with a friend that he actually began to trust and watch movies together. That was what he needed, to go on with normal teenage things. So what if Fay was his crush? Either way, he was a great person, and it sounded pleasant.

"Okay." He nodded, still transfixed by Fay's brilliant smile and glowing brown eyes. How much longer until those didn't captivate him in such a way?

Fay took an extra moment to just look at Eden. To see how little by little, he was looking less dead. Less like a ghost that faded through walls, trying to escape prying eyes. He looked almost more opaque than before.

"Okay." Fay nodded, still smiling brightly. Then he turned and began to walk towards his next class where Eisley and Cal waited curiously.

Watching for an extra moment as Fay walked away, Eden thought about him. About that strikingly beautiful grin and those wondrous brown eyes. Then he finally began back down the near-empty hallway. Eden ended up being late to his next class.

There were a lot of things on his rather small and fragile plate. But then again, there always was, wasn't there? He almost found it be fitting - just how much he was constantly trying to balance. And after his conversation with Destiny, there were new things for him to worry about as well.

She came to sit with him last Sunday, the day after he had been over at Mia's house. Destiny was soft and understanding, telling Eden that she just genuinely wanted him to be okay. That she was going to help lift him up, whether he wanted her to or not, because she was his mother. And he didn't get a say in the matter.

And maybe that hurt the most. The fact that he didn't have a choice. That Destiny was the only mother figure he ever had in his entire life, and there wasn't anything that was going to change that. Either Eden started to accept that, or he lost himself entirely.

He wasn't going to embrace the idea. At least, not yet. That was going to take time. He told himself that starting with just understanding the fact was a good place to begin. After what she said, he couldn't help but do just that.