I do not own, "Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe," it belongs to Benjamin Alire Saenz

I followed him to school the next morning, It didn't even cross my mind that I was skipping, I just needed to talk to him after what had happened the day before. I needed to somehow explain I didn't mean to loose my tempter, that I understood that, that was wrong. I thought, I just got jealous, I had that right now that we were together, didn't I? Ok, that sounded completely stupid and a poor excuse for the asshole move I had pulled. I was sorry though, I had to make sure he understood just how sorry I was, so I hid like a stalker and came from behind him before he crossed the school gates.

"Dante."

He gasped when he turned, and jumped a little, "Ari! Why are you here? You're supposed to be in school."

"I know, I know, but just listen-"

I reached for him, but he stepped away, and the look on his face scared me. I needed to apologize.

"About yesterday," I lowered the hand that had tried to touch him, "I don't know what happened. I never wanted to scare you."

He looked at me with that "I'm-about-to-teach-you-a-lesson" look. Wait for it Ari, it's coming, "Mom said it could turn into an abusive relationship."

At first I'm sure my face made the strangest "What-the-fuck" look, then I laughed so loud I snorted. My chest was full of air, and I laughed and laughed and laughed to let it out. I slammed my hands on my thighs, like I'd done only very few times in my life, to push out some of the laughing-dance that was in me. "Dante stop." Still laughing, but forcing myself to calm down. Back then, that was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. I thought, me? Abusing Dante? Unbelievable. If there was anyone there that had abused anyone, it wasn't me. Who's the one that changed me? The one that didn't get out of my head even if I tried (though I had stopped trying so long ago.) Who's the one that had me thinking dirty things and wanting to kiss boys instead of girls? If there was anyone abusing anyone in that moment, it sure wasn't me. "You're acting like if I beat you or something."

His face didn't change, he was still giving me that look. His eyes had a sharp shape to them, but even like that all I could think about was pulling him towards me. "Maybe you didn't, but you did wiggle me around a little."

"Can we go talk somewhere else?"

His eyes turned sideways towards the ground, as if hiding something, "I have school."

"Just for a little," I took a step closer, mentally flipped the coin to see if I got lucky and he accepted me, and he did. Well, at least he didn't flinch away. "Just for a little," I asked again in a voice too soft to be mine, too gentle, a voice that surprised me the most.

He looked up then, his voice too soft as well, "Where?" I'd never noticed how much I liked his voice until then.

"There's no one at my house." I offered, throwing it out there, fishing to see if he'd take it. Maybe we could settle everything that's been happening, and once alone maybe we could finish-

"We are not supposed to be there alone, Ari."

"I don't care."

"But I do." He turned to leave.

It was so wrong, it shouldn't be like that. I didn't like that.

"Wait," I held him back by the arm, making sure to be gentle. Gently, gently... Don't scare him off. "We can just walk or something."

"I don't know, Ari."

"Please... Please, just let me talk to you. If you're still mad afterwards, then at least I know I did everything I could. Just ten minutes, if you're still mad, you can leave and I won't chase you." It took a while for me to say the words that finally convinced him, "I promise... please."

Part 2

"So basically, you are saying you hate everything that touches me?"

"Everything that touches you, looks at you, even thinks of you. Yes." I replied, and I wanted to say so much more, but I was trying to win him over, not scare him off.

He smiled, "Ari, you're in love with me."

"I know."

"Wow. This is deep."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I was only supposed to fall for you half way."

"That's not what I meant, it's just that I never thought this could actually happen."

"What do you mean?" We were walking to who-cared-where. We were together, he was smiling, that's all that mattered.

"Well, I'm sure that by now you've figured out that ever since I meet you, I've always liked you."

It felt good to hear him say that, to know that we weren't kids, that now we were older, and taller, and stronger, and with our feelings in the open, no barrier between us. I pressed my hand to his waist and pulled him to me, my fingers directing his chin towards my mouth.

"Ari, please," he pulled away. "we're in public."

"Does it matter?" His glance was defensive, "Does it matter that much to you?" I asked.

"You matter to me. I don't want them to do to you... The things they've done to me."

"Nothing like that is going to happen again."

"How are you so sure?"

"Because I'll hurt them first."

Part 3

We ended up in some tunnels a few blocks away from his school. They were filled with graffiti and beer cans and obscene drawings, but Dante was there too, and that's all that mattered. "So, do you forgive me for exploding and acting like a total douche?"

"You really like that kind of language don't you?" He said it like a reproach, but he was smiling, which made me smile.

"I like you."

"You like me?" He asked.

"I love you." I replied.

"You love me?"

"I adore you."

There was a small silence then, until he finally repeated, "You adore me," but it was a statement not a question.

