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01:58 | AUGUST 23 - DYLAN
HACKETT'S QUARRY EXIT ROAD
As August progressed, the summer nights in upstate New York had steadily gotten cooler. A fact that would have provided Dylan with some semblance of relief had the events of the last few hours not occurred.
Murderous werewolves and curses aside, the night reminded him of another one from just the other day that was infinitely kinder despite being under the assumption that it would be his last night at Hackett's Quarry. It was almost laughable as to how much the two contrasted one another. Along with being accompanied by the many campers, it was filled with easy but bittersweet banter and lingering stares at a certain someone when he wasn't looking rather than gore and terror. Well, if he was being realistic, he still stole glances at a certain someone despite the circumstances.
Speaking of a certain someone.
Dylan looked up from the ground to stare at the other boy holding a shotgun.
Would it have been inappropriate to think that he still looked attractive even covered in whatever the fuck exploded out of Nick when he transformed into a werewolf?
Not that he would say that out loud, sure, he's flirted with him a number of times before but it didn't feel right to do so with this tension that has been thickening between them ever since Ryan cut off his hand.
God, he’d been trying not to think too hard about that part. And for a while, he didn’t have to with the whole Nick incident and an eye-patched Laura Kearney sharing her knowledge on the situation with them.
But with only the looming task of finding a rotor arm in the scrapyard and a decent walk ahead of them, his eyes drifted from the beautiful boy next to him to the place where his left hand used to be.
A combination of adrenaline and the painkillers Kaitlyn gave him earlier was keeping the intense pain that waited for him at bay, but in all honesty that was the least of his concerns right now.
He was more concerned about what his life would look like if he got out of this fiasco alive. Oh fuck him, he wasn’t even guaranteed to survive this shit. How was he going to explain this to his parents? How was he going to explain this to his cat?! Is he ever going to be able to disrupt her napping by carrying her up to his room again? Garfield might be far too grown up now to be lifted by a single hand.
That thought opened up a whole other can of worms for him. How many limitations was he going to have from here on out? He certainly didn’t feel safe driving or showering with one hand. Even if he somehow experienced a miracle and came out of this both alive and not behind bars, how is he going to make it through college with one hand? How are his peers going to perceive him? How is anybody going to perceive him? Just the thought of it made him want to—
“Dylan, man, are you okay?”
He nodded and was about to say a quip to lighten the mood but nothing came out of his mouth when his breath which was already coming quite unevenly caught in his throat as Ryan reached out and wiped away the tears he hadn’t realized spurted from his eyes. He froze.
Ryan appeared to have taken this for discomfort and pulled away while mumbling an apology.
“H-Hey, I didn’t mind that just so you know,” Dylan managed to choke out. Fuck, get it together.
“Dude, if you need to take a breather that’s fine.” He seemed unsure of what to do with his hands before deciding on laying one on the other’s shoulder while rubbing small circles with his thumb. “It’s not like the hypothetical rotor arm is going anywhere.”
Despite the moment only having lasted around a minute, it felt like it stretched on for hours. In that brief period of time, everything felt like it was going to be okay. Sure, he was having a nightmarish end to his summer job but he was still here and with the boy of his dreams nonetheless. And so, Dylan took one deep breath after another until it eventually came without shaking.
“Do you— If it’s not weird for you, do you want to talk about what happened?” Ryan broke the silence.
“Well, I guess it just really kicked in that I’m like this now.” He waved his left arm in the air. “I mean, I’m not sure why I reacted that way. There are prosthetics out there, but things aren’t gonna be easy for me if I get through this Hackett family drama/horror flick, are they?”
He felt a pang at the guilt that filled Ryan’s face and itched to hold him close and never let go.
“I can’t say that things won’t be mentally and physically difficult for you from here on out but I want you to know that you won’t be going through this journey all on your own. I mean you’ve got your cat, Kaitlyn, the other counselors because we’re going to beat all the odds and make it out of here, and…” —Ryan paused for a moment, looking almost bashful— “and you have me.”
“Ryan I—”
“Shit, that probably sounded really corny. I don't know where I was going with that but you should know that there are so many people who care about you enough to not let you struggle through this by yourself.”
For the first time here at Hackett’s Quarry, Dylan Lenivy was at a loss for words.
“Also, I don’t think I can express how fucking sorry I am for doing that,” Ryan blurted out, scratching the back of his neck. “I know you told me to cut it off but I should’ve given it more thought—”
“Hey, slow down there! Look, I know I was pretty fucking pissed at you when you first did it but what’s done is done! And not to sound all preachy, but there’s no point in wallowing in something you already did.” A small smile spread across his face when he saw Ryan’s shoulders lose a bit of their tension. “Plus, that’s one less werewolf we have to worry about.”
A smile that mirrored Dylan’s appeared on Ryan’s face and his heartbeat quickened at the sight of it.
“While we’re on the topic, how’s your hand?” Ryan asked.
“Eh, I think old lefty is doing just fine back in the radio hut! It gets pretty hot in there sometimes but the heat’s been slowly but surely—”
“Dylan,” Ryan interrupted, looking unimpressed.
