Chapter One-Hundred and Twenty-Five

John curled on his side as the storm raged outside. His heart pounded in his chest with every boom of thunder, and he almost thought that it would jump right out of his body. He listened to the other men in the gym as they snored through the night, the storm having the opposite effect on them as it did John. He tried to focus on Thomas laying beside him, tried to time his breathing with the older man's. He could feel the heat coming from his sleeping form, halfway tempted to curl up next to him, but he knew he'd be labeled as a fag if he did that. So, instead he decided to break the rules and find his Sweets.

He pressed his hand against the lockers, his body tense with fear as lightning cracked outside and thunder boomed. He could barely see in the dark that was left from the power outage, only getting glimpses of the new school that he still had to learn the ins and outs of. It'd taken years of detention for him to learn the layout of Shermer High, and even with his photographic memory he'd had trouble remembering every twist and turn.

He pushed the door to the library open, poking his head inside to see all the women sleeping inside. "Sweets?" He whispered, catching a glimpse of Claire's fiery hair in a flash of lightning. He tiptoed over to her, brushing his fingers over her side to wake her as gently as possible.

She rubbed her eyes, moaning as she looked up at John's face, able to see his fear in those eyes of his. "John?"

He nodded, flinching as another round of thunder shook the school. "Can't sleep."

She smiled, lifting her blanket up so that he could slip underneath it with her. She slipped her hand underneath his t-shirt, pressing her palm to his stomach and pushing her fingertips into the spots she'd found that always seemed to calm him. She could feel his lips against her collarbone, his breath fanning over the skin of her neck as he began to relax. She hummed quietly into his ear, feeling his hands press against her ribs just under her breasts. She knew that he was doing that for the vibrations in her chest and not to feel her boobs, he'd never let himself do anything sexual to her when he was being driven by emotions and she knew that was because he didn't want to use her as a distraction.

She kissed his cheek, feeling the soft hairs of his beard against her lips. "I love you." She whispered, brushing her fingers through his hair as she rubbed her thumb over his eyebrow. She could feel the scar where Joe Silverman had cut him, the night he'd been drugged.

John breathed a laugh, closing his eyes as he focused on Claire's touch. "Love you more."

She touched her finger to his mustache, giggling as he nipped at her hand. "Love you most."

He shook his head, feeling her heartbeat under his hands. "That's impossible." He yawned, finally letting himself relax enough to fall asleep.