Anyways, enjoy this piece! Have next to no idea what I'm doing with dialogue, but it sounded alright in my head! Have yourself a lovely day, and see you Monday for more!
Note Passing by Mackinley Clevinger, July 29, 2016
He slapped his books on the table, jarring the scattered readers in the library out of their studies to look towards the young man with a mix of glares and concerned glances before returning to their work, satisfied no further interruptions would arise as he took a seat and buried his head in his crossed arms. The flush on his exposed arms and the agitated shaking of his leg suggested sleep was the furthest thing from his mind.
Beside him, another pile of books was laid down gently, sliding along the tabletop to come to a stop, gently touching the first stack. The chair beside the young man was pulled out from underneath the table and angled to face him, soon inhabited by another young man who laid a hand on the trembling shoulder in front of him.
Watching the young man expectantly, he waited until a thin voice, whispered and muffled from being buried in his arms, reached his hearing, inaudible but present. He ducked his head down, half of his face disappearing beneath the desk as he tried to hear the words clearly.
“She said no, Mitch.”
“Hey, whatever’s going on, it’s gonna be alright. Alright? I’m here for you. What’s… what’s got you so worked up?”
At this probe, the flushed man drew in a shaky breath, his leg vibrating rapidly beneath him as he drew an arm back and set it on the chair, twisting around to look at Mitch more clearly through eyes threatening to buckle beneath the flood.
“She said no. I… I asked her, like I said I was… going… to…”
He trailed off, cheeks flushing redder in embarrassment as Mitch’s face turned from awkward concern to worry. He ducked down again, his face inches away from the other man’s whose eyes were downcast and refusing to look at Mitch.
“You said you… you promised you wouldn’t… Dammit, Nate, tell me you didn’t – “
“No! Of course I didn’t say anything about you, Mitch. I just… I wanted to know how she… really felt. It was killing me not to know after all this time.”
Mitch let out a sigh of relief, tension draining from his shoulders as he looked at Nate with sympathy, putting his arm further around his shoulders to pull him into a hug. Nate sank into him, a shuddering breath heralding the end of his trembling as the two held each other, Mitch looking around the library as a few heads peeked up from their books to look at the two.
He took a deep breath, discounting the interested looks on their faces as he patted Nate on the shoulder and broke the hug, rubbing a hand along Nate’s back while Nate wiped a hand across his face.
“I just asked her what she thought about the… idea of it, you know? Didn’t even mention me, or anything, and she… she…”
“Yeah, I can – “
A hand came down besides Mitch and sent out an ear-splitting sound that made them jump in their seats, reflexively grabbing ahold of each other before turning to see a stern woman trying to hide a smile at their shock with her hand pressed flat against the table.
“You are in a library.”
She put a finger against her lips and walked away, leaving the two embarrassed men to slowly let go of one another and reposition themselves in their chairs, looking at one another from the corners of their eyes and trying to suppress laughter.
Flipping open a textbook, Mitch opened his mouth to speak, freezing as he took notice of the number of eyes peering at the two of them overtop their books. He looked at Nate and tugged a loose piece of paper from his pile of books and folders, snatching a pencil from the table to write a message.
‘Nate, I’m here for you. Whatever may happen with her.’
Nate grinned, looking at a folder full of notes for a few seconds before picking up the pencil.
‘I know. It’s just frustrating. I never really thought about this with her, but now I can’t get it off my mind. It’s important. Hell, she’s important, and she doesn’t even know about this. That’s what makes it so…’
The pencil dug through the paper, tearing it on the second and third dots and making a mark on the table underneath. Nate rested his chin on a fist, staring into the distance in frustration and tapping a finger against the table until Mitch put his hand over Nate’s, silencing the sound with a slight squeeze.
‘She’ll come around, believe me. Mine took some time to get used to the idea, but they never stopped being there. They… said some things, but it worked out in the end. And if she doesn’t (big if), you still have me.’
‘Mitch, your parents aren’t normal.’
Mitch raised an eyebrow at Nate.
‘In a good way. Come on, I love them, they’re great. I just can’t see her being like that towards me. Towards us.’
‘What’d you ask her?’
‘Just… if she was accepting of people that… of people like us.’
‘Accepted … what, guys?’
Nate rolled his eyes.
‘You know what I mean.’
Mitch smirked.
‘What? Gays? Hom – ‘
Nate put a hand on top of the paper, crossing an arm over their hands that remained touching, and gave Mitch an unamused look.
“You know what I mean.”
Mitch pressed a finger against his lips, giving an exaggerated look of worry as he looked around the silent library. Nate chuckled.
‘So you didn’t let on that you prefer the fairer sex?’
Mitch hid a sudden outbreak of laughter in his hand when Nate blushed at reading the message.
‘No. Why are you so worried – ‘
The paper disappeared from Nate’s hands as Mitch grabbed the pencil from his fingers, having read the message as Nate wrote it.
‘I don’t want you to feel hurt, especially by someone as close to you as your mother. If it goes wrong…’
Mitch looked away from the paper, pencil digging into the last dot as he stared into the distance for a brief moment.
‘… it would be bad for you. You should have someone with you who accepts and cares about you when the time comes, when you’re ready. Just in case.’
’From the sound of it, I don’t think I’ll be telling her yet, but…’
Nate looked at Mitch, a loving smile spreading from his lips to Mitch’s.
‘I think I know who I’ll be with when I do.’