Page 25 of Footlights and Forever

I’d given him an incredulous look as if I’d slipped into some twilight zone reality. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s Monday…” He’d smirked and rolled his eyes. “You know, school?” He’d chuckled at my still-baffled expression before leaning forward to steal a kiss from my lips.

“Hey Austin.” My dad’s deep voice had sounded from behind me. I’d pushed Austin away slightly, turning around quickly, an overly eager smile on my face. My dad had squinted his eyes at me, a deep furrow in his brow. “You okay there, Dylan?” he’d regarded me curiously.

“I think he is a bit freaked out that you maybe just saw us kissing.” Austin had laughed. “I don’t know if it works the same with guys? Should I have asked your permission to date your son?”

My dad had barked out a laugh. “To be truthful with you Austin, I assumed you were together when I walked in on you in bed with my son cuddling in the middle of the night.”

My mouth had opened and closed aimlessly like a fish. “You saw that?” I’d croaked out.

“I’m your dad, idiot.” Dad had lightly punched my shoulder. “I check on you guys most nights.” He’d given me a final wink before returning to his armchair in front of the TV.

“Babe, we are going to be late for school.” Austin had pressed a kiss to my cheek, grabbing hold of my wrist and tugged me out the door.

If I’d had any illusions that Austin wasn’t totally in this one hundred percent, those perceptions had been completely shattered the moment we arrived at school. Austin had pulled his car into a space in the student car lot, quickly jumping out as soon as he shut off the engine. I’d watched in curiosity as the door slammed, initially thinking he was trying to run ahead to put some distance between me and him to quell any rumors that might be circulating about us. Instead, I’d watched him circle around the front of the car to my side. My jaw had dropped as he opened the door, nonchalantly offering out his hand like this was the seventeenth century and I was some maiden exiting her carriage. A laugh had burst from my throat, and I’d shaken my head and took his hand.

With my backpack clutched in my fingers, a warmth had settled within me as hed slung his arm over my shoulder, pulling me into his side. He’d chatted with me about classes he had that day and something about how Todd would be probably walking funny after his night with Hailey. I’d barely heard what he said, my focus still on the arm around me and the gawking stares of the students milling about the halls and the sound of the gossip engines revving.

“It’s just me and you, okay babe?” The sudden voice in my ear had shocked the shit out of me as I’d realized we were suddenly standing at my locker.

“Huh?”

“Let them stare.” He’d nodded towards a group of girls standing across the hall shooting us confused glances. “It’s just you and me now, nothing else matters. You’re still with me right?”

Everything else had melted away, the only thing that had remained was this almost frightened boy becoming a man, who wanted nothing more than to be with me. “Me and you always,” I’d promised.

***

The noise around me was almost frightening in its intensity: the blaring horns as cars and taxis meandered their way through the streets of New York, the sighs of the sewer and subway systems rose up through grates within the sidewalks and the general noise of the hustle and bustle of commuters and people just trying to go about their day unincumbered.

Austin and I had both been accepted onto our respective programs at NYU, but whereas I was in student housing within the very large building that dominated the skyline at 120 East 12th Street, Austin had managed to connect with a few guys who were also taking theatre at a mixer we had attended at the start of the summer and had agreed to get an off-campus apartment together in Brooklyn.

A group of arguably the hottest guys I had ever seen had stood at the corner of a rooftop bar in the center of Manhattan, Austin fitting in perfectly as they’d excitedly talked about the types of sitcom-inspired loft apartments they could get between them, before the voice of boring reason, AKA me, had interrupted to dutifully inform them that for the budget they had they could quite comfortably get a four bedroom apartment with each room being the size of a show box with shared bathrooms and bad plumbing.

“Can I help you?” one of them had openly sneered, looking down at me over the bridge of his effortlessly stylish black rimmed glasses that I imagined cost more than my entire outfit five times over.

The other three, essentially models, had turned and stared down at me, each of them at least a foot taller than me. I’d felt kind of like a hobbit standing before five beautiful elves. “Um I’m…”

“Oh my bad!” Austin had barked out a laugh, his arm slinking around my waist. “I totally thought I had introduced you.” He hadn’t and it had pissed me off a little to simply join a group by trailing behind him to be left standing there like a spare part in an IKEA DIY kit. “This is my boyfriend, Dylan. He’s also starting NYU this fall.”

“Oh boyfriends,” one of them had smirked, “how fun.” He’d said with the same tone that someone might use with a two-year-old bringing home a painted handprint from day-care, knowing full well that it would be disposed of in the trash later on that evening.

“If you go in with us Dylan, we could get a bigger place and me and you could share a room.” Austin’s excited boy voice had warmed the depths of my heart. I’d known he’d really meant it as well. The small part of me that wanted to accept his offer, to start out student life together in New York City, had been extinguished as I’d spied the worried looks of the four Horse-models of the AB-pocalyspe. They had not been too keen on the idea of this obvious nerd bringing down the attractiveness levels of their proposed new living situation.

“I think I’m going to stick with Founder’s Hall.” I’d heaved a sigh inside; Austin had clearly not picked up that these guys were clearly douchebags, but I wasn’t going to be one of those boyfriends who dictated who their partner could be friends with. Also, I’d been kind of relieved as I didn’t think I would have been able to focus on studying with a naked Austin in bed next to me. “I’ve been chatting online with my roommate so would be rude to back out now.”

“So you’re in?” One of them had excitedly patted Austin on the shoulder. I hadn’t been sure of their names, so I’d gone with Chad, Brad, Todd, and Charlie Brown, because why not.

“Yeah man, absolutely.” I’d turned away to grab another drink from the small table set up in the corner. In my head I’d imagined they all jumped in the air and high fived and then bumped abs, but I could have been wrong.

So this was how I find myself, standing outside of Founder’s Hall, my boyfriend somewhere in Brooklyn unpacking his own life.

“Hey, let me get that.” I couldn’t see who the voice belonged to as in my arms were two heavy boxes obscuring my path ahead, containing the majority of my life that I’d dragged along with me to NYU.

“Thank you.” I tried for a laugh but it actually came out as more of a sob.

“No worries, I just got all my stuff unpacked.” In my periphery, I saw a young girl with a head heavy with long strawberry blonde curls reaching around me to pull open the glass double doors. “Maybe if I’m altruistic just this once then the universe will pay me back later.”

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