Salutations! I hope you enjoy this lovely bit of grahamscott~
Warnings: Cursing, brief hints of self harm, GrahamScott, nerd references. Yup
Important Note: This was published previous to the release of episode 5!
Warren glanced up from his computer keyboard, looking around in confusion. Nothing had fallen off any of his shelves, his lamp hadn't fallen over...his floor was as bare as it had been an hour ago. He pulled his headphones off, settling them around his neck, his eyes narrowing. If nothing had fallen to the floor...what had made that sound?
As though sensing his thoughts, another loud thump sounded through his room, making Warren jump.
He closed his laptop, cautiously settling his headphones on top of it. He climbed to his feet, going to stand in the middle of the room, his eyes swinging around.
It was the middle of the night - he didn't figure Evan would be up making noise at that hour. That only left...
A third thump sounded, coming from Warren's left side. He immediately whirled on his feet, glaring. Of course.
The noise hadn't been coming from inside his room as he had initially thought - the loud thumping had been coming from the other side of his wall.
The other side of his wall... otherwise known as Nathan Prescott's room.
Warren heaved a heavy sigh, running a hand through his hair. Really, being neighbors to Nathan wasn't that bad: The guy was typically out late with parties, coming back in the early morning...but he never made much noise, seemingly crashing not long after his return.
Really, the only downside Warren had really noticed was that the vent in Warren's room ran through Nathan's...which caused Warren's room to perpetually stink like a 1960s van.
Until that night, that is.
Warren heard more thumping, accompanied by soft talking. He glanced at the clock on his nightstand, noticing that it was nearly three in the morning. Warren was exhausted, having just finished typing out a long essay for Ms. Hoida, and he had been hoping to crash as soon as he was done. However, with all the noise Nathan was making, he would be lucky to get any sleep.
Warren sighed, walking heavily over to his door, pulling it open. He really didn't want to do this, but he really needed his sleep.
Warren hadn't interacted with Nathan beyond a few rare instances - and said instances had been far from pleasant.
Nathan, from what Warren could tell, was your typical rich-kid archetype: Super rich, super popular, and also a giant ass. If Warren was being completely serious, though, the only way to describe Nathan Prescott was "one-dimensional".
Warren trudged the few feet down the hall to Nathan's door, before merely standing in front of it and giving it an annoyed look. He had once caught a glimpse of the inside of that room on the way to the showers, and had immediately noticed the guy's sick projector set up. Of course, the one-dimensional guy that probably didn't even like good movies got the killer set up while Warren was stuck with an eight-inch-by-eight-inch junky box tv complete with an actual VCR.
Warren sighed. He was just making himself more mad standing there and contemplating shit. All he needed to do was knock on Nathan's bedroom door, tell the guy to keep it down, then go back to his room for some shut eye.
Taking a fortifying breath, Warren boldly knocked on Nathan's door. Then he waited a few minutes.
No answer.
Warren frowned, knocking again. Same results.
Pressing his ear up against the door, he could still hear the thumping and quiet talking from within. Warren felt his anger building. He slammed his fist against the door as hard as he could, several times, before saying, "I know you're in there!"
The voice coming from within got a little louder. This time, Warren could distinguish the words, even if he couldn't tell exactly who was speaking.
"-okay...it's okay...e-everything...j-just...take d-deep breaths..."
Warren pulled back, blinking. What was that all about?
He jumped back further, when a loud yell erupted from the room. "Stop! Leave me ALONE!"
Warren immediately jumped into action - he wasn't sure what was going on, but all he knew was that he had to save whoever was in that room from the creepy Prescott boy.
Warren grabbed ahold of the doorknob, figuring he'd have to break it to get in. However, when he twisted and pushed, it merely opened.
Warren stood in the doorway, his eyes swinging around frantically, trying to figure out who was being hurt, and a way to save them.
Only...
There was only one person in the room. And that was Nathan Prescott.
Warren blinked, confused. His eyes swung around the room, noticing how the spotless room he had glimpsed that one time before was now completely trashed - that had probably been what caused all the thumping.
And then there was Nathan.
The shouting had immediately ceased upon Warren's entrance into the room, however, it was obvious that the shouting had been coming from Nathan.
He had pushed himself into the corner of the room, and had curled up into a small ball. He was rocking back and forth, slightly, and his fingernails dug into his skin so deeply, that there were little dark smudges that indicated he had drawn blood.
But the worst thing about him was his face. The absolute terror and confusion that resided there caused Warren's breath to catch in his throat - never before, had he glimpsed such agony in one expression. His normally well-kept hair hung in his face, looking tangled as though he had ran his hands through it. And his eyes...
Warren swallowed hard, biting his lip. He shouldn't be seeing this. He shouldn't be seeing Nathan, the perfect one-dimensional stereotypical dude have a mental break down. He shouldn't be seeing the flushed cheeks and red eyes of a person that had been crying, nor the tormented expression morphing his features.
Warren looked down at the messy floor. He shouldn't be seeing the impenetrable Nathan Prescott with his walls collapsed - it was something way too intimate, something way too personal.
It was something Warren was not equipped to comprehend, let alone deal with.
"W-what..." Warren's head shot up at hearing Nathan speak. His tear-filled eyes were staring right at Warren. "What the f-fuck are you d-doing in here?!"
Warren swallowed hard. Nathan had yet to move from that spot in the corner, and in spite of his words, he sounded completely undone.
