When Lawson was dismissed from Philosophy on Thursday, he immediately left campus to meet Nathan at a nearby diner. Despite growing up in the area, Lawson had never heard of the place before, but the text he had received from Nathan that morning told him it had good food, and was cheep, which were two things Lawson prefered when it came to restaurants. Another advantage was that it was only a few minutes from campus, which meant he could walk rather than drive, and given the fact that he was running low on gas, this was also preferable.

It didn't take him long to find the place using Nathan's instructions, and he was pleasantly surprised upon entering the establishment. It was small, with only seven or so tables, but it was clean and cute, and the waitress on duty immediately smiled at him when he stepped inside. "Hello," she greeted, eyes bright. "We have a few minute wait on a table if that's alright". Lawson raised his head and looked around, spotting Nathan easily at one of the tables by the window.

"I'm actually coming to meet him," Lawson explained, pointing in the direction of his friend, and the waitress raised her head to look.

"Then by all means, go ahead," she instructed pleasantly before moving away from him in the direction of the back. They seemed busy, Lawson noted as he walked to Nathan's table, but the conversations people were having were soft, and the whole atmosphere of the place was warm.

Nathan looked up when he got close enough to the table, and then gave him a smile that was quite obviously forced. He looked exhausted, Lawson noted, eyes heavy with lack of sleep. It concerned him a bit, so immediately upon sitting down he asked, "Are you alright?"

Nathan's blue eyes blinked at him for a moment, almost curious, and then he shrugged nonchalantly and slid the menu across the table to Lawson. "Decide what you want. I'm starving".

It was clear Nate didn't want to talk about it- which was frustrating to Lawson since that had been the entire point of them meeting up- so he bit his tongue and searched through the menu for a minute before setting it back in the table between them. He pretty much always got the same thing when he went out to eat, permitted that it was on the menu: french toast stix.

They just looked at one another then, and Lawson was about to ask him why the hell they were even there when the waitress came up to take their orders. It was only when she left, taking the menus with her, that Nathan spoke up. "Sorry. I didn't want us to get interrupted".

"What about when they bring out our food?" Lawson inquired, and Nathan shrugged.

"That takes a lot less time than ordering does, and I wasn't going to make you wait that long to learn what happened," Nathan explained, and Lawson hummed. "Besides, after you've been complaining for the past month about me talking your ear off about Glenn, and I wanted to make you suffer now that something happened that you actually want to know about".

"So something did happen?" Lawson was choosing to ignore the last comment. "Glenn didn't end up canceling on you at the last minute?" In all honesty, that was what Lawson had been expecting to happen.

"He tried to, actually. I had just pulled into the parking lot at the restaurant and he called me for the first time in two weeks, and said he wasn't feeling well, and I told him that he couldn't do this to me, and then I kinda yelled at him for treating me like shit over the phone and then he said that he would come," Nathan admitted, and learning that Nathan had actually yelled at Glenn had his eyes growing wide. Nathan sighed at the expression. "I know".

"Was it awkward when he showed up?" Lawson asked, and Nate's eyes left his to stare out the window.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if that's because of the yelling, or because he was fifteen minutes late, or because he just didn't seem like himself". Nathan paused as the waitress stopped at the table to bring them their drinks, and resumed once she left. "He was really unfocused and stressed... kinda how he was before he had that breakdown last year, remember? And he was trying really hard to ask me questions and appear interested but it was clear it wasn't working and he kinda just kept saying he was sorry and he was getting more and more upset and I just... I knew what I had to do".

Nate paused to take a sip of his drink and Lawson kicked him under the table. "Well?"

"So we ate our food and he talked on and off about classes and how he didn't have time to do things and his classes were taking over his life and he just wanted to do well in school since he knew that he couldn't really afford to be there and he wanted to make his mom happy and wanted to get a good job later in life so he could pay her back for everything, and I understand, I really do, and I don't blame him for treating me the way he has, because it hasn't been on purpose. He's prioritizing school over me, because with school he can help his family, and I completely agree with that and I can't blame him. He's always been so family oriented and he wants to take care of them-"

"Nathan," Lawson cut in, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Have you forgiven him?"

