"You awake in here?" Rory lightly knocks on Joshua's door before peering inside. "I guess not..."

Rory chuckles after seeing Joshua sprawled out in the center of the bed, his small body clutching one of the larger pillows. Rory tiptoes into the room and sits on the bed, carefully peeling the pillow out of Joshua's arms before poking at his cheek, causing him to stir awake.

“I made a big ass breakfast that I refuse to eat by myself," Rory says, later laughing after Joshua groggily swats Rory’s hand away from his face. "Be cute and whine all you want but I'm not leaving until you get up and come join me downstairs."

“Mia, we don’t have a downstairs…” Joshua mutters a few choice words, nearly forgetting where he is while turning over in bed. He blinks a few times, and his eyes eventually focus on the handsome face that belongs to his crush. "What the f—? Rory?! What’re you doing here?"

Joshua is currently in the half-asleep but also half-awake stage and he honestly can't tell what’s real and what’s not. He looks at Rory's new outfit, noting that it's different from what he’d been wearing in Joshua’s dream. So maybe Joshua is actually awake right now? Or maybe this is the beginning of a new dream? Whichever it is, Joshua still isn't in the mood to get up.

"Pillow..." Joshua closes his eyes and reaches for the pillow that Rory had taken, his hands making cute little grabby gestures as he continues to whine. "Can't sleep without it."

"You really are too damn cute for your own good." Rory blushes, feeling his heartstrings being tugged on. "Okay! Enough of this." Rory, trying to get a hold of himself before he slips up and does something that he can’t take back, raises the pillow high into the air before bringing it down on Joshua's back. "I SAID IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP, SLEEPING BEAUTY!"

"Ow!" Joshua yells, now fully alert. He swiftly rolls over to attack his host, somehow having found himself giggling whilst straddling Rory. After a bit of a playful struggle, Joshua pins Rory's hands above his head. "It isn’t nice to wake someone up like that…"

Taking a second to look down at the handsome man grinning beneath him, both their chests rising and falling due to their heavy breathing, Joshua finds himself to be at a loss for words, especially after Rory uses his strength to unpin his hands and place them on Joshua's slim waist. Joshua gasps as Rory sits up so that they’re face to face, staring into each other’s eyes.

The silence surrounding them is deafening.

Fucking coward. Just kiss him already! Rory's subconscious screams at him. You know you want to...

"This...this isn't a dream, is it?" Joshua’s face turns a deep shade of red after Rory shakes his head. "Oh God, I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean...” Joshua climbs off Rory with a quickness and scoots to the opposite side of the bed, shielding his face with his hands. "I didn’t mean to jump you like that. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

Already missing the boy's touch, Rory looks over at Joshua and smiles a sad smile.

"You apologize too much." Keeping the rest of his thoughts to himself, Rory climbs off the bed and heads for the door. Playtime officially over. "So, yeah…I cooked breakfast. Whenever you're ready, you can come downstairs and eat."

Joshua sighs in relief after Rory leaves the room.

Why does it feel like things are changing between us? I’m so fucking confused… Joshua climbs out of his head and back into reality as he exits the bedroom to go freshen up.

He makes his way downstairs a few minutes later, taking a seat and joining Rory at the kitchen island. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, and toast are all laid out on the counter, and Joshua is impressed. He sends several compliments Rory’s way while making himself a plate.

“I already ate,” Rory says, “but feel free to have as much as you want.”

Not needing to be told twice, Joshua eats until he can eat no more. He and Rory make casual conversation for a while until Rory exposes Joshua for what had happened last night. Part of him wants to tease Joshua about it because why not, and the other part of him, the one desperate for answers, wants to know if Joshua had really meant what he said in his sleep.

"Did you know that you talk in your sleep?" Rory asks while Joshua sips on a glass of orange juice, nearly choking on it after processing Rory’s question. "After you dozed off on the couch last night, I carried you to bed and caught you whispering in your sleep."

"Oh, Jesus..." Joshua groans, wanting to just die already. "What did I say?"

"My name, for starters." Rory then leans in close enough to whisper in Joshua's ear. "You also asked me to stay, and then you told me that you liked me..." Joshua whines. Rory chuckles, backing off to let the boy breathe. "I don't know what kind of dream you were having about me last night, but I hope that Dream Rory at least left a good impression on you."

"I'm so sorry," Joshua apologizes for the umpteenth time. "I…I honestly don't remember any of that."

Rory hides his disappointment well. "It's fine.”

“No, it really isn’t fine,” Joshua replies, getting serious. “I’ve made it more than obvious that I have feelings for you, and you’ve made it more than obvious that you’re not anything like me, so…so I-I don’t know how we can make this work, a friendship or whatever when I—”

Joshua pauses, and Rory suddenly forgets how to breathe.

So it’s true, then. Joshua does like him. And Rory likes Joshua. Honestly, who is he kidding anymore? Rory doesn't want to be Joshua's friend. He wants to be Joshua's everything. Rory knows this. Feels it. But why can’t he say it out loud? What the hell is stopping him?

"This is pointless. I should go." Joshua stands from his seat, ready to yeet himself into oblivion. "Thanks for the breakfast, and also for saving me last night."

"Wait!" Rory also stands, ready to chase after Joshua if necessary. "Joshua, please… I…"

♫ ♫ ♫

The sound of Joshua's cell phone ringing upstairs immediately kills the moment. The ringtone belongs to Tamia. She has probably read over Joshua's texts from last night and is calling him back to let him know that she’s at the apartment and he can return home.

"That's my ride calling." Joshua starts to walk away, but Rory grabs him by the wrist. "What now?"

"I just... I know that a lot of...mixed signals have passed between us, but..." Rory sighs in frustration, his thoughts not coming out clearly. "You’re scared. I’m scared. And I can see it on your face that you want to run… I guess what I'm trying to say, what I’m trying to ask is that you don't."

"Don't what?"

"Run away from me," Rory whispers, letting Joshua go. "Just...text me when you get home so that I know you made it in safely?"

Joshua nods. "I will."

But he won’t.

Rory never got a text after Joshua made it home later that morning.

In fact, a whole week passed without either of them speaking to each other, making the mess between them even messier.