Everything Meant Nothing | Part 9: He Looked at Me Like That Again (Patreon)

I woke up groggy, my head heavy, mouth dry, and ankle; absolutely screaming. The pain had flared overnight, stiff and hot, throbbing...

All characters depicted in this story are fictional and 18 years of age or older. Everything portrayed is safe, sane, and consensual.

Part 9: He Looked at Me Like That Again | The Way He Looks at Me

I woke up groggy, my head heavy, mouth dry, and ankle; absolutely screaming. The pain had flared overnight, stiff and hot, throbbing with every small movement. I hissed under my breath and blinked toward the foot of the bed.

My leg was propped up neatly on a pillow. Elevated. Positioned like someone actually knew what they were doing. I hadn’t done that. It must have been Theo.

I stared at it for a moment, heart thudding, until I heard the knock.

The door cracked open and Min poked his head in. His eyes widened instantly. “Holy shit, you’re awake,” he said, stepping inside. “Sorry, I should’ve come last night. We ended up crashing at Yuki’s. Her roommates got too messy, and we didn’t want to risk walking back.”

He walked over to my bed, still blinking at the sight of my ankle. “What happened? Dude...are you okay?”

“I..uh. Yeah. I just… tripped.”

“Tripped?”“Yeah. At the arcade. Sprained it.”

Min looked stunned. “Wait. You went to the arcade?”

“I kind of left the party early. Theo was there. He—”

The door opened again.

Theo stepped in like the scene was rehearsed. His eyes flicked from Min to me without any real change in expression. He was in black joggers and the same fitted black t-shirt from last night. His hair was still slightly tousled, eyes calm and unreadable.

He held something in his hand. I couldn’t tell what it was at first. Just that his grip was firm, purposeful. He crossed the room without a word, then held out a glass of water in one hand. And in the other, two small white tablets.

“Here,” he said. “Take these. Should help with the pain.”

I stared for a second, caught off guard.

Theo nodded toward my hand. “You should take them before it gets worse.” His voice was calm. Even. Like this was just something he did every day. Like it didn’t mean anything.

But it did. At least to me.I reached out and took the pills, our fingers brushing again. Just for a second. But his skin was warm. Steady. I felt it deeper than I wanted to admit. He handed over the water. I took it with a quiet thanks, and sat back against the headboard, the glass and tablets hovering near my mouth.

Min raised an eyebrow. “Aren’t you supposed to take those after you’ve eaten something?”

Too late. I threw the tablets into my mouth and chased them with a long gulp of water.

Theo blinked, then gave a small shake of his head, almost like he wanted to say something but thought better of it. “What. You haven't eaten?. I’ll order you some food. Sandwich?”

I nodded, still trying to keep my face neutral, not give away the way my heart was thudding.Without another word, he turned and left, the door clicking shut behind him. Min was already moving before the sound had faded. He climbed up onto the bed, completely forgetting my ankle until I hissed.

“Ah- Careful” I said, flinching.

“Shit. Sorry.” He backed off a little, sitting beside me, arms folded. “Okay. Now can you tell me what the hell is going on?”

I looked at him. “What do you mean?”

He gave me a look like he couldn’t believe I was playing dumb. “That! Theo. Acting like he’s your boyfriend or something. Did I miss a whole relationship arc while I was asleep?”

I sighed. “He’s just being nice.”

Min scoffed. “Nice? No, no, no. I’ve lived with Theo for a year, and trust me; he doesn’t do ‘just nice.’ He doesn’t do much of anything unless he absolutely has to. And this? Bringing you water, painkillers, offering breakfast? That’s not nothing.”

“It’s not a thing, either,” I said. “We left the party. Went to an arcade. Played some games. I tripped. He helped.”

Min raised an eyebrow. “He helped. As in… what, gave you a lift?”

I hesitated. “Uhm… he carried me.”

Min’s jaw dropped. “He what?”

“From the arcade to the car,” I said quickly. “It wasn’t a big deal.”

“Oh my God,” Min said, clapping a hand to his chest like he was witnessing a proposal. “That’s literally the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. Do you understand how romantic that is?”“It doesn’t mean anything,” I muttered, heat crawling up my neck.

“It totally means something,” Min said, already scrambling for his phone. “I’m calling Yuki. She needs to hear this.”

“Min—”

“Nope. You don’t get to stop this,” he said, heading toward the door. “This is breaking news. Emergency boyfriend update. Babe, you’re not gonna believe this-” His voice faded as the door swung shut behind him.

I sat there, ankle throbbing, face burning. I pressed the back of my hand to my cheek, trying to will away the flush.

A week ago, Theo wouldn’t even look at me. He barely spoke. Lived like a shadow in our flat, only emerging for the gym or to slip past us with headphones on and that unreadable face. I’d written him off as one of those brooding straight guys who only spoke in grunts and lived in the gym because they couldn’t process emotions. And now...

Now he was carrying me home like I weighed nothing. Like it didn’t matter who was watching. He brought me painkillers. Said he’d order breakfast. Like it was normal. Like it was something people just did for each other.

But people don’t just do that.

Not when they’ve barely said two full sentences to you in a week. Not when they spent seven days avoiding eye contact and suddenly… now, they look at you like that.

I sat there, staring at the closed door, water glass still in my hand, and tried to steady my thoughts. Was this just him being polite? Some awkward sense of flatmate obligation? Or was there more under the surface?

Because the way he looked at me last night; when he set me down on the bed, when our hands brushed, when our faces were so close we could’ve kissed and didn’t...it didn’t feel like nothing.

It felt like restraint.

And that was somehow worse.

Because I wanted to believe he was thinking about it too. That I wasn’t the only one lying awake wondering what the hell this was. I didn’t even know if I wanted something to happen or if I just wanted to be wanted. Maybe both.

God. What if I was reading this all wrong?

What if he was just being decent and I’d turned it into some fantasy in my head?

I pressed the heel of my hand against my forehead. Breathed out.

There were too many questions.

But one thing was becoming clear.

This wasn’t nothing. Not to me. Not anymore.______________Bonus Scene : Let Me Have You Slow Tonight Part 1 | Everything Meant NothingI hope you guys are enjoying this story so far <3. The next arc is Arc 4: When It Starts to Mean SomethingTroy didn’t come to the UK looking for love. He came to forget. To move on. But things with Theo aren’t nothing anymore-not after the way he looks at him, not after the way he touched him. As lines blur and moments linger, Troy is forced to ask himself the question he’s been avoiding: what if this is real?