It Wasn't Meant For You (Melix and Elemental Son)

[Elemental Son]

Lyall pushed past him, and Dominic wasn't about to protest. He wanted his house back - he wanted space to sleep and not think and for the day to just never have happened. He wanted to disappear, to drive and drive until he would need to go and buy maps to be able to find his way back - it just added to his anger that right now, he didn't have that option.


As Lyall headed out the door, he yelled. Ironically, it was possible that that act alone would cause more issues than the rest of the day combined. While it was just between them, at least what happened was somewhat within their control. As soon as those words left Lyall's mouth, they lost the benefit of that luxury.


Oh shit.


Dominic didn't know whether Lyall had intended it or not, whether it was vindictiveness or just hurt talking, but the damage was done. His father's bedroom door opened and the man - a taller and more solid copy of Dominic himself - stepped into the hallway, not saying anything, but just looking at him. All the anger in his system was now shot with fear - a different one to the kind that came with feelings of attraction or those vulnerabilities. Rather, this was a kind that anticipated actual danger.


With no ability to form coherent sentences right now, and verging on panic, Dominic headed for the door too. He made it outside without his father saying anything, or stopping him, but there was little doubt. Regardless of what happened with Lyall or himself in the near future, when it came to life at home, there would be absolute hell to pay.


It was the first time since his parents' divorce that Dominic had done something close to running away. With few other options, he just started walking.

 

[Melix]

The icy air caught in Lyall's throat, forcing him to hold his breath or choke. He was eight blocks from the house when it started mildly hailing; twenty blocks away when the hail was big enough to hurt, twenty-two blocks away when Lyall found shelter by crawling into an abandoned playground slide. He was already freezing, but hopefully if he switched into his drier clothes he could warm up. His shirt was on and the pants half-way when he felt the guilt of what he'd just done kick in. Not just the yelling, but the faulty kiss and the confusing letter and all of it. He pulled his pants up and grabbed his phone out of his pocket. Barely stopping to think, he dialed the familiar number. He hung up. He dialed again and hung up. Finally, he gave up and texted, Dominic, I'm so sorry. Are you okay? He sent it, but he was scared when the next couple went through. I'm sorry about the letter. (1/3).


I'm sorry about the kiss- not that I kissed you, that I reacted the way I did. (2/3).


I'm sorry for yelling. You have every right to be awful to me right now. I need to know that you're alright. (3/3).





Lyall sighed and settled in to his bed made of other people's wet clothes and tried to get comfy. Unbeknownst to him, his last message was never sent; it was lost in cyberspace as the cell tower lost power. One of one. I love you.

 

[Elemental Son]

Sleeting rain turned to sheets of hail, thudding painfully against the bruises on his chest and face. Unlike Lyall, Dominic had left his phone with his other clothing, in his bedroom. He walked on and on, aimless, until eventually, he found an office with an awning over the stairs out front. It was about the only dry piece of cover, and Dominic took advantage of it. Sitting on the steps with his face buried in his arms, he tried to block out the wind, wondering how things had gotten so messed up. It was freezing out here, and he debated in his head the advantages of going to the workshop - he knew where the spare key was, and there were dry mechanic's jumpsuits there, if nothing else. He could find some of the tarps and try and keep warm. It would have to be more comfortable than staying out here.


In the back of his head, he felt bad about sending Lyall out in this weather - and he hated himself for feeling it. After the way the day turned out, he shouldn't give a damn. The fact that he did suggested that even through all the anger, the part of him reserved for caring about his friend hadn't been beaten out yet, even if he didn't trust him the same way anymore. That was a problem.


Back at his house, his father had heard Dominic's phone ring - once, briefly, then again, and then text tones. Reading them, he sent back a simple, ominous message.


One of one. 'Keep away from my son, or I will make you.'

