Between The Line || EstWilliam AU

Twenty

Est sat at his desk, his eyes glued to the screen of his laptop, heart pounding as he moved his mouse to refresh the page. The email inbox loaded once again, the same subject line flashing before him: UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA— ADMISSION RESULT. He had received the email earlier that morning, but he had been too anxious to open it. Now, sitting alone in his room, his palms sweaty, he couldn't put it off any longer.

With a deep breath, Est clicked on the email. The message opened slowly, and his heart leaped to his throat as he began reading the first line:

'Dear Mr. Supha'

'We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the University of California's Business Program...'

His breath caught. He'd made it. He'd actually been accepted. A flood of emotions surged through him—relief, excitement, disbelief—but also a wave of uncertainty. For months, he had been torn about whether to even apply to universities abroad, knowing full well what it could mean for his relationship with William. He had hoped to handle it carefully, to break the news to William gently and in his own way, but now that the acceptance was real, all those carefully planned words were nowhere to be found.

As Est sat there, frozen in a mix of shock and nervous excitement, he heard footsteps approaching his room. The door swung open, and in walked William, his usual carefree expression on his face.

"Phi, what are you doing?" William asked, strolling in casually as he always did when he wanted to hang out with Est.

Panic shot through Est. He quickly folded the laptop, sliding it across the desk in an attempt to look casual. His heart raced. He wasn't ready for this conversation, not yet.

"Uh, nothing much," Est said, forcing a smile. "Just... you know, checking some stuff."

William raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious as to his phi stutters, but didn't press further. Instead, he flopped down on the bed, pulling out his phone. "Weird. You looked like you were about to faint or something."

Est let out a nervous laugh. "Just stressed about... school stuff. You know how it is."

William nodded, though his eyes lingered on the laptop for a second longer than Est liked. "Yeah, I guess."

The two of them chatted for a while—about school, their friends, the camping trip they'd just returned from—until Est felt the tension beginning to ease. For a moment, he thought he had dodged a bullet. But then, the inevitable happened.

"Hey, I'll be right back," Est said, standing up abruptly. "I need to use the bathroom."

William waved him off without much thought, still scrolling through his phone. Est left the room, leaving the door slightly ajar behind him.

But as soon as he was gone, William's curiosity began to creep back in. His gaze drifted toward Est's laptop, the one Est had closed so quickly when he had entered. Normally, William wouldn't care, but something about the way Est had acted felt off. Est wasn't the type to be secretive, especially not with him.

The more he thought about it, the more William's curiosity got the better of him. Before he even realized what he was doing, he was reaching for Est's laptop. He hesitated for a moment, glancing toward the door to make sure Est hadn't returned, then flipped open the screen.

The laptop asked for a password, but William didn't even flinch as he typed it in—Est's password was never a problem for him, they both shared their passwords to each other either their phones or laptops. Within seconds, he was staring at Est's email inbox, and there, right at the top, was the email from the University of California.