Chapter 2:
Eric walked quickly down the hall towards his appointed office, and he had to fight to keep a smile from dominating his face. He had been looking forward to talking to Grell again since their first meeting, but these past few days had seemed to crawl along on tired, lethargic feet. Finally, it was almost time to meet up once again, and he resisted the urge to whistle a happy tune as he walked along with a bag swing to the rhythm of his steps.
As he rounded the last corner, he was more than a little surprised to see Grell leaning against the wall next to his door. "You're early," he greeted the redhead, as he reached into his pocket to retrieve the keys.
Grell shrugged, "Don't have anywhere else to be," he said in a level tone, "and I mean that literally."
Eric frowned slightly as he studied his appearance. Grell's face was tense, his eyes as cold as two-toned emeralds, and, despite the appearance of a relaxed stance, his muscles were as taunt as strings on an overly tuned violin. You could practically feel the anger rolling off of him in waves, and Eric instinctively took a step back. "What's wrong? Did something happen?" he asked as he finding his keys became a distant thought.
Grell made an angry noise that sounded almost like a growl. "I called the Ethics professor a windbag," he answered, "and told him someone should put him in his place. He reported that I had threatened him, so I'm on suspension again. I'm not allowed to leave my room without an escort, and even then I can only go to class. I didn't think they'd even let me come here, but I guess they feel talking about my anger might be a good thing. Of course, you have to agree to escort to my room later." He took a step from the wall suddenly and kicked backwards with enough force to leave a hole. "Why do they keep treating me like this?" he demanded. "That professor knew I hadn't threatened him. Besides, I don't bother with threats."
"That wasn't right," Eric agreed, "but it's hard once you get a reputation. Trust me, I know." He gave the still stewing academy student what he hoped looked like a wise smile. "I packed us a little bite to eat." He lifted the bag so Grell would notice before continuing. "Let's get out of here and relax."
"But I'm not supposed to go anywhere," countered Grell, "If they see me out on the grounds, even with you, I'm sure I'll get written up again. The Academy Headmaster told me that if I get into trouble one more time, I'll have to start all over again, and I'll never be allowed to be in retrieval no matter what kind of grades I get."
"We won't go onto the grounds," offered Eric, "but we could go up to the roof. No one will see you up there, and, if anyone does say anything, I'll say it's all part of the therapy. Okay?"
Grell seemed to consider the matter for a few minutes. "Alright," he replied, "That should be okay, and I'm about to go crazy being stuck in a room all of the time." Pausing momentarily, he managed a small, strained smile. "Or maybe crazier, depending on who you ask."
Eric laughed softly as he laid his hand on one of Grell's shoulders. "At least you still have your sense of humor."
"And my stunning, good looks," Grell added with a chuckle of his own.
As they were preparing to leave, one of the custodial workers suddenly appeared and started down the hall, but then he noticed the hole in the wall where Grell had kicked in anger earlier. "What happened here?" he demanded gruffly.
Before Grell could say anything, Eric spoke up. "I slipped on a wet spot on the floor and my foot when through the wall," he answered, "Terribly sorry about that, but it's so easy to fall when these floors aren't cleaned properly."
Without another word, Eric led Grell down the hall and towards the stairs leading to the roof while the man from custodial desperately searched for a wet spot that didn't exist.
((X))
As it was every day in their false paradise, it looked beautiful outside and the view from the roof was impressive to the eye even knowing it was just an illusion. Eric wasn't admiring the scenery, however, as he kept his focus on the redhead sitting nearby; eating his sandwich with an angry gusto. "Slow down," Eric finally instructed, "I know I said it was tuna, but you don't have to attack it. It's already dead."
Grell turned towards him, his eyes flashing momentarily, and Eric briefly thought he had finally angered him, but then Grell smiled. Using his hand to cover his mouth, he laughed and nearly got choked on his sandwich. "Sorry, Eric," he apologized after swallowing the food in his mouth, "It's a good sandwich, and it was really nice for you to fix it. I'm just so mad right now." He paused for a moment as he looked down at all the students walking freely below. "If they ever ask you what makes me so angry, could you tell them I'm just sick of being treated so unfairly? So…differently?"
"I will," Eric agreed. He finished off the remaining bites of his sandwich before walking over to take a seat beside of Grell, who was positioned on the small wall that ran the perimeter of the roof. "It really isn't fair the way you're being treated. It would make anyone angry."
