💦 RoadTrip One Shot Collection 💦

Randy | High School Lover | Part Two

PART TWO: THE REAL WORLD

Andy waited until the lights went out on the plane before he cried.

When the cabin finally plunged into artificial blackness, and Andy finally let it all out, he did so silently, headphones covering his ears and a sad movie on the screen to provide some kind of easy excuse to anyone who might have seen him. It had only been four hours since they parted but God, he already missed Rye so much he thought his heart would burst. 

Two weeks into his adult, high school-free, Andy-free life, and Rye had drawn some new conclusions about heartbreak. 

He had learned that it hurt. Not just figuratively; the pain was more than a metaphor for melancholy. It physically hurt. His gut ached. His throat was raw. Every beat of his heart seemed to take ten times more effort than it had before, the aching muscle struggling to perform without its reason for being. 

Rye didn't know when Andy had become critical to his biology. After all, they were just two kids who messed around and liked to kiss each other. Yet losing Andy felt like losing a limb. 

He knew he would adjust, eventually. But he wasn't yet used to the piece of him that was missing. 

A month of silence had passed, a month of two boys on two different continents staring at their phones hoping they would ring. Thinking about dialling themselves but stopping, fearing the other wouldn't want to hear from them. A clean break. That was the agreement.

Andy broke first. 

It was nighttime and he couldn't sleep, his body convulsing and tears tracing his cheeks, so overcome by gut-wrenching homesickness. And nothing felt more like home to Andy than Rye. 

So he dialled the number.

 It was half six in the morning in the UK, his eyes only just becoming heavy enough for sleep, when Rye heard his phone ring. 

Rye stared at the screen for a long time, wondering if he was dreaming already. Andy, waiting on the other end, was considering giving up, starting to wonder if he'd made the wrong move. His finger hovering millimetres above 'End Call' when he heard the voice. 

"Fovvs?"

Andy smiled at the familiar nickname that had stuck from that nightmarishly wonderful night at the football party where everything had changed. Hearing it again brought back a rush of memories. 

"Rye." Andy exhaled softly and for a few moments a heavy silence hung between them. Both just breathing in their first moment of connection in weeks. 

After a long pause, Rye whispered, "I miss you."

At that, Andy broke down, sobs ripping their way up his throat, guttural, ripping heartache. 

"I miss you too. So much," He sobbed down the line. 

"It's okay, baby. Don't cry," Rye comforted Andy down the phone, the words coming to him as naturally as if they'd never been parted.

"I miss you so much it hurts, Rye."

"I know, baby. I know."

Rye knew all too well the pain of missing Andy. The sound of the voice he loved most ripping open a wound that had barely begun to heal. But oh, it was so worth it to hear that beautiful voice. Rye realised he was crying too, but he kept his voice steady, always wanting to stay strong for his Andy.

"Tell me about your life," he said, trying to distract them both from the terrible pain they couldn't fix, "are you a big star yet?"

Andy let out a sniffly laugh. "Not yet. Give me another month."