“Sorry, it’s kind of hard not joking at a time like this. I guess I’m feeling fine? I was expecting having my hand severed from the rest of my body to feel a lot worse, but maybe that’ll change when the stress and painkillers wear off.”
Ryan let out a satisfied hum at the answer and they settled into a more comfortable silence as they continued walking until Dylan asked, “You think Kaitlyn and Laura are gonna be fine?”
“Kaitlyn’s always been the most capable out of all of us, so I’m sure she’ll be okay." Ryan hesitated. “As for Laura… we didn’t exactly get off on the right foot but after what she’s been through I don’t think she’d go down that easily.”
Ryan's lips turned down in a frown and appeared to be both resigned and crestfallen. That was when Dylan was reminded of the fact that the two girls broke off from them to essentially hunt down the camp leader Ryan looked up to.
“I’m sorry about Mr. H by the way,” Dylan said, turning to him. “He was just my boss, but you seemed really close to him. And I mean, I’m sure that if there’s a way we can stop this without killing him, then they’d go with that route.”
Ryan seemed to be taking a second to collect his thoughts and Dylan was fine letting him have all the time he needed.
“It is what it is. I’m seriously regretting not tagging along but you know, like you said, there’s no point in wallowing in something you already did. Or didn't in this case,” he replied, sighing. “Anyways, I’m still surprised that Kaitlyn ended up leaving with her.”
“Oh, I’m not. I wouldn’t put it past Kaitlyn to ditch us for the first pretty girl she sees.”
“Doesn’t she… have a boyfriend?”
“Yeah, but that never stopped Emma from making goo-goo eyes at Abi so who knows what could happen while they’re doing something as romantic as breaking into a creepy estate together,” he said, shrugging.
Ryan tried to hide his smile as he said, “So I take it that I’m not the only one who caught that? I didn’t really want to assume anything because I barely ever even talked to either of them but…” —he made a vague gesture with his hand that wasn't holding the shotgun— “I don’t know. I always got the vibe that there was something between them and nobody ever acknowledged it.”
“I totally get that actually! Like two weeks ago, I was helping Kaitlyn out with activity coordinating over dinner and we were deciding on which pairs we should break into for that water balloon dodgeball tournament Emma just immediately put her arm around Abi and said that they’d be teaming up. Which was really surprising considering that a.) Jacob is the literal sports coach and b.) she was dating the guy.”
“You know, I was always under the impression that they were closer than any other pair here besides maybe Kaitlyn and Jacob,” Ryan mused. “Um, which makes what happened back at the firepit even weirder.”
“Holy shit, that feels like it was forever ago,” Dylan said, eyebrows going up. “It sucks that we didn’t get to play truth or dare with just the three of us before everything went to shit.”
“I’m sure we’ll get another shot at that sooner or later,” Ryan said as the scrapyard’s gates began to come into view.
Dylan hoped that he had made a sound of agreement and not a displeased groan while his mind replayed their kiss. It was barely even a peck yet it made his heartbeat go a hundred miles an hour and left him grinning with the slightest chance of maybe. Maybe this thing that has taken root in his chest ever since he stepped into the meeting room on the first day and saw a boy with earbuds sticking out of his shirt sitting in the seat nearest to Mr. H wasn't so hopeless after all.
It was meant to be a fleeting sort of crush. The kind someone mainly spends time gushing over due to the comfort there was in the improbability of it ever becoming something more. So he let a handful of flirty comments that usually flew over Ryan’s head slip out and allowed himself to gaze wistfully at him during his sailing classes. Because that’s all that it was meant to be. A fun but silly crush that he’d probably have a replacement for once he went off to college.
However, he was afraid to admit that he had dug himself into a hole that he couldn’t climb out of.
In the days leading up to what was meant to be his departure from Hackett’s Quarry, he found himself filled with tremendous want. He wanted to know if he had a real shot with Ryan, he wanted to get to know him past the surface-level facts all the other counselors knew and the occasional more personal information he would obtain after a little too much vodka, he wanted to make him smile.
And now he wanted to know what it would be like to properly kiss this gorgeous, puzzling, impossible boy with the darkness of the night hiding the flush on his face rather than a crackling fire.
Which is why he opened his mouth and said, “Hey, Ryan? Before we head in, I have something I want to ask you.”
“Shoot,” Ryan said, turning his gaze toward him.
“Why did you pick me during truth or dare?”
Ryan's expression was inscrutable when he replied, “I don’t have a solid reason.”
“Oh,” Dylan said, hoping that it didn’t sound too pitiful. God, please do me a favor and just send in the flood already.
The only thing that comforted him at the moment was knowing that Ryan was not cruel enough to ridicule him for his feelings. He was never exactly shy about them and had never been faced with disgust from him for his flirtatious remarks. It still stung like a bitch though, he didn’t say it outright but surely, Ryan was smart enough to gauge out what he wanted to gain from this exchange? If he didn’t lose his head tonight, he was definitely going to lie awake at an ungodly hour thinking about this moment for the rest of his life.
