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“Sorry...just never seen you that pissed,” Troy admitted.

Oscar snorted softly. “You know how to find my sensitive buttons and mash every single one.”

Troy looked away. “I know the feeling.”

Oscar picked his head up. “Why are you out here, Troy? I mean, really, after what happened?”

Troy could only offer the truth. “Stupid as it sounds, I wanted to get away from...you.”

“Me?”

“You, us, the past, my feelings, your feelings, all of it. God, Oscar, my head has been an absolute mess since I saw you in the clinic. I mean, fuck, do you know how hard this has been?”

A shadow crossed Oscar’s face, and he nodded. “I think I have an idea.”

“And I’m sorry, but you kissing me? That gave me hope and made me think something was going to happen. Then you spent a whole week avoiding me without so much as an explanation, and Jesus, that fucking hurt. And now you’re out here, acting like a jealous boyfriend, and I don’t know what to think, Oscar.”

Oscar’s shoulders sagged. “I don’t know what to think, either.”

It was probably the first open honesty he’d had from Oscar other than the impulsive kiss in the clinic. It was the sort of honesty Troy wanted, but somehow, it didn’t make him feel any better. All it did was leave them in that gray quagmire they’d been in from the moment Troy had laid eyes on him for the first time in six years.

Troy looked around the street for the first time with a frown. “What are you doing out here anyway?”

Oscar blinked. “Oh, I was waiting for the bus, but it was taking forever, so I went to get something to drink.”

Troy’s eyes drifted to the large vehicle turning the far corner. “That bus?”

Oscar’s eyes widened as he turned to look in the same direction. “Goddammit!”

Troy winced. “We, uh, must not have noticed, being distracted and all.”

“Son of a bitch, I was already stood here forever!”

Troy hesitated before finally nodding over his shoulder. “C’mon, I’ll take you back.”

Oscar shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ll wait for the next one.”

“You’ll be here for an hour, and it looks like you need to get to bed. So quit being stubborn, and I’ll give you a drama-free ride home,” Troy promised.

Oscar sighed, giving in with a nod of his head. “Alright.”

Troy stopped, turning to face him again with what he hoped was an earnest expression. “One more thing.”

Oscar eyed him warily. “What?”

Troy smiled softly. “Just...try to figure it out, this whole thing. There’s obviously something between us you want, but you keep avoiding it.”

“Troy—”

His smile turned sad. “I’m not saying choose to be with me, but make your mind up to be with me or to stay away from me. You can’t keep bouncing between the two like this, Oscar. My heart can’t take it.”

“Mine neither,” Oscar muttered.

“Then figure it out, Oscar, for both our sakes. Because I know where I stand, it’s time you figured out where you do.”

OSCAR

True to his word, Troy got into the car and, once Oscar was in, drove off without another mention of what had just happened. Oscar’s head pounded with conflicting thoughts and feelings, and he wasn’t sure which way was up. It didn’t help that he was in the car with Troy, who felt too close. Troy’s presence, as always, was distracting, and Oscar felt drawn from his thoughts every time Troy fiddled with the temperature or played with the radio.