Chapter 2

All moved in

Emil's pov

It's the Friday before classes start. We're all finally moved in with Lukas having arrived yesterday from Athens. Mathias has threatened everyone in the house multiple times to stay away from his sister and every time, Erika gets mad. It's gotten old fast. I was sitting on my bed reading one of the books I picked up at the airport when there was a small knock on the door.

'Come in,' I said.

Erika popped her head in, 'Can I hide from my brother here? He's mad because I said hello to the checkout guy at the store.'

I nodded and she walked in, closing the door quietly. 'I think your brother is going a little overboard,' I said quietly, inviting her to sit in the small armchair in my room.

'You don't say?' She sighed

'It's a little silly when you live with five men.'

She laughed a little.

'Why is he like that?' I asked.

'Mathias spent high school in Denmark so he wasn't around much and I think he feels the need to make up for that. He doesn't seem to understanding that I'm past the age when I needed protection, if I ever did.' She looked down, fiddling with her skirt.

'Lukas was a bit like that when we first met. He'd grown up in Norway with his father, but when our mother remarried, she moved to Iceland and had me. I think he'd always wanted a sibling and, when our families decided the two of us should have a relationship even when our parents couldn't, he went all out. In hindsight, it was kinda cute, but it drove me crazy then.'

'How old were you?' She asked.

'Twelve, just the age when you want to be seen as a grown up. Lukas was almost fourteen.'

She didn't say anything for a moment, instead looking around my room. After a moment, she asked, 'Do you like puffins, by any chance?'

I felt my cheeks warm a little, 'What gave me away?'

She pointed to the shelves on my desk, 'There are two books on puffins. You've got lots of books on ornithology and birds in general, but those are the only books on specific species. Also you have a puffin bookmark.' She nodded to the bookmark I held in my left hand.

'I want to study them when I'm out of school.' I said, placing the mark in the book, closing it and putting it on the bed next me.

'I'm sorry,' she said suddenly.

'For what?' I was surprised.

'I interrupted your reading.'

I laughed, 'If I minded, I wouldn't have put down the book.'

She smiled, 'thanks, Emil.'

'No worries.'

We chat for a few minutes before I shush her, saying, 'I think I hear your brother looking for you.'

'Oh boy,' she sighs.

'Wait,' I whisper, 'come stand here.'

'Why?' She asked, looking confused.

'It's the one part of the room you can't see from the door,' I replied. There was a small bit of space next to the wardrobe that I was planning to use for storage that could not be seen from the doorway. Erika did as I said and moments later, there was a loud knock.

I opened the door to find Mathias, 'Emil, have you seen Erika? I was kinda jerk earlier and feel a bit bad.'

I shook my head, saying 'She said she might go for a walk.'

He nodded, 'I hope she's okay.'

'I'm sure she's fine.'

He smiled, 'thanks, well, Lukas and I are going to pop to the store, but we'll be back soon.'

'Okay, thanks,' I said before closing the door.

We waited in silence until we heard his footsteps fade before Erika said, 'I would have talked to him.'

'Yes, but I value my life. If you were in my room unsupervised, he'd slaughter me and it's far too early in the semester for homicide.'

She laughed, 'In a few minutes, we should head downstairs and pretend I just got back from my walk.'

I nodded, sighing quietly, surprised at how disappointing I found this suggestion.

Lukas' pov

On our way home from the store, Mathias and I decided to pick up pizza for dinner, since the store had been busier than anticipated. There's a pretty good pizza place that's not too much of detour so it was logically the best place to go. It took us a little while to decide on what pizzas to get for the house but we ended up with two margaritas, two pepperoni, one Quattro fromagi and one Hot Americana. After a twenty minute wait, we made our way home, Mathias carrying the groceries and me carrying the pizzas. We were about ten minutes from home when it started pouring.

I cursed loudly.

'Lukas,' Mathias asked, 'did you forget an umbrella?'

I nodded, blushing angrily.

Mathias resettled the grocery bags over his right arm before opening his own umbrella.

I glared up at him, muttering, 'show off.'

He laughed, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me towards.

'Hey!' I shouted, flustered.

'What?' He asked, 'I'm sharing.'

I could feel my face flushing, glad that it was dark out. 'Idiot,' I muttered.

'Says the guy who forgot his umbrella when the forecast predicted rain,' he chuckled.

I jabbed my elbow into his side without looking at him, my face a bright shade of red. The fact that Mathias didn't know I was bisexual was not helping the matter. I couldn't deny that the Dane was attractive with his slightly unkempt blond hair and his bright blue eyes, and the way he filled out his red button up shirt with the top button undone, revealing his collarbone.

What am I thinking? I realized in a panic, grateful that Mathias was focus forward and not on me.

We passed an older women and her friend, and I heard the former comment, 'Look how cute those two young men are. Don't they look so happy together?'

It was at this moment that I realized how much the two of us looked like a couple, with Mathias holding me close to him under the umbrella and I panicked a little.

'What's wrong?' He looked down at me, noticing my flushed cheeks. 'Is it because she said we're cute?'

I said nothing, which he took as a yes.

'Don't worry about it, we're just staying dry,' He said before pulling me close again.

I elbowed him feebly.