“I mean” —Ryan cleared his throat— “it was my best shot at kissing someone I like without saying it, don’t you think?”
It took a few seconds for Dylan to let it sink in given that he had been through way too much in one night to process the fact that he just received a confession.
“You like me?!”
“I didn’t think I was being that subtle about it, but yeah?” His indecipherable expression shifted when he furrowed his eyebrows.
“Wait— But I’ve been flirting with you since the week I came here so why didn’t you do anything about it?!”
“First of all, for a while it was pretty hard to decipher whether I found you obnoxious or attractive. Trust me, it was very hard at times but it turned out to be both. Second of all, I couldn’t tell whether you were messing with me or not. You joke around with everyone.” He looked exhausted but smiled and Dylan was so elated he felt like he was going to melt. “And third of all, I wanted to get to know you better before jumping into anything. You’re the funniest person here and good with kids but up until tonight that was pretty much all I knew."
“Okay, you're gonna have to give me a little leverage on your second point. One of the main reasons why I act the way I do around you is that in case you ever seriously reject me, I can just play it off as a joke while pretending that I'm not dying inside. You make me really nervous.” The smile on Ryan's face grew a bit larger at the response. “Also, in my humble opinion, you’ve learned quite a lot more about me tonight. No one else here is even aware of the rare specimen Dylan Dylan’s existence.”
“Am I allowed to learn more as Dylan Dylan’s crush who he definitely does not ogle at when he thinks he isn’t looking?”
“Hold on there! Don’t tell me you have eyes on the back of your head or something because I swear I was being at least somewhat stingy with my staring!”
“Hey, it’s fine. It was kinda cute and I stared at you a lot too, I was just less obvious about it.”
“Well, look who’s being smooth now,” Dylan said, nudging his shoulder.
Ryan nudged back and they stood there grinning like fools for a second until Dylan said, “Hold on, you said you didn’t think you were being that subtle about liking me back. What did you mean by that because I could’ve sworn I was getting so many mixed signals from you?”
“Uhh, it’s not like I ever shot you down whenever you flirted with me so I figured you’d take the hint?” He shrugged. “Maybe I could have afforded to not lean into the whole brooding loner thing as much because, in reality, I’m just naturally really quiet and not a people person. Everyone back home tends to leave me alone because of that, but then here comes this cute guy who starts finding every opportunity to talk to me and I didn’t know how to properly react. Sue me!” If he wasn’t holding a shotgun in his hands he probably would’ve thrown his hands up in the air for emphasis.
At the admission, Dylan was once again hit with the all-consuming desire to kiss him right then and there and it seemed like he wasn’t alone in that longing when Ryan’s eyes lowered from Dylan’s to his mouth and he positioned the shotgun so the strap would wrap across his torso.
He can’t recall who was the first to lean in but he didn't think that was all that important when he felt Ryan Erzahler’s lips on his. Fucking finally. Dylan let himself melt into the kiss with none of their friends around to embarrass him by cheering them on. Despite neither of them knowing when they would get an opportunity like this again, Ryan was shockingly tender. He kissed similarly to how he acted, sensitive with an undercurrent of determination.
Ryan had his hand cupped around the back of Dylan’s neck and conflicted on where he should put his hand, Dylan settled on slipping his fingers into Ryan’s free hand in a sickeningly sweet gesture. He wished he could bottle up what he felt when Ryan pulled him even closer and deepened the kiss, chests flushed against each other. If every instance he made Ryan laugh at one of his stupid jokes felt like playing with fire then kissing him was like being set ablaze in the best way possible.
As much as Dylan would have liked to stay in that moment forever, he only had so much breath and they had a job to do. Dylan was the one who pulled away first but remained close enough so he could press his forehead against Ryan’s, their fingers still intertwined. Dylan decided to not stifle the honest-to-god giggle that escaped his throat when he saw the dazed expression that graced the other’s face. He wasn’t making fun of him, of course, he was simply taken aback by how he wasn’t somehow dreaming and how badly he wanted to drown in that look in his eyes.
They eventually let go of each other’s hand and Dylan broke the silence by asking, “So… does this mean that I finally get your number?”
“Ask me again once we’re out of this mess.”
Dylan knew that Ryan was just joking but he put on the look of a kicked puppy to see how he would react and was not disappointed when he saw an exasperated but fond expression take hold of Ryan’s face.
“And just to be clear, I will give it to you once this werewolf curse isn’t hanging over our heads. I need to get more insight into Dylan Dylan after all if this is going to be a thing.”
“You sure you want this to be a thing? I am but I can be quite a handful just as a warning,” Dylan said, mentally kicking himself for the slip of insecurity that fell into his voice.
“Trust me, I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure of anything in my life,” Ryan responded, offering him a shy smile that made Dylan positively beam.
And so, they stepped into the scrapyard with some strange mixture of hope and dread stirring in Dylan’s stomach. He was no mind reader, but he had a feeling that Ryan felt something similar and slid his fingers through Ryan’s again.