Ryan paced in his bedroom for the hundredth time on Friday evening. It had been five days... five whole days and there hadn't been a single message from Drew. He checked his phone again and tapped his palm with it, pursing his lips as he wondered why it had taken so long.

He wasn't sure what Drew was waiting for. They'd seen each other countless times at school. The senior was basically everywhere the blond boy turned; in the hallways, in the cafeteria, the gym, and sometimes even in the bathroom! But they hadn't talked during any of those times, which Ryan thought was a bit weird. He couldn't be sure if it was intentional or purely coincidental.

Did Drew forget about him so soon? Or did he no longer feel that having Ryan's number was important? The blond boy had no idea and he hated it. He hated not knowing. He hated not being sure of something. He hated how Drew had somehow managed to sneak into his heart and make him a complete mess with barely any effort.

"Fuck!" Ryan screamed and pulled at his hair, angry at himself for being so bothered by something as petty as this.

"Hey, you okay?"

Ryan jumped at the sound of his Dad's voice. He whirled around quickly to see the man peering into the room after opening the door slightly.

"Uh... yeah, sorry," Ryan let out hastily as he pressed his palm against his chest, flushed and startled.

"Sure?" The man asked with a raised brow.

Ryan nodded. "I'm okay, Dan. What's up?" His dad's eyes went wide at hearing his name being used by Ryan which made the blond boy press his lips together, blushing even further. He hadn't meant to do that, but he was still getting used to his father's new partner.

Dan sighed after a moment of silence and shook his head slightly. "Nothing... I just... um, I wondered if you wanted to watch a movie with us?" He asked, referring to his and Ryan's biological father's movie nights which usually happened on Sunday evenings.

Ryan immediately shook his head. "No thanks," he stated and then backtracked when he saw the hopeful light in the man's eyes dim. "Maybe next week. I'm kinda swamped with homework right now," he said as a way to appease the man. Though, Ryan knew he probably wouldn't ever get close to him like the man wanted, especially not after how Dan and his father got together.

"Okay... next week then. Have a good night, Ryan."

"Uh thanks, I guess," Ryan whispered after the man left, feeling slightly tenser than he previously was. He walked to his bed and sat down with his back against the headboard. He took in a deep breath and let it out, trying to calm himself as certain thoughts he tried to repress came flashing back to the forefront of his mind.

It always happened when he interacted with Dan, much to Ryan's annoyance. It had been almost a year since his father married the brown-haired policeman but Ryan was still finding difficulty getting used to it. And it wasn't because he didn't like Dan, no... he had no problem with him now that he thought about it.

Ryan just thought it was weird for his father and the brown-haired man to get together so quickly after the former's divorce from Ryan's mother.

Knowing that thinking about it would only upset him further, Ryan turned his attention back to his phone in hopes that the person who occupied his thoughts would have remembered him.

And to his delight and horror, his phone buzzed the moment his focus was back on it.

Hey

"Oh my god," Ryan whispered, his face going up in flames as he read the three-letter word over and over. Drew texted him. DREW TEXTED ME! He screamed internally, hands shaking as he stared at his phone in disbelief. This was really happening.

He took in a deep breath, and another, and a third, willing himself to calm down so he could hear his mind make actual intelligible thoughts. He had to come up with one fast so as to not keep Drew waiting. Hell, how could he even think of making Drew wait? It was Drew!

Hi!   Ryan responded, biting his bottom lip as his eyes scanned his phone screen. His lips turned up in a small smile as three little dots popped up underneath his message a few seconds later.

The next message that came wasn't surprising to Ryan. It was a simple "sup" which made sense, given that it was their first time interacting outside of bumping into each other. He was too excited anyway to care and quickly responded with how good his day had been. The two texted for a bit, mostly with Drew doing a lot of the messaging which Ryan was grateful for. Because if it was left to him, the blue-eyed boy couldn't be sure he'd come up with intelligent words to converse with.

My brother's being a lil bitch tho, Drew sent, making Ryan burst into laughter.

