#wayden

Public toilets are the worst kind of bathrooms. They smell, they have countless germs, and hundreds of people would have visited them during the day. And who knows how well they’re cleaned?

But in this case, a public toilet was the only choice. In a arena like this you’d think it would be a touch more classy then the stereotypical public bathroom you’d visit, but it wasn’t any different.

Jayden pushed open the door with his forearm, making sure his hand didn’t go anywhere near the filthy door handle. He could smell the mix of urine and cheap soap as soon as he walked through the door. There wasn’t anyone else in the room, except for a boy - around his age, but older - at the far side of the room, talking to someone on the phone.

Jayden tried not to hear what the Maori boy was saying as he unzipped his pants at the urinal, but it was hard not to since he was shouting.

“How would you like it if I cheated on you, huh?” His voice sounded uncomfortable, like he wasn’t used to raising his voice at someone like this, “oh, it would be different? How?”

Jayden’s head titled towards the ceiling as he tried to keep his concentration on the roof, but that was soon destroyed by the outburst that came.

“What do you mean we’re not ‘actually’ together?” There was a pause and a muffled voice on the other line, then, “friends with benefits?! That’s what we are?”

Jayden finished, and zipped up his pants again. He walked over to where the distressed boy was standing, over near the taps, and tried not to nudge the explosive guy as he washed his hands.

“If you want to break up, then that’s fine with me!” He yelled, startling Jayden. His voice was even more abrupt up close.

He let out a frustrated groan and snapped his phone shut. Hands ran across his face in disappointment, Jayden looked at him through the mirror, but quickly looked away as soon as the other boy caught his eye.

Jayden turned to walk out but the sound of the boys voice let him stop, “you got a girlfriend, mate?”

“Uh…” Jayden cleared his throat, then shook his head, “no.”

“You’re lucky,” Will told him, and took a step forward, “I’m Will.”

His hand was stretched out and Jayden took it after a few seconds of hesitation. “Jayden.”

Will smiled at him briefly, then slipped his hand away and ran it through his hair instead.

“I- uh, I’m sorry that you had to listen to that…” His voice was a lot more silent now, almost guilty. Jayden wasn’t so afraid anymore.

“S’alright.” There was a moment of silence, until Jayden looked up from his hands and felt sympathy towards his newly found acquaintance, “you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” he replied, almost automatically. He shrugged, “I’ll be okay, she was a cow anyway.”

Jayden nodded slowly, then tapped his hands a few times on his jeans before he found himself backing away towards the door again.

“Well, then I’ll see you around, Will.” He waved off, and turned around to reach the door. But the same interruption stopped him.

“I know this seems weird,” he started, and Jayden spun back around again with a subtle sigh, “but you’re like… The only normal person I’ve seen at this event. I don’t know if you’re here with anyone…”

He paused for some sort of reply, and shook his head.

“But if I could just hang out with you - just for a little while, until I’m… I don’t know, right again before I leave? I just don’t want to be angry out there… And you seem to,” he swallowed and Jayden watched as Will’s Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, “keep me calm.”

Jayden didn’t know why he agreed to stay. Maybe it was because he seemed like a decent guy, who, had just been a victim of a break-up and Jayden was the type of person that would be there for anyone during a distressing time.

Or maybe it was because he thought Will was hot. He couldn’t decide.

“So, why’d you come alone? It’s pretty brutal out there at times, and you look like the kind of guy who’d…” Will stopped himself, and looked at Jayden apologetically, biting his lip.

“The kind of guy who’d… What?” Jayden pretended to be hurt, but couldn’t hide the tiny smirk on his face.

“Well - you’re not exactly the fighting type, I’d imagine. You could actually get destroyed out there if you got on someone’s bad foot.” Will explained.

They were sitting on the step that levelled out next to one of the windows in the bathroom, the tiled room didn’t smell anymore and nobody had entered since they started talking.

“It’s just a music festival.” Jayden replied, tone even, “not some heavy metal concert. Besides, I’ve got some muscle on me - see?”

He grinned as he flexed his right arm and Will smiled at him, impressed. Jayden told him to touch it and he did, pressing down on the visible muscle that Will didn’t think the boy had. Jayden watched as Will eyed and felt his newly exposed skin and took this time to admire the colour in Will’s eyes and the tone of his darker skin tone.