Nate looked pained. "Of course I have. I alway will. It's Glenn". Lawson shook his head. "Wait though, the story isn't over. Even though I forgave him for treating me the way he did, it doesn't change the fact that he still has no time for me. I wanted to talk to him about how I was feeling with the whole thing so I invited him back to my apartment to talk because I didn't want to break up with him in public-"

"Wait, what?" Lawson cut in, sitting forward eagerly, and then leaning back almost immediately when the waitress came to their table with their food. They were quiet as she distributed their plates and urged them to enjoy, and Lawson would have commented on fast the service was if he wasn't so desperate for her to go away quickly so they could continue their conversation. "You broke up with him?"

With a sigh, Nathan nodded, picking up a fork to stab at his salad with little interest. Lawson wondered if that was all he was going to eat, but he didn't want to voice his concern Incase his friend used it as an opportunity to change the subject. "I did, but I'm still not finished, and you keep interrupting me".

"Sorry," Lawson grumbled, and then he began to fill his mouth with food to avoid any more outbursts.

"So, I invited him back to my apartment and he said he couldn't come because he had so much homework to get back to and he was supposed to meet up with people from a class to study at five but couldn't because of dinner so he just wanted to get back as soon as possible, and he was frantic while saying all of this, so I just said it was fine and I walked him to his car and then I did it right there in the parking lot". Nathan's eyes moved to Lawson's face then, and when Lawson didn't say anything, he snapped, "you can talk now".

Lawson swallowed so quickly he choked on his food and needed to take a drink of water. When he was safe from dying, he asked, "what exactly did you say to him?"

For the first time since meeting up, Nathan looked like he was going to cry. Respectfully, Lawson let his eyes drop down to his food, and Nathan turned his face back to the window. "I just told him that I thought he was too busy for a relationship right now, and that I've become so reliant on him for my main source of happiness that when he's not around I'm miserable. I told him that I think he needs time to adjust to school, since it was clearly overwhelming him, and managing his time, and I need to take some time to learn to be comfortable and happy with myself so I can stop being so pathetic all the time," Nathan said, and then he took a deep breath. "I made sure he knew I wasn't mad, and I said I understood him putting school and his family first, and I wanted to put him first by letting him go". Nate's voice faded, and Lawson just looked at his friend with incredibly wide eyes.

His next question was obvious, so obvious that he was expecting Nathan to answer it without needing to be asked, but his friend was silent, so Lawsonquestioned, "what did he say?"

Slowly, Nate turned his face from the window and instead stared at his practically untouched salad. "He just looked at me with his mouth parted and then he asked me if I was really breaking up with him, and I said yes, and he started crying, and just continued to look at me with tears on his face and his eyes red, and when I didn't say anything he got in his car and drove away".

"Are you alright," Lawson asked, eyeing Nathan's hand, which was resting by his fork on the table. He wondered if he should reach out and take it, try to comfort his friend, but something in him told him Nathan wouldn't want that.

"No," Nathan said in a small voice. "I'm not. But... I hope I will be. All I can think about is what if I never get to see him again. I'd like to get back together once he has everything figured out, but what if I just ruined everything. What if he doesn't want me anymore?"

Lawson sighed and looked away, unsure of what to say. At the end of summer, if Nathan had asked him a question like this, Lawson would immediately assure him that of course Glenn would want you back, but things had changed since then, Glenn had changed since then, and Lawson didn't know how this breakup would affect the other boy.

If Glenn was already in the midst of a breakdown, losing Nathan would most definitely add to his shock.

To give Nathan his privacy, Lawson allowed his eyes to roam the diner, planning on taking it in more closely than he had before. There wasn't really much to see, like he had said before, it was a small place, but after a minute of searching his eyes got caught on a familiar face, and he found himself happy he had given Nate his one to compose himself.

When Lawson spotted Sean, he hadn't been looking at back at him, but at a customer as he wrote down what he was saying in a small notebook. It occurred to Lawson that Sean was probably working, and his eyes widened a little bit at the realization, because what were the chances.