Warren felt himself take a step forward, rather than backward. His mouth opened, seemingly of its own volition, as he said, "Are you okay?"
Nathan's nails dug further into his arm, as he bit out, "I'm...fine...now get the fuck away."
Warren knew it would have been the wise and smart thing, the thing that would be more self-preservation-oriented, the Slytherin thing, to walk out right then and there. However, Warren wasn't a Slytherin.
He was a Gryffindor.
At least according to the test he took on Pottermore.
Warren quietly shut the door, before maneuvering around the mess on the floor. He knelt in front of Nathan, his eyebrows furrowed.
"You don't look okay..."
"Get the f-fuck outta my face!" Nathan snapped. Warren flinched back, as Nathan's eyes looked like they alone could murder him. However, that slight stutter in his speaking made Warren hesitate.
"You...were making a lot of noise..." Warren said quietly. Nathan's mouth clicked shut, his jaw clenching. His eyes dropped down, staring at his knees determinedly. "I was...worried something might have been happening."
It was a lie, of course - Warren had only wanted Nathan to shut up so that he could get some sleep...but he doubted telling Nathan that would be a very wise decision.
However, Nathan didn't seem to react well to that statement either. He pulled his knees closer to his chest, his face looking pained.
"Don't...lie to me Graham."
Warren blinked. He didn't even think Nathan knew his name. "I...I'm not lying!"
"Yeah fucking right," Nathan snapped. Warren noticed his eyes were beginning to look really unfocused. "Don't pretend to care! I don't need your fucking pity! Now g-get..."
Nathan took a shuddering breath, before burying his face in his knees. His shoulders were shaking slightly.
"Just...leave...please..." Nathan said so quietly, that Warren could barely hear the words.
Warren winced. Nathan looked so...small. So defeated. His hair was messy, his body was shaky... He wasn't even wearing his normal preppy clothing, instead wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and a loose t shirt.
Studying him closer, Warren even noticed scars, most looking rather old, some looking kind of new, littering his upper arm.
Warren was tempted to leave. That same nagging he had felt earlier, that feeling that he was seeing something he ought not, was wriggling around in his mind. At the same time, however, he knew he couldn't leave.
Warren made himself more comfortable on the floor, scooting around to sit beside Nathan. Their sides touched, and Warren marveled at how cold he was.
Nathan glanced at Warren, attempting to glare at him, but the effects were lost due to the tears swimming in his eyes.
Warren hesitated, before yanking a blanket off the bed, wrapping it around the two of them.
Nathan continued to stare at Warren. Finally, he spoke, "W-what is it about "leave" d-don't you-"
"I don't know you."
Warren took a deep breath, surprised as Nathan by his sudden speaking. "I mean...I know who you are. You're Nathan Prescott. I know what everyone thinks about who you are, and what I think about who you are, but...I don't really know...you?"
Nathan turned his head away, his eyes distant. He rested his chin on his knees, pulling the blanket tighter around himself. Warren almost thought Nathan wasn't going to speak, when he finally said, "I'm not someone you should want to know."
Warren gave a small shrug. "Isn't that for me to decide?"
Nathan glanced at him once more, his eyes skeptical. He shivered slightly, and Warren put an arm around his shoulders without a second thought. They both blushed, looking away.
After a long pause, Nathan sighed, before speaking. "You're...one fucking weird guy, Warren Graham."
Warren smiled slightly. "Yeah..."
Warren felt himself relaxing, the longer he sat there by Nathan, and he also felt Nathan's shakes begin to lessen as well.
"So..." Warren said awkwardly. "I...mean... Are you okay?"
Nathan shifted slightly, his teeth digging into his lip. "Would you believe me if I said I was?"
"Nopity nope."
"I didn't figure you would..." Nathan sighed again, resting his forehead on his knees.
Warren hesitated. He didn't know Nathan...but really, did he KNOW anyone?
Warren gently turned Nathan's face to his, placing a small kiss on his forehead, without giving himself time to decide against the action.
Nathan didn't immediately push him away, though, instead, his bloodshot eyes opening wide, and a blush tinging his cheeks.
Warren blushed deeply as well. "U...u-uh... What I meant...by uh...doing that...I mean...I think you'll be alright. You know. Eventually?"
Nathan leaned his head on Warren's shoulder, causing him to jump. "You suck at this."
Warren chuckled awkwardly. "Y-yeah... Well, in my defense, it's super late, and like, I don't know how to flirt that well."
Nathan froze. Warren's eyes widened, when he realized what he said.
"N-n-not that I'm flirting! I'm just being nice! And stuff! Yeah..." Warren took a deep breath, letting it out. "As I said...it's like...late."
Nathan pulled at Warren, and somehow, they ended up laying down on the floor, that blanket wrapped around the two of them, as they stared at the darkened ceiling.
"Well..." Nathan said awkwardly, "then sh-shut up and go to sleep, already..."
The floor was surprisingly comfortable, and soon, Nathan was breathing heavily, his arms still wrapped around Nathan.
Never, when he shut down his game of D&D, did he think he would end the night snuggling with Nathan Prescott on the floor of said guy's room, after he had a sort of mental breakdown.
And yet...Warren was quite happy things turned out that way.
A/N I'm sorry this took forever! I became obsessed with the Warren in crocs meme, thanks to my Tumblr-wife. In any case, I hope you enjoyed reading this!
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