The Stars That Night [boyxboy]

The Stars That Night {14}

                I cracked my eyes open as my phone buzzed over and over again on Jack's nightstand. Jack slapped around until he'd grabbed it, slapping it onto my chest.

                "Ow," I groaned.

                "Your phone, your problem," he said, pulling the covers over his head.

                "Hello?" I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.

                "You never came over last night," Roan said, sounding mad. "You ignored my texts and my calls, Garrett. I was worried about you."

                "Sorry," I said, feeling a lot more awake now. "I'm sorry, Roan. Jack and I were playing a game, and then..."

                "And then what? What the hell was so important that you couldn't message me back?" he demanded. "Yea, you don't text back sometimes. But you rarely ignore my calls."

                I felt guilt slipping into my voice. "I'm sorry, Roan, I really am. I...Well, I took Silas to the hidden falls pool. He'd never been there before. He wanted me to teach him about the stars, so I thought he might like it. I never heard my phone going off."

                "I told you not to get involved with him, so you go to the falls alone with him?" Roan said, anger growing. "Jesus fucking Christ, Gar, he could've shoved you right into the water. You could've been jumped or something."

                "We were fine. It was the middle of the night. It's not like anyone knew we were there. And it's not like Silas was going to hurt me," I said.

                "You don't know that! It's a miracle that kid wasn't expelled from school for his violence," Roan said.

                "Stop it," I said, feeling my own anger starting up. "You don't know him."

                "Neither do you," he said sharply.

                "I know him better than you. He's never been a threat to me, Roan. He just wanted to learn about the stars a little," I said.

                Jack had poked his head out from the blanket by this point, watching me curiously. I tried to calm myself, but I just felt so mad. Why was Roan judging Silas so harshly? I knew he had a reputation for being violent, but Roan didn't know him personally. He shouldn't base his judgments based on rumors alone. It wasn't fair to Silas.

                "Look, I'm sorry I didn't answer you last night, okay, Roan? But if Silas wants to visit the falls or learn about the stars or go out to lunch, I'm going to do that with him," I said, trying to make my voice sound final on the matter. "You're judging him based on rumors, and that's a shitty thing to do. You need to trust me more."

                "How can I trust you when you love to get into trouble? Akira is the only friend you have who isn't a fucking idiot," he said.

                "Don't talk about my friends like that!" I said.

                "Jack is always getting into trouble and dragging you down with him. Now you want to get involved with someone even worse than Jack? Can you seriously blame me for being concerned?" Roan said. "I tolerate Jack because I care about you. I won't tolerate Silas too. I'm not going to sit around and watch my boyfriend fling himself into trouble. You're too nice, and way too adventurous. It's a dangerous combination that always gets you into more trouble than you can get out of."

                "I can handle myself," I said. "Maybe you should get to know people before judging them and telling me I can't be around them."