I tugged at the hem of his shirt -two little tugs- and looked up at him. Then slipped my hand under his shirt and kissed him. Finally. Finally. Long. Soft. Gentle. I brought both of my hands around his waist and kissed him deeper, deep enough to make up for all that time without him. My body was drawn to him, I wanted to be that close to him always, my insides desired him. I've always love him so much. I clashed my teeth with his teeth, and it might have hurt him but I didn't stop. I couldn't stop then. He was there, and letting me touch him, and we weren't young anymore. We could touch each other, and tell each other things, and there shouldn't be any problem with doing it.

I guided him to the tunnel's wall and pressed him there, now he couldn't escape me. The wall was cold but we were not. We were swimming pools, and poetry, and birds that didn't fly. He was everything I wasn't, and I was his darker half. We must have been split from the core at some point, because I was sure that we belonged together, there was no other way of explaining it.

I dragged my mouth across his jaw, dragged because I didn't want to separate from him not even for a second. He made a noise then that I wanted to hear again, so I kissed him in the same spot, and it worked. I guess I was exploring his body. I kissed his neck from the chin to the bottom of his ear, kissed and licked, and almost chewed off. I was hungry for him. I wanted to feel more. What I was getting wasn't enough. I pressed myself against him, and his eyes flung open.

"What?" I asked, though I knew the answer. My immature body knew at least this much: rubbing feels good. So I rubbed against him.

I thrusted once, "Ari, stop. We're in public." He looked around the tunnels, paranoid to be seen.

I thrusted twice,"Don't do that!"

He pushed me away, but I held his hands, drew his ear to my mouth, and whispered, (I was getting really good at whispering back then) "We're not doing anything wrong, we're just playing, you see?" I rubbed against him again, slowly. Steady, steady... Don't scare him off. "You see? I just want to feel you."

He couldn't look me in the eyes, but he stopped trying to get away. He stood still as I rubbed my dick against his. He was slouched against the wall, which made me hover over him, and I stared. I stared at him every single second. He turned from light, to pale, to red. He closed his eyes, his fingers clenched my upper arms, and still I stared.

"What are you feeling?" I asked him, I wanted to know.

"I feel... Very hot." He looked at me, and I kissed him. I pushed my tongue deep inside wishing it was something else I was pushing into him. He wrapped his hands around my neck and kissed me too, and soon we were both bumping into each other, making weird noises and smelling like each other's saliva.

And this was my chance so I took it, I reached for him, not to grab, just placed my hand on top of the place he'd never let me touch. "Ari-"

"Let me rub it," I begged, using the same soft voice.

"Ari, no-" but I was unbuttoning the button of his jeans and he wasn't stopping me, so I waisted no time. I did it fast before he would change his mind, and when I realized it, I had his dick in my hand and was jacking him off. I froze for a second, I couldn't belive it. He was in my hand, and I was playing with him, but his moaning returned me to the present. Little soft sounds that transformed to the reason for my existence. I had finally found something to live for, to look forward to, to cling to, and his name was Dante.

I unzipped my own pants, and placed his hand against me. "You do it to me, too."

He looked scared first, and I had to guide his hand up and down, but he soon started moving at his own speed and I knew I had him. I leaned against him, wanting to crush him against the wall, wanting to somehow get inside of him, and I kissed him until our lips were red.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes," he responded. "I like it a lot."

I rested my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes, savoring the moment. But I realized that I didn't want to miss his face, so I looked up again. He was looking at me, and he was red, and panting, and just so fucking sexy. And his hand was around me, and my hand was around him, and Dante and Ari, that's how it was supposed to be.

"Ari, if you keep that up, I'm going to cum," he spoke softly, embarrassed.

"Go ahead. I want you too."

"But how? I don't know how."

He was really nervous. "Just relax, and do it."

He closed his eyes, and I moved faster on him, stroking him, heating us up, and so did he. We were in plain daylight, in a tunnel full of dirt. We were "know-nothings," and it was magic and shoes, and allergies, and all I could think about was the glory that was him, and the idea that he was mine.

I came first, and seconds later so did he. And we just stood there, breathing heavily, trying to blink the dizziness away, because we didn't know what to do next.

He stared at his hand, and asked where to clean it. Not to me in particular, just to whoever heard him, I guess. I looked down at my own hand, his cum was all over me. It was the perfect ending to the perfect moment.

I licked it, he stared.

And I licked and licked, the top of my hand, and my fingers, and my palm, until I was clean, and he was inside of me.

His eyes widened as he looked down at his hand again, "You don't have to do it just because I did it."

"It's ok." He replied, "I want to." He repeated what I did, and I stared with fascination.

When he was done he smiled at me, and I moved in to kiss him one more time. I touched his face and his shoulders, and his back, and his waist. His perfection.

"I should go to school now."

"Yeah, I understand," I didn't want him to, but in that moment he could have told me to sit down and be quiet like a good boy, and I would have listened.

"So should you."

I smiled.

I walked him back, and we said we'd meet in the afternoon to walk legs. Then he went in through the gates and I saw him disappear into a corner.

I walked to school in the clouds. Throughout the whole day there wasn't anything that could bring me down.

TBC...