"It's not a party until someone almost fucking dies."
Thanks emospritelet XD
Rumbelle in chapter 2 ;)
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Gideon couldn't take his eyes off of him. Perhaps it was the two beers he had already downed that inhibited his focus, or maybe it was because he looked so pretty in the reds and blues of the color-changing light, but Gideon could not take his eyes off Roderick Gray to save his life.
"Okay Gid," Alice snarked as she jabbed him in the side with her sharp elbow. "Quit with the stalking."
Gideon rubbed his side, glaring at his friend. "I'm not stalking…just admiring."
Alice took the beer he hadn't finished from his hand and downed it down in three gulps before returning her attention to her friend's predicament.
"I say you go talk to him," She nodded definitely. "The vultures are already starting to circle."
Gideon followed her gaze to a small cluster of girls who were giggling and setting their depraved bedroom eyes on an otherwise oblivious Roderick.
A fire ran through Gideon's chest, blooming heat that sought to scourge anyone who would dare harm the gentle man. It was a ridiculous feeling to have for someone he'd only smiled at since laying eyes on him.
The first time he ever saw him was his sophomore year of college. He and Alice were in some kind of CORE class that Gideon had been secretly reading through the majority of. Though he didn't remember the subject or even the final grade he made, he remembered Roderick with intense detail.
He remembered the soft, barely audible drawl of his voice (though not necessarily the words), the way the overhead lights of the lecture hall highlighted his mass of black curls, and, more permanently, the way a heated blush would burn his pale cheeks whenever the professor praised him for a correct response.
Gideon hadn't acted on his attraction for Roderick. He'd seen him with both girl and guys and was convinced that such a beautiful person had to have a significant other.
However, Roderick was usually alone when Gideon saw him on campus and had come to the party by himself (not that Gideon had been watching him or anything).
He looked uninterested in the going-ons around him, having refilled the solo cup in his hands twice. When he made eye-contact with the three drunks, he smiled awkwardly, his eyes widening with panic when they advanced forward.
"They're about to snatch 'em!" Alice sang.
With a huff, Gideon snatched Alice's beer, drowning the last dregs before setting it down and stalking to Roderick's aid.
"Get 'em!" Alice cheered after him. "I'm going to find my future wife!"
Gideon stepped between the girls and Roderick, causing her to bump into Gideon's back (and he, subsequently into Roderick).
It was the lack of distance that Gideon finally noticed how intensely blue Roderick's eyes were, and how he was a good half-foot taller than the dark-haired boy, who smiled shyly up at him.
"The hell you fucker!" One of the girls slurred.
Gideon cringed, glancing back to see that despite the massive amounts of alcohol they had consumed, the girls were quick to recover.
He shot back to Roderick.
"Hi there. Gideon Gold. You have no idea who I am but I would really like to get to know you."
Roderick stared at him and then back at the girls.
(His eye were so wide damn it how is anyone that cute?!)
"I…think we should discuss this elsewhere." Roderick stated with quiet confidence.
"Yeah…" Gideon nodded, his heart fluttering wildly.
Without thinking, he grabbed Roderick's hand, flinching when he one of the girl screamed drunkenly after them as they pushed through the crowd of bodies.
"I think she's after us," Roderick said over the booming music.
Gideon looked at him and then around, looking for the nearest exit. He could make out a door in the shadowy light and prayed it led to the outside world. He pulled Roderick to it without a thought, pulling the door open and letting the dark-haired man in before him, slipping in quickly and going instantly blind from the endless darkness.
Gideon instantly realized that he hadn't led them to an exit at all, but a closet, and Roderick was still holding onto his hand.
"This…is not what I had in mind." Gideon tried to reassure Roderick as he began to notice how soft his hand was in his own.
"Really? The constant watching me from afar has me thinking you planned this. I'm surprised there isn't candles and a three-course meal waiting for us."
