UPRISE

021

Wren taps his foot off the ground, praying to a God that he doesn't believe in that he slipped the note under the right door. He can't ask Reagan if he got the note, because Reagan might have realized one of his hundreds of secrets and has decided not to meet him the park. It's kind of game-over right now, if he doesn't figure out exactly what his plan is.

He continues to fret until he sees Reagan. The new boy's hand peeks out of his pocket, offering the sheepish of waves. His feet freeze with every footstep, the snow melting beneath him and seeping water into his shoes. When he finally makes it to Wren, Wren walks away without saying a word.

After all, Wren can barely breathe. Like Reagan, he shoves a hand in his pocket, and brings another to his lips to bite the skin. From there, he stalks over to the bench and sits.

At first, Reagan is too stunned to follow. "Hey."

"Come sit," Wren orders.

Reagan, a true football player, listens. Not because he is trained to (although he hopes that is what Wren thinks) but because Reagan would do most things that Wren asks of him. Finally, he sits down on the bench.

"Here," Wren digs the To Kill A Mockingbird out of his pocket and passes it over to Reagan.

The other boy takes it and runs his hands over the cover. Reagan is lucky that he is sitting, otherwise, he would've melted like the snow. Placing the book in his lap, Reagan leans forward. "Thanks."

Now, more than ever, Wren wishes that he had a cigarette to take the ease off his panic. "I know you like me, but you shouldn't."

Reagan swallows. "I don't-"

"Neither of us has been good at hiding it," Wren doesn't let Reagan finish a denial. Instead, he rubs his hands together, trying to warm them, and then sticks them back in his pockets. Without a cigarette, he has no idea where to put them.

Reagan doesn't hear the declaration of love from Wren. Rather, he fears that he has not been as good at hiding his crush on Wren as he had thought. He is in the closet, and if Wren can so easily discover it, then perhaps so can anyone else. "I'm sorry. I just... I don't know what to say."

"You shouldn't like me because I fucked Pluto and Jasmine," Wren tells him.

For a second, Reagan just blinks. "Okay?"

"Also, I'm an addict. Clean, but you don't suddenly stop being an addict," Wren takes a pause to breathe. Mistakenly, Reagan assumes its to let him process the information. It doesn't occur to Wren that what he is saying might be heavy. Finally, he looks back at Reagan. "Does that change things for you?"

"It's a lot," Reagan concedes as he nods his head. Swallowing helps him digest the information. "Like, a lot."

"I thought that would change how you feel," Wren says. He stands up and stares at Reagan. "If it doesn't let me know. I have a lot more where that came from. I still like you though. See you around?"

Reagan doesn't get a chance to answer because Wren leaves. Which isn't going to work for Reagan, because he can already feel anxiety bursting across his chest. It will be there until he sees Wren next, maybe even forming red hives across his skin. No, he can't bear it.

"Think of more reasons!" Reagan shouts.

Wren smirks as he walks away.

~~~

It's too slippery to climb onto the roof, so Noah and Rinn go the courtyard.