Regret (Ianthony)

Two Weeks Prior

The director yelled, "Cut!" and the entire scene began to dissolve in one big flurry of motion. Bodies were flinging themselves off the stage so they could change back into their normal clothes and go home to be on the internet or spend time with their special someone. Obviously, Anthony was no exception, so as soon as the latest Smosh video's recording was over, he was tripping over his own feet trying to make it to the changing room to get out of his red Power Ranger's suit (don't ask).

As soon as he was in his boxers, he immediately began throwing on some pants and a shirt. When he was satisfied, he began walking out of the changing room, only to find that Ian was just making his way off the set, still wearing his green Power Ranger's suit. He had only taken off the mask, so the rest of his body was still clothed in green spandex that hugged him a little too tightly for his liking.

"Taking your time there?" Anthony joked, loping over to join his boyfriend, who was now striding in the direction of the changing room.

Ian only gave Anthony a faint smile in return.

Since the crying incident, Ian had been acting oddly. He wasn't his normal attentative self and seemed more distant than usual. One day, Anthony had caught him yelling at his phone while trying to charge it. He didn't understand why it wasn't working, which Anthony fixed quickly by plugging the charger into the wall. Ian had looked at him with sudden realization, as though he had finally resolved the equation two plus two.

Needless to say, there was something off about him.

Anthony kept walking alongside Ian, occasionally bumping into him on purpose to try to evoke some sort of reaction out of him. However, Ian remained silent until they reached the door to the changing room. Ian ushered Anthony in and closed the door behind them, locking it (even though almost everyone had already left or were packing up at the time).

When the lock clicked into place, Ian turned to Anthony and spoke, "I think we need to talk."

The absence of slang in Ian's statement made Anthony cold all over. "About what?" Anthony asked, knowingly taking the bait. Hopefully, Ian would explain his crazy behavior or something.

"Well..." Ian sighed, pulling down the zipper in the back of his costume before letting it fall to his feet in a heap, which he stepped out of. Anthony was left with a glorious view of Ian's boxers before he snatched his shorts off a clothes hanger on a rack that had been pushed against the wall of the room. Hurriedly, he pulled them on as Anthony waited with baited breath.

"I think we should take a break from this relationship."

That one sentence made Anthony go numb, from the inside out. He was no longer aware of the hum of the air conditioning unit in the background, nor the slight flicker of the fluorescent light bulbs screwed in the ceiling.

He

       could

                    feel

                              nothing.

Nothing was there; it was like his life force had been yanked from his body and he had been left with a void with nothing to fill it with. There was almost no point responding to Ian.

Almost.

Anthony nodded thickly, then tried to give Ian a small grin, only to realize that the corners of his mouth were drawn into a tight line that could under no circumstances be broken unless he wanted to free the tears that were already beading up in his eyes against his will.

Biting his lip with an expression of something that closely resembled pity, Ian added on, "I just need to feel like..."

Holding down a sob, Anthony impatiently waited for Ian to continue.

Ian shook his head. "Nevermind." Then, he pulled his shirt over his head, slipped on some flip-flops, and shuffled out of the room, casting Anthony a wayward glance. "Need me to drive?"

He was only able to nod back before Ian stated, "I'll be waiting in the car." Anthony watched Ian's back grow further and further away. When he was satisfied with the distance between them, Anthony let out a sob and covered his crying eyes with calloused hands.

With despair, he managed to choke out, "I wish-" only to burst into heavy gasps for the oxygen his lungs lacked, bellowing uncontrollably.

Where did things go so wrong?