Cracks of a Mirror

"I don't love you."

"Why did you leave?"

The words were spoken as barely a whisper, between spent sheets and bare bodies. Ethan turned his back to the man whose name had been spewing out his mouth in lewd moans only minutes before.

"How could I have stayed?"

Grayson studied the bareness of Ethan's pale back. The boy he had known seven years ago wouldn't be caught dead so pale. Ethan had always tanned far longer than he had. Then again, he'd always had a lighter complexion. The kids in Long Valley couldn't critique on many things appearance-wise but the one thing they would mock Ethan about was his pale skin. Vampire, they had called him. Ethan had hated that nickname more than he had hated being pale.

Seven years later, Grayson couldn't help but wonder why Ethan had ever bothered tanning. For, under the dim lighting and thin sheets, Ethan's pale silhouette appeared to be the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"You could've. You should've."

Ethan never responded. Grayson hadn't expected him to, anyways. He moved closer to the naked boy, only to cover him with the sheets. Ethan stiffened when he felt rough hands on his hair. They didn't tousle, merely ran through soothingly. Despite himself, Ethan felt himself closing his eyes.

"I missed this."

Ethan resisted the urge to lean into Grayson's touch, to inch back and let Grayson's body spoon his.

"I missed you, E." Grayson continued. His voice had grown raspy, for he was beyond spent for the night. His eyes were half closed, resisting sleep. "I missed you so much."

Ethan clenched his jaw. He couldn't do this. He couldn't lay there in romantics with Grayson, not when there was a woman waiting for him in her cabin - a woman Grayson had fallen in love with, a woman Grayson would marry in seven days. He squirmed away from Grayson's hands.

"I don't expect you to be here in the morning."

Grayson opened his tired eyes. "Hmm?"

"Frankly, I'd rather you not." Ethan continued, his voice slightly cracking. "I'd rather not be found in bed with my twin brother, between spent sheets and pillows by our extended family."

"Ethan -"

"- You've got a beautiful woman waiting for you, Gray. Don't throw that away because of this." Because of me, Ethan continued in his mind.

"Don't be silly."

"I'm being realistic." Ethan retorted. His voice shook with every word. "I can't provide you with the things she has. I can't give you children, or prestige, or a marriage."

Grayson grabbed him by the shoulder to turn him over.

"You're spitting bullshit."

Ethan forced himself to look into those hazel eyes. Serene eyes moments before had turned ablaze. He looked and he looked, trying to memorize the details in them. He had missed them so, so much that he'd drown in them willingly.

"I can't provide you with the love she can, Gray."

Grayson reached out to touch him.

"I don't love you."

Just like that, the fire within the hazel eyes was put out. Grayson retracted his arm. He suddenly looked like a little boy, lost.

"I don't love you." Ethan repeated, as if he was convincing himself. He watched as his brother's face hardened in seconds. As Grayson rose to clothe himself, under the dim lighting, in midst of the late hour, he didn't notice the trails of saltwater decorating Ethan's face. Nor did he hear the heart-wrenching sobs leaving his brother's lips as he walked out of the cabin, the door slamming shut behind him.

                                      |A/N: Feedback in the comments is greatly appreciated!|