Some Kind of Special

Hayden was crying, padding his eyes with tissues until they felt irritated but dried.

He didn't know how to feel. The second break-up in three weeks. His phone was across the bed, turning on with a white light as the screen popped open with every notification.

People were worried. He had said he needed a break from social media for a while. The fall semester of uni was going to start soon, his first.

He needed a minute to calm down.

He took deep breaths, steadying himself. His fingers ran down from his strawberry blonde curls, all the way to his ears. He had remembered high school. Junior year was similar to this. But...

Black hair was reminisced about, and those light blues beneath dark-rimmed glasses.

Hayden took in a shaky breath, sobs racking his body more, until he went completely still.

What was he crying about, really? He had made his choice. Besides, he didn't even know if the letter would come back positive.

The mail hadn't been checked in ages. He hadn't left his small studio apartment in days. The Houston sky had changed, just like Hayden's mood. It was cloudy, and everything was hazy or foggy.

Rice University wasn't that far away, but it had a very low acceptance rate. Hayden had lived in the area his entire life, so of course he decided to apply.

The stupid part? That was the only application he had filled out. Nothing else. His parents thought it crazy or ridiculous, but... This was his only option; if he wasn't accepted, then oh well. He had tried at least, right?

Hayden grabbed his phone. He had a ginger cat pocket-it socket on the back, which he held in between his two fingers of his right hand. He carefully scrolled through his notifications, only replying to close friends.

After doing nothing, he slowly put it back down. He sighed out; his cheeks were blotchy and red, tear stained.

"I'll be fine..." Hayden whispered to himself, leaning backwards against the plastic wood headboard of his bed.

"I don't miss him. Or her. Or anyone." His hands folded across his lap. He held his head downwards, then, softly...

Started crying again. This time he didn't stop until he fell asleep.

+

Hayden had ordered some food to be delivered to his apartment. It was the next day, sometime in the afternoon. He had expected that when the door rang.

+

Isaac scrolled through his phone. His eyes softened as he re-checked the folder labeled "Hay-Hay <3".

That's where he got the address. The apartment shouldn't have changed. But if he had, he might've had some explaining to do.

Isaac and Hayden had dated in junior year of high school. He had come over once or twice. Isaac's sister now lived in the same building. That would be his excuse.

He kept the bouquet behind his back; it was large, filled with chrysanthemums and lavenders, Hayden's favorite flowers.

"Hayden?"

+

Hayden's eyes widened. He had opened the door. It was Isaac, wearing his glasses and...

Hayden's cheeks heated. The dark-haired boy was standing, one arm behind his back.

"Uh. Isaac. Hi." Hayden's eyes widened as Isaac quite literally dropped onto one knee, revealing the bouquet.

"Will you, uhm, go on a date with me? Please?" He had cleared his throat; Isaac's voice was now huskier.

"I-"

"You can say no." Isaac said, getting up. "Sorry. This was probably out of the blue and everythin-"

"Yes. I will." Hayden said. "Come inside. You look stupid."

Isaac scoffed, but he did as he was told. He slowly pushed the bouquet to the forefront, but Hayden snatched it from his hand before it could reach full mast.

"When did I tell you these were my favorite flowers?" Hayden seemed so aggressive, sniffing at the flowers like they did him a personal injustice.

In response to that question, Isaac waved his phone. The purple transparent case had a faint reel of silly pictures of them together.

Hayden's heart stopped, then skipped a few beats as he looked at the blurry waves of the images.

"You keep the messages I text you?" Hayden asked softly, coming closer. They were only across the threshold.

"I keep everything I have from you." Isaac admitted, with a slight smirk that popped out his left dimple. It took Hayden's breath away, the beauty.

Hayden swallowed, which made him nod. The lump in his throat was more apparent than his Adam's apple, and he stared out of the corner of his eye, attempting to find an excuse to get away from the source of his bi-panic.

"Do you doubt that?" Isaac asked.

Hayden shook his head. "I doubt nothing you tell me, Isaac Ramirez." He replied with a careless scoff. Isaac raised an eyebrow, his smirk fluttering straight into a grin.

That wasn't entirely true. Hayden had started to doubt most of the things regarding Isaac, as it wont to do. Isaac had been everything to Hayden, up until their breakup.

In truth, Hayden still adored him more than anything else, which is one of the biggest reasons why he hadn't moved. He didn't want to put distance, higher than the one already imposed by the breakup.

It had damaged Hayden's heart, and made a hole in like from a bullet.

Now, so suddenly, the love of Hayden's life was standing in the threshold of his studio apartment, gifting flowers of peace.

"Why did you come back...?" Hayden asked, eyes widening in a soft arc.

"Does it matter? I'm here." Isaac responded, brushing past him into the rest of the studio. Hayden blushed as he followed, noting with astute eyes that the room was a mess, shirts of various colors strewn across the floor, trailing towards the unmade bed.

Dishes were piling over the counter, dirtier as they neared the bottom of the stack. Hayden bowed his head in shame, not wanting to face Isaac.

When Isaac crossed into the middle of the room, he turned to face Hayden.

"Why didn't you call me?" He asked quietly.

"I- I thought you hated me." Hayden said, snapping his vision upward. The height difference was two inches, not in Hayden's favor; Isaac was around 5'10, and still attractive. His body was strong and muscled, but his mind was even sharper than the sharpest knives in Hayden's parents' kitchen. Those light blue eyes were filled with kindness, especially when turned onto someone younger than him.

The irony was this: Hayden was older than him by at least a year. The difference in age was forgotten, but Hayden bit his bottom lip, waiting for Isaac's response.

Isaac sighed, then laughed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I could never hate you, Hay." He replied, letting his hand slip downwards toward the side of his pants.

"Really?" The word almost hiccuped in Hayden's throat, but it managed to ekk out, surprisingly. Isaac nodded, a soft smile tugging the corners of his lips upward.

Without missing a beat, Hayden returned it. Hayden spluttered, small tendrils of saliva arcing out of his mouth from surprise, as Isaac had started picking up the shirts from the floor. He bent at the waist, showing perfect structure of his spine as he did so.

"I... I got this." Hayden said, rushing to stop him, to intercept the next target.

Their fingers interlocked, and Hayden yanked his fingers back, startled by the warmth. His lips parted slightly, but then he slammed them back together, spreading his mouth into a harsh, thin line.

"I can help out." Isaac looked up at him, they were still both bent over, but Isaac had his feet apart. They were Converse high-tops, black with white soles.

His entire aesthetic gave off skater boy from the early 2000s, radiating hotness and confidence.

But that's not the only reason Hayden had liked him that first time.

It was the kindness, that felt like a miracle or a gods-send. That beautiful logic that made Hayden's own mind slow like it was ejected into molasses.

Hayden blushed, squeezing his eyes shut until he saw stars behind his lids, his face warming as the blood kept rushing to his cheeks.

"I can- clean myself-" Hayden kept stuttering. He couldn't speak correctly. Isaac shook his head, laughing.

"It's fine. The date can start now!"