How come? - Ryan

The response came two minutes later. He's teaching me how to make rolled ice cream and somehow thinks being a beginner is the same as being an expert.

I literally started learning a week ago bruh - Drew

Ryan chuckled. It can't be that bad, He sent. 

Probably not, ig

he's just a lil annoying tbf - Drew

Ryan waited for a moment, thinking of what to say in response to that but he didn't have to think for long when Drew sent another text.

What's your favorite ice cream? - Drew 

Ryan pulled his lip between his teeth as a blush coated his cheek. That was a simple question to answer, he thought.

Strawberry flavored rolled ice cream, he answered immediately without waiting a second. Ryan didn't care that he responded to Drew's texts instantly even though Drew took between two to five minutes to answer his. The fact that he was even in this situation was thrilling enough to him. He shivered slightly, happy at the thought that Drew wanted to talk to him.

That's cute
I made that last night, Drew texted back about two minutes later.
When will you come to the bar again? - Drew 

Ryan smiled at the next message that popped up. My friends and I go there every Sunday, he sent, suddenly remembering the previous Sunday when Drew put his number in his phone.

Which reminds me...
You said you wanted to ask me a question - Ryan

Ryan couldn't help but wonder what exactly that question was going to be. A part of him... well, a huge part of him hoped that Drew was going to ask him out. But Ryan's rational mind came into play immediately and reminded him of the vast difference between his and the tall boy's sexualities. As far as Ryan knew, this wavy brown-haired boy with piercing brown eyes had only dated girls before.

There was simply no way his wish was going to come true.

But there was still that small candle of hope burning in his heart that somehow, Drew liked him too.

His anxiety began rising when after checking his phone for five minutes, he realized that Drew hadn't texted back. Maybe he's just busy. It took longer than the time Ryan was getting used to and he hated feeling anxious. He had never waited on a text before, not until Drew. Why did this boy make him feel this way?

Why did this boy make him feel like he was going crazy? Surely, having a little crush on a guy wasn't enough to make someone lie on their bed with their phone in hand, staring at their screen for ten whole minutes as their body shivered in anticipation. Heck, what if Drew had gone to bed? Did that mean Ryan was going to wait forever?

Just when he thought he was getting too worried over this, a message appeared.

Oh - Drew 

Excuse me??? Ryan thought to himself, scoffing in disbelief. Oh? What the heck was that? He had no idea what was going on now. He could only sit and wait for Drew to make up his mind.

Five minutes later, another message popped up.

Nora is your best friend, right?

Ryan's heart dropped. All traces of his earlier excitement vanished into a dark abyss as he read his friend's name. He didn't hate Nora, no. If anything, Ryan adored her. But seeing her name in a message that Drew had sent him brought out the unbridled frustration that Ryan had fought to keep buried. He clenched his fist and bit his lip, angry with himself for feeling this way.

It wasn't right. Nora had done nothing except like the same guy that Ryan liked.

Instead of exploding like he wanted to, Ryan breathed in deeply and flexed his fingers, opening his eyes to read the message again.

Yes... why? - Ryan

Weirdly enough, Drew's next response came immediately after Ryan had hit send which caused his frustration to return but with slightly less intensity than before.

Right... so um... I've been wondering.
Actually, can I call you?

Ryan's brows narrowed in confusion. What was so interesting or alarming about this question that deserved a phone call? But he didn't mind as long as he got to hear Drew's voice. For a moment he wanted to refuse, but this was Drew and Ryan could never refuse him.

"Hey..." the boy greeted once Ryan answered his call. His voice over the phone was just as Ryan dreamed it would be. It was deep as usual but with a husky undertone that came from the lack of sleep the two of them were currently facing. Just hearing such a whisper from Drew set Ryan's body on fire. He shivered in sweet agony, wishing that this voice would be the one to keep him calm on many lonely nights.

But even then...

His tongue passed over his parched lips and he let out a breath. "Hey, Drew. What's up?" He asked in a whisper.

