Before the rain…Before the rain
AN - I know the titles to chapter 15 and 16 may confuse you, but they go together. So when you read it, it goes "When did Noah build the ark? Before the rain…before the rain." I was incredibly intrigued by it, and thought, Why not? So here it is, I used it. It is from "Spy Games" if anyone was curious. And, yes. It does, or will have a bit to do with my story… =]
Luis's POV
Adam strolled in, perfect timing. It was 8:59. Just in time. He looked at me, and I could see that this was going to be very awkward.
"Your mom called." I delivered the message.
"She did?" He looked very surprised.
"Yeah…she wants you to call her back."
"Okay." He picked up our phone, and dialed a few numbers. He turned and started pacing, and I rolled over on my bed, so that I was facing the 'blah!' wall of white that was our dorm.
I heard him mumble for a few minutes, and I rolled back over to look at him. He wasn't as drab as the wall, I could be sure of that much. He continued to pace, and mutter incoherently into the receiver. I couldn't see his face; the shadows were casting too long, and obscured it. He slammed the phone down, sighing as he slipped onto his bed.
I looked at him. I wanted to know what was wrong. It was obvious that something was wrong, because he was usual elated when he came home from Charlie's. I knew I hadn't been the greatest friend, or admirer, or what ever you want to call it…but I couldn't stand to see him like that.
I leaned forward, putting my hand on his shoulder. He tensed, yes, but seemed to take comfort in just knowing he wasn't alone. "Want to talk about it?" I broke the awkward silence.
"They're…we're…moving." He stuttered, and seemed close to tears. In all my days with the Ducks, and as I've heard before them, Adam had never cried…or been seen crying, rather. There was something else.
"Where are they moving?"
"They're moving to…We're moving to Buffalo."
"New York?"
"Yeah…" He shuddered under my hand, and I slipped it off, not wanting to seem like a pest.
"You're still going to school here, though…right?"
He looked at me, and the tears threatened to shred his cheeks. I could not bare it, and it brought tears to my own eyes. He pressed his palms to his eyes, as if trying to push the salty liquid back in.
"They want me to finish the semester, then they'll have me transferred. They want me to go to the local high school. She said it had high standards, even though it…it…" He nearly choked when he got here, and I suppressed my own tears once more. "It doesn't have a hockey team. It's a…it's a military school."
I inhaled sharply, imagining him in a military uniform. We all thought Eden Hall's uniforms were horrible, yet I could not imagine the precise rules of a military academy. "Damn them…" I muttered, but he didn't hear…thank God. No matter how mad at his parents he was, I don't think he would have liked me to damn them. Much less what I really wanted to say.
He buried his head into his pillow. I thought for a moment that he would burrow through it, he had pressed himself to it so firmly. I knew there wasn't much I could do.
"I don't want to tell Charlie…It will hurt him so bad." I remained silent. Charlie didn't deserve him…
I rolled him over, onto his back to face me. He looked at me willingly, and I sat back down. "Listen, Adam. After all these years, I don't feel like I've been the greatest person towards you." He tilted his head.
"Luis, no more 'I love you's, right?" I nodded, and smiled weakly.
"There's something I want to do for you, and it seems like we don't have very long." He looked at me with a curious air gleaming through his eyes. His eyes had stopped watering…that was good. I knew I had his attention. "I'm going to teach you how to samba."
He sat bolt upright, a sudden burst of excitement taking his mind off of the moving problem. He smiled, and I thought for sure that he was going to explode. "You're going to teach me to samba? Like, mambo!" I'd never seen him so thrilled.
I smiled too…I couldn't help it. "Kind of."
I know samba is a Brazilian dance, and how I know it, I'm not sure of. My father knew it, and taught it to me. I could have been a dancer…but chose hockey over it, to my father's displeasure. My instructor told me that I could have been great, if only I'd given up that damned hockey. It offended me to hear her say this…but I took it all in stride.
He jumped up, eager to begin. "Well, let's go then!"
He seemed to have forgotten all about our differences, and the fact that I was attracted to him. I stood up too.
We did the basics without music. I would have to go digging in my closet for it later. This decision had been spontaneous, so I wasn't prepared.
I taught him how to hold his partner, and the beginning steps. He said that it reminded him of a waltz, and I laughed. We had only just begun. After a bit more work on the rudiments, we called it a night.
His demeanor had greatly improved since we'd begun dancing. That was exactly what I had been working for.
Although he seemed cheered, I still heard him sigh before he closed his eyes. I knew that this was not going to get any easier.
The light from my lamp flickered across the room. It powdered his face with a majestic glow.
I watched as he drifted off to sleep. I couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. I would have rebelled against them, if it had been me instead of him. I almost wished it had been my parents calling about a move, simply to spare him such grief. But still, I sensed there was something he wasn't telling me. It wasn't just the moving. There was something else.
We'd been roommates for two years, and I was glad for the fact that I could read him as openly as a book. His face turned innocent as he nestled into the ivory cushion that was his pillow. His expression softened, until it was dull, and unmeaning. His hair was tousled over his brow, and his lips parted in the essence of relaxation. The comforter was pulled up over his shoulders, and he looked oddly angelic in the ever-coming light.
Reluctantly, I slid into my own sheets, and tugged at the cord of my lamp. It obligingly dimmed, and faded, leaving my to my thoughts in an abyss of obsidian. The raven cloaked around me, I allowed my thoughts to set.
What now? I thought. What now?
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AN - I know this is seriously different from what Luis has acted like in the story so far…but please bare with me, in knowing that all will comply with my theory of clearance. The purpose will become evident soon.
