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Liam’s heart is pounding in his chest as he stares down at the phone in his hand. Nolan is calling. Why is Nolan calling him now, twenty minutes before they’re supposed to go on their first date? Unless…
“Nolan? Please don’t tell me I’m late for our date because I somehow got the time wrong or messed up in any other way. I swear, I didn’t mean to-”
“Jesus, Liam,” Nolan interrupts him. “You’re not late.”
Relieved, Liam releases a breath. Nolan gives him two seconds to calm down before he begins to stir up Liam’s anxiety all over again.
“I’m actually calling to let you know I won’t make it.”
Liam feels like the wind has been knocked out of his lungs at first and then just plain stupid, because he should have known from the start that he doesn’t have a chance with Nolan, that the most beautiful boy he’s ever met going on a date with him is simply too good to be true.
“Oh.” Liam hates that he’s letting his disappointment show in just one syllable, but what can he do? He’s been pining over Nolan for literal years. Getting his hopes up after such a long time just for them to be crushed like this? It’s cruel.
“Listen, I’m sorry, okay?” Nolan says. “This is all my fault. Just… can we talk another time?”
Oh, so now he’s too busy for his cancellation of their date to take longer than a full minute? Liam’s annoyance tastes bitter on his tongue and he wishes it would just go away, wishes he could just hang up and go on telling himself it wasn’t meant to be and that it’s Nolan’s loss. Instead, he’s actually on the verge of tears and an aggressive outburst. Being stood up hurts, being stood up by the only boy he’s ever cared for is twice as painful. Life sucks and Liam wants to kick something. Hard.
“Whatever,” he presses out between tense jaws, “don’t bother.” And then he ends the call.
Ten seconds later, his phone rings again. Liam considers smashing it against the nearest wall. The audacity that this guy has. Liam settles for throwing the ringing phone against one of his pillows, which isn’t half as satisfying as he needs it to be, so he throws himself on the bed too and lets another pillow muffle his screams. Once his throat is sufficiently hurting, he turns onto his back to breathe.
And to see his stupid phone lighting up again, with a text message this time. Several text messages.
With all due respect to Nolan and his baby blue eyes and his freckles and the floppy blond hair and that pretty, slightly crooked smile he has, Liam should be above it. He should delete the texts without reading them and then move on to being obsessed with someone else instead.
Temptation is a tricky thing, who would have thought? A little bit of self-loathing has never stopped anybody from reading text messages from the person they can’t get over, Liam is pretty sure, and he isn’t going to be the first, so as human nature wills it, he clicks on the messages.
can you please pick up the phone?
Liam!!!
this really isn’t what you think it is
Not what Liam thinks it is? Well if those aren’t the words of every liar ever. Just when he’s closing the messages, Nolan is calling again. This time Liam doesn’t simply ignore the call, he declines it. Take that, asshole. Two can play this game. Even if one of them has very clearly already lost.
Nolan sends another text: would you please let me explain?
How stupid does he think Liam is? No, obviously he doesn’t want to hear in all the details why exactly Nolan has decided that Liam isn’t worth his time after all. There are a million reasons that Liam can think of all by himself, and he really doesn’t need it specified which one of them it was in the end.
Ultimately, no date means no date, and the rest hardly matters. And the texts that keep incoming don’t do either.
you really are this stubborn aren’t you
ok fine. i was actually really looking forward to seeing you tonight. i was. i just can’t make it.
Liam scoffs. What kind of excuse is that supposed to be?
because i’m at the er
Oh. OH. Liam holds his breath for a few seconds and stares at the screen to make sure what the last text says really is that Nolan is currently at the hospital. All of a sudden, Liam’s heart is racing and his hands are shaky for a different reason than before. He instantly clicks on the call button next to Nolan’s name and prays Nolan won’t give him a taste of his own medicine. It’s possible that he overreacted a tiny little bit.
“Liam!” Nolan answers.
“Oh thank god. Are you okay?”
“Uh, yeah,” Nolan replies, “I mean, I’m not seriously hurt I don’t think. It’s just my arm. Apparently it could be broken but I’m still waiting to get an x-ray taken. Other than that I’m totally fine.”
“Oh my god,” Liam whispers. “I’m so sorry. Needless to say that wasn’t at all what I expected to have led you to cancel our date. I’m an idiot.”
“Hey, it’s all good as long as I get to make up for it and take you on a date another time.”
“Are you at Beacon Hills Memorial?” Liam asks.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be there as fast as I can.”
“Oh. Oh, Liam, you really don’t need to come here.”
Liam sighs. “What if I want to, though? What if I just want to see you and make sure you’re alright? And keep you company in case you’ll have to wait a long time for those x-rays? Would you be cool with that?”
He can practically hear Nolan’s smile through the phone. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”
“See you soon, then.”
“Liam? You’re kind of really the best.”
Liam smiles as he hangs up but reminds himself of the seriousness of the situation. He rushes downstairs, puts on shoes and a jacket, grabs the car keys and runs out of the house so he can be at the hospital as soon as possible. For some reason, he has a strong need to see Nolan’s face, to check up on him and be there with him for whatever is going to follow.
