The Things He Noticed

by Katailia

It was the little things he noticed at first; the abundance of smiles and little e ever ready compliments and words of reassurance. The way they both gravitated towards him. Then he started to notice the bigger things; the jealousy, the need to be close, the way his smile made him feel. And then he realized what had happened. He had fallen. And he wasn't the only one.

A/N

I'm going to try and keep this short but sorry if I ramble.

This is my first fanfiction so I apologize if it's not amazing but any feedback/criticism is welcome as it will help me improve.

Also, I apologize if it seems like the plot sort of just changed abruptly because it sort of did. The story was originally going to be Felix X Sam but halfway through the first chapter the story decided to change its own course and I decided to just let it do what it wanted to do so I hope you enjoy whatever this jumble of words has become.

This fic deviates from the main plot of the show obviously. Going AU after the boys get home at the end of Season 1. They will still have elemental powers but other than that season 2 is non-existent in relevance to this story.

Disclosure: No matter how many stars I wish upon each night, I will never own anything besides the words I write.

The first thing he noticed, shortly after returning from the alternate universe, was how attached the four of them remained. Granted, they didn't spend as much time together as they did in the crazy-verse, for obvious reasons, considering they were no longer the only ones who knew they existed, but that didn't stop them from sharing short nods or smiles as they passed in the halls or a guaranteed hello each morning when they got to school. They still visited their little hideout in the woods every now and then, but for some of them it didn't feel frequent enough.

The second thing he started to notice was how, despite them all still being close, Sam seemed to be taking "close" to a new level with their resident magic man. Not that Felix paid any mind to it. But Jake did. He noticed the way Sam was always sparing glances in the Goth boy's direction in class or the quick smiles he'd flash him in the halls. How he would take every available opportunity to make physical contact with Felix, whether it be a hand on his shoulder, a pat on his back or even just the way he would scoot closer until his knee would brush against the other's whenever they were sitting near each other. He even caught Sam starring at Felix numerous times when the shorter boy thought no one was looking.

And the third thing, the third thing he noticed was how much he, Jake, hated it. How every time he saw Sam heading towards his goth boy he would either quicken his step and get there first, denying the other boy his oh so precious contact, or he would turn away and just focus on not causing an earthquake. It didn't take him long to realize what was happening. At some point, somewhere along the line Felix had become something special to him. And he was jealous. That was why he couldn't stand to watch as Sam immediately went in for a hug with the taller boy every time they would meet up, whether it be at their little shack, outside the school, the skate park, or even one of their house's. He doesn't know when it happened, or maybe he does; he just doesn't want to jump down that particular rabbit hole, but he knows for certain that he was doomed. He had somehow fallen for Felix, like from the top of the mountain all the way to six feet under ground. The same boy who only weeks before he had been making fun of and taking every opportunity to practically torture had somehow grabbed his attention in a way he didn't know was possible and he was royally screwed because of it. For he knew, he just knew that he couldn't go back to a life where he didn't know the boy like he does now. Because if he ever lost Felix, in any sense of the word, he too would be lost, in every sense of the word.

And Felix was completely oblivious, that was the fourth thing he noticed. Oblivious to the looks, the smiles, the quick touches, the encouragements and the complements. He was oblivious to all of it. That or he was really good at hiding it, pretending that he didn't notice. After all, he's proven to be rather good at keeping secrets and withholding information. But Jake's almost certain the other boy hasn't caught onto the looks he's been getting from the golden boy since they got back or notice the way Sam's face would always break into a smile when Felix came around. And if it Jake ever doubted that fact all he had to do was watch as Sam let his hand linger longer than it should on Felix's shoulder without any kind of reaction from the other boy, as if he didn't even notice the intended intimacy of the gesture.

The fifth and final thing he noticed was how Felix affected him. Sure, he had figured out early on that he was feeling jealousy when he noticed the way Sam was behaving towards the goth boy. But this was different. This was realizing that Felix only had to smile, just the briefest lifting of his lips, to send Jake's heart into overdrive and make his breath catch in his throat until he made himself look away so he could breathe again. And this was realizing that he didn't want to look away, because no matter how many times he saw that smile it was never enough. He wanted to know more, know everything, about this boy. To see that smile every day and be able to tell what it was hiding because, with Felix, a smile was never just a smile. There was always something going on inside that boy's head and there was only two ways so far that Jake knows to figure out what that something is; his smile and his eyes. Those were his tells, at least when it came to Jake that is.

And that, that was the first thing Felix noticed.