There should be a cliché for this. Robbie feels like the rug got ripped out from under him, the oxygen sucked out of the room, an anvil dropped on his head. They’re all accurate and completely insufficient to help him deal with the frenzy of emotion that somehow has him feeling numb.
He can’t make sense of it. Vance likes girls, and the revelation that his interests were broader than that would make Robbie blink. There’s nothing else to unpack there. After blinking, his reaction is just 'okay, great.’ It’s not a big deal.
The real problem is that that revelation is only implied. The anvil that clanged off Robbie’s head is that Vance …well, that Robbie is involved in it at all. That’s not so okay. He can’t help wondering what he did wrong. He must have overdone being normal, if it seems like a relationship with anyone is ever going to be a possibility.
Guiltily, he slides away from Vance and out of reach. Robbie knows it’s a terrible move to make, and he doesn’t know how to nicely explain that he doesn’t mind the contact but it’s probably better for Vance if it doesn’t continue.
Shit, how did he let this happen? He’s bad at letting people down easy. The only time he’s really even tried is when he backed away from Aracely's crush, and it didn’t even work.
Robbie gets to his feet and looks anywhere but Vance. Unfortunately, everything that’s left is the memorial to Robbie’s worst mistake. How can this conversation be happening, here? With the angel fountain and the names of hundreds of people who'll never get the chance to say I love you again. It’s so out-of-place that it’s vulgar.
“You can’t say things like that. Not here,” he adds quickly, trying desperately to soften the impact. After the show and telling Vance how he wishes he had done more to spare him pain, hurting his friend now would be cruel. “It’s – not right. They can’t –“
He abandons trying to explain, between having choked up on the words and feeling like he’s digging the hole deeper, and stands fidgeting while he waits for some sort of direction. Robbie doesn’t know what’s worse, leaving or staying, but he can always change his mind if he stays.
no subject
He can’t make sense of it. Vance likes girls, and the revelation that his interests were broader than that would make Robbie blink. There’s nothing else to unpack there. After blinking, his reaction is just 'okay, great.’ It’s not a big deal.
The real problem is that that revelation is only implied. The anvil that clanged off Robbie’s head is that Vance …well, that Robbie is involved in it at all. That’s not so okay. He can’t help wondering what he did wrong. He must have overdone being normal, if it seems like a relationship with anyone is ever going to be a possibility.
Guiltily, he slides away from Vance and out of reach. Robbie knows it’s a terrible move to make, and he doesn’t know how to nicely explain that he doesn’t mind the contact but it’s probably better for Vance if it doesn’t continue.
Shit, how did he let this happen? He’s bad at letting people down easy. The only time he’s really even tried is when he backed away from Aracely's crush, and it didn’t even work.
Robbie gets to his feet and looks anywhere but Vance. Unfortunately, everything that’s left is the memorial to Robbie’s worst mistake. How can this conversation be happening, here? With the angel fountain and the names of hundreds of people who'll never get the chance to say I love you again. It’s so out-of-place that it’s vulgar.
“You can’t say things like that. Not here,” he adds quickly, trying desperately to soften the impact. After the show and telling Vance how he wishes he had done more to spare him pain, hurting his friend now would be cruel. “It’s – not right. They can’t –“
He abandons trying to explain, between having choked up on the words and feeling like he’s digging the hole deeper, and stands fidgeting while he waits for some sort of direction. Robbie doesn’t know what’s worse, leaving or staying, but he can always change his mind if he stays.