Colliding Rulers

The Exchange Student (4)

Third Person's P.O.V

Joshua didn't have a choice. He had to give Zack a tour since he asked nicely. It was in Joshua's book of 'okay' if someone asks nicely. He would, with no hesitation, say yes to anything if someone was to ask nicely and if someone was to ask purely - hiding no malicious intent. Since Joshua didn't feel any kind of threat from Zack, he was okay with it.

Joshua pursed his lips and nodded his head, saying goodbye to his freedom to go home and finally rest. When he thought that the day was finally over, it only progressed even more and with the person that made the day tiring at that.

"Sure, but you do know what you've gotten us into?" they both started walking and talking casually. Joshua, surprisingly, felt at ease. He didn't feel any sort of barrier between them, like how he felt the first time he talked with Gevia.

A few students spotted the two and took secret pictures, scattering the pictures on the internet and their page. A lot were already commenting and asking if that was true.

Zack tilted his head to the side, confused.

"What ever do you mean?" Zack asked innocently. His mind didn't have anything at the moment, but the fact that Joshua was finally beside him. He was on cloud nine.

Just being physically beside Joshua was everything to Zack. Joshua was okay with everything, and he wasn't worried. He lost all sense of worry and overthinking. He was free. And at peace.

On the other hand, Cale saw the pictures and was immediately hurt. He couldn't help but think about why it was Zack and not him when he fell in love with Joshua first. Cale felt betrayed.

"This f*****g hurts so much."

Cale tolerated not being with Joshua, but this was on another level. He never thought the day would come that he would see Joshua with someone else. He gripped his phone really tight, gritting his teeth as well, pushing back the tears that were threatening to fall down. He let out a loud grunt, steaming.

He wanted to shout, but he was scared that someone might hear him. Their relationship before wasn't private, but it wasn't as if they announced it, unlike Zack did with his feelings for Joshua.

"Should I have done things differently?" Cale couldn't help but ask himself.

There was this question that hasn't been answered. He wanted to ask, but he was afraid that it might trigger hurtful emotions for Joshua. He cared for Joshua so deeply that he was willing to set aside his needs, which he realized was a bit toxic. He didn't want Joshua to feel threatened, afraid, or hurt. He wanted Joshua to smile all the time and be happy beside him.

He was willing to throw away everything for Joshua, but Joshua, being the most understanding, told Cale that he didn't need Cale to throw away everything just for him. He just wanted Cale to be understanding. Cale didn't understand why Joshua would say something like that. Contrary to what Joshua said, Joshua was being the most supportive boyfriend one could ever have.

Every day after Cale's practice, Joshua would give him water and massage his calves and his head. He would bring an extra shirt for Cale to change into. Since Joshua was a bit busy because of work and academics, Joshua didn't forget to ask how Cale's day was. Cale became complacent with everything and admits that there was a time that it didn't matter anymore, and it became a daily thing.

"Was that it? Was it because I made nothing out of it?" Cale asked another question, but still there was no concrete answer.

He couldn't possibly ask Joshua about that when Joshua had already asked for them to be friends only. Once again, Cale sighed. He kicked the chair, making the chair move a few feet away from him. He hissed angrily before grabbing his bag. He grabbed his phone and immediately dialed Alex's number.

Alex and Gevia were still having their moment when Alex's phone rang. They were startled, but were chill about it. Alex answered the call without looking at who was calling.

[Can I see you?] Alex was going to say 'no', but Joshua's voice sounded so hurt. It cracked and it was almost above a whisper - obviously trying to stop himself from crying.

"Where are you?" Gevia became worried. Despite Alex's usual blank expression, Gevia could feel the slight shift in Alex's mood.

[Meet me on the rooftop.] Cale said before ending the call.

Alex sighed and put away their phone inside their pocket. They regret breaking the moment, but Alex had to go.

"Can I come?" Gevia, without context, knew what was happening. Or felt it.

"You sure you want to come?" Gevia nodded her head, determined to follow Alex even if Alex opposed.

"Alright." but there was no way that Alex was going to say 'no'.

The two went to the rooftop and saw Cale looking at the field, where his teammates were running laps around the field. He wanted to run too, but his legs were as depressed as he was. He caught a sniff of two different scents carried by the wind and immediately knew that Alex had brought Gevia. The sweet vanilla scented teen and the menthol yet chocolate-y scent of another.

