Thanks SAB and CG85 for your helpful suggestions. I'm pretty sure I'll take all of them on board. It might just take a while for them to be used.
This fic is gonna be a few chapters. At this stage, I would think at least four, but I'm not really too sure.
Jake was leaning up against a locker, waiting for Ryder to finish searching through his own. And seriously, that dude took forever. Jake couldn't complain too much though, because Brittany and Kitty were standing on the other side of the hallway. And he was pretty sure, if he leant at just the right angle, he'd be able to see up one of their skirts.
'Dudes.' Jake jumped at the sound of Finn's voice. 'Where were you two yesterday? We were expecting you down at the courts.'
Jake surveyed the group of guys standing before him, not really too sure what to say. He was just starting to stammer an answer, when Ryder replied.
'We were on Xbox Live. We team up with a couple of guys from Canada. It's a weekly thing now.'
'Oh, okay.' Jake was relieved that Finn accepted that so easily. 'But you'll be at Breadstix this afternoon, right?'
Jake was trying to think of his own excuses when Ryder spoke up again. 'Yea, we'll be there.'
'Great, we'll see you then.' And the group was leaving again. Once they were out of earshot, Jake turned to Ryder.
'Dude, what the fuck were you doing? We're meant to be studying today.' Ryder just shrugged his shoulders in response. 'Tomorrow then. No excuses this time, Ryder.'
Xxx
'Here.' Jake thrust a handful of paper towards him. 'I nicked these off that Asian chick.'
Ryder cast an eye over the notes, trying to decipher the words. 'I can't read these, Jake.'
'Wait, so you're serious? You seriously can't read?' Jake seemed far too amused by all this.
'I can read,' Ryder explained, trying not to get worked up. 'But it's slow. And it's harder when it's handwritten, or when the words aren't real.'
Jake nodded in response, seeming to contemplate this. 'So, would it be easier if I read this out to you?'
'Yea, probably.' Ryder leant back on his bed as he prepared to listen. Jake collapsed down on his front as he began to read aloud.
A while later, Ryder felt someone nudging at his ribs. He tried to push them away, but they moved lower, now digging into the space under his ribs. And, actually, that kinda tickled. He jerked away, trying not to laugh.
'Jake, what the hell was that for?'
'You were falling asleep.' He continued to attack that same spot.
Ryder rolled over onto his front, pleased to be able to thwart Jake. 'Yea, because studying for history is boring.'
'So, that's not my fault. I'm just the one reading this stuff.' He had a hand running over Ryder's back, trying to find more ticklish spots. Ryder really hoped he wouldn't find any. Because he didn't like being tickled. Umm, yea, that's why.
'You could always make it more interesting?'
'What, and put on a stupid voice. Fuck off. You should just be glad I'm helping you at all.' With a final jab, he found that original spot again.
'Ok, ok, fine. I'll listen this time.' He sat up, to prevent himself from dozing off again. He also wrapped his arms around his waist, protecting himself from any more attacks by Jake.
Xxx
The moment they entered Ryder's room on Monday, Jake collapsed onto his bed. It was comfy lying there, almost to the point that he could distract himself from the fact he was studying.
He felt the bed dip next to him, as Ryder sat down. Suddenly, he felt a fist landing squarely on his solar plexus. For a moment, he felt like he couldn't breathe. 'Fuck, dude, shit,' he managed to croak out.
He saw Ryder's eyes go wide, the concern rising in them. He was reaching out a tentative hand, placing it gently on Jake's bicep.
Seizing his opportunity, Jake forced himself upwards and around, pinning Ryder down to the bed. He leant all his weight onto his arm which was resting across Ryder's chest.
'Ok, shit, man, I'm sorry. I didn't realise you were faking.' The sentences didn't really go together, but Jake could see Ryder was starting to stress now, so he figured he wouldn't point it out. No, instead, he would just lean here a while longer, let Ryder get more worked up.
'Comfy?' He asked conversationally.
'Not really. You gonna move?' Jake just shook his head in response. He was gonna make this last as long as he could. Panic was starting to appear in Ryder's eyes.
Something about looking into Ryder's eyes made him realise the situation though. He was lying completely on top of Ryder. His thigh was between Ryder's legs. He could feel the pressure of Ryder's thigh on his own junk. And if he wanted to, he could easily kiss Ryder right now. And, well, the thing was –
Jake rolled off Ryder as quickly as he could. But he still wasn't far enough away, so he got up, moving over the other side of the room.
'So,' he began, trying to sound casual. 'I got hold of a copy of Friday's maths test.'
Ryder was sitting up now, frowning at him. 'We can't do that, dude. It's cheating.'
'Why not? It's algebra. You need all the help you can get.'
'Gee, thanks, Jake. I really needed the reminder that I'm fucking stupid.' He was hanging his head, looking particularly upset.
'You're not stupid.' He began edging closer. 'Your brain probably just works differently. I bet there's probably even some name for it.'
Ryder's head shot up. He seemed hopeful. 'You really think so?'
'Yea. If I knew how, I'd even find out what it is for you.'
'Thanks.' Ryder was smiling broadly now. It was a nice smile, Jake found himself thinking. He kinda wished Ryder would smile like that more often.
