Down That Road
It was romantic yet stupid to have done what the lifeguard had done, but he figured why not. When Glitch got a not-so-mysterious letter in his locker, instructing him to head off to the High Tide beach, he was curious as to what Bodie had planned for him this Tuesday evening. He let out an exaggerated sigh the moment he reached his destination as the crashing of the gentle waves somehow hit home. His green contacted eyes gazed down at the trail of rose petals that scattered into a track across the deserted beach. Glitch couldn't help but smile at the cliché love scene he's about to take part in as his foot stepped onto the sand. He began to follow the strongly scented flora as the trail seemed uncertain. He found himself weaving around all over the place, having a slight feeling that he's crossed paths with the same tracks at least twice.
He decided that it's best to go along with this little charade the blond put up—it must've cost a lot of time and money to do what he's done, so the teen might as well play by the rules. There were so many things that could've gone wrong with this though that Bodie might not have assessed—the rose petals could've flown away into the wind; people could've interrupted and messed up the trail; it could've been raining. All sorts of things— bad things could've happened so his pace quickened as his legs jogged across the trail. He thought if he were to speed up this process, he could prevent what fate might shove in his way.
The rose petals began to wear thin as he felt the end of this trail. He was right and before his eyes he saw the man he was looking for. Glitch let out a sigh of content as he walked slowly towards the blond, dropping his school bag onto the sand in the process. A wide, heart-warming smile wiped across Bodie's lips the moment Glitch wrapped his arms around his well-built abdomen.
"What's all this?" Glitch asked; his voice muffling into Bodie's clothing. He took a step back to see the blonde's expression as he answered.
"Glitch… There's something I need to tell you."
Those six words—they were simple and yet held a lot of meaning. Glitch wasn't sure where Bodie was going with this conversation but he just knew this wouldn't end well. It might've been his misconception though; it might be a good thing that the blond is trying to say but the way humans these days use those words—they've morphed it into something that is to be dreaded. And that's how Glitch thought—did Bodie cheat on him? Is he breaking up with him? He knew too well not to judge others by what they do or say but he can't help but judge the lifeguard as a heart breaker. The seriousness in the blonde's tone frightened the teen. Was all this just Bodie's kindest way to say that it's over? There's only one way to find out.
"W-What is it?" Glitch hesitantly asked, worried of what's to come. The teen bit his lower lip in habit as Bodie averted his eyesight to the ground.
"Glitch, I think I love you." The blond mustered up all the strength in his body just to say those words. He looked back down at the teen who gave a confused look, shooting a pang of pain towards Bodie's heart. He didn't know what the facial expression the teen had on said about the situation other than disgust? More like a rejection-type face, "L-Look, I know it's only been a couple of weeks…"
"Yeah, two in fact." Glitch interrupted the blonde's panicked statement, "Y-You can't spring that on me, no… It's too—you just can't." The teen wasn't sure if his sentence even made any sense but he was pretty sure that his message came across, as suspected, in rejection. Glitch's eyebrows narrowed as he saw the blonde's lips that once smiled for him turn into a quivering frown, "You don't mean that. S-So take it back." The teen demanded.
"No-No…" Bodie said with no signs of confidence evident in his voice, "No. I'm not gonna take that back. I love you. I love you." He repeated, causing Glitch's face to twist in a disheartening angst. Bodie took a step closer as if to confirm his words as true.
"No, you don't. It's too early. I've been here before and this isn't love," Glitch stated, pushing himself away from the older male.
"Then what is this?" Bodie asked, taking another step closer. Glitch struggled to find an answer as his breathing hitched.
"T-This is just… Something like love."
The blond was confused as he heard the uncertainty in Glitch's response, "Something like love?" Bodie repeated, twisting it into a question. Glitch nodded, looking down and hoping that the lifeguard in front of him wouldn't press on. He was doubtful, as he should be as Bodie did what he wished he didn't, "What's that?" Glitch's shoulders slumped as he felt like running away. He really did like Bodie but he was too stubborn to admit that he too, might love him. Love is a word that, in Glitch's mind, could not be thrown around so much to the point where it has no meaning to it. That word; it was as sacred to him as marriage is sacred to traditional families. The teen was burnt before by the burden of love and when finally understood what he knew what it was, it turned around and stabbed him in the back.
Whenever he saw those earnest baby blues, he did feel some fatal attraction but he was experienced enough to know when you like someone and when you love someone. And he knew that he didn't love Bodie as Bodie claims to love him.
