Mending A Broken Heart (bxb)

Chapter 11

"Oh, I am out of breath in this fond chase. The more my prayer, the lesser is my grace," Calum spoke theatrically.

Dylan couldn't help but laugh at Calum's exaggerated performance, "I'm sorry," he let out through his laugh, "I'm sorry." Calum crossed his arms and glared at his English project partner, "If we get a good grade on this project it will be because of my incredible acting skills."

Dylan raised his eyebrows, "I don't know about that, bud." The two boys were permitted to practice their 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' English project outside of class and in one of the private rooms at their school's facility. As Dylan calmed down from his hysteria fit, they moved on to the next scene. Calum appeared carrying the flower juice that will serve as the love potion from the novel. He walked towards Dylan lying on the carpeted floor and swiftly brushed the flower on the boy's eyelids so that when he woke up he would fall in love with the person in front of him.

Dylan froze for a split second completely locked in a trance, and then shook his head to remember his line, "I'm sorry. I forgot my line."

Calum smirked, "It's okay. We can do the scene again."

Dylan nodded as he laid down on the carpeted floor once again and waited for Calum to start the scene. He couldn't pinpoint why he had fallen in a trance as he stared into Calum's eyes, and the thought of that even happening frightened him. Once again, Calum crouched in front of him with one hand on Dylan's right side and he brushed the flower on his eyelids. As Dylan fluttered his eyes open he couldn't help but admire the brownish-greenish mixture of Calum's eyes. He moved forward and began the next few lines,  "Happy is Hermia, wheresoe'er she lies, for she hath blessèd and attractive eyes. How came her eyes so bright? Not with salt tears. If so, my eyes are oftener washed than hers."

Calum smiled and moved his hand to Dylan's cheek. With every line they spoke, the two boys moved closer and closer to each other. "No, no, I am as ugly as a bear, For beasts that meet me run away for fear."

For some reason, Dylan didn't mind Calum's palm on his cheek. He found it comforting and he flustered saying his next few lines, "Do not say so, Lysander. Say not so. What though he loves your Hermia? Lord, what though? Yet Hermia still loves you. Then be content."

Calum paused. He glanced at Dylan's lips and then back at his eyes like he was asking for confirmation. He leaned in slowly but as soon as their lips touched, Dylan had pulled away. "I think we should get back to class now," Dylan had cleared his throat and scratched his head.

Calum had felt defeated once again, "I didn't mean to overstep. I'm sorry, Carlson."

Dylan muttered, "It's okay, Calum."

They gathered the crumpled papers that they had printed the scripts on, and they took one last look at the room before heading back to class. Whether Dylan would admit it or not, Calum had felt like they were having a moment as they practiced their scenes. He even felt confident enough to ask him, "Hey, would you maybe want to go to Jack's party this weekend?"

Dylan froze, "Like as a date?"

"I mean, it could be," Calum reiterated, "But you can invite Cara and Jeremy if you want, too."

Dylan smiled, "Yeah, sure. I'll ask them if they're up for it."

He didn't particularly know what it was, but Dylan had felt this newfound confidence. Maybe it was because Calum hadn't known about Dylan's past trauma so that allowed Dylan to pretend to be somebody he wasn't, or maybe it was just the way he had felt around Calum in the scene they had practiced. Dylan couldn't pinpoint the exact reasoning, but he somehow regretted not kissing Calum. He had this compulsive reaction to pull away, but what if he hadn't?