Sunshine & Saltwater [BxB] COMPLETED

bonjour

Theo met Ronan on a cloudy day, for the first round of soccer tryouts out on the green field. Ronan was wearing joggers and a long sleeve shirt rolled up at the elbows. He kept raking a hand through his thick, curly hair, a mix of auburn and dark chocolate brown, and smiling like he knew something everyone didn't.

Theo took one look at Ronan and thought, damn, if that's not the most gorgeous person in the world.

~

What just happened?

As he walked to his car, he could still picture the boy with dark curls and tan skin, staring at him a little wide eyed and flushed. Theo.

The name bounced around his mind, catching right on the tip of his tongue. There was something about him that made Ronan's breath come out just a little faster.

At first when he saw Theo, he was just a teammate he didn't really know, with different friends and a quiet demeanor. Nothing like Ronan or his friends, who were loud and immature at every possible moment.

But then suddenly Theo bit his lip and Ronan's thoughts fled his mind. He never got flustered around girls, let alone guys, so why now? Why Theo?

~

Theo never had crushes on girls like his friends, so he always thought the right girl just hadn't shown up yet. But when Ronan smiled, Theo's heart started to slam against his rib cage, and it wasn't long before he realized what was going on.

He was falling in love.

~

Ronan always had plenty of female friends, many of whom had openly confessed their affection for him. He had never cared for any one of them.

Sports, he would claim to his friends when they asked, and school. How am I supposed to do those two things and have a clingy girlfriend at the same time?

His friends just laughed and slapped his back, like they got what he was trying to say. They thought he was scared of commitment. But that wasn't it.

He knew the real reason why. It's just another thing to admit it out loud.

~

At first, it was just noticing Ronan more often.

Following Ronan with his eyes and trying not to take too much notice at how his pulse speeds up whenever Ronan looks his way.

Slowly thoughts of Ronan became a permanent fixture in Theo's mind. There was daydreaming during classes, and planning conversations in the shower, and staying up late staring at the ceiling just wondering.

But he had never talked with Ronan yet, so everything related to him was simply flimsy hopes and a very wild, wild imagination.

~

Was Theo funny? Sensitive? Reckless?

Does he mumble in his sleep? Does he think about someone all the time, like Ronan does about him?

Every waking moment Ronan fended off these questions from overwhelming his brain.

It felt like he was slowly losing his mind. His sanity. He couldn't talk to his friends about Theo, and actually talking with Theo instead seemed equally as daunting. What happened to the social, always outgoing guy?

If he doesn't start at least talking to him, will Ronan ever know if Theo likes him back? If it's even something he wants?

~

Theo was in the library, of all places, when it happened. Someone sat at his table, right across from him, plopping his backpack noisily on the nearby chair.

It was Ronan.

~

Theo was even more attractive when he studied, his eyes concentrated and his lips pressed together.

Ronan's hands were shaking, so he shoved them in his pockets. He took a deep breath.

"Hi," Ronan said.

~

"Hey," Theo said shyly. His eyes were flicking between Ronan and the rest of the library. Was this a set up? Ronan's friends were known for their jokes and pranks.

But Ronan was definitely alone. And fidgety.

Theo wondered, could Ronan hear his heart drumming in his chest?

Could he hear the same river roaring in Theo's ears? Could he feel the sudden lack of oxygen around them?

Then Ronan smiled.