10. Not Worth It

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall! Ninety-nine bottles of beer! Take one down, pass it around--"

"Ash," Will interrupted mildly. Ash looked at him. "If you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to break your nose."

Ash blinked, then grinned.

Will arched a brow. "That's not meant to be a joke."

"I know," Ash said happily, turning away.

Will stared at him in confusion. What in the...

"Hey, fag," a nasal voice called. "I thought I'd find you sitting next to Shack Boy."

Ash whipped around, his eyes wide as he stared at Will. Don't listen to him, he mouthed, but Will ignored him and turned.

"At least I have the guts t sit next to someone," he sneered. "Why are you sitting alone, huh? Don't want anyone else to whoop your ass just as hard as I whooped yours?"

Tristan flushed. For a moment, Will thought he saw Riley instead of Tristan. He narrowed his eyes, shaking himself out of it.

"Whatever, fag," he muttered, crossing his arms.

"Will," Ash groaned. "You know he's only being this sucky because he feels bad about himself. Come on. Use your thinker, not your stinker."

Will stared at him, then scoffed, smiling faintly. "That's literally worse than Vanocolate."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Nothing is worse than that."

"Riley thought it was hilarious," Will said absently.

"Who?"

Will blinked, then realized what he'd said and looked away. "Someone. He's dead now." He swallowed. "My dad killed him."

Ash didn't respond. When Will glanced over, Ash was staring at him hands, his face paler than normal. Will noticed a bruise on the back of his neck and reached back brushing his fingers lightly over the purple-blue blemish. "What happened?"

Ash flinched away. "I--uh. I banged my head on my bed. My cat got stuck. It's nothing." His eyes darted to the side.

He's lying, Will realized, confused. Why would he lie about that?

~ ~ ~

"Alright, class. It's already late, so why don't we get to our rooms and unpack?"

Ash looked up from his book. They'd been sitting in the parking lot for almost an hour while Mrs. Sukiyaki went in and got their rooms ready.

There were a few groans as people got up and stretched, but Will didn't open his eyes. He was leaning against the hotel wall, his earbuds in his ears. Ash tapped him on the shoulder, and he cracked an eye open.

"Time to go," he mouthed, grabbing Will's backpack as well as his own. He jerked his head towards the entrance, where kids were starting to trickle in.

Will sighed and stood, stretching. His back popped.

Ash grinned and held out Will's backpack. Will took it with a grunt, and Ash led the way to the entrance.

They were assigned room 704, on the top floor. They had an incredible view of the ocean, only a few miles away, and the pool far below glittered in the setting sun. They'd been driving for hours, which didn't make sense because they were only supposed to be going a few towns over. Then again, River Heights was in the middle of nowhere.

Will dropped his bag on the floor, and Ash tossed his own in a corner before face-planting into the bed nearest the window. He sighed contentedly.

"I could get used to this," he mumbled to himself, low enough that Will wouldn't hear him.

Pushing himself up and sitting cross-legged, he chucked off him shoes and grinned at Will. The other boy was on the bed, his own boots already tossed sloppily to the floor.

"Hey, Will?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you wanna go down to the pool? I heard that some of the other kids were gonna...there'll be girls." Ash grinned. "Not that any of 'em'll notice me. I'm too small. But you, on the other hand..." He trailed off as Will looked over at him, then rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his elbow.

"I don't care if they notice me," he said.

Ash twisted his mouth to the side. "That makes no sense. I mean, look at you. Tall, dark, and handsome, you got everything going for you. That bad boy vibe, the dark hair, the smoldering gray eyes..." He tried to mimic Will's usual glare, but ended up laughing.

Will, on the other hand, was entirely serious. "If you were a girl," he said, "would you date me?"

Ash stopped laughing, his smile faltering. "What?"

"You heard me." Will pushed himself into a sitting position. "I want to know that if you were a girl, or if I was a girl, would you date me?"

"Um." Ash blinked, his brows drawing together. He had not expected the conversation to take this turn. "Yeah, I guess? But...you wouldn't be a girl. I'd definitely be the girl, because you have more masculinity than a male bear." He thought for a moment. "Yeah, if I was a girl, I'd date you."

Will arched a brow. "You think of me as a bear?"

"Well, no," Ash admitted. "I think of you more as a..." He thought for a moment. "A rabbit."

Will stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"Yep," Ash said, grinning. "All cute and cuddly and adorable."

Will snorted. "That was a joke."

"Of course it was," Ash said, laughing and running a hand through his hair. "Yes, I think of you as a bear. Or a dog, or something. You gotta be careful when you approach, or risk getting your head bitten off."

"You weren't cautious."

"That's 'cause I got nothing to lose." Ash smiled weakly, trying to lessen the actual meaning of his words. "C'mon. I still wanna get down to the pool before it closes."

~ ~ ~

Yeah, if I was a girl, I'd date you.

Will stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, his hand braced against the marble counter top of the sink. He'd thought enough to bring his swim trunks, but he wasn't sure if he actually wanted to go swimming anymore. Sure, the pool would be lit up, but there would also be girls who liked him more than he liked them with dripping wet, half-naked bodies.

Goddammit, but Ash was going to be there too, and some deep, primal part of Will begged him to go if just to see him without a shirt on.

As if his thoughts had called him, Ash knocked on the door. "Will? You in there? You didn't fall in the toilet, did you?"

"I'm fine," Will said, hoping his voice didn't sound as weak as he thought it did. "I'll be out in a second."

"'Kay," Ash replied. "Hey, do you think Tristan's gonna be there?" He suddenly sounded nervous.

"If he does anything, I promise I'll break his nose again."

"No, Will...don't do that. I'm not worth it."

Will's hands tightened on the counter top.

"Will, come on. I'm not worth it. You don't have to..."

"Riley," Will gasped, his heart pounded.

"What?" Ash asked through the door. "Will, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Will snapped, closing his eyes. He ducked his head, trying to breathe normally. "I'm...fine."

"But I can't be happy unless we're free," he'd said, gripping Riley's hand and kissing his knuckles. "I need him to know, and if he doesn't like it, I can just crash at your place."

Will swallowed hard and shoved off the counter, ripping open the door to find a surprised Ash on the other side. He was only his his swimming trunks, and his pale skin flowed uninterrupted into a sculpted stomach.

"Hey," he said, his face brightening. "Glad you're--"

"Please stop talking," Will said. "Please, Ash."

Ash blinked. "Oh. Um. Okay?"

Stop talking or I won't be able to stop myself, and I don't want to hurt you--I don't want to ruin this fragile thing we've built. I'll kiss you, and I won't be able to hold myself back after I do that.

Will pushed past him and tore the door open, walking down the hall, a silent-for-once Ash on his heels.

- - - - - - -

Should I do an entire chapter on Riley and Will?

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Q: How do you feel about gayness? the LGBTQ+ community?

A: Full-on supporter. I don't hold back.