Thanks for reviewing, canby1992, Kristin, mocasoul, and zfan06!! And now for the conclusion, which is slash. If you don't like it, don't read it. And without further ado...
Chemical Instability. Chapter 3
by Lanie Kay-Aleese
Noel wrote the word empirical evidence in capital letters on the chalkboard, and circled it haphazardly.
"Let's try to identify as much as we can, then. See if we can find anything that correlates," he said.
"I have a theory," Lucas said, "That you're the crux of this situation. Something has changed in your nature or in your environment, which triggered Victor Pierce's whatever in the basement, which caused this abnormal response in other people."
"When did it - when did you notice it starting?"
"Start listing observations from this morning on," Lucas suggested, to which Z wrote out Janitor nods head, inappropriate behavior first observed from group of females, inappropriate behavior observed from individual female (closer relationship to subject), appropriate behavior observed from individual male (closer relationship to subject). Finally, Professor Zachary took a step back and observed the information critically.
"That's not much to work with," Lucas said aloud. "Hasn't there been any thing else?"
"I've tried to keep out of situations which would allow me to isolate a variable. I don't have enough data to know if I only affect a certain type of person, or if it is all persons during a certain time-frame, or whether it depends on me."
"And you're not eager to test those possibilities?"
"Of course not!"
Lucas held out his hands, palms open - "Geez, I was just sayin'!" - he said, clearly compunctious.
Z sighed and ruffled his hand through his hair.
"Sorry, Lucas... It's been a long day."
"No kidding," retorted Lucas shortly. It would've been more impacting if he hadn't punctuated the end of the sentence with a yawn -- an action brought Noel back to the present moment. It was five minutes past 2.
"You should probably be getting to bed," he ventured. "It's gotten really late."
Lucas waved it off. "Nah, Z, don't worry about it, Marshall's snoring would probably keep me up anyway."
"Well, there's not much left to do here. Maybe a night's sleep would help."
"But what'll you do in the morning? Play hooky again? You know, Principal Durst-"
"I'll take responsibility for it," he cut in, "But I don't want to be condoning your misbehavior."
Lucas folded his arms. "Are you seriously trying to pull 'ethics' on me?"
"I'm your teacher," he burst out, and then - simply because there was a need to point out the boundary - Noel knew he'd crossed over it and he was lost, forever lost.
It gripped Noel with the definite urge to loosen his collar, but he held back with a nervous tenacity. Lucas waited and the build-up grew heavier with every passing moment, and even now he couldn't be certain that this theory wasn't completely ridiculous. Finally, Lucas slid off of the desk, exasperation written on his face.
"You're not just my teacher, Z. I'd say you were my friend, but I've known you for too long to say that and still not know the important things. Like what your favorite food is. Or what your family is like. So I don't know what to call it - but at least I know what it isn't."
"Lucas-"
Z caught his breath. For now he could see the expression in Lucas' eyes, from behind the glasses, and he was paralyzed. He couldn't look away. Those intense, mind-blowingly reason-stifling eyes seemed to be so alive and they were getting closer to him, he knew it, and he shrunk back in his chair.
Lucas placed his hands on the armrests of Noel's chair and leaned forward.
"When have I ever been just your student, Z?"
Never, he thought before he could even catch himself, and it didn't matter anyway because Lucas knew that the ethics didn't mean shit. And, it dawned on him that Lucas must have lied about the pheromones, he must've been affected (maybe to a lesser degree, a more controllable degree?). What it meant was that he'd wanted so much to not be alone that now, here he was, trapped in a prison of his own making. The ends of Lucas' shirt, untucked as always, fell across Noel's chest.
"Don't do this," Noel whispered, his voice pitchy and breathless, "I know you feel like this right now, but you're not going to feel like this forever..."
"How do you know?" Lucas returned, his breath whispering on Noel's cheek.
"Why did you lie to me about not being affected by the pheromones?" Noel shot back without sting.
Even closer -- Lucas moved even closer and spoke not a millimeter away from his lips --
"I didn't lie, Z. I wasn't affected by the pheromones because I already wanted you."
It did him in. It was the nail in his coffin, and Noel Zachary threw all logic to the wind and tilted up Lucas's chin and crushed their lips together.
