Chapter One
Today was difficult. Mordred sighed as sat his bag down on his desk. The kids at his school were a bunch of little shits. He looked in to the mirror and winced at the bruise forming on his eye, which didn't really help the pain. The only bright part of his day was seeing the man again. His messy black hair and bright blue eyes enraptured Mordred in a way he had never experienced. He didn't even know the man's name yet he felt something. He didn't understand! Was it possible to fall in love with someone he had never even met?
He laid down on his bed and put the ice pack he had grabbed in the kitchen on his eye. He really hoped he could get the swelling down before Morgana came home. She had adopted him after his mother and her sister had died. Taking care of him had to be difficult, so he tried to keep her from finding out about the school bullies. Deciding not to ponder on that, his thoughts returned back to the man.
Mordred knew he was a nurse which meant he was both far too old and out of his league. Yet, he longed to talk to him. Be apart of his life. The only time the 17-almost 18- year old saw him was at the coffee shop, always with someone. A beautiful light brown woman with dark hair and dark eyes. A gorgeous man with blond and blue eyes. They were all happy, even when worn out and tired. Mordred wished to have some of that happiness. Alas, life seemed to have different plans for him.
A door open and Morgana's voice wafted up to his room. He quickly went to the mirror and looked at his eye, noticing the swelling had gone down some. He tried to cover it as much as he could with make up. Morgana would believe the "I'm just really clumsy, no really" story for long. Clambering down the stairs, he hoped that maybe she just wouldn't notice.
"What the hell happened to your eye?", of course nothing actually got passes Morgana.
"I accidentally ran into a locker. I know, I know. I'm clumsy. Quit looking at me like that...", he grumbled the last part. Her look turned disbelieving but she didn't comment further. For that he was grateful. Nothing good ever came from getting help.
"Some of my friends are coming over for dinner tonight. Including my idiot of a half-brother. You haven't seen him since you we're a small child, but I'm sure you'll remember him." He nodded and wondered just how many were coming. His face must have been weird because she told him to quit grimacing and that he would like them. Well, most of them. He resigned himself to a night of adults getting drunk and loud.
At a quarter to six, Mordred sat on the couch trying to not have an anxiety attack. Everything would go horribly. They would think him weird and think his silence as rude. How was he supposed to do this? He looked down an saw his fingers shaking. He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. The doorbell rang, causing him to jump. He listened as Morgana opened the door and greeted the guests.
Voices traveled to the living room, getting louder the closer they got. When he saw the group of five, his eyes widened. It was the man and his two friends(there was also another man but Mordred was freakin out to much to really notice him)! They were here! Oh god, how could this be? His breathing quickened and he made some excuse about having to use the bathroom. He got out of the room as quick as he could, not wanting to see the looks he was sure he was getting. He closed the bathroom door and slumped against it. Trying to catch his breath, but to no avail, he went to the sink and splashed some water on his face. How could they be here? Oh shit, one of them was Arthur! He was related to one of them! Deciding that he didn't really want to go down that path, he tried to change his mind. What could he think about? Uhh, his favorite band was coming to town! And he was excited! Yes, most definitely excited. Say Anything had helped him through so much. He kept just running useless thoughts through his head until he calmed down enough to go outside. Splashing his face with water once more, he readied himself.
A couple minutes later, he went back out to the living room were everyone was seated and chatting amicably. The black haired man was sitting next to the blond. The dark skinned woman sat next to a tan man that Mordred was just not registering. They were all extremely attractive.
"Mordred, these are my friends Merlin, Gwen, and Lance.", Morgana pointed at them and lastly pointed at the blond," and this is my dear brother, Arthur. You've only met once and you were just a toddler, so I don't expect you to remember him." Mordred nodded and waved.
Merlin-Mordred felt exuberance at finally knowing his name-smiled kindly at him and asked for his age.
"Seventeen...", Mordred replied nervously.
"Remember how much fun we had when we were seventeen?", Arthur nudged Merlin and grinned suggestively at him. We're they together? Mordred felt a piece of his heart breaking, even though, deep down, he knew nothing would ever come of it. Merlin rolled his eyes.
"Dinner's ready, if you guys wanna come eat!" The group made various noises of approval and followed his Aunt into the kitchen. This is going to be a very long dinner, of this he was sure.