 

[Melix]

It was hours later, and Lyall was still awake. The hail was slowly subsiding, and, miraculously, the cell tower came back on. Lyall, unknowing that it had ever turned off, was waiting for a reply from Dominic. He refused to sleep, no matter how much his eyes drooped, so long as he didn't know if Dominic was alright. Then the text came in. His phone buzzed. For a few seconds, seeing Dominic's number, he felt elated; that is, until he read the text. Part of him, his head, felt relief. Dominic must be okay, if he was at home, showing his phone to his father, or even impersonating his father. His heart was an entirely different thing. Everything in his abdomen just hurt, a narrow, awful kind of pain a billion times worse than being shot. Dominic wanted him to stay away, forever. And Lyall loved him.


Okay. He texted. Goodbye, Dominic.





Three seconds after he sent that text, he threw his phone away into the night and heard it shatter. He didn't care. Lyall slept fitfully, dreaming of school.

 

[Elemental Son]

(Shall we skip it forward to morning? Time to start fixing these poor guys, I think)


Eventually, the worst of the hail subsided, and Dominic had trekked the rest of the way to the workshop. As predicted, there were supplies there he could use to get warm and dry. He'd never gone to school one of the jumpsuits before, but he would worry about it later. Curling up on a pile of tarps and trying not to breathe in too much of the smell of motor oil, he fell asleep, letting the day finally come to an end.

 

[Melix]

(I believe so.)


Lyall woke bright and early, which was unusual not only because he was usually late but also because any alarm you've set on a phone is obsolete when you shatter your phone. Luckily or unluckily for him, playground slides were always about thirty degrees hotter (on hot days) or thirty degrees cooler (on cool days) and waking up sunburnt through his clothes while being kicked in the head by a flying two year old was a powerful motivator to get up and start the day.


Facing school- and Dominic- were not. At the very least it was finally Friday, and it was six-thirty a.m., so he could maybe make it there first and choose a new seat, far away. He really meant to take this seriously and stay far away from his ex-best friend. He had no right to be near Dom, anyway, as far as he was concerned. Not after all of that. He began walking, and by seven thirteen, he'd arrived at Jules Academy, scared to hear what people were saying.

 

[Elemental Son]

Dominic woke up in the workshop, groggy as hell. It was the sunlight pouring through the window that caused him to wake. He didn't know the time, but it had to be early. He looked down at the oil stained jumpsuit and frowned. It wasn't worth risking going home to change, - not after the look on his father's face last night - but today was not going to be fun.


He wondered where Lyall had ended up last night - hopefully back at home. Maybe he'd taken Dominic's car? Dominic wouldn't blame him; in retrospect, kicking him out at that hour, in that weather, had been pretty unreasonable. Maybe I'll make it up to him. Hell, we probably both owe eachother some apologies today. Dominic hadn't decided whether he had forgiven Lyall for pushing him away. Even if he wanted to, he wasn't sure he could trust himself to talk about how that had felt, yet. Either way, there was only one way he was going to get things with Lyall resolved, and that was by getting his ass up and to school. He got up, locked the workshop, and headed off.


By the time he arrived to the school gates, Dominic could tell it was still early - there were only a handful of students around. His messed up face and odd clothes drew more than a few odd looks, but right now, he had a mission. It seemed he would be fortunate - Lyall had walked in the gates just ahead of him. Breaking into a jog to catch up, Dominic reached his side. For a moment, he didn't know what to say. So he decided to keep it simple.


"Hey...can we talk?"

 

[Melix]

Lyall did seem to be a talking point around the schoolyard, but it was less of (actually, none of) the gossip he was expecting, like "Lyall kissed Dominic on the soccer field!" and more of the students wondering why he was wearing yesterday's clothes and why his hair wasn't brushed and did something happen at home? Already, three students had come up to him and rubbed his back and told him everything was going to be okay. Lyall was expecting more of the same when someone walked up beside him, and he prepared to tell, yet again, a fake sob story about his nonexistent dog dying.


It wasn't that. Dominic. Honestly the last person on the planet he wanted to see. "...can we talk?" he heard Dominic ask, but Lyall shook his head and continued walking. "We don't need to talk," he informed Dominic. "You said everything you needed to say last night." He walked more quickly, trying to put space between him and Dominic, so he wouldn't start a fight. Lyall was done crying and carrying on, but he didn't want to get into a fight still. He concentrated on something more important than Dominic; getting into the school building as quickly as possible. "And you don't need to apologize or whatever. I don't care." 
(Good night.)

