An Anarchists Reform - Julian and Hayley
“Hayley!” Julian whined.
“What. What now.” Hayley wrapped his arms around himself, pulling his gaze closer to the window; rather than his roommate.
“Come onnn, Hayley. I promise it’s fine.”
Hayley stood and faced the other.
“It’s not fine. I almost got us caught because of what I did. And then we all would’ve been sent to therapy, and we would have eyes on our backs until they trusted us again. Which, they’d never do.”
“But we didn’t get caught. We just got a new experience to look out for.” Julian tried to reason.
Hayley could feel his stone walls breaking. The need for comfort was almost overwhelming, but he had to persist.
“You should just leave me.”
“What?!” Julian screeched. “No way in hell!”
Hayley’s glower deepened.
“I said, ‘leave me.’ Even if I didn’t get you caught today, I might in the future. Just find someone else to bring with.”
Julian inched himself closer.
“Hayley- I’m not leaving you.”
“Why not?” He asked, hostility heavy in his voice.
“Because.. because..” Julian waved his hands around, searching for the words. Quietly, he continued, “Because I love you.”
Hayley sharply drew in his breath.
“Damnnit.” He drew a hand to his temple.
“Idiot!” He mumbled to himself. “Of course you do.”
Julian’s expression melted into a sort of confused sadness.
“Is.. that a bad thing?”
Hayley stuttered out a barely competent string of words.
“..huh?” Julian questioned.
Hayley looked down at his clenched fists and then back toward Julian.
“Yes! I- I mean no, it’s not a bad thing.. I just.. I love you too.” Hayley finally relented. His eyes glistened softly; unshed tears clinging to his waterline.
Despite the mood of the room, Julian immediately brightened. He bounced on his toes excitedly; biting away a smile.
A tiny smile drew its way onto Hayley’s face.
“Can I just..?” He asked, holding his arms out.
Julian rushed over, filling his thin arms with the taller. They sunk to the floor, holding each other as close as they could. Hayley buried his head into Julian’s chest; Julian held his arms around the others’ back.
“Thank you,” Hayley mumbled, face smooshed in fabric folds.
“Anytime, buddy!” Julian responded brightly, patting the dark head of hair in front of him.
A knock on the door startled them both. They scrambled away from each other, in case it was teacher or the headmaster.
“Uh- Come in!” Julian called.
The mystery person behind the wood cautiously creaked the hinges open.
“Hello?”
“Oh thank god.” Julian hung his head in relief.
It was just Wyatt. Friend and local tech whiz Wyatt.
He entered the room, making sure the door was fully closed behind him.
“Everything fine in here? The teachers heard yelling and sent me to make sure everything’s fine.”
“Yeah. That moment’s behind us now.” Hayley added.
“Alright. I’ll try to keep you out of detention.” Wyatt nodded toward them, showing a quick thumbs up.
Before he left, however, he had to throw in an extra comment.
“I expect to hear it all later.”
“Only if you tell us about Danny!” Julian called back to him, teasing.
Pink tinged Wyatts’ face and he closed the door; no further words spoken.
As soon as the door closed once more, Julian tackled Hayley to the floor.
“I love you,”
“Thanks.”
A quick slap to his arm shut Hayley up.