Missing Pieces

Skye (Part II)

A/N: You'll need to read part I first (obvs) - which has just been edited because I posted the wrong version, like an idiot. Oh well. There's one more part in this storyline! And I'm still taking requests so lmk if you want to see something. 

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FALL

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It was Fashion Week in New York and Skye was glued to his phone. Every time he refreshed he saw more and more pictures of Bryce and Kimber. The rest of the world, it seemed, was every bit as obsessed as he was.

"They really are gorgeous together," Ben startled Skye and he almost dropped his phone.

"Yeah," Skye locked his phone. The pastor held his hand out and after a second Skye realized he wanted his phone.

"I'll give it back after our staff meeting," Ben promised. "By then you'll have a million more pictures to see."

"I'm sure I will."

It felt like the longest meeting they'd ever had but Skye knew from the clock it was the same length as all their others. He waited as everyone else went back to their desks so Pastor Ben would give his phone back but the pastor pretended he didn't know why Skye was waiting.

"Did you want to talk about something else?" Ben joked.

"Just give me the phone," Skye rolled his eyes. "I know, I'm being pathetic."

"A little. Have fun," Ben handed the phone back. "Remember we do have actual work to do."

"Yes, I'm really not going to spend all day watching, I just...want to see," Skye felt like he probably would spend all day looking if he wasn't careful.

He wouldn't be so obsessed if he could just text Bryce like normal and see how the trip was going, but ever since summer camp he'd been cut off. Skye knew he should have expected that since Kimber was already jealous enough but that didn't mean it didn't still hurt. They were friendly at church and could text about church things every now and then but otherwise they barely talked. It felt like a huge letdown after their last night at camp was so intense.

The newest pictures made Skye relax right away. The rest of Bryce's family had joined them and suddenly there were a lot fewer pictures of Bryce and more of Clay and Adam. When he saw the picture of Kimber and Clay standing together on the red carpet, Skye could practically watch the wheels turning in Clay's head. To the point that he wondered if he should text Clay and tell him not to do whatever he was planning to do.

Instead he put his phone in his pocket and made himself focus on work. There was no point in torturing himself. Skye wasn't really sure what he was looking for in the first place - proof that Bryce would never be his? Or maybe that he wasn't as happy with Kimber as he seemed?

He made it through the rest of the day and the outreach meeting that night without checking his phone, which was probably a record for Skye. It wasn't until he got comfortable on his couch, the one Bryce hated, that he let himself go look some more. Not that he knew what he expected to see since everyone was so particular about what they posted and how they acted in public.

The new pictures looked just like the ones before with Clay never getting too far from Bryce and Kimber. Every now and then someone posted a shot of just the two of them but for the most part, Clay was always right there. Soon, Skye found himself paying more attention to the pictures of Adam and Eli together. They seemed so in love, even after so many years. It was everything Skye wanted.

He hadn't been on the dating app since the whole breakup with Branden but Skye held his finger over the icon, wondering if he should just admit to himself he was hoping for something he would never get. On the one hand it seemed like a good sign that Bryce's family had crashed his trip with Kimber but on the other hand maybe he was being stubborn. Bryce was barely even talking to him, why should he hope they might become anything other than friends?