 

[Elemental Son]

"Who said I was going to apologise?" Dominic kept pace with him, determined. At least he had a justifiable reason to talk to Lyall - he still needed his car back. "You still have my keys, man." Inwardly, Dominic was surprised. There was a normalacy to how they were behaving which really, was unexpected. Yesterday had been a hell of a day.


Eventually, Dom added, "I'm guessing you didn't go home last night either, uh." Lyall looked like hell. While not an apology, he said, "If it's any consolation, I was out in it too." As they headed towards the main building, people stared at him and Lyall both. What he didn't say - what he wanted to - was a hundred other things. Still, it was clear that Lyall was still mad with him, and at some level, the feeling was mutual. They would need to talk - a lot - before that was likely to change.


After a while, he added, quietly, "You might not care, man. I do."


(All good - sleep well!)

 

[Melix]

Lyall broke into a light run. "I apologize. I thought that I gave you your keys. In any case, I don't have them. You'll have to get new ones." Lyall didn't get out of breath easily. It was one of the perks of being star forward, that the daily training meant that you got out of breath if you were mad, but not when you were out of shape, or, in Lyall's case, when you were feeling like complete and utter horse poop.


"I'm guessing you didn't go home last night either, uh." Lyall glared at him. What the hell was that supposed to mean? He was about to respond with something snarky, when Dominic continued. "If it's any consolation, I was out in it too." Lyall's look softened a little bit, but only for a moment before Dominic said something else. "You might not care, man. I do." That was it. Those seven completely bull words are what got to Lyall more than anything.


"Oh, poor baby," he scoffed. "It must be so hard for you to have had a dry place to sleep and dry clothes. It must be so hard to have a place to laugh at your old best friend and threaten him from high up on your lying, hypocritical, straight pedestal. Please care for me from far away and honor your commitments. Don't talk to me."

 

[Elemental Son]

Dominic broke into a proper run, grabbed Lyall’s shirt by the collar, and spun him around, and held him there by two fist-fulls of fabric. He was seething.


While he didn’t yell, the lack of volume did not mask the venom or pain in his voice when he growled out “Who pushed away who? You want to talk about lying? Who fucking started this? Who acted like just fucking maybe, I had a chance, and then spat it back in my face? You want to talk about hypocritical? Who fucking cared more about soccer than… than whatever we-” Dominic was breathing so heavily, bordering on tears, that he couldn’t speak. Realizing it, this time, he pushed Lyall away.


His voice was quiet now. Dominic hadn’t pulled himself together – he’d just given up. There was nothing left for him here. “Like it fucking matters. I’ve already lost what I had to lose. I can’t go home because of you.” Taking a few steps back, much like Lyall had the day before, Dominic looked him in the eyes and said “If I’m on a pedestal – if I’m judging you, it’s because you’re a coward. Enjoy your soccer. Enjoy having a life that’s going to be totally unaffected by what you’ve done. I’m out.”


This time, he was the one to walk away.

 

[Melix]

Lyall sucked in a huge breath. Something was completely and entirely wrong with this situation. They shouldn't still be fighting- because just last night Dominic had gotten his point through, that he didn't want to see Lyall. And then he did. Lyall was well-known for excelling in mathematics, and if he thought of people as math, two plus two was equaling six right now.


God, he wished he'd said something when Dominic was holding him in the air. They could have figured this out together, maybe, if Lyall had calmed Dominic down. So he sat down, next to a locker in the hallway, and thought. People swarmed past him, some stopping to stare. He wasn't sure if they'd seen the fight, so he just shooed everyone on to class. He had to stay here to think; some teacher's voice droning on would surely be a distraction. I can't believe Dominic thinks I'm unaffected.





