The Other Guy (part 2)

Warning: attempted suicide

"What do you mean we're over?"

"Exactly that. We're over!"

Logan was on an evening stroll with Nicole and, though he wasn't fond of going on "dates" with her, it wasn't until she rambled about marriage that he had enough.

"Oh, come on! There's no way you can do better than me!" she claimed.

"I think the number one way for someone to be a better partner than you is to be a guy!" he admitted and instantly felt like a weight was lifted off his shoulders.

Nicole looked shocked and disgusted before she walked away while shouting slurs. Logan took a deep breath as if inhaling the scent of freedom and made his way to Roman's dorm. He could only imagine them laughing while talking about her expectations and reaction followed by them cuddling to a movie or two. Although Logan wasn't the best with expressing himself, he couldn't deny that time with Roman felt more lively in contrast to time with Nicole.

Logan knocked on Roman's door and didn't get much of a response. Wanting to let Roman know sooner rather than later, Logan pulled out a spare key from his pocket and entered the dorm looking for Roman. He knew Roman wasn't the type to go to bed too early or late and he knew Roman would turn the light off whenever he left, so Logan was confused. Pretty soon, Logan found an apple with a bite out of it and an unmoving Roman on the floor. At first, thought it was a cheesy joke inspired by Disney and that Roman was pretending to be unconscious. However, when he turned Roman on his back and noticed he wasn't breathing, he freaked out internally. Logan immediately called 911 and hoped that Roman would be okay.

At the hospital, Logan was pacing around juggling stress. Not only was he scared of Roman's condition, but he had to deal with calls from his parents and Nicole's parents to confirm that he was actually gay and that Nicole was entitled beard and that his actual partner was dying. As if second-hand dying, Logan was envisioning his past with Roman clearer than before and noticed flaws that he hadn't paid attention to before: he knew how much staying closeted could hurt him in certain cases, but he never thought about how hurt Roman would be from Logan keeping their relationship secret.

Pretty soon, the doctor gave Logan a somber look before he came in to see his lover weak and still.

"Can...can I have a moment alone with him?" Logan asked.

The doctor complied and Logan placed a gentle kiss on Roman's lips before sobbing and muttering apologies. Pretty soon, Logan heard faster beats from the heart rate monitor and felt slight movement on the bed. As soon as Logan looked at Roman, he saw him place a hand on his hand and mutter "Where am I?"

"Roman! Oh my god! I thought I lost you!" Logan proclaimed.

Roman looked at Logan before looking around at his surroundings.

"Oh...now I mean something to you..." he croaked before trying to turn away from Logan.

"Why am I alive again?" he croaked.

"Why would you do that in the first place?" Logan asked with a need for confirmation.

"I'm sorry, Logan. I know I'm not supposed to force you to come out before you're ready, but I don't like being nothing more than a side piece. I love you, but I accepted that you're never going to leave Nicole, so I thought I'd do you a favor," Roman struggled to say while crying.

Logan sighed with guilt while looking over at Roman.

"Actually, I came over to tell you that I'm not seeing Nicole anymore. I thought we'd both find it funny how overboard she was and then maybe cuddle to a film. I know you wouldn't be hurting as much if I came out sooner, but I've been so used to using my academics as distractions that I forgot my intentions to not be with her long term until she rambled about wanting us to get married. I love you, Roman, and I'm so sorry I made you think I was leading you on," Logan stated.

At that point, one of the doctors came in with a bottle of the harmful substance that was in Roman's apple. They stared at the two before awkwardly saying "I was just coming in to let you know that this had components that would restore the patient's health with True Love's Kiss, but it seems like you already know" and backed out of the room. Once the doctor left, the two looked at each other with shocked before Roman faced away from Logan again.

"Did you...know about the side effect?" Logan asked curiously.

"I dismissed it since you didn't seem to object to being with her," Roman answered.

"Look, you don't have to be with me anymore if you don't want to. If you will allow it, I'll be so much better to you, especially now that my family knows," Logan swore.

There was a tense silence in the room that made it tempting for Logan to open the window for fresh air. Roman shuffled in his bed for a little while before he finally said "Don't expect me to call you my boyfriend yet. However, since you're out, you have no choice but to show who you really are".

After that evening, Logan and Roman spent time together in public and in private while somewhere in between a romantic and platonic relationship. Logan did his best to be more empathetic, especially as Roman had arranged to seek therapy. With the help of his therapist, Roman tried to express his feelings without feeling guilty or pathetic and even allowed himself to cry in front of Logan when reading part of "Binge".

One evening, as they were watching "Secret of NIMH", Roman steadily went from sitting on the opposite end of the couch from Logan to scooting closer to him for a comfortable snuggle. Logan was surprised when it happened and looked at Roman with concern.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Logan asked.

"Of course. I may have felt a lot of negative stuff from being impatient, but that doesn't mean I can't imagine a future with you," Roman answered.

Logan held Roman close and took a selfie of both of them as part of an old promise he made. He soon posted the picture on social media and captioned it "Snuggling to a movie with the love of my life".