Hanschen was stalking his prey. From his seat at the edge of the classroom, his eyes were fixated on the back of his head. Ernst. Sweet, innocent, entirely oblivious Ernst. He had no idea of the affect he'd been having on Hanschen, that the boy at the back of the class was watching his every move, studying each glorious, dark, silky strand of hair upon his head. Hanschen knew the intensity of his stare must be strong enough to bore a hole through the back of Ernest's head, and was amazed that the boy did not feel the eyes so intently fixated upon his body. But that was Ernst. He was brilliant in the classroom, but when it came to the real world, he could be so clueless sometimes; something could be right under his nose and he still would never notice. Hanschen let his eyes trail from the top of Ernst's head, down along the gentle curve of his neck, where the hair gave way to milky white skin. He wanted to run his fingers through that hair, trail his fingers down that neck, press his lips against that—
"Class dismissed!" The teacher barked, snapping Hanschen out of his reverie. The boys all began to stand up and gather their things.
"Well, I'm off," said one of the boys, slinging his bag over his shoulder and walking out of the classroom.
"Me too," piped Ernst behind him, in the sweetest voice Hanschen had ever heard. He had to act now. Now was the time to pounce.
In two strides, he was across the classroom and by Ernst's side.
"I'll walk with you," he said confidently, placing a firm hand on Ernst's arm. The delicate boy looked up at Hanschen with genuine surprise, and—could it be—fear? Hanschen wasn't sure, but he wasn't going to give Ernst the chance to say no.
"Come on," he said, guiding Ernst towards the door, "We'll huddle over the Homer. Maybe even do a little Achilles and Patroclus," he added suggestively. Really! How hard did he have to hint before the boy got the message? The thought of huddling with Ernst made the beast inside Hanschen growl with delight, and, if he wasn't mistaken, he could see a quiver shake the boy's body as the same thought passed through his own mind. But Ernst just said "Alright" and followed him out the door, wide-eyed like a lamb, an innocent lamb, unquestionably following along. Little did he know he was following a wolf.