Shutting his locker door for the last time that year, Ryan stepped back. He smiled at Troy, whose locker was in the same area, "Have a good summer, Troy." The ball player smiled, "You too, Ryan. See you around."
That night, Troy could barely sleep due to his excitement, working at Lava Springs was going to help make this summer the best it could be. Eventually he calmed down and his eyes drifted shut.
Troy woke up to a tingling feeling on his cheek. Blearily, he looked over and found Ryan Evans in bed with him. "What are you doing here?" he managed to mumble, somehow he didn't feel that it was strange the other boy was there. Ryan was fully clothed and lying on top of the blankets, he was gently stroking a finger along Troy's face. "I'm here to see you, Troy."
"Oh," Troy sighed, "okay." Ryan leaned forward and brought his lips to Troy's brow. "Na na na na," he half sang, half hummed as he pulled away. "You are the music in me." Troy smiled sleepily, "I like it when you sing that."
"Is this a dream?" he asked. Ryan gave a cryptic smile, "Yeah, it's a dream." He lay down next to Troy, burrowing his face in the other boy's shoulder. "I love you, Troy." Troy smiled, his eyes staying closed. "What's the song inside of you, Ryan?" A tanned hand lifted up slightly, before coming to lie on Ryan's chest.
A small smile graced Ryan's face, he breathed in Troy. "We're soarin'," he sang it slow and low, "we're flying…" he trailed off. "I couldn't ever tell you to your face, always afraid of your reaction." Troy leaned into Ryan, an arm coming to wrap around the other boy.
"Do you remember first grade? When you were my partner for some school project?" Troy hmm'ed a response. "That's when I knew, right from the first time I sat next to you. You're going to do great things, Troy. I've seen it."
"What do you want to do when you're older, Ryan?" Troy asked. "I wanted to be a Doctor." Ryan closed his eyes, all the while holding Troy close, just as he started drifting off he heard Troy mumble, "I love you too, Ryan."
* * *
Troy's alarm buzzing was the first thing to wake him up. He sat up when he recalled the dream from the night before, his hand reaching out automatically for Ryan. Troy shook his head clear before he heard his mom call his name. He shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen and plopped down into one of the chairs.
"Good morning," he mumbled. He froze when he saw the look on his mom's face, her eyes red. "Mom?" he asked.
"Troy, honey," she looked away as she sat down next to him. "One of your schoolmates was in an accident last night. A drunk driver drove them off the road; the car flipped and ran into a tree. The EMT's tried to do everything they could." She was crying softly, obviously upset.
"Who was it?" he asked softly, a myriad of names going through his head. He watched as his mom wiped her eyes before looking at him, "Ryan Evans. I'm so sorry baby." She hugged him close, the words taking moments to sink in.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "No!" He tried to pull away from his Mom, but she held him close. "He's not gone!" Troy couldn't see anymore, his vision blurred with tears. "He's not gone."
That night, while in bed, Troy thought he heard a whispered 'I love you.' He cracked a semblance of a smile before burrowing his face into his pillow. He froze, breathing in, the pillow smelled just like Ryan.
The next day, Troy started researching Pre-Med programs.