Homeroom passed and he couldn't think; then second period and third. He wrote down a timeline of everything that happened and wrote every situation he thought could have gone wrong that still could have led to the next situation. He still didn't "get" it until one of his two other best friends, Alan Drake Crosby, sat down next to him. "Skipping class, I see. And here I'd thought you were sick. What's that?" Lyall, embarrassed, crumpled it and hugged it to his chest, but Alan snatched it ripping it slightly on accident. He read through with a straight face, though his left eyebrow did upturn at several points. "You kissed Dominic?" he asked innocently, lips pursed.


"Yes," whispered Lyall, a finger to his lips, "but please talk quietly." The last thing he needed was to cause Dominic any more problems.


Alan adopted his stern psychiatrist face. "Tell me everything. You're not a people person, Lyall."


Lyall told him everything, from the burritos up until now. What did it matter? He'd already lost Dominic; now he needed to know the whys and wherefores.


When he finished, Alan was smiling. "Do you have an idea?" asked Lyall.


"Ten, so far. None of which you've written down. I have a hunch though; I'll get back to you whenever you're around. If I'm right, you owe me twenty dollars."


Lyall paled. That was a lot of money, but...Dominic was worth it. "Okay," he agreed. Alan was a people expert; he would help. Less than half a period later, Alan would be in one of Dominic's classes.


(Sorry for the long horrid reply.)

 

[Elemental Son]

(All good; I'll never complain about extra content!)


The bell rang, and Dominic moved out into the hallway. He'd had several teachers ask about the bruising which, by now, was coming up brilliantly, and even the state of his clothing. While that had been irritating, he was fortunate enough that his appearance had seemed to have the opposite effect on the other students, who were giving him wide berth. There were advantages to being not hugely social with his peers.


Lyall had missed the second period class that they shared. Dominic was resolute that he would not try to find out why. The only reason he was still at school himself, was that he hadn't figured out where else he could go yet.


Walking into the English classroom, he took a seat in one of the back corners. Thankfully, the other students pouring in, left him alone.

 

[Melix]

Alan strode into the classroom looking confident as ever, but instead of going to his seat, he plunked down in front of Dominic. It had taken a couple of seconds to spy him, but once he had, he knew his little operation was good to go. "Hey, why didn't you text me back last night? I never text you, so you must have known something was up." He kept his face bemused. "My sister's goldfish died. I didn't know how to tell her. I could've used your help."


In his head, he was thinking of crossed fingers. He'd learned to lie from Lyall, so he should be fine. So long as Dominic couldn't see right through him.

 

[Melix]

(By the way, I might not be on for 24 hours or so.)

 

[Elemental Son]

Dominic frowned as the chair in front of his became occupied, and the guy started talking to him. Damn… what’s his name again? Andrew? Thinking about it, Dominic wasn’t sure they’d ever had a full conversation without Lyall around, let alone having given the guy his number.


By the time Dominic had remembered Alan’s name, he had something like a response. “…Didn’t have my phone. If you were coming to me of all people for help, man, I think you’ve got bigger issues than dead goldfish.”


Realising that could have come out a lot harsher than intended, Dominic grimaced. “Sorry. Anyway, yeah. Until I get it back, I’m out of phone contact, so, might not be the easiest way to get a response for the next few…” Dominic swallowed the unease in his throat. It may well be a lot longer than that. “…well, for a while.”


(Hey there - hoping you got my PM; if not, please consider this an apology and an invitation to resume if you want to - if not, I completely understand.)

 

[Melix]

(Do you want to continue?)


Lyall finally stood around fourth period. He was tired of wondering how he'd gone wrong and what he'd done and all of that. He yawned and stretched, and did normal boy things that he should have done that morning when he got out of bed, or, rather, the slide. For example, hand-brushing his hair and getting deodorant from his locker. Outside, he could see that it was sunny and warm, and he wanted to feel any warmth at all, even if it was superficial.


Lyall's hands clenched when he looked up. He could see through the window into Dominic's classroom and could see Dominic working on whatever the subject was. Lyall glared at the pencil in Dom's hands and let himself violently stare at Dominic for a moment before continuing on his walk. He felt his resolve slipping. He wanted and needed to talk to Dominic soon, even if Dominic pushed him away again and they got in a fight.