"Uh... not much," the boy chuckled. It was enough to make Ryan's body tingle. What is wrong with me? Was everyone else this excited at the thought of speaking to their crush or was it just him who couldn't wrap his crazy head around the situation?

"Uh... cool," he said and pressed his palm to his forehead as he clenched his eyes shut, cringing at his lack of vocabulary.

"Right..." Drew trailed. "So, I... your friend," he said, slowing down as though he was still thinking about the question and making Ryan more apprehensive. "I wanted to ask if she was single."

What? All these years of pining after Drew, although secrecy, all these years of unrequited love towards this guy and the first time Ryan spoke to him in length had to be about whether Nora was single? Ryan was angry! He was furious, not with Drew or even Nora, but with himself. He wanted to punch someone, a wall, anything! Why did life hate him?

He should have known that this would happen. It was the only logical reason. Why else would Drew look at him from afar? Ryan's heartbeat quickened, his eyes stung with tears as he realized that all those times when he thought Drew was watching him, the boy had actually been watching Nora instead. It made sense. After all, Nora was his type and Ryan was just... Ryan.

He took in a deep breath, again. This was unbelievable. This was fucking insane, more than the time when Nora had asked if Ryan had a crush on her when they were in middle school. He had laughed his ass off at her question because at the time, Ryan already knew he was gay and Nora didn't have a gaydar yet.

But this was so not funny! He could not believe that his crush was asking him whether his best friend, who happened to be a girl, was single.

"She is," Ryan stated and immediately heard Drew breathe a sigh of relief. It felt like a hand had pierced through his chest, torn out his heart, and put it in a hydraulic press. That's just how stomped he felt. "Why?" He asked. He had to know!

"Well... I uh... I'm kinda into her and was wondering if you could help me out."

No, a hydraulic press sounds like heaven. Throw me into a whole volcano, Ryan groaned inwardly. This was the worst night of his life, probably worse than the time he found out his parents were divorcing.

"Huh, I see," he stated. What he felt at that moment wasn't anger. Initially, it had been, but now, the blond boy simply felt dejected as he rubbed his eyes. This could have been easily avoided, he thought. But of course, he set his expectations way too high as he usually did and ended up getting hurt.

This was no one's fault but his own.

"How would I help with that?" He finally decided to ask. He wasn't sure why he even bothered to ask at that moment. It wasn't particularly enticing, knowing that the person he liked had slipped through his fingers so easily and to the arms of none other but his best friend.

Drew didn't seem to sense the bitterness behind Ryan's question and immediately delved into what he expected. "Well, you can tell me the kind of things she likes and what not? You know? Like if she wants to go on a date, maybe," he suggested.

"Do you want me to ask her for you?"

"Noooo," Drew trailed, almost laughing. "Not like that. I want to learn about her before I do ask her. I just... well, this might actually be weird but I haven't liked anyone like this before so I don't wanna make a fool out of myself. and I'm hoping you won't judge me."

Ryan pursed his lips. "How is this going to work?" He had no idea what this meant. He had no idea why he was considering this. Drew liked Nora, there was no way Ryan even had a chance. Not that he even had one, to begin with.

"Ah, shit... I haven't figured all that stuff out yet and, I'm kinda busy this weekend," Drew stated with a sigh. "But, I'll be working at the bar on Monday after the swim meet. Do you think you can come around? I'll make your favorite ice cream," Drew suggested, and Ryan connected the dots.

Fuck.

It was on the tip of his tongue, begging to come out like a pipe burst. I like you, Drew. I've liked you since freshman year. His mind screamed at him to tell Drew his true feelings. It gnawed at him with every second that passed by. But he still couldn't mention it.

Ryan bit his lip, drawing in a breath.

"Come on, say yes. Please," Drew begged, his deep and sultry voice sending tingles up Ryan's spine. It was intoxicating. So much so that Ryan couldn't deny him even if he tried.

"Fine."