Gideon's gut turned. He knew. He didn't sound angry, but years of affirmative consent had been hammered in his head, and while he had never thought that watching Roderick from afar was a bad thing, he understood entirely if the act that unsettled the young man.
He would never want that.
"I'm…I'm so sorry Roderick," Gideon stuttered. "I just…I didn't know how…I'm sorry!" he felt for the door handle but stilled when Roderick's unoccupied hand brushed past his chest and hit the door.
"Ow…no, I'm not mad or freaked out!" Roderick reassured frantically. "I just…I was just wondering if you were ever going to say anything."
Gideon hoped Roderick was confusing his pounding heart for the music outside; and also hoped he didn't die from heart palpitations in front of his crush. How humiliating would that be?
He calmed himself with a deep breath, recalling his mother's lesson on bravery.
And his father's lessons on flirting—ketchup came up a lot for some reason.
He decided to combine the two.
"Well, I'm…shy." Gideon shrugged. He heard Roderick chuckle, and Gideon wondered if he was blushing too.
"Are you…shy now?" Roderick asked in a voice so sultry Gideon's knees shook.
This whole exchange reminded him of the plot from one of the god-awful romance novels his mother had stashed away in the back of the library. In those books the main characters had no chemistry and were in bed by the third chapter.
While he was certain he and Roderick had chemistry, he wasn't sure if either one them were ready to jump into the bed.
Would a closet do?
He could feel Roderick's warm breath on his throat.
"God you're tall." Roderick giggled as Gideon hands felt carefully for his waist.
"Nah, you're just…short." Gideon chortled as he pressed his nose into the top of his curly head. He smelled so clean…like fresh-out-of-the-dryer clothes.
So lost in his scent, Gideon couldn't concentrate on keeping his footing and he and Roderick stumbled back, a curse and the sound of wood breaking and objects falling told Gideon that he had fucked up.
"Shit!" Gideon exclaimed as he gained his footing. "Roderick, are you okay?"
Roderick's lack of response was the beginning of the scariest hours of Gideon Gold's life.
Roderick groaned in pain, and Gideon felt frantically for the doorknob, cursing when he didn't find it quick enough and busting the door down with his sharp knee and shoulder.
People screamed as Gideon pushed through the remains of the door, the jagged edges cutting into his shirt as he pulled Roderick out. Gideon barely noticed the chaos as he assessed him. He thought at first the red on his face was from the strobe light, but when his fingers grazed the sides of his face he felt the warm sticky substance of blood.
"Gideon killed Roderick!" someone yelled, causing the crowd to go into a panic.
A calming authority pushed through the crowd, yelling at the drunkards as they scrambled around in search for an exit.
The hand of the authority touched Gideon's shoulder, causing the spaces of his mind to come back together.
Robyn Hood-Mills rich green eyes searched his before turning to the blood-covered Roderick.
"Oh shit dude…"
"Holy fuck!" Alice exclaimed as she stumbled on to the scene. "Gideon, the fuck did you do to him!"
"I didn't do this, he fell!" Gideon protested as he leaned stabilized Roderick by his side.
Robyn, who seemed to be the only one who still had their wits about them, leaned the frantic Alice against the wall and went to Roderick's side to assess him more closely.
"We need something to stop the bleeding. Does anyone have a towel?" she called out to the remaining onlookers.
On instinct, Gideon unbuttoned his shirt and slipped it under Roderick's head. Robyn quickly helped him tie the tourniquet and then sling Roderick's his other arm over her shoulders. She noticed that Roderick was starting to pass out and turned a commanding look to the rest of the group.
"Alright, Gideon, help me get him to my car. Alice, make a path."
"Right!" Alice saluted, looking around and grabbing a few beer cans to toss at the onlookers.
"Get out of the way assholes!" she yelled, sending drunkards flying and crawling out of the way.
