Page 33 of False Start

The night was rough.Vaughn woke up twice to run down the hallway to the communal bathrooms to puke and then came back and passed out, tossing and turning for hours. I grabbedhim an electrolyte drink and some aspirin, but it’s clear he’s still feeling it this morning.

“Wanna talk about it?” I ask as he tries to choke down some water.

“Not much to talk about. She dumped me. Said she wants to be friends, but I don’t know how to do that.”

“Hey, you’re pretty good at being a friend,” I try, but he doesn’t smile. I hate seeing my best friend so broken like this. This is so unlike him.

“When do you have to leave?”

“I’m free until Monday morning.”

His eyes light up now. “So you’ll stay tonight too?”

I grin at him, feeling happy just because he’s happy, which is an all too familiar feeling when it comes to Vaughn Montgomery. “Yeah. I’ll stay tonight too.”

“Good. Promise I won’t drink myself stupid then.”

He leans back against the wall, his feet dangling over the bed. I’m sitting the same way, and he leans his head on my shoulder. I have to remind myself that we’re just two friends. Nothing has changed. He’s still straight, and I’m still just that sad guy in love with his best friend.

“You’re going to have to feed me though,” I say when my stomach grumbles.

He groans. “I don’t think I can smell food right now without hurling. Who can do this every weekend?”

I laugh. “I’ve definitely seen some people trying to already this year.”

“Not for me.” He takes another sip of water and thankfully, keeps it down. “Give me ten. I’ll walk with you to the dining hall.”

“I can just go somewhere close and pick something up. I don’t want you to feel sick.”

“No way. I finally have you here with me. We’re eating breakfast together.”

He looks a little green, but after more water and more aspirin, we finally make it to the dining hall. He manages to eat some toast, and I try not to grab anything that’s going to turn his stomach.

After that, he seems to have more life in him, and we walk around campus, him showing me where he has practice and even some of the buildings he has classes in. “It’s a great campus,” I say honestly. I think I would have been okay here, it’s different enough from Big Bend, but I still don’t feel much regret for not going here.

Not until I see my best friend’s sad eyes and know he’s already dreading when I have to leave. I am too, for that matter.

“We need to make plans to hang out more,” I say to him as we arrive at his dorm.

“Yeah?” He looks way too happy about that, but honestly... same.

“Yeah. I didn’t go to KU to get away from you. I don’t want that, Vaughn. I just needed new experiences. Further from home.”

“Yeah.” He sits down on his bed, and I follow. “I get that, I guess. Kind of.”

I chuckle. “But I do think you should talk to more people here. Let them see the real Vaughn. I have no doubt they’ll love you.”

“Like you love me?” His question takes me by surprise, and I want to joke about him being a dick, but I can’t seem to.

“No, asshole.”

“Because no one will love me like you love me.” He says it matter-of-factly, and I’m not sure where he’s going with this.

“Are you still drunk?”

He rolls his eyes at that, but I can’t help but notice he’s staring at my lips. That can’t be right. His eyes move back up to meet mine, and I see a question there. What it is, I’m not sure, but he’s curious about something.

“No.” His voice is quiet. “I’ve really missed you.”

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