For you, i will

chapter VIII

the earth felt cooler since the night had settled in, perks of the classic Los Angeles breeze. shane walked with a slight rhythm to his steps as he made his way to his apartment. it'd been a while since he'd seen the building, having practically moved in with ryan. the door creaked familiarly when he unlocked it, and he made his way inside his home. he reached into the back of his closet and pulled out a suitcase, filling it with only a few belongings, he would donate the rest. every action he took, he did as though he was under hypnosis. his mind was preoccupied and his body carried out its movements with indifference to his mind. he was planning on moving out at the end of this month anyway.
•••
somehow los angeles traffic managed to be slower than usual, or perhaps it was shane's anxiety amplifying things. once his uber had arrived in front of the hotel he planned to check into, everything passed in a blur. soon he found himself sitting in a tiny room on the 59th floor of some massive hotel, gazing at the city below him. he wished more than anything that ryan was by his side at that moment. he was terrified to an extreme he hadn't yet deemed possible. his whole life he had lived knowing it would be permanent. that he was permanent. but all of a sudden it was being stolen out of his hands, replaced by a mortal soul and the ability to love. he was ambivalent. on one hand he could run away tomorrow, never have to worry about losing his life again. on the other, there was ryan. how much he did care for that man. it may seem selfish of him to even consider his immortality over ryan's love, but it was all new to him. he trembled at his thoughts, realizing the cause of his anxiety was much more ryan's absence than his own death. at that moment his phone rang, probably for the millionth time that night, and he noticed it for the first time.

"hi ryan" shane said, his brooding tone apparent.
"shane i need to see you! please...tell me where you are."

the urgency in ryan's tone made shane question if something serious had occurred during the duration of his aloofness.

"is something wrong ryan?" he asked
"no, i just..." he trailed off. "i was worried about you."

shane closed his eyes and let his body grow heavy, dropping onto the bed. he took a deep breath, wondering if he was making the right decision.
"i'm at the cecile hotel" he said.

"i'm coming right now."

and with those words, shane's life changed forever.