Lyall almost didn't notice when he walked past Dominic's house. Wait, this didn't make sense. It was at least an hour's walk from the school to Dominic's house. He knew because of all the times he and Dominic had horsed around and raced each other and timed the walk a million times to see who was "faster". (Those last two had obviously been Lyall's idea, the competitive little bugger.) He remembered the first time he kissed Dominic, on the way home from school, trying to convince him to come play in some sprinklers. It never occurred to Lyall before that kissing his best friend on the cheek was anything but platonic, but the look he saw on a passerby's face was enough to convince him never to do anything like that again. The point was, he'd been thinking about Dominic long enough to get completely sidetracked and end up at his go-to place. (To be fair, this was probably not the best go-to place right now.) Lyall turned around. He remembered something else. Dominic saying something like 'I can't go home because of you.' Thinking of this morning gave him a headache. Although, maybe he could fix that. He at least owed Dominic a home.


Trying not to think about it too hard, Lyall walked up to Dominic's fathers' door and knocked.

 

[Elemental Son]

[Definitely.]


Dominic's father, Michael Lawson, opened the door. He was full head taller than his youngest son, solidly built, and moved with the strict gait of a man who'd cut his teeth on adulthood in the military, and had stayed in until his retirement. The gaze he fixed on the boy on his doorstep was an evaluating one, edged with disapproval but not dislike.


"I told you to stay away from him for a reason, boy." The statement was assertive, but not angry. At the same time, Michael stepped to the side, gesturing to invite the kid inside. So far as he was concerned, it was high time someone had a conversation with the boys, and as his own son had not returned home since leaving last night, this would have to do.


Walking back down the hallway, Michael called over his shoulder. "You may as well come in. You didn't go home either, I'd wager. Same clothes as you were in last night, you look like a mess."

 

[Melix]

(Then, me, too.)


Lyall stepped inside. "I didn't come to see Dominic. If I came to see him, I would have done it when he wasn't in class." Lyall glanced around at the living room. It didn't look any different than earlier, but Dominic's boy sweat smell was stale, and Lyall felt uninvited. He hunched down to tie his wet shoes, but that was the closest he came to sitting. "Listen, Michael," said Lyall, before realizing that being on a first-name basis before did not mean they were on a first name basis now. He straightened up. "Mr. Lawson, I mean. Last night was not..."


He coughed a little. Was he sick again? Boy, that would stink. He didn't feel phlegmy, so he decided not to dwell on it. Instead, he spaced out for a moment, wondering why Dominic had told him that he'd been outside last night when he clearly had to have talked to Mr. Lawson to have convinced him to send that text. He'd never known Dominic to lie to him, and he'd never lied to Dominic about anything that wasn't supposed to be a secret. He guessed things were different now. More coughing brought him back to the present. Maybe he was just parched. "Last night wasn't Dominic's fault at all. I got sick off of some bad cafeteria food and had to go the hospital, and I was delirious, and whatever they gave me didn't help, and then in my delirium I guess I kissed Dominic and he got mad. I got here and Sarah let me in because she saw I was upset, but she had no idea what was going on and she made me lay down and then Dominic found me and started yelling at me some more so I left and I woke up in a slide this morning. I don't know what to say, just that that was my fault." At the end he realized he hadn't been lying about anything that happened before or after the kiss, just about the circumstances of the kiss themselves. Lyall had not been delirious, and Dominic had initiated the kiss.


"Please let him stay here again. I swear I haven't willingly talked to him since the other night. I'm really sorry."

 

[Elemental Son]

Uncannily like his son, Michael had crossed his arms, eyes scouring the kid in front of him, evaluating what he said. Some of it rang true, but that did not mean he had no questions. "If that's so, why send those texts? Dom left his phone here, and from the look on his face when he left, I was half expecting it to be a police officer or ambulance driver sending out an alert-to-call." The statement betrayed the key difference between Michael and Dominic - Michael had been tempered by becoming a father, and his concern was paramount over any anger or disappointment.


