Page 193 of For the Fans

I scoff. “Even if that were true… which it kinda is… he’s way too unsure. If he can’t even convince himself to be with me insecret, how the hell would we ever make a relationship work? He’d be terrified to tell his friends, his teammates… And ourparents?? Forget about it.” My head swivels. “I mean, what would we even say to them? Oh, hey, so I know you guys are married and all, but your sons want to date each other. Is that cool?”

Frankie laughs, then pouts at my misfortune, rubbing my back. “If they love you, they’ll get over it.”

“My mom would,” I rumble. “But Tom is, like, this super strict Catholic dad. He and Kyran already have an awful relationship as it is…” Sighing out my despondence, I stare down at my feet. “I won’t ask Kyran to make things worse between them.”

“You shouldn’t have to ask him, Avi,” she says pointedly. “If he cares about you, he’ll just do it.”

Yea… and I don’t really want to pull at that thread.

We weresofucking close before the drama with the Fans blew us all out of proportion. Then last night, he says we’rejust friends, then proceeds to almost kill Ash for kissing me.

I swear to God, I need some Dramamine for how nauseous this back and forth is making me.

“I guess I should shower, then head back to the dorm…” I sigh, weakened from the bleak state of my existence.

“You know you can stay here as long as you want,” Frankie says. “And the same goes for that little peanut.” She glances at Robin.

“Oh, so you like her now?” I smirk.

“She’s growing on me, okay? Last night, she came into my room and purred next to my face for like an hour. It was the cutest thing ever.”

I laugh. “Well, that’s good, because I really don’t want to deal with carting her back and forth.”

Frankie looks like she’s trying to subdue her excitement as she says, “You can just leave her here for the weekend, until you figure out what to do about Ash. If you want to, I mean…”

Smiling down at her, I wrap her up in my arms. “Thanks for being the best best friend ever, bae. Seriously, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Don’t thank me.” She squeezes me around the waist. “Just stay here! You know you want to. The dorm was great when it was just yours, but sharing it with Ash isn’t gonna work. Especially with Ky in the picture.”

If Ky even wants to be in the picture…

I know Frankie is right. I have no real desire to live with Ash, knowing how fond he is of me. And Kyran will never go over there again as long as he’s breathing, I’m sure of it.

It sucks, because that dorm was where it all began for us. But I also kind of want to see if we can make this work outside of TMA 446. And without the Fans…

Could we ever be more than him showing up in the middle of the night?

Would he even want that?

So many questions, and not enough answers. And it’s all happening at the worst possible time, what with the banquet tonight, and then the Rose Bowl right after. As antsy as I am tofigure this stuff out, I also don’t want to stress Kyran out before the biggest game of his life.

Putting it all on hold, just for now, I decide to take a shower and prepare to stop by the dorm to get more of my stuff. At the very least, I should stay here through the weekend. I can figure out what to do about Ash and the dorm when I get back from California.

As I’m stepping out of the bathroom, my phone is ringing. Rushing to it with my heart in my throat, it falls a bit when I find that it’s not Kyran.

It’s the BC Admissions Office.

“Hello?” I answer, a sudden burst of nerves rattling my body.

“Avi Vega?” a female voice asks.

“Yes…”

“Hi, this is Sherry, Assistant to Dean Perkins. The dean would like to see you in her office as soon as possible.”

I gulp. “But it’s Saturday…”

“I know. Unfortunately, it’s urgent, and can’t wait until Monday.”