Lilies for a Lifetime

Chapter 16 // It Was Just a Joke

First year out of college / Age 23...

Hayden and Vincent have had their hands full with a plethora of move-in boxes. Sweat is gathered in Vincent's brow and Hayden is on the verge of having one of his dramatic breakdowns where he lays on the floor and refuses to do anything more, but the brunette is happy to finally have an apartment to himself where he can spend almost every waking moment next to Vincent...at least, however long Vincent will actually put up with his ass on a day to day basis.

Vincent won't admit it, but he has been looking forward to officially moving in with his boyfriend. Although they roomed in the same dorm over the course of their four years of college, this is the next chapter of their future together, and Vincent can't wait to see more of Hayden's chaotic, bizarre, ridiculous, needy, demanding, sassy, and extra chaotic personality come to light.

The couple has had a rough turn of events the past few months, so they are ready to look forward to something new.

Hayden refused to admit it, but Vincent could tell that finally being out of college scared the crap out of him. Hayden's sense of boyishness has always defined him but now he feels the pressure of truly acting like an adult, no matter how many times Vincent says that he is free to be whoever he wants.

For the fairly low number of teachers in the nation, it wasn't hard for Vincent to find employment. The school willing to take him in was in a wonderful town and they helped him settle in as best as they could. For Hayden, though, the job search was repetitive, long, and harsh. Months and months on end went by of interviews, emails, phone calls, and resume checks but nothing was working out for the boy who turned his life around in college. After multiple rejections, Hayden felt a weight continuously pressing down on his shoulders and his thoughts of self-deprecation began to heighten. However, after a storm comes a rainbow. Vincent had to encourage Hayden to get out of bed almost every day at the overwhelming combination of failure and post-college depression weighing him down, but he was finally hired by a firm that is less than an hour away from Vincent's school.

Although Vincent has already been integrated into the system and is assigned a wonderful teacher to fulfill his student teaching internship with, Hayden hasn't been tossed into the lion's den at his job yet. His first day is in about a week, and for such a complex career, Hayden is scared of fucking it all up in the presence of his boyfriend who is nearly perfection when it comes to figuring his life out. Hayden can't keep up with him, but he also doesn't realize that Vincent has never asked him to.

Nonetheless, Vincent and Hayden's move-in process is slowly becoming less and less productive as some of their helpers start getting thirsty, cranky, or both. The goal was to get everything done by today, but with the way Hayden collapses in the middle of the walkway after setting down a particularly light box, it looks like they are going to have to take a small break.

"Hey, Vincent, where do you want me to put this?" Kai asks, his limbs shaking with how heavy his box is.

"Just put it anywhere," Vincent says with a flick of his hand. "I have to hold a quick intervention, if you don't mind."

Kai laughs and opens the nearly empty fridge to grab a juice pouch, instantly causing Vance and Valerie to scramble over as well. The twins dropped their small boxes without a care in the world, and judging by the loud crash that follows, some broken glass is going to be a nice surprise when Hayden and Vincent begin unpacking.

Speaking of Hayden, Vincent strolls over to his boyfriend with a smile, kneeling next to the seemingly exhausted man.

Hayden throws his arm over his face and says, "I can't anymore, Vinny. I'm too pretty to be doing all this manual labor."