all those broken promises | shyland

Chapter Eleven

Friday, 11/6 (15 Days until Garrett's End-of-the-Semester party and 17 days until Shane and Ryland have to present their project – to give somewhat of a timeline).

Where are you?

12:14 pm.

Shane...

12:17 pm.

Please, don't ignore me.

12:24 pm.

Go fuck yourself.

12:26 pm.

27 Hours Earlier...

Shane frowned as looked down at the message from Garrett. As far as he knew, he and his friend had been on good terms when they left the Principal's office, but the harsh tone of Garrett's texts made Shane wonder if he had left something unsaid. He tried to wait until class was over, but his knees bounced with every word his teacher said, so when she wasn't looking, he grabbed his bag and slipped out the side door, asking the girl next to him to cover for him if he was asked about.

As soon as he stepped into the hallway, he was faced with the sight of his best friend pinning Ryland against the lockers in front of him. He couldn't help the gasp of horror that left his lips, rushing forward to pull Garrett away from the smaller boy and watching as Ryland fell to the floor in ground in front of him, raising his hand to grasp his throat as he struggled to breathe. Shane's eyes flickered with fear, and he wanted to lean down to help Ryland, but Garrett's glare seemed to have him frozen in place.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Garrett whipped around to face him, his eyes colder than Shane had ever seen. "Don't tell me you're actually defending the new kid, Dawson."

"Garrett—"

"Or, is that because he's your boyfriend now?"

Shane hesitated, his eyes flickering between Garrett and Ryland. He didn't understand why Garrett was so mad over him and Ryland when the bet had been his idea. Get Ryland to fall in love with him before Garrett's End-of-the-Semester party. That's what he was doing. And, okay, Ryland was different than anyone he had ever been with, and Shane enjoyed hanging out with him, but Garrett was still his best friend. And, sure, he and Ryland weren't exclusive or anything, but he didn't understand why Garrett would care if he labeled the beautiful boy as his boyfriend; it wasn't like it would be that way for long.

"I mean, not—" He tried to think of a way to please both of them, but his mind fell short of words, so he gave a simple shrug and settled on, "We haven't had the time to talk about it."

"But, you've had the time—"

"Garrett, no!"

"—to tell him about your shit father."

Shane froze. He could practically see the wheels in Garrett's head turning, almost as though he was waiting for Shane to deny his words. But, he didn't know what to say. It was as if the lie he'd been living for the past three years had been washed away in less than a week by some new kid. He was supposed to ruin Ryland's life, not the other way around, and any guilt he'd been feeling over the situation was now completely drained from his mind; he was going to make sure he shattered Ryland to the point of never loving again.

From the corner of his eyes, he could see Ryland's face had gone white. "Shane—"

"Well, was he telling the truth?"

Shane closed his eyes. "Garrett, I can explain, okay? I—Listen, can we talk about this at lunch? You weren't supposed to find out this way—"

"Were you ever planning on telling me?"