"So you have a plus one now?" Alex scratched the back of their neck, feeling a bit overwhelmed, but nodded otherwise.

"I wanted her to come." Gevia gave Alex a side glance before approaching the sulking captain.

Gevia patted Cale's back, gently, as if she was soothing a baby. Gevia leaned on the railing, resting her arm there while patting the captain with the other. Alex stood beside Gevia and looked at the field as well. The air carried melancholy with it - a sad lullaby came in the form of a whistle.

No one said anything. They embraced the sultry mood, welcoming whatever sadness came. All three of them were sad for different reasons. A heartbroken captain. A regretful friend. And a pained bystander that got caught up in it because their person in interest is involved in a way that started all the mess.

"How are you holding up?" Gevia asked, concerned about the captain. The captain scoffed, obviously not okay.

"Alex had better come with me to the bar, or else I'm going to ruin my life."

"I-" Alex stuttered, "Fine, but it's on you."

Silence once again visited. But this time, it was the captain that broke the silence. Unsure of what response he wanted to hear, he still went with his question. He didn't know if he wanted to break his heart even more or if he wanted to listen to comforting words. He was willing to accept any kind of response from both of them. He was going to let fate decide his destiny. What was going to happen would eventually happen - he said to himself over and over again.

"Have you seen the pictures?" Gevia and Alex shared a confused look before looking back at the captain. Their confused looks made it clear that they were having their moment, resulting in them not checking their phones for updates.

"Ugh, I don't even know why I bothered to ask." he wished he was drinking at the moment.

Alcohol and pain were the things that lingered. Tasting that bittersweet ending of the day made him realize that he wasn't cut out for a sad life. He wanted to live a carefree life but his parents weren't going to allow him that.

"Can I see?" Gevia asked as gently as she could. She was not doing great as a comforter. She remembered when Joshua was the one doing all the comforting and how he made it look so easy. She realizes that only a handful of people can comfort others the right way.

But there was no time to sulk about it. The captain was her friend and she needed to somehow lift his mood. She also took it upon herself that it was her fault that the captain was in a depressive state at the moment. She was rooting it all back to herself. Her invitation could possibly ruin a lot of lives.

"It's on the school's page."

Gevia quickly got her phone from her bag and confirmed that it was really there. He scrolled and saw Joshua smiling at Zack. Animatedly talking and pushing Zack. Joshua looked happy in the pictures and it made Gevia know how much it would hurt from the captain's point of view. Your loved one being happy with someone. Not being the reason for your loved one's smile is painful.

Gevia pursed her lips while Alex peered over Gevia's shoulder and saw the pictures. Alex kept quiet and backed away, already seeing enough. Gevia wasn't sure if she still should be guilty or not. The smile on Joshua's face wasn't a smile that even Gevia could make him do. It was a different smile.

She looked back at the captain and saw the most lonely look on the face of planet earth. She turned off her phone and gave the captain a hug. Alex kept quiet as Gevia attempted to comfort the captain again. The captain's tears started flowing down. He hadn't felt the need to express himself in such a long time that he just wanted to break down.

He wanted to be strong. Stronger than he looked, both physically and emotionally. His idea of being emotionally strong was somewhat twisted because of his mother's influence, hence him not breaking down in front of people and always putting up a front that 'a man should always be strong', and 'a man shouldn't cry'.

He started wheezing. Snot came, along with his tears. He hugged Gevia back, slouching a bit to be on par with Gevia's shoulder length. He cried, softly gasping for air as he did so. Gevia didn't mind her shirt being damp with either snot or tears, she was just glad that the captain wasn't putting up a front anymore.

"Hey, it's going to be alright. It may not be soon, but surely not never." Gevia made the captain cry even more.

He had been holding on, aimlessly going forward. Blindly trusting that time will heal every wound. He waited, and waited, and waited. But nothing came. He would still wake up every morning with a lot of what ifs and a lot of whys. He sometimes even asked himself what his purpose in life was. If it was his life that he was living or if it was his mom's. Always being told what to do, and always being told no when his mom didn't like a thing that he did.

"I'm so f*****g fed up."