Perhaps it was the feeling of Lawson's insistent gaze that drew Sean's attention to him, since as soon as he turned away from the customers table, his eyes landed on Lawson. Eyebrows raised, and headintantly Lawson lifted a hand to wave. Sean smiled, and Nathan said, "who the hell are you waving at?"

Lawson's eyes shifted to Nathan, who was turning in his seat to look over his shoulder. "Uh," was all Lawson manages to get out before Sean was stopping at the end of their table. Immediately, Lawson turned his face up to him to smile warmly. "Hi!"

"Hey," Sean replied, returning the smile, just not as brightly, and then dragging his eyes over to Nathan. In response, Nate just looked back at him, eyebrows raised in interest. After a good ten seconds of silence, Sean and Nathan both looked back at Lawson, identical expressions on their faces.

"Oh! Nathan, this is Sean. Sean, this is Nathan," he introduced, and the boys smiled politely at one another as the said the usual pleasantries. It seemed tense, so Lawson hastily changed the subject. "Why didn't you mention that you worked here?"

Sean shrugged. "It never came up. Besides, I don't really work here. I mean, I do, but not really. I'm just a sub for when they need me," he explained, and then someone called to him over his shoulder and he turned slightly, and then looked back at the two of them. "I need to go place these orders, but it was nice to see you".

"Yeah," Lawson agreed, slightly disappointed with his departure but hoping it didn't show. "You too".

With a simple nice to meet you at Nathan, Sean turned and went back to work, and Lawson watched him walk away with a small sigh.

Nathan snorted in amusement,gaining Lawson's attention. "What?" He asked, eyebrows raising a little as he took a sip of his water. His face felt hot.

"You totally like him," Nathan accused, and Lawson scoffed, bringing his attention to the last of his french toast stix.

"I do not," he grumbled in return, dipping his food in syrup. Nathan made a face that told Lawson he didn't believe him, but Lawson ignored it in favor from bringing his eyes back to Sean, who was across the room delivering drinks to the new table.

Subtly, Sean's eyes flicked over to Lawson, and then widened upon realizing he wasn't the only one looking. It made Lawson smile, and without pause, Sean returned it, cheeks slightly flushed.

Lawson thought he was beautiful.

***

That night, Lawson ended up on Reese's bed rather than in the bean bag, but only because Reese was forcing Kye to sit in one as punishment for leaving him the night before. This was really distressing to Kye, and every couple of minutes he would interrupt Lawson to complain.

"-just saying, it's bad for my back".

"Literally no one cares, Kye," Reese snapped, narrow eyes glaring at his roommate. Kye scoffed and turned his face away. Proud, Reese looked back up at Lawson with a smile. "So what does this mean for them?"

"I guess it means they're not together anymore," Lawson said, though it was phrased more like a question than a statement since he couldn't quite believe it yet.

"Damn," Reese sympathized, his smile falling. "That really sucks".

"You're just pretending to be sad," Kye accused, trying to hit Reese with a nearby pillow. The shorter of the two scowled.

"I am not".

"Yes you are".

"Why would you even say that?"

"Because you're thinking that now you'll have a chance to tongue him," Kye spat and Reese made a face. "Lawson, how is Nathan doing?"

"He's... not great," Lawson admitted. "I don't know. I just wish I could take his mind off of it. Just for a little bit, you know?"

Kye nodded in understanding, and then his eyes got a little brighter. "Hey, my friend I got dinner with last night mentioned that there was going to be a party at one of the frat houses tomorrow night. We should go and you could bring Nathan along. I think it'd be a good distraction".

Lawson was going to decline the offer- since going to parties with Reese was exhausting- but he realized he really didn't have a real reason he couldn't go to the party, and it could potentially take Nathan's mind off Glenn. He huffed, and then mumbled, "I'll shoot him a text and see".

Reese made a high pitched squealing noise that had Kye swinging the pillow at him again, this time with better aim, and Lawson ignored the two of them in favor of focusing on his message, trying to find the best way to phrase it. If Nathan opened his phone to the words, wanna go to a party with Kye and Reese, he would surely decline the offer. 

A/N AHHHH I didn't know how to end this one so it just seems so awkward, but I'm a little awkward myself, so I figured I could get away with it.