"Did they treat you like this too?" asked Grell, raising his eyes to look towards him and finishing his sandwich.
"In a way," answered the tall reaper, "but not quite as bad. I really did threaten a professor once."
"Really?" Grell's face lit up, and in that moment it was shining with a brilliance that could have rivaled their fake sun. "What happened?"
"I was taking the final batch of written exams," Eric explained, "and about halfway through, I had gotten tired so I stretched in my seat. Now, I'm a tall guy, so I stretch a long way. Suddenly, the professor starting yelling out, 'Slingby! You're trying to cheat. I saw you trying to look at the test behind you!' How he thought I was going to cheat by barely glancing at a paper that was upside down to me, I don't know. Maybe I should have taken it as a compliment, but I just so furious that I jumped up and told him that I wasn't cheating. When he tried to insist that I was, I told him I was going to shove my test down his throat."
"Were you suspended?"
"I was confined to my room, just like you are," answered Eric, "And I actually had to apologize to the professor. In the end, they let me retake the test, but I don't think I did as well as I would have had that not happened. I got a C, and it was enough to pass. Did they ever accuse you of cheating?"
"Only once," Grell replied, "Another student and I got the same grade on a test, and everyone acted like I had cheated. They kept trying to get me to confess, but I wasn't going to agree to a lie. Finally, the other student admitted that he had copied off of me." He snorted slightly. "If I was going to cheat, I would at least had chosen a student who had an A in written and not a B."
"But you have a high B."
"Yeah, and I could probably get an A if I studied, but that's too boring," Grell said, his tone making it evident that was simple fact and not bragging.
As Eric struggled to figure out what to say next, Grell turned and began staring at the others below, and he seemed particularly captivated by something. Following his gaze, Eric saw that his companion was staring down at a happy couple walking along together. The boy had his arm casually around a slender girl's waist, and it was clear that they were laughing and talking, which brought a new thought into Eric's mind. "I guess they're what you call a happy couple," he offered.
"I suppose," Grell begrudgingly agreed, his eyes never wavering from the pair.
"Are you dating anyone?" Eric asked, "Is there anyone special?"
A mischievous light sparkled in Grell's eyes as he glanced towards Eric. "Why, Mr. Slingby," he began, "Are you trying to see if I'm available?"
"No!" Eric cried a shade too quickly, "I was just, uh, wondering if you were lonely."
Grell's face fell slightly, and those slightly upturned eyebrows didn't seem so out of place. "Trying to figure me out, huh?" It seemed to almost be a challenge, "Well, it's not going to be quite that easy." He stood up suddenly as he stared down at the still seated Eric. "I guess it's time for me to be going back to my room."
Eric didn't want to leave, but it appeared that he might have offended Grell. "Okay," he said, also standing, "I guess you need me to be your escort to your room."
"Yeah," Grell agreed, "That's the rules."
Without another word being spoken, they walked down from the roof and made their way to the student housing. Grell lived in the first building, but his room was on the top floor and was the last door at the end of the corridor. Eric noted that while it was a two person room, only Grell's name was listed as being assigned residing here. He didn't even have a close neighbor as the room next to Grell's was a supply closet. "You have this room all to yourself?" Eric asked.
Grell nodded. "No one wants to share a room with me," he answered, "and I'm okay with that. It means I get the whole room to myself." Despite his words, his face told a different story. If Eric didn't know better, he could have sworn that Grell felt very much alone.
And very much like he did.
"Since you're not supposed to leave your room, do you want me to come here next time to talk?" questioned Eric.
"I guess," answered the redhead, "If you want to come back that is."
"I do," Eric quickly replied, "Would Monday be okay? About this time?"
"Better make it after five. I have late classes on Monday."
"Okay," Eric agreed and watched as Grell closed the door quietly. He only hoped that he hadn't hurt Grell's feelings too badly. With a certain reluctance, he turned and started walking away.
"Eric?" Grell suddenly asked.
Turning around, he saw Grell had reopened his door and was leaning out of it slightly. "Yes?"
"Just so you know, I was looking at that couple earlier, but I wasn't jealous. You see, that man just wasn't my type. I've always been more attracted to taller guys."
With a laugh, Grell shut the door and left Eric standing alone in the hallway to ponder the meaning of what he had just said.
