Artificial Happiness

"Stranger Behavior"

“I don’t understand our relationship. Sometimes we’re best friends, sometimes we’re more, and sometimes you’re a stranger to me.”
~
“What was that about…”

Gaelyn didn’t even bother to turn his head to look at Raymond when he spoke his eyes were still dead fixed on Val after had stormed off, acting like a child once again.

“I don’t know, Rae.”

He replied quietly to the blond, his bright blue eyes meeting Valac's oddly reddish brown ones as he started feeling up some easy, overly fake, bitch right in front of him, It was moments like this that G didn’t understand about Val. Once second the older male would be by his side no matter what… they would hang out and goof off, just generally have an amazing time together. Other times it would be different, almost, couple-like. Val was a rather cuddly person, and Gaelyn knew that all too well. Just looking at the junior he would seem like someone that would break your arm if you touched him, but honestly the opposite was true. Val practically breathed neediness when it came to attention, More often than not he was with Gael when he got in his ‘lovey moods’ resulting in a lot of hugs and just things that only made the blue eyed boy’s feelings grow stronger. He wanted Val to be like that with him all the time, but then things like the ‘stranger’ moments happened, thing like the current situation. Seeing Val hanging off of that girl, looking him dead in the eye, that sickening, sadistic, smirk on his face as he asked Alyssa out all because G wasn’t available. It was moments like this that really made him wonder why the hell he even liked other male. He was so… vindictive and malicious when he didn’t get his way and of course changing the plans he wanted immediately set Val’s mind immediately on some weird slutty form of revenge and it drove Gaelyn insane.

“I really… don’t know.”

He repeated. As soon as Valac’s attention was off of him, he forced Rae to turn around and pulled him the other way with him.

“Well hey! I won’t turn like that, we’ll have fun tonight, right G?”

The short brown eyed boy tilted his head slightly up looking at Google with a bright smile, trying to get Gaelyn’s mind off of Val’s gross behavior. Here is where a conflict of interest lied. Raymond liked Gaelyn, Gaelyn liked Val, and Val apparently like Gaelyn. It was like an incomplete love triangle and honestly one that in the end, Rae would unfortunately lose out on.

“Yeah… yeah we will.”

G confirmed, turning away from Val and starting down the hallway in the opposite direction, just forget about him, that’s all you need to do is forget. Rae kept a happy face on, just for G as they left the area where their lockers were, but deep down inside he felt guilty. It was an unneeded guilt, but it still ate at him regardless. He was the reason Val went off and did that, even though he was happy to actually hang out with Gaelyn for once, he had potentially distorted a part of the two other males’ friendship. That little fact bothered him, sitting at the back of his mind all day.

-Last Bell-

As Rae made his way back to his locker, only a few down from G’s he realized what he should have done earlier, rather than scoffing in the face of the much taller man when he tried to make plans with Gaelyn.

“Uh… hey G… you know I can cancel and wait if you really want to spend time with Val… its not that important and I know-”

The blond was cut off with a gentle shove and light laugh from G, the taller blue eyed boy looked at him with a slight smirk.

“Not happening Rae, you promised movies, and that is what we’re doing.”

Glyn interrupted, looking at him in a smug, yet stern fashion.

“Yeah but-”

“No buts we’re going, don’t let Val’s asinine behavior discourage you from having a good time, we’re going.”

He stated firmly, pulling out the textbook he needed for home to read ahead in the chapter and stuffing it in his book bag.

“Now come one Rae, lets go.”

G jerked his head in the general direction of the front doors of their high school, motioning for Raymond to follow after him, and he did, but the uncomfortableness never left Rae’s stomach as they left together.

In the end they both had a good time, despite the fact that they bother had seen Val at the same theater with his… ‘revenge date’ as Gaelyn had so cleverly named it, but besides that fact, everything went swimmingly, it was the first time in a while that G had done something that made him completely forget about his confusing attraction to Valac, yet Raymond never forgot. On their way home the blond male started to get quiet, his cheery mood starting to disappear the closer and closer they got to home, the theater was only about 3 blocks from the neighborhood they lived in. While they walked along, Rae had taken to kicking a stone and staring at the ground and that sudden change in behavior immediately worried G.

“Rae, you okay?”

He asked quietly, keeping his calculating and concerned gaze firmly on the brown eyed boy walking next to him.

“Yeah… yeah I’m fine. Just, tonight was great and all, but you really, really should go see Val.”

He stated calmly, stuffing his hands further in his pockets, holding back the urge to pull out his pack of cigarettes.

“Why?”

Such a simple question, but one that hit Raymond like a stack of bricks.

“Because, you like him, he likes you, and I took you away from him. That’s why. Tonight should have been you and Val, not me and you and Val with that chick. I ruined something, I know I did, don’t deny it Gael. You’re smart enough to know.”

The shorter male huffed out, the urge to smoke becoming rather unbearable at this point, before he could be stopped, Rae had a lit cigarette in his mouth and was inhaling rather deeply.

“You deserve to be with him G, not me.”

The blond breathed out slowly, white-ish smoke curling around his lips as he exhaled, looking at G with nothing, but complete seriousness in his eyes

“But I-”

“Gaelyn just go.”

Rae gave him a gentle shove towards the street the blue eyes boy lived on and head off towards the next street down where he resided.

“I’ll see you around, thanks for hanging with me.”

He gave G a little salute and then disappeared into the darkness. Gaelyn sighed quietly to himself, I mean visiting Val couldn’t hurt, it was better than going home when he still had time until his curfew. Making his way down the street he stopped in the driveway of where Mark and Val lived and stopped, Valac’s car still wasn’t around, Mark’s was… G pulled out his phone and texted Val’s brother, silently hoping that his car was just in the garage and he hadn’t actually gone through with that Gaelyn thought he had. Just thinking that Val wasn’t home yet, that he was still with that girl, filled the younger boy with a nausea. It made him sick to know that the guy that he liked was most likely having his way with yet another, adding to his fuck boy repertoire. The second his phone buzzed, G had it unlocked and his uneasy feeling was confirmed. Val wasn’t home. Turning away from the house, the blue eyed male stepped out into the street, crossing it to get to his own home, tears welling up in his eyes. He didn’t even know why he was crying, why would Valac even be home? The other didn’t care in the same way, and if he did, he sure had a funny way of showing it. It was infuriating. All of Glyn’s emotions culminating to a fever pitch and resulting in tears. Was he even good enough for Val? Was he ever going to actually get to be with Valac in the way he wanted? Jack was right, Jack never lied to him, yet still G found himself believing he could change the junior, even after all of this… he still had hope.