LIKE I CAN ━ Steve Harrington ✓

06 - ALIEN

ALIEN

GRAYSON FELT DISGUSTING. He woke up at three in the morning, eyes still puffy from crying. He couldn't clear his mind, he shouldn't. He deserved to suffer. He felt like a dirty cheater because now he was one. The worst part? He wasn't quite sure he regretted kissing Steve. Now, he had the worst moral dilemma. To tell Matthew or not to tell Matthew? He knew he should, everything in him was telling him to be honest, but then, there was that one cell deep within screaming at him to keep quiet, to break up with Matthew for some bullshit reason, and go running back to Steve. Of course, there was the problem with Steve's girlfriend that had been waiting upstairs while they had their makeout session. Grayson usually owned up to his mistakes when he could. This, he already knew, was going to not be one of those times.

Instead, he made one of the worst mistakes of his teenage years. He dialed his boyfriend's number at three in the morning and waited. It rang three times and Grayson half-considered hanging up. However, on the fourth ring, Matthew picked up.

"Grayson? Why are you called this late? What time is it even?" Matthew's voice, groggy from the sleep he likely just woke up from, rang through the phone.

Taking a deep breath and speaking quickly before he could get himself out of it, he said, "I love you, too."

Matthew just laughed, "That's what you called me at three in the morning to tell me?"

"Yeah," Grayson said with a sigh of relief. There was still that nagging voice in the back of his head reminding him he was lying. He knew he didn't love Matthew, yet here he was, lying through his teeth.

"Go to bed, Grayson," his boyfriend instructed with a small giggle.

"Goodnight." He was just in a daze now, he didn't even know what he was saying. God, he should have just told the truth. He knew he would regret this when he had the right amount of sleep, but it was already too late. God, he was so fucking stupid.

Matthew whispered into the phone, as if it were some great secret, "Goodnight, love you."

"Love you," and he hung up. What had he just done? Now it would hurt more if he broke Matthew's heart. Now it was only hurting him. He didn't have a right to be heartbroken right now because he already ruined things by kissing Steve, but now he had ruined things somehow even more. Telling Matthew he kissed his ex once and regretting it? Maybe forgivable. Lying about loving him? Just plain fucked up.

Grayson didn't sleep the rest of the night. The next morning, it was obvious.

"What's up with you? You look dead, like actually," Emma pointed out as they all walked side by side to their first class. They still had a few minutes, but all three of them had grabbed everything they needed so they just decided to head to class early.

"Uh," the boy struggled to think of a valid excuse other than him being too busy sobbing to sleep, "Just partied too hard, I guess?"

Emma laughed out loud, hitting him lightly on the arm, "You? Partying? Hilarious. I can see you at Steve's party now: Sitting, not talking to anyone, and drinking water."