Lucas' mouth was soft and pliant, and Noel plunged inside, roughly, curling his arms around Lucas so tightly that he could have never escaped, not now. Without delicacy or grace, he let the kiss invade him and it filled him with a wild fire, wiping out the ability to breathe or stand in seconds. Desperately Lucas clung to his shirt, fighting to keep up, fighting to stay conscious. There was nothing in the world but Lucas and this kiss, and the unbearable heat circling within his body. It would damn him, he was sure, but he never wanted it to end.
Eventually he withdrew, just enough to pull away, and dimly Noel heard Lucas wheeze for air as if he could no more breathe than himself. He did not relax his grip and was glad because something told him that Lucas wouldn't be able to handle that, and he couldn't handle it either. So instead, they sat together, leaning on each other, holding each other, breathless.
"Sorry," he panted, after a while. "I shouldn't have done that, I -"
Lucas cut him off with a kiss, and whatever half-baked apology had been forming on his lips disappeared forever. Eagerly they pressed against one another, tasting the thrill of a kiss too long held back, desire too long held in check. It went on and for a moment, everything was lost, and Noel lost his tension and he felt his hands unclench, and tear off Lucas' glasses to bring them just that much closer, and Lucas wrapped his legs around his back and pressed so tightly against him, and that's when Noel seemed to become aware of himself and withdrew his lips again. His forehead tipped against Lucas', then buried into his shoulder.
He was shaking.
"Z," Lucas' voice came out hoarse, and wet, and dry all at once. It was barely a syllable of a sound, and even so, it sounded like the very word for worship, adoration and, and Noel began to panic. This had to stop. This couldn't happen.
"I can't do this," he whispered against the scratchy fabric of Lucas' clothes.
"Please, Z," Lucas repeated, his breath catching in his throat. He shifted his weight, reminding Noel just how close they really were.
"You're my student, Lucas... My male student! I can't do this!"
"But you want to! And I want to! I'm at the age of consent, Z!"
Noel cursed, and this of all things, caused Lucas to sit back, stunned. No matter what had happened, no matter how strange or startling or even frightening, Professor Z had never cursed in front of his students before. And now he was in front of one of his students as Noel and it was different.
"This isn't supposed to happen," he said at last, pinching his nose. "I never... You never made it seem like this would be possible at all. I don't understand why you... I thought that you and Josie, for a while...?"
"I was just jealous 'cuz Marshall already had Corrine, you know? Josie-Josie... well, she chose Vaughn, and... I kind of realized that I was okay with that. It wasn't that I'd wanted her, I'd just wanted to win her, like it was a game. Which sounds really wrong, but that's what happened, and so the best man won and all that."
"But why did you choose me?"
Lucas slid off of his lap at this and turned to the desk, hand against the desk.
"I could ask you the same question, Z," replied Lucas, with an uncertain sort of anxiety touching the accent of his words. "Why me? But you don't have an answer, do you? The truth is, I think, attraction doesn't have to do with everything obvious... It's chemical, you know?"
"That's no sort of science I've ever heard of."
"That's because it's not scientific. It can't be made into an experiment that others can perform and get the same results. It can be tested but not concluded. You can hypothesize forever and what good would it do? Living like that is so bland, Z. Don't you know that at least some things are subjective and irrational, and they're the best things that can ever happen to us?"
Lucas' shoulders heaved as he took in a deep breath. When he turned, his eyes were shining as he fastened them on his teachers'.
"You're smart, so smart. But even you know that the only way to stop this is to understand that you are wanted... and that you have to stop being afraid."
"How will that change anything?" answered Noel, bitterly. The taste of Lucas was still in his mouth and it was mingled with his guilt.
"You want to be needed, so you now are releasing some pheromone that makes people need you. But you're afraid to be needed or wanted. The only way to balance everything, Z, is for you to stop wanting to be needed. You need to feel needed... You have to let yourself, okay?"
For a moment, a familiar nervousness flashed across Lucas' face. It was something for Noel to cling to and it helped.
"If there's really no other choice..." he murmured. "I'm in too deep already."
Lucas covered Noel's hand with his own.
"What else is new?"
When Noel looked up and into Lucas' eyes, he realized something: Lucas was smiling because he wanted to.
COMPLETE. Please don't forget to tell me what you thought. I'm inflammable.