And I'll Call You by Mine

chapter 2

When we arrived at the party Marzia and Chiara waved at us from across the dance floor. I smiled and grabbed Luka's hand while we pushed through the crowd of people toward the girls.
"This is Luka," I said happily.
"Hi, Luka!" Marzia and Chiara both said in unison.
Another one of their friends walked up to us and offered us all cigarettes, but as I looked over at Luka I could tell that he was uncomfortable.
"None for us, thank you." I said as my head turned to give him a reassuring smile.
As we stood all together in our little corner having small talk, Chiara's face lit up and she quickly ran in the direction behind me. Everyone turned to look at what made her react that way, but I didn't have to. I knew it was Oliver. I looked out of the corner of my eye to see her in his arms in the middle of a hug that seemed well overdue. The rest of the people in our group started to shout for him to join us as they waved him over.
"Anyone want a drink?" I said as I walked slowly away.
I walked with my head down until I reached the bar and once I got there, I told the bartender to give me their strongest drink. As I sat there sipping on what was possibly the worst drink I've ever had, Marzia and Luka showed up at both of my sides. She laid her head on my shoulder and asked if I was alright. I looked down at her with a smile.
"Me okay."
I kissed her forehead and turned to meet Luka's eyes.
"Would you by any chance like to dance with me?" He said with that innocent sweet grin that he wore on his face when he desperately wanted to hear the answer he wanted. I smiled and reached out for his hand, and he led me to the dance floor, and just as we started to move together, our song came on. After a few seconds he looked at Oliver and then back at me, and he said "He's looking at you," without breaking eye contact.
I looked up at him and whispered in his ear, "All that matters is that you're looking at me." He smiled and pulled me closer to his chest. In this moment, I felt the most peaceful that I had felt in a long time. Being in his arms felt like home. But, I knew that if Oliver ever asked for me to come back to him, I would and that is not fair to him. Was this the false sense of peace that everyone has been telling me about?
When I came back to real life, he asked if I was okay. I backed away from him quickly and told him I'd be back soon. I walked off of the floor and out into the dark streets. What am I doing? Why am I stringing him along? He can't get too used to getting this affection and attention from me. I sat on the curb and slid my hands across my face, pushing into my eyes to prevent any tears from coming out. Not here. Not now. I took a few deep breaths and looked up at the stars. Seeing something bigger than myself made me feel more grounded. I stood up, and as I turned to walk back I saw Oliver running toward me with a worried look on his face.
"Elio." He yelled at me from the other side of the street.
"Oliver." I yelled back to him.
We started walking toward each other, until we were standing so close that another person couldn't have fit between us. We stood in silence for what seemed like forever, before his eyes started to water and he looked me in the eyes.
"I'm sorry, Elio. I never meant to hurt you, you have to understand. There was no way we could've been together after I left, I had to move on. And I'm sorry that moving on for me meant leaving you behind."
I smiled at him with sad eyes as I watched the tears fall down his cheeks. I looked him up and down and examined his body language, but as I got back up to his face I realized that these were not the actions of a man that had malicious intent; they were the actions of a broken man that needed someone to tell him that everything was going to be okay. I grabbed the sides of his face and kissed his forehead.
"It's alright. It's okay, Oliver."
I wiped the tears away from his cheeks and kissed the spots where they were. He looked up at the sky, as to avoid eye contact. I knew that he felt embarrassed and I wanted to take that feeling away from him as fast as I could. I moved his hair out of his face as he looked down at me, it was as if he was saying yes with just his facial expression. He leaned down and rested his forehead on mine.
"Can I kiss you?" He asked with a soft, vulnerable voice.
"Yes, please."
But, as he leaned in to press his lips on mine, I could hear Luka and Marzia calling for me from the crowd. I stopped, and opened my eyes. I backed away from him and put my fingers to my lips. I looked to the ground and after a few seconds, I walked away.
"Elio," he yelled out once again.
I turned to meet his gaze.
"Will you come back to me?"
I paused for a second wondering what answer he wanted to hear, but his body language wasn't telling me anything. He just looked back at me confused as if he was waiting on an answer that would change his life. I smiled at him, "I'll see you later," I said with a reassuring tone. And as I started to walk away once again, I felt this feeling run throughout my body, and without turning back to look at him, I yelled, "I'll always come back to you, Oliver."