Not truly expecting an answer for something that was clearly making the boy uncomfortable to talk about, Michael had some explanations of his own to give. "Do you know why this bothers me, Lyall? I wasn't raised in your generation - I spent forty years listening to people disgusted by homosexuality, and frankly, I agreed with them. I personally terminated the employment contracts of a number of soldiers on those grounds, before it was legalized." He'd done more than that, but there was little need to scare the kid. "I swore when I married that if any of my sons were like that, then by God, I would fix them." Michael let that sink in, before continuing. "That was naive, and I know that. But the main reason I want you to stay away from him? In the '80s, there was a disease that hit boys like - well, like you I suppose - pretty hard. It still can't be cured, so far as I know." Where for Dominic there would have been anger, or sadness at a painful recollection, in Michael it was accompanied with no drama, no emotion.


"Three of the men in my unit died from it. I don't know if they were fa- if they were gay, but given the statistics, they must have been. Young, strong grunts who just... wasted away. The nature of AIDS, is that you look dead long before you are. Medicine can say what it wants about their ability to make it survivable. Three coffins is all the evidence I'm ever going to need to put as much distance between that risk, and my son, as possible. If that means making him feel screwed up about whatever's going on in his head, I'll do it. If it means keeping him away from you, I'll do that too." Figuring that the message had at least got through a little, Michael fell into the role of host.


"Can I get you a coffee or something? You look like you need it, son. I want you to know I don't dislike you, or blame you - but I have to look out for Dom. If you see him, tell him he's always welcome under my roof, but that sort of thing isn't."


[Just as an aside - do you guys have alert-to-calls there? It's a system in some places here where, if a minor is injured or in trouble, and don't have a mobile phone on them, emergency services can contact phone companies, get their mobile numbers, and either call or text the kid's number - the logic is that if it happens when someone's worried about where their kid is, they'll check it.]

 

[Melix]

(No, but every month or two when someone in the community gets kidnapped, anyone with a specific type of phone gets a kidnap alert. It happened to one of my poor friends in the middle of class once and our professor just gave her this look like, 'Really? Your phone is on?' She shrugged and said, "Oh, it's a kidnap alert...Not that I get alerted when people get kidnapped.")


Lyall paled at his words. What he said, unfortunately, made a lot of sense to him, and Lyall wasn't sure where to go with this from here. "Dominic doesn't like me enough for that to even have a chance of occurring." he said. "Right now, he hates me." He refused the coffee with a shake of his head. The last thing he needed right now was caffeine. He asked politely if he could sit down and took a seat on the floor before Mr. Lawson could say yes or no, trying to collect his thoughts. He put his knees to his face. Everything was jumbled. The kiss. Everyone assuming he like males. Did he like males? He liked Dominic...he loved Dominic. AIDS. Death. His job. "So he didn't show you his phone? You just pick up his texts?" There. It finally stuck in. He ran a hand threw his hair. He remembered the fight from this morning, the screaming, the anger. Dominic didn't know that he had cared, that he'd stayed up later than he should have to make sure Dominic had been okay. Dominic didn't know he'd said 'I love you.' The next thing Lyall knew, he was curled up in a ball on the floor and laughing and crying a bit.


"He doesn't know I love him," he muttered.

 

[Elemental Son]

Michael watched as the kid had a meltdown on his livingroom floor. He considered it to Lyall's credit that it was at least genuine - whether he wanted to or not, it was apparent that whatever had happened with Dominic was affecting him deeply. It seemed it was not the sort of promiscuous fling that was the alleged hallmark of relationships between young men. That was a reassurance to Michael, if nothing else. What it made clear, however, was that whatever had happened even before the text messages, was deliberate.


"Pull yourself together, son." The tone he used was supportive rather than harsh, intending to ground Lyall rather than reprimand him. "All things considered, don't you think it's better that he doesn't know? Come on - get up, I'll fix you something to eat, at least, while you think about it. Just bear in mind, there's some truth in saying what he doesn't know can't hurt him. Especially if you think he's already angry about it."


Misguided compassion lead him to suggest an alternative course of action. "Play it off as being sick the whole time. Find a girl, blend in. Pretend it never happened. Dominic will play along - boy likes to keep things simple. You give me your word you'll do that, and you're as welcome here as you used to be, too." Michael did not bother voicing the flipside of that particular peace offering - he figured Lyall would understand.


