say yes. (dwayne hoover)

chapter eleven

author's note: things get a little rough this chapter. 

trigger warning for talk of suicide and homophobia. if you don't feel comfortable reading that but still want to follow the story, send me a message and i will give you a safe recap. 

thank you for all the support. i hope you all love this chapter <3

Dwayne woke up with his head on Ramona's chest and his legs tangled with hers. He slowly blinked open his tired eyes and stared at her sleeping face. His brain told him to separate from her, but he felt far too comfortable to leave. She was breathing slowly and every time her chest rose, so did his head. He closed his eyes and listened to her breath float in and out of her parted lips.

He had to do something. He needed to man the hell up and just tell her the truth. If he kept on like this, he was going to ruin everything. He needed a plan.

Maybe he should wait until he applies to her school before he tells her. Then he'll be more sure about their future as friends before he risks it. He should plan his speech. God knows that he'd mess up big time if he tried to tell her off the top of his head. He needed to find a gift. Something better than a mug. He needed to kiss her and tell her how much she really meant to him.

These thoughts, which were soon turning dangerous, were cut off when Ramona blinked awake as the sun started to shine through the windows. Dwayne hastily moved off of her and scooted as far to the edge of the bed as he could. Ramona rubbed her eyes and yawned, slowly sitting up to stretch out her tired back.

"Good morning," she yawned. "How'd you sleep?" Her hair was messy and falling around her soldiers.

"M'fine." Dwayne muttered as he pretended to just be waking up.

"Can you hand me my phone?"

Dwayne nodded and reached over to grab it from the charger on the nightstand. It blinked awake and Dwayne read a notification. "Your dad left a message."

Ramona made a confused face and grabbed the phone. She played the message and her dad's voice echoed through the room.

"Hey, sweetie. I know you're probably not awake yet, and I don't want to bother you, but I wanted to let you know that Mrs. Johnson called me earlier. She was looking for you but I said you were busy. I don't know if she's gonna try to reach you. Please just be safe, honey. Let me know if you need anything. Call me before you get on the road again. And be safe. Love you, sweetie."

Dwayne studied Ramona. It looked like all the blood drained from her face. Her breathing had slightly picked up and she looked as if she had traveled into some distant place in her mind.

"Ramona?" Dwayne whispered with concern. "Is everything okay?"

She instantly snapped out of her trance and looked at him, shaking her head. "Yeah. Yeah, everything is fine. I'm gonna call him back real quick. Start getting ready and we can get on the road."

She grabbed her phone and retreated outside, leaving Dwayne very confused. He stared at the space where she left for a moment before retreating to the bathroom to shower.

When he finished, Ramona was sitting on the bed dressed to leave. "You ready? There's a diner right up the street we can stop at."

Dwayne nodded. "Yeah, that's fine." He sat next to her and put on his shoes. "You sure everything is fine?"

She looked up and made eye contact with him, letting out a breath. "Yeah, I'm sure. I'm excited to get to California." She got up and ruffled his hair. "I'm gonna go check out at the front, meet me in the car?"