Maybe A Little

Chapter 14

Ryan went over to Chad's house the next day, thankful it was Saturday and he wouldn't have to do this at school. He walked to the front door slowly and knocked. Chad's mother answered the door.

"Hello, can I help you?" she asked politely. Ryan swallowed.

"Um, I think so? Is Chad here?" The woman nodded.

"Yes, he and Zeke are upstairs in his room. Second door on the left," she explained, stepping back to let him in. Ryan almost told her that he already knew where Chad's room was, but he knew that could seem a little odd, so he opted instead for a quiet "thank you" and walked up the stairs.

He paused when he reached the door and held his breath when he realized he could hear Chad and Zeke talking.

"Chad, if you don't think he wants you around, then it's probably best for you to tell him you can't keep doing this. If that's really what you want I'm not going to stand in your way, but I think Ryan cares about you a lot. I honestly believe that he would do literally anything you asked of him. If I were you, I don't know if I would be so quick to give up someone like that," Zeke explained. Ryan heard Chad sigh.

"I know he cares about me Zeke, but I can't keep holding him back like this. I'm not ready for people to know and he needs a relationship with someone that can show people how proud they are to be with him. It's not fair of me to expect him to wait on me like he is," Chad said sadly.

"You know, I think if you really like him as much as you say you do, and he's as into you as I think he is, you'll be surprised at how easy it is to be with him in public. I know you're scared of people criticizing you and your relationship, but your relationship is going to be so much less stressful if you're not always so nervous about people seeing the two of you together."

Chad was silent, and Ryan decided now was not the time to intrude. He turned around and headed back down the stairs.

"Are you heading out already?" Chad's mom asked as he passed through the kitchen.

"Yeah, just came to grab something Chad borrowed," Ryan lied easily, and with that he was out the door.

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Later that afternoon, Ryan checked his phone and was surprised to see a text from Chad:

Hey, can we talk?

Ryan bit his lip before typing out a response.

When and where?

It was only about a minute before Ryan received a response.

Baseball field.
Ten minutes.

Ryan gave himself a once over in his mirror, decided he looked decent enough, and practically jogged to his car. He had it all planned out.

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As soon as Ryan got to the fields he knew exactly where to go. He went straight to the home dugout and there was Chad, fingers linked in the fence and a pensive look on his face.

Ryan leaned up against the fence and Chad glanced over at him.

"Hey," was all Chad said, and Ryan was disappointed that there was no emotion in his voice. He hummed in response, not sure what to say. He had been so sure he knew how this was going to go, but then he had taken one look at Chad and all of his words flew out the window. So, Chad just kept talking.

"Look, I know yesterday was crazy... I hope you're not expecting an apology for that though because honestly Ryan, I think any person with any self respect would have reacted the way I did. I am sorry for holding you back these last few months because I was scared, but if you would have told me sooner that you wanted me to come out I probably would have, because I care about you so much, and I'd do almost anything to keep you happy and part of my life. If that's what it takes for this to last, I'll do it," Chad finished confidently.

Ryan stared at him, speechless. He had gotten in his car thinking he was prepared to come and break up with this beautiful, caring boy standing in front of him. Now that idea seemed completely absurd. He forced himself to find his voice.

"Chad, I'm not going to force you to come out - that's probably one of the cruelest things you could do to someone. You have no idea how much it means to me that you are willing to do that, though. To do what you just suggested takes so much courage, and if you believe you're ready to do that I will be so proud of you, but just know that I'm already proud of you for even thinking about doing this for me," Ryan said softly.

Chad gave his boyfriend a large smile and walked over to him, slowly wrapping his arms around the blondes waist. "I don't know if I'm completely ready yet," Chad started. "But I'm definitely more ready than I was two months ago. You want to know why that is?"

Ryan pulled back slightly, keeping his arms around Chad. "Of course."

Chad glanced down, cheeks burning. When he looked up, Ryan almost swooned at the smile on his face.

"Because," Chad started, "I think I'm maybe a little in love with you."

Ryan's eyebrows practically reached his hairline as he gaped in surprise before collecting himself. He cleared his throat. "Maybe a little, huh?"

Chad giggled. "Only slightly. Don't flatter yourself, pretty boy."

"That's okay, because I think I'm a little in love with you too," Ryan whispered, and he thought Chad's face would split in half with the smile he was wearing.

Ryan laughed and leaned in, pressing his lips to Chad's. His only thought in that moment was that he was so glad he let Chad speak first.

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I felt so bad for making you wait that long and then giving you a sad chapter, so I wrote another one. I almost want to end it here, but I have more plot ideas so I mean do you guys want to read more? Kind of leaving this up to you guys, please let me know what you think with votes and comments. Thanks for reading. :)