Gideon could have carried Roderick out on his own, but the fear and adrenaline coursing through his views had him shaking from head to toe. All he could think about was the last time he saw Roderick's face—his clear blue eyes and wide smile. If Roderick didn't wake up again, Gideon would be held accountable for murdering someone so innocent.
With Alice as a guard and with Robyn's athletic strength, they reached Robyn's car in no time. The girls helped situate Gideon in the back so that Roderick could lean on him. He didn't realize just how cold he was until Robyn cranked up the heat and the air cooled the drying blood on Gideon's chest.
"Hit the gas babe!" Alice exclaimed as she jumped into the car and struggled with the seatbelt.
Robyn didn't have to be told twice. She was zooming into the street towards the hospital—thirty minutes away.
Gideon could somehow hear his heart pounding over the loud engine. More importantly, he could pick out Roderick's terrifyingly low breathing. The only thing he could think to do was wrap an arm around him and hold his hand over his damp head.
"I'm sorry Roderick." He whispered as he kissed his curls. "I'm going to fix this I promise."
Robyn had barely stopped the car at the hospital entrance when Gideon threw open the door and started pulling Roderick out.
"Easy Gid!" Robyn exclaimed as Alice ran inside to grab a nurse. She helped him bring Roderick in just as a nurse wheeled a gurney to them, a doctor quickly following.
"What happened?" the doctor questioned as he shined a light in Roderick's eyes.
"I…he…" Gideon couldn't get the words out, could barely breath for that matter.
He got hurt because of me.
"He fell at a party." Robyn answered for him. "We didn't see what he fell on."
The doctor nodded and began pushing Roderick to an unknown destination, motioning for a nurse to keep the other from following.
Robyn and Alice relented but Gideon tried to push his way through.
"Wait, where are you taking him!"
"I'm sorry but only family is allowed past this point." The nurse stated formally, turning to shove a clipboard into his hands.
"Fill this out, and we'll get back to you as soon as he's in the clear."
"But…" Gideon began to protest but the nurse has already stalked off. Gideon felt like throwing the clipboard at the back of her head.
"It'll be alright Gid," Alice promised as she squeezed his shoulder. "He's going to be fine."
"I should be back there with him." Gideon cried.
"You're here for him, that's all that matters." Robyn assured him, eyeing him up and down. "Now um…do you want us to find you a shirt?"
Gideon glanced down at his bare chest, just now noticing his lack of clothing.
"Um…maybe. Do you think you can find out where Roderick lives? I'm sure he'll want a change of clothes…"
"On it!" Alice saluted, turning a bit unsteadily to the exit. It always took her so long to sober up.
Robyn rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "You sure you'll be okay here by yourself?"
"Yeah," Gideon assured, forcing a smile. "I'll call you…if anything changes."
Robyn nodded and ran off to catch up with her girlfriend before she got to the car.
Gideon's hand shook as he tried to fill out the paperwork, his mind reeling with red images of guilt and Roderick blue eyes.
The stray tears falling from his cheeks were smearing the ink on the paper. He forced himself to calm down. Roderick needed him to stay calm.
Once he filled out Roderick's physical traits, he paused at the empty boxes needing his insurance information. A brief wave of fear ran down his spine when he imagined the doctor denying Roderick help without health insurance.
He hesitated, not entirely sure if the idea would work, but finally decided to thoroughly scrat out Roderick's name and put in his own, followed by his insurance information.
The nurse simply took the clipboard from him when he slid it onto her desk. He waited for her address him with news of Roderick, but her attention stayed glued to the computer.
"Any updates?" Gideon inquired as politely as possible.
"It's only been ten minutes. Go sit down or go home." She stated firmly.
Gideon held his tongue, not wanting to risk being thrown out by security.
He sat down and mulled over how he wished the night had gone, how much he wanted to kiss Roderick and start something with him afterwards.
He swore then and there—shirtless and shivering on the hospital bench—that if Roderick survived this and still wanted anything to do with him, he'd make up for all the time he wasted.
Damn him for wasting so much time.