back to you | boreo

iv.

chapter four

monday came around very slowly. theo hadn't spoken to boris since their argument on saturday afternoon – which was strange for the pair. they usually spoke every single day, even if it was just over the phone.

theo had gotten no sleep the previous night, so when he came stumbling downstairs for breakfast, he felt like a literal zombie.

his father was awake, already sat in front of the tv, watching a football game. he barely even noticed theo entering the room, shuffling over to the cupboards to retrieve some cereal.

"theo! how'd you sleep, buddy?" he asks, his eyes never leaving the screen.

"i didn't." the boy blankly replies, shoving a mouthful of cereal into his mouth – not bothering to add milk.

"oh, fuck yes! let's go!" his father exclaims, clearly not paying attention to his son. but theo didn't care. he never really got along with his father. he was always closer with his mother.

the thought of her made theo's heart clench. it had been three years since he had lost her. three painful years. his initial thought of moving to vegas made theo feel dreadful – but if it never happened, he may have never met the one person who made the pain bearable.

after finishing his breakfast, theo pulls his shoes on and grabs his backpack. "see you later." he mumbles to his dad.

"yeah, see you, kid." he replies, giving him a half-assed wave.

the blonde rolls his eyes, walking to the front door. he notices a mirror to his right, briefly glancing at himself. god, he looked like shit. his eyes were red, with dark bags hung under them. maybe he was a zombie after all.

after opening the front door and stepping outside, theo finds himself stop in shock. in front of him he finds boris, sitting on the curb with a cigarette in his hand. he wears a pair of dark sunglasses, and soon turns around to see the other boy.

"i thought you were mad at me." theo quietly says as he approaches him.

boris stands up after putting his cigarette out, shrugging his shoulders. "couldn't be fucked."

the pair ride the bus together in silence, their shoulders occasionally bumping with one another. even though theo was slightly irritated at his best friend, he still couldn't ignore the feeling he got whenever they were close to each other.

they arrived at school late, forcing them to run to class together. things started to feel like they were returning back to normal, as they slammed each other against the lockers on the way there, their laughter filling the hallways.

once they made it to class, they took their usual seats and got out their books. theo hadn't even noticed that boris was still wearing his sunglasses until the teacher told him to take them off.

the blonde furrows his eyebrows, turning around to look at his friend. he feels a lump form in his throat as he instantly notices a purple bruise around boris' eye.

his lips part as he stares at him in concern, guilt filling his stomach. boris wanted to stay an extra night at theo's on saturday because of his dad, but due to their argument, the russian boy left and went home. it was theo's fault.

the brunette notices his friend's eyes begin to gloss over, shaking his head softly as if he could read his mind. he sees theo's hand hanging down and reaches under the desk to grab it, giving it a tight squeeze.

theo feels his heart leap as boris' fingers are laced through his own, also receiving a small smile from the other boy.

"i'm sorry." he whispers.