(Heh. A combination of unfortunate, awkward, and funny xD )

 

[Melix]

[Haha ]


Lyall did manage to pull himself together, a bit, stopped the sniffling, and got up. "No," he said. "No thank you to the food. And no, I don't think it would be better if he didn't know. He already hates me. I am at a point where I can't make this worse. I'm going to tell him." He was feeling sick to his stomach. "He'll reject me- again- and then, and only then, will I pretend my feelings for girls go anywhere near.... this." He rolled his eyes. "I'm really sorry about all this. If I had better eating habits and organization, we wouldn't be having this conversation." He knew Mr. Lawson wasn't going to like that answer, so he thanked him politely and left. "Thank you. Goodbye." When he was outside, he started running toward the school. He hoped his soccer training would help: if he made it there in an hour, school would be out and he'd miss his chance. He needed to beat his time. He needed to make it to Dominic.


He made it in forty-five minutes and almost died on the school lawn.

 

[Elemental Son]

Michael was displeased, but did not try to stop Lyall from leaving. He had tried an appeal to reason, and it had failed. Instead, then, Michael would just have to exert pressure on Dominic. He was confident he could do that. For now, it was just a matter of waiting until that opportunity arose, and when necessary, Michael Lawson could be a very patient man.

*







Alan had never really been clear about what he'd wanted, the teacher having entered the room before their conversation could develop in any significant direction, so Dominic had put it out of his mind. Instead, he was trying to plan his afternoon. He needed food, first of all, not having eaten since before picking Lyall up from the hospital the day before. He needed some goddamn painkillers. He needed clothes that didn't smell of motor oil. He needed to get his phone, his wallet. He needed to hotwire his own damn car - one of the benefits of being an apprentice mechanic with an arguably shifty mentor. Eventually, he would need to work out somewhere to live - either at the workshop or with Sarah, most probably. Just like soccer, he needed a game plan.


With all that running through his head, time flew by. The bell rang before he'd even registered what they were really studying, and Dominic stood up, mind in a haze. The past twenty-four hours had had a tangible effect on him, and he no longer wanted to engage with anyone. He was seriously considering finding the paperwork to drop out of school at this point, and just disappear into the woodwork. With a token "sorry about your fish" to Alan - even though it had been his sister's fish, apparently - he walked out of the classroom, bypassed his locker and headed for the gates. He had no intention of going to the soccer fields today, or ever again, really.


He was thinking wistfully about going home, when Lyall showed up. From the look of him, he'd been running hard - and Dominic gritted his teeth, annoyed at himself for noticing. The upheaval of emotion - anger, hurt, want, confusion - was too much. Dominic didn't even acknowledge Lyall as a result, and instead, walked right past him. The last thing he wanted right now - or ever again - was a repeat of this morning.

 

[Melix]

Lyall saw Dominic come out of the gates, but Dominic ignored him. There wasn't much he could do. He was out of energy, and he really should have accepted Mr. Lawson's food before making the trip down. He flopped onto the grass and dry-heaved a couple of times before getting up and forcing himself to toddle off in Dominic's direction. Why hadn't he left his backpack at school? It would have been a bit less dead weight. "Dominic," he called, and tried to run a little more, coming up just behind him. "Dominic, I need to tell you some things. I need to talk to you. Please." Without thinking about it he grabbed Dominic's hand, giving it more than a friendly little squeeze. A few kids slid past them, a couple of girls staring and giggling at the boys holding hands. Lyall drew his away. The last thing he wanted was to embarrass Dominic even more than he was about to.


He had one goal in mind: Telling Dominic the world's easiest choice, Lyall, or home. He knew Dominic was simple, and so he'd pick home, and he knew Dominic knew he was complex, and Lyall would have picked him if given the exact same options. Thinking about it, his chest physically hurt, and not just in the cramping way Lyall sometimes got when he ran too hard and fast. He grabbed Dominic's hand again, softer this time, as if to just caress it. "Please."