It was a week before spring break.
Everyone was anxious to get there, and Dan was happy too, but every night he has a dream, it's one where Arin is there and it's the same painful process of him holding him down, and Dan can't breathe, he can't fight. And sometimes Arin falls into pieces of glass when he stops and sometimes...Dan's the one doing it to Arin. And he doesn't stop.
But every night his mind dreams, it's that, over and over.
One day while they were sitting in their dorm, Andy confronted Dan about it.
"Hey, man, I don't mean to pry, but like...are you okay? I woke up in the middle of the night yesterday and you were crying and I didn't want to say anything in case you were asleep or it was a very personal moment, but...I'm just checking in."
Dan looked down at the floor. "Um...yeah. I just have nightmares sometimes and it's just about something that happened really recently with someone I cared about."
Andy furrowed his eyebrows. "Was it your dorm partner? Is that why you switched?"
Dan nodded, seeming closed off again, and Andy leaned back against the wall, thinking for a moment before grabbing both his video game remotes and tossing one to Dan. "Wanna play?"
This was his way of saying it was cool and backing off.
Dan tilted his head. "What game?"
Andy smiled and made his way towards a large closed cabinet before pulling it open, revealing a huge collection of video games on the shelves. "You choose."
Dan couldn't help but grin.
//
It was silent.
Dan hadn't been near his old dorm since Phil helped him move out if it, but now he was back. He no longer had a key, but he didn't need one. He was anxious, standing outside of it and ready to knock.
It was the middle of the night and Dan had had another dream, where he was the one hurting Arin. And this one had made him so shaken up, the next thing he knew he was outside what used to be where he slept. Where he used to be safe.
He knocked quietly, not knowing if Arin would be awake or not. He didn't even know if he'd still be in here. But then he heard someone shuffle to the door and it clicked and unlocked, and they made eye contact for the first time in a month.
They stared at each other for a while and then Arin made a beeline for the bathroom, suddenly throwing up in the toilet as if he was sick, and Dan furrowed his eyebrows in worry.
Dan hesitantly stepped in, closing the door behind him and staring at Arin on the bathroom floor, head hung over the toilet and looking disgusted. Dan felt bad, he couldn't help it. He walked over to Arin, putting his hand on his shoulder, for some reason he wasn't feeling all too scared.
But Phil would be pissed if he found out Dan was anywhere near Arin again.
Arin looked up at him and then quickly turned away as he threw up again, and Dan flinched at how bad he seemed. He had to turn his head away from the smell as Arin tried to breathe.
"I'm sorry." Arin mumbled, and Dan didn't say anything. Was sorry enough for Dan to forgive him? No...it wasn't.
"I didn't mean to...I was drunk and that's..." Arin paused. "not enough." he whispered, putting his head in his hands in shame. "You should go, nothing I say can make up for it."
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Boys This Young
FanfictionSequel to Boys Your Age:: "What if I was gay?" "I'd marry you." //Phan