"Well…" Glitch began, trying to act as though he's knowledgeable enough to know what something like love is, "It's when…"
He felt judging eyes lay upon him as he stole himself some time to think of a legit answer. Bodie knew that but what the blond didn't know is that the teen was drawing blanks, clearly unsure of how to proceed.
"You don't know, do you?" The lifeguard rhetorically asked, cracking down Glitch's wall of stubbornness, "That's because there's nothing like love. It just is."
Glitch finally had the courage to look back up to a smiling face, "Why you gotta make this so complicated?" The teen asked in a way that made Bodie seem like the bad guy in this situation. Even though he feared that the blond could've asked to break up with him just moments ago, he still couldn't accept the fact that he's being loved. He always had this weird misconception that when someone loves you, it's forever. No matter how many fights you have with that person, when love is involved, that bond—it can be shattered but it's still there. You can't hate that person no matter how bad the situation is. Judging from previous quarrels the teen has had with the blond, he knew that love isn't in their two week equation and when it's already here—the pain will be greater. The faster you fall in love, the harder you're going to crash. Glitch knew that from experience—his gullible attitude lead him to the gash across his heart, metaphorically speaking. Glitch thought about being in a serious relationship with Bodie but not until he's certain that he can handle all of the blonde's flaws, his friends—his life. Right now, he simply just can't, not that he didn't want to.
"Because you're complicated," Bodie said, pulling Glitch close to him by the hips. The teen shot his hands up to the blonde's chest as some sort of reflex. He wasn't sure if he should be offended or agreeing with the older male but right now, his mind just was haywire with the close proximity he was in with Bodie, "Because when you don't get it your way, you make things bigger than it actually is. Because you always need things to go your way—for your own convenience," Glitch knew that what Bodie was saying was true, but he wasn't about to tell him that. A wave of jealously flooded Glitch's system—he couldn't take the fact that the blond has already embraced all of his flaws when he barely can handle them himself.
"I'll oblige to that if you don't love me." The teen said, pushing himself off the lifeguard. He turned on his heel, walking to grab his bag. He placed it lazily on his back before turning to face the blond.
"If I'm too complicated, then why don't you just break up with me?" He asked with a smug voice.
"Well because I love you. And generally, you don't break up with people you love." Bodie shrugged as he replied sheepishly. Glitch rolled his eyes before looking straight ahead and walking off in the direction he once came from. As he took that seventh step away from the blond, strong arms constricted around his slim waist, startling the teen, "Give me a week." Bodie proposed, causing Glitch to squirm and turn around to face the older male.
"A week?" Glitch repeated in the form of a question. He passed it off as a hallucination, but Glitch felt like he heard a hint of sad desperation in the lifeguard's voice.
"Give me a week to make you fall in love with me." The blond clarified, causing the teen's lips to tug upwards just a tad bit.
"…And if you fail?" Glitch asked for the sake of asking. Bodie stayed quiet for a bit, thinking deeply.
"And if I fail, I'll stop loving you." The blond declared with a wavering voice. For some reason, that hurt the teen.
"Do you really think it's that easy?" Glitch asked with a soft voice. He watched as those baby blues looked off to the side.
"Of course not. But if I fail to make you love me within a week, then hurt me. Cheat on me. Cuz then I'll stop loving you."
Glitch took a step back, wondering if the words that he's hearing were really coming from the blond, "Bodie…" Was all he could say. He could see the hurt in the older male's expression. He felt kind of guilty now having to push Bodie into this kind of situation, "You can't expect me to say yes to that."
"If you don't love me now, then what makes you think you'll me later?" The blond questioned rhetorically. Time was the answer Glitch was planning on saying but he sensed the tone in the other' male's voice which prevented him from saying so, "Don't worry. I'll make you love me. That's a promise."
Glitch rolled his eyes before placing a hand on Bodie's cheek. He lifted himself up on his tippy toes, teasingly rubbing his nose against the blonde's before taking a step back and turning on his heel once again, "Good luck with that."
And with those final words being said, Glitch left the blond standing. Bodie looked off to the side, smiling broadly before shaking his head. He let out a breath of relief as he scratched his head in habit, "What a tease."
Authors Note: Pretty sure that 99.9% of this is rushed. I apologize, but unbothered-ness is taking over like the plague.
Author Grenade has me doing a lot of collaboration stories with her so like I'm table flipping mang.
Since she lost a bet, all collab stories with her are going to be posted on my account, so happy days.
And yes, Grenade is a girl. Your secret's out babe. That's what you get for making me write M-Rated fics.
I will be posting some of my own works but until then, please put up with what we're writing.
I'm pretty sure they'll be worth your time.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters—Harmonix does.