“Maybe we should have an arm wrestling competition, see who’s stronger.” Will raised his eyebrow as well as his left sleeve, and flexed.

Jayden’s mouth fell open and didn’t wait for Will’s permission. His hand wrapped over his bicep and squeezed it with his thumb. Without knowing it, his thumb then started to trace over the tattoo that inked his skin. It was some kind of pattern, that covered his whole upper arm.

He realised he was caressing his skin and flinched his hand backwards, “sorry.”

Will chuckled, and the sound made Jayden’s stomach flip, “s’okay.” A few seconds passed and Jayden made sure his hands were prisoned between his knees, in case they went wondering again, “but seriously, what’s your story?”

Will asked again, and it took a while to realise that he had been referring to why he came here by himself.

Jayden shrugged, “I don’t know, I just like to be alone sometimes I guess.”

“Me too.”

His eyes drifted up to meet Will’s, brown on brown, “we can be alone together.” He smiled cheekily, since he knew that was a corny thing to say.

It made Will laugh, the sound echoing through the empty bathroom. He could listen to that sound forever.

Jayden didn’t know how long it had been since Will had invited him to keep him company - but he didn’t really care. He liked Will’s company. And Will liked his.

They talked about where each of them were headed after this, they talked about what band they’d liked the most from the festival - and ended up admitting that they didn’t like any of them - and they talked about things that neither of them would’ve spoken about to somebody that they had theoretically just met.

“But sometimes I feel like maybe that was the problem, that I had actually forced myself to like her. And that’s why she cheated on me.” Will explained, telling Jayden the reason why him and Ellise had broken up over the phone, how many hours ago.

“What do you mean ‘forced’?” Jayden asked, the both of them unknowingly shifting towards each other.

Will sighed, and looked around the bare room, “I thought she was my… I guess you could say ‘preference’… I’m not sure.”

Jayden’s face lit up, he didn’t know why - but he was close enough to feel Will’s breath on his face as he sighed, and that was enough to keep him happy.

“So, you mean… You don’t think, ‘women’ are your type?” His words ended up coming out like a tumbleweed, all rolling into one.

But Will seemed to understand, “I think they are… But, I’ve never - you know,” he shrugged, “I’ve never really ‘done’ anything with a boy. So I can’t really decide.”

A nervous laugh escaped him and Jayden could feel his cheeks turn red. He gulped, and scenarios of Will experiencing with him flashed through his mind. He started to feel hot under the collar.

“Have you?” Will asked him, but avoided his gaze.

Jayden nearly choked. Of course he had. “Uh…” His voice trembled as it came out, “actually, y-yeah.”

“Really?” Will seemed surprised, and his gaze finally met Jayden’s again. He seemed intrigued, “what was it like?”

Jayden’s eyes widened at the forward question, but Will didn’t seem to notice his shocked expression, he just waited patiently for an answer. Jayden cleared his throat nervously and shifted his position, suddenly noticing how close he actually was to him.

“It’s uh, different… To a girl, obviously.” Jayden started, meeting up with Will’s eyes occasionally, “but if you want my opinion? It’s… Better.”

“Huh,” Will replied, but not in a question kind of way, but as though he was thinking about Jayden’s answer. “You must be pretty experienced with it then, I assume?”

Jayden thought about this for a while, and ended up folding back his bottom lip and tilting his head side to side as if to say “kind-of”.

“I reckon if I wasn’t with Ellise the whole time I was still in high school I would’ve experimented with a boy at least once at a party or something… Don’t really have that excuse now, hey.”

Jayden just shrugged, and said, “nothing’s stopping you now.”

Will’s eyes glanced up from his hands and searched between Jayden, who was now smiling softly, looking nervous but confident at the same time.

“I’m kind of hoping that you’re serious,” Will said, quietly, a short laugh following.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jayden seemed serious now, and Will’s smile faded, “honestly everyone experiments at least once in their life, those who don’t are just scared.” He paused for a few seconds, then turned his body so they were facing each other, “are you scared, Will?”

He shook his head and swallowed. Jayden’s hand escaped the hold he tried to place on it and went wondering again. The jeans Will was wearing were tight, and Jayden could practically feel his burning skin through the denim.

“Good.”