Two Birds On A Wire

ch 45

Ivan didn't wanna wake up. Yet he had to. The quilt that was tightly wrapped around him was making his body a little too warm for his liking. He pulled the quilt down and felt the cool air on his skin. With a sigh of discomfort, he tossed in his spot and his arm hit the back-rest of the couch.

He opened his eyes with a scrunched up face and frowned when he was met with a place different from where he had expected to be in. Oh, right.

Ivan kicked the quilt off of him and sprang up , running a hand up and down his face .

"Rise and shine , doofus" he turned his head at the voice to see Julian walk to the dining table with 2 plates in his hands. He assumed it was breakfast. Can he even cook!?

"Go wash up and come to eat. I'll wait" Julian fished his phone out of his pocket and plopped down on one of the chairs.

Ivan made a slight nod and got up on his feet, scooping up the quilt with him. He hugged it tight and rocked it slightly in his arms as he made his way up the stairs.

"Oh and , please make-do with the mouthwash. I couldn't find an extra toothbrush" Julian called out from behind and he thought he heard a sigh of disapproval from Ivan before he disappeared into the room.

•••

Ivan felt strange as he looked at himself in the mirror. He never knew puffy eyes could develop overnight, atleast not until one cries their eyes out.

He was never going to drink again. When Julian said he might feel funny after, he didn't know this was Julian's idea of "funny". There was nothing funny about how he felt at the moment . He just wanted to lie down and pull himself into a deep slumber . He was feeling just too weary .

In a few minutes , he joined the other boy downstairs for breakfast.

•••

Ivan couldn't quite put a finger into what it was that was bothering him. He remembered something like a hazy dream, and he had an awkward uneasiness whenever he thought of that dream, if it was a dream in the first place.

"Earth to Mr. Novis?" Ivan flinched when Julian snapped his fingers on his face.

"Bubba, I brought you out for a walk so we could have fun, why do you keep zoning out so much?" Julian kicked Ivan in the shin and he let out a grunt of protest. "Please don't tell me you're still hungover"

"Am not" Ivan mumbled, throwing a lazy punch Julian's way.

"Brighten up then, or I'll feed you to the dog right there" Ivan turned his head to where Julian pointed and saw an aggressive-looking pitbull on a leash.

Ivan scoffed at the other boy. "I bet it's gonna bite your head off before it even thinks to eat me, you're all bones".

Maybe Ivan shouldn't have said that. Even before he could know what was happening, Julian jabbed at Ivan's gut and planted a heavy punch on his back.

"How do you like the blow, Bubba?" Julian's grin widened when Ivan lifted his head to look at him with murder in his eyes.

"You--" Ivan tried grabbing the other boy, only to lose him to a narrow escape.

Ivan was too tired to run after the speedster, but he really had to get his ass whooped. He took off with a start, running straight after the other boy.

It took him some effort, but Ivan finally managed to get a hold of Julian, and when he did , he showed no intention on letting him off.

He held him, restricting his movements as Julian kicked at him with all the little might he had.

"Call yourself a loser and I'll let you go" Ivan grinned .

Julian stuck his tongue out at him and Ivan smacked him on the face. All his protests were to no avail.

"Say it, Julian" Ivan squished his cheeks and much to his disapproval, fwipped his head from side to side. "Tell me of how much of a loser you are".

Ivan was having so much fun watching the other boy struggle, but as he watched him amusedly as Julian glared daggers at him, something rushed to the front of his mind and he felt himself holding back a choke.

The dream he thought he had had, came back to him with its uttermost clarity and Ivan immediately let go of Julian, taking a few steps back from the boy.

"Serves you right, Jerk" Julian rubbed his own cheeks as if it hurt and with a scrunged up face and gave Ivan a hard kick on his shin. It surprised him a bit when Ivan made no response, instead, he just stared down at his feet.

Julian watched for a moment and raised his brow. "Dude, you look like you saw a ghost". He scoffed and turned around, walking away. "Snap out of it, let's get going already".

"Julian"

Julian turned around at the voice of his name being called and saw Ivan still looking down at his feet. He thought he looked even more troubled than usual. "Yeah?"

"Last night, I--"

"Uh...yeah I know. It happens" Julian walked away as he waved a hand in the air. "You were drunk. I get it. Don't bother your--"

"It's not--" Ivan didn't mean to yell, but he couldn't help himself from being desperate.

Julian pursed his lips. He couldn't figure out why Ivan was over reacting over something so silly. Unless...

He heaved a heavy sigh and crossed his arms. "Hey... Don't tell me that you're disgusted by the idea of kissing me" he wanted to wear a smirk on his face but something made him involuntarily let out a scoff. Maybe the thought really did  hit his feels.

"That's not it--"

Julian quirked up an eyebrow.

"I feel bad. I feel bad that I couldn't --" Ivan felt choked by his own thoughts and he covered his mouth abruptly. He knew what he wanted to say. But what if he was wrong?

He glanced at Julian and thought about all the times he felt his heart skip a beat when he was with him. He had to finally give in to Julian's questioning gaze. "I think... I might ... Actually like you". His voice was barely a whisper and he could feel the heat rise to his face as he saw Julian's face make a dumbstruck expression.

Ivan realised he had blurted out the first thing that came to his mind and he pulled at his own hair, sinking to the floor. "Aw, forget I said anything. I might have gone insane", he let out a dry chuckle ,though he was well aware that he was never before this true to his heart.

He felt so embarrassed to even look up at Julian. Only if he could muster up the courage could he atleast make sure if Julian hated him now.

He flinched when Julian crouched down beside him and heaved a sigh. "Are you sure you are not just obsessed?" He asked and Ivan stared up at him.

He slowly nodded his head, quickly averting his gaze. Being obsessed is a whole different thing. He knew what it feels like. His feelings for Julian might or might not have started off as an obsession. But it was most definitely not what he felt right now.

"I'm not asking you to feel the same, Jules. I just-- wanted you to know" Ivan's voice was almost completely muffled as he buried his face into the crook of his elbow.

Julian nodded and got up with a sigh. "Now that you have said it, shall we go back home?"  

Ivan was a bit puzzled when he looked up and saw Julian's hand held out to him. "You aren't mad?"

"No?"

"So... C-Can we still be friends?" Ivan stuttered out as he took Julian's hand that helped him pull himself up.

Julian smiled and made a slight shake of his head. He turned around and walked away, his hand still holding Ivan's, making him stumble after him.

"I wasn't planning on leaving you anyway"