Allergic to Roses

Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde

Wes and I were hiding out in the small men's bathroom, in the lone stall next to all the urinals. It reeked of piss, but where else were we supposed to go?

I was sitting on the gross ass bathroom floor (which I wouldn't have been doing if Wesley hadn't received an unexpected call from his mom) next to Wes, with my arm slung around him patting his shoulder encouragingly. We were like those awkward partiers who drank too much and ended up barfing it all up in a secluded stall, y'know? Well, minus the drinking.

"I just, I can't talk to her like it's all okay," Wesley was saying. He didn't answer the call, he just let it go to voice mail.

"I know," I told him, my head bending down to lean on his shoulder.

"What makes her think she can just call me after years like it's all okay?" He asked. He sounded broken.

I shook my head, "I don't know, Wes."

We sat there in silence for a little while, the only sound the soft humming of the heater and the quiet drip drip of a leaky faucet.

"Thanks," he told me, "For being there for me."

I nodded into his shoulder blade, "You're my best friend, it shouldn't be a surprise."

He laughed meekly, "Right. Friends."

I furrowed my eyebrows at his dejected tone but didn't comment on it. "Maybe, eventually, you'll call her. I'm sure she'd love that."

He snorted, "It's her fault she hasn't spoken to me, though. I just need some time."

"I know, Wes, I know."

He sighed and closed his eyes, resting his head against the tiled wall. "It smells like piss in here."

I laughed, "No shit."

He chuckled at my joke, "That was good."

"No pun intended," I told him, laughing. "Wanna go back out?" I asked him.

He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close, resting his chin in my hair. He didn't say anything for a couple of minutes. Another couple minutes of silence between us, before he broke it again. "I wish we could stay like this forever," he mumbled.

I sighed. "Yeah. Hey, Wes?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Why'd you leave me?" The question had been on my mind for countless months, and dozens of heart wrenching days. The infamous, 'Why'd you leave me?'

"I didn't leave you, Ley. I just felt like I had to do something with my life, something..."

"Meaningful," I finished for him.

I understood. It didn't mean it made the memory of him leaving hurt any less, but I wasn't going to torture him with the guilt when he already had so much to worry about.

My phone buzzed in my pocket, for the hundredth time. It was getting really annoying, the constant vibrations interrupting our one on one best friend time. It was funny how the only place we could find refuge was a trashed bathroom inside the bowling alley.

I slid it out of my pocket to see the screen, the phone no longer buzzing. 9 Missed Calls. 12 New Messages.

I unlocked it and scrolled through the messages. They ranged from 'Where the hell are you?????' to 'RESPOND IF YOU AREN'T KIDNAPPED!!!!!' I laughed at that one, "You're getting them too, huh?" Wesley said, "Gotta love our friends."

"Yeah."

"So what's going on between you and Rose? Now that we're having this heart to heart," Wesley asked me, turning his head so his brown eyes were staring into mine.