For the same reason probably, Liam feels an instant relief at the sight of Nolan in one of the plastic chairs in the waiting area at Beacon Hills Memorial’s emergency room. He’s pale and holding his right arm pressed against his body. Liam can tell he’s putting on a tough face as he sees him.
“Oh my god!” As he gets closer, Liam notices that Nolan’s arm is pretty bruised and swollen. Plus, there’s a visible bump on his forehead. “How did that happen?”
Liam takes a seat next to Nolan, nudging his shoulder on the seemingly un-injured side.
“Do I really have to tell you?” Nolan mutters quietly.
“Obviously no,” Liam answers, “but I do have some questions.”
Nolan rubs his left hand over his face. From up close, he looks tired. Exhausted.
“It’s kind of an embarrassing story,” he admits.
Liam takes Nolan’s hand away from his face so he can make eye contact. “Is this okay?” He asks, looking down at Nolan’s hand resting in his. When Nolan nods, he laces their fingers together. “So tell me, is your embarrassing story more or less stupid than me thinking you hated me and were standing me up to avoid me only to find out you’re actually here?”
Nolan lets out a little laugh, even if he immediately hisses from pain as it moves his arm slightly. Liam counts it as one of life’s small victories regardless.
“Well, no offense but if you thought I hated you, then you really were being extremely stupid.”
“I’ll take it,” Liam says. They both smile at each other for a moment.
“Fine,” Nolan finally begins. “It’s been quite a week for me, actually. Like, I must have committed a ton of crimes in a previous life or something because that’s how bad my karma has been recently. First I failed an exam on Monday, then my computer stopped working, the dog ruined my favorite pair of shoes, my car didn’t start yesterday morning, so I had to go grocery shopping while babysitting my little sister by foot and with a backpack. So like, a whole series of bullshit.”
“I’m sorry, that sounds really exhausting.”
“Today wasn’t supposed to be a part of the bullshit, you know,” Nolan continues. “That’s what I’ve been telling myself. That no matter what life throws at me, at least I have my date with this cute boy to look forward to. But then I got off work late because my relief let me wait.”
“Rude,” Liam commented.
“Yeah,” Nolan agreed, “very. So I rush home and take the quickest of showers because I know I’ll need some time with the clothes. You know, because it’s a date and I’m nervous and a mess and I’ll be getting changed ten times.”
Liam squeezes Nolan’s hand. “You could have worn literally anything.”
“Well, what I shouldn’t have worn was a towel on my way down the stairs to get the laundry out of the dryer. Because in my head I was already trying to come up with the right things to say to you. You know, to make you laugh. Which is ironic, because now you’re probably going to laugh because of how I lost my towel halfway down the stairs, stepped on it, slipped, fell and fucked up my arm.”
“Nolan,” Liam says, “Nolan, look at me.” Nolan turns his head and looks at him, his cheeks now visibly flushed. “I’m not going to laugh at you. Don’t get me wrong, I think that you’re adorable for being nervous and wanting to impress me. But it sounds like you’ve had a terrible week and I’m really sorry about your arm. Looks kind of really painful.”
“Hurts like hell,” Nolan admits. “But I’ll be fine. That it ruined our date is the worst part about it.”
“Are you serious? Liam interjects. “I’m not going anywhere, you know that, right? We can have our date at literally any other time. We can have countless dates if that’s what you want.”
Nolan’s face lights up again instantly. “I think I do. This hellish week got a whole lot better when you just walked in here.”
He gives Liam one of those smiles he used to admire from afar. Objectively, it’s the same one, bright and beautiful, taking Liam’s breath away. But something about it, or something about Nolan, seems different now. The smile is a little asymmetrical, the lips chapped, the skin around them pale. The bad week Nolan’s been having is visible in his tired features, but it doesn’t make him any less pretty or loveable. It just makes him human.
“Nolan?” Liam asks. “I know this isn’t the date we wanted, but would it be okay for me to ask if I can kiss you?”
“You’re really determined to turn this shitty week around for me, huh?”
Liam smiles. “I mean, if I’m someone who can do that for you, then yeah, I am.”
Nolan smiles to himself and shakes his head a little, almost as if Liam was the one too good to be true. He looks up and into Liam’s eyes, scooting closer. And then they’re suddenly kissing. It takes a couple of cautious, light brushes of their lips until they’ve figured out the right angle and worked up the confidence to kiss the other like they truly want to. They’re the best kisses Liam has ever shared with anyone and they’re only interrupted by Nolan being called to get the x-rays of is arm taken, which Liam might have forgotten about while kissing.
“I’m waiting here, yeah?” He tells Nolan as the other boy follows the nurse. “Good luck.” If Nolan lets him, he’ll definitely buy dinner once they get out of the hospital. And ice cream. Nolan definitely deserves ice cream.
Nolan turns around and blows him a kiss through a room full of strangers. And then he disappears out of sight, leaving Liam alone with his thoughts about how nothing has gone according to plan and yet, things could be a lot worse than they are. At least he gets to make sure Nolan’s next week will be as good as it can be.