Carson hadn’t left his room much this past week. Taylor checked on him. Dakota too, actually. He thought, cynically as ever, that she probably wanted to make sure another Greenfield boy didn’t OD on her watch. But he wasn’t on her watch, so if he did decide none of it was worth it anymore, she shouldn’t feel bad. Those were the stupid, ugly things that actually made him kind of laugh, in a decidedly fucked up way.
The days sucked because he couldn’t go anywhere without people whispering, watching him. He knew he looked like shit. It was no big deal, though. He was figuring shit out. He was allowed to do that, wasn’t he?
But the nights, staring at his laptop, wondering what Wyatt was doing… They were far worse. Especially considering just how bad his insomnia had been. Finally, finally he was just beginning to doze off, chin tilting toward his chest, when a knock on the door scared the shit out of him. He jumped, dropped his laptop, and had to take a second to catch his breath before he could answer the door. And when he did… He had to catch his breath all over again. Carson froze, momentarily, and then wrapped Wyatt in a tight, close hug. He never wanted to let go.
The first thing Wyatt noticed was that Carson, while he looked like shit, was still as handsome as ever. He was really going to miss being able to just walk over to his dorm. He held Carson back tighter, running his fingers through his hair and letting a long breath fall from his lips. “I had to see you.” He mumbled, pulling back to catch a glimpse of his emerald eyes, which--he noticed, didn’t sparkle this time.
“You know, I...I would say it isn’t fucking fair, but it probably is.” He sniffled quietly, stepping into Carson’s dorm with the nagging suspicion that someone would see them. He couldn’t afford that. “I needed to just--to tell you that I...that I really fuckin’ love you.” He’d never said that to anyone who wasn’t his own mother, and he hated the terms that it was being said on now, but he had no other choice. Wyatt dug into his hoodie pocket and came up with his shiny class ring, purchased but never worn once. “I made a pit stop to my dorm. My roommate was too stoned to lock the door or some shit.” He managed a small smile. “You--um, you good?”