Indifference or Disinterest

Chapter II

Ryan's eyes flew open and he sat bolt upright in bed, heart pounding, as the door to his room banged open. A guy was standing in the doorway, holding multiple suitcases and looking sheepish. "Shit, sorry. I didn't realize you'd still be asleep." Ryan rubbed a hand over his face, trying to adjust to the real world after the nightmare he'd been woken out of.

After the floor meeting the night before, he'd gone back to Jon's room and they'd hung out for a few hours, talking about music and laughing. By the time he'd gotten back to his room, he'd been so wound up he couldn't sleep, and ended up watching another full season on Netflix. He barely remembered shoving his laptop onto the floor and rolling over once he'd been unable to keep is eyes open. 

"That's fine." He squinted at his watch as the guy opened the curtains slightly, and the room was illuminated with sunlight that proved his watch wasn't lying when it said it was already afternoon. "I'm Ryan." He raised a hand in greeting as he sat up in bed, his sheet pooling around him. 

"I'm Spencer." The guy smiled at him as a woman leaned into the room, knocking on the open door.

"Knock knock." She said, although the physical knocking had already gotten their attention. "Honey, can you go help your father? I think he's going to throw his back out if he tries to lift half of those boxes." 

"Yeah, sure. Mom, this is Ryan. Ryan, mom." He waved his arm between the two absent-mindedly as he left the room. 

The woman placed the potted plant she'd been carrying on the window sill before turning to smile at Ryan. "Nice to meet you, Ryan. You moved in yesterday?"

"Yes, Mrs. Smith." Ryan felt thankful for his good memory that he could recall Spencer's last name from the email the school had sent. He really wouldn't have liked having to call her ma'am or something. "Sorry my stuff is still all over the place. I think I packed a little heavy." 

She looked around the room and shook her head. "Between you and Spencer I doubt you'll be able to see the floor." She smiled at him again and he felt a warm sensation settle in his stomach. He hadn't met too many people who gave off that comforting maternal vibe, but Spencer's mom was a textbook example of it. 

Ryan grabbed the first clothes he could find out of a box and made his way to the bathroom to change. As he locked the stall door he silently hoped that Spencer wouldn't be one of those straight guys that got all awkward about changing in front of him once they found out he was gay. That was always annoying, and spending eight months changing in the bathroom sounded like actual hell. 

He managed to get his pants on without stepping on the floor in his bare sock or dropping anything in the toilet, and he counted it as the accomplishment of the day. The hallway was bustling with families moving their kids in, and he had to dodge out of the way of being hit in the head more than once to make it back to his room without injury. 

In the few minutes Ryan had been gone, Spencer had managed to get all of his stuff moved in, and was now standing in a prolonged embrace with his crying mother. The man Ryan assumed was his dad stood in the doorway, shaking his head at the sight. When he saw Ryan he rolled his eyes. "We live like 20 minutes away, but she still acts like he's going off to war." Ryan smiled uncomfortably and sat on his bed as the hug finally ended. "Alright, leave him be. You know you can come home if you need anything." He directed the last statement at Spencer, who nodded.

His mom gave his cheek a pat and left the room, his dad following and closing the door. Spencer sighed and sat down on the bed. "Wow. This is really it. Freedom." Spencer grinned across the room at him. 

Ryan appreciated that he hadn't made fun of his mom's behavior. He figured Spencer was pretty lucky to have a mother that cared so much. "You hungry?" Ryan asked, mostly to have something to say.