THE BOYFRIEND PROJECT (Complete ✅)

THE NECKTIE

Tay is not in bed when New wakes up. He stretches his limbs and feels the soreness from last night's activities in his lower body. He treads to the living room to find his...what? What are they now?

"Teh?"

There is no response. The house is abnormally quiet. He is alone. He pads to the entrance and sees all three of Tay's running shoes still on the rack. New's warning bells go off.

He scurries back to the bedroom, ignoring the protests from his lower body, and searches Tay's side of the bed. His phone isn't there and neither is his charger.

He checks Instagram next, of course, he does. Tay is a lover of nature. Every morning, he posts a photo of the sun rising, of the blue sky, or potted plants. Occasionally, he shares an ambiguous picture of New in bed. Today, there is nothing.

"Fucking asshole," New swears and dials his number.

He doesn't pick up the first or fourth times. It goes to voicemail on the fifth try.

"Tawan where the fuck are you, asshole. You better come back home!" He growls into the phone.

The day passes in a torturously slow manner. Saturdays are for just lounging in bed or the living room, doing nothing or doing each other. He doesn't know how to adjust to Tay's absence. He has the option to take Earth up on the offer to hang out. But he doesn't want to, he cannot deceive himself or Earth.

Tay doesn't come home that night.

He would be worried if he didn't know the man was deliberately avoiding him. Sleep evades him for the best part of the night.

Tay doesn't show up on Sunday and New's irritation doubles by the second. He reasons that since it is a Sunday, Tay will surely come home to prepare for work tomorrow.

He doesn't.

New sleeps alone.

*********************

On Monday morning, Gun stops by their desk and stares at New with what he can only guess is incredulity. His eyes are hidden behind a dark pair of sunglasses.

"Newwiee, I love you to death but you cannot steal my style. This is my look. There can't be two of us running around campus." He waves the cups of coffee in his hands around as he speaks. The liquid sloshes around in the container.

New pulls off his sunglasses and sets them on the desk. "Sorry."

Gun takes one look at him and shakes his head. "I take it back. Put them back on. Did you not sleep for the whole weekend?"

"I did." He adjusts the glasses on his face. "I'm just stressed."

Gun finally hands him the small cup of coffee and takes his seat. "Drink this and tell me why you're really like a zombie right now."

"I told you I'm stressed."

"Okay, let's say I believe you. What are you stressed about?"

New lifts his shoulders and pulls on his coffee. He sets the cup down to see that Gun is still looking at him. "What?"

"I'm waiting for the truth."

"There's no other truth."

"Come on Newwiee, Is it Earth, or Joss or Tul?" He drops his voice to a suggestive note. "Perhaps it is Tay who you're totally not fucking."

New chokes on his spit and starts to cough. "You have to stop doing that." He gulps down some coffee to suppress the cough.

"You need to start being truthful. Why do you always have a violent reaction to Tay's name?"