With a stealthy meeting of soft gazes or even when they brush past each other as they traverse the school hallways, Charles could feel this strange heat emanating from both of them and it seemed to burn even brighter, deeper. It was odd that no one had noticed it so far. After that moment at the beach, things were definitely never going to be the same between them. Charles was starting to think it was ridiculous that he even suggested they act like nothing happened yet he still kept on fighting against these unwanted feelings he was having for Erik because he knew it will only bring about an unhappy outcome for them both if they continue.
The way Erik looked at him now, with eyes that are kind and full of this dark passion, it made him feel...special; It made him feel a strange nervous excitement just to see him again or to be near him because he knew Erik desired him; Was still smitten with him, he could sense it even if Erik kept his face impassive or acted distant in front of other people. Like in the library, when they would finally be alone together, Erik would find every excuse or opportunity to touch Charles.
"Charles, I'm reading this version of A Tale of Two Cities with some illustrations on it and I think you will like it. Here, take a look," Erik held the paperback book out to him.
Charles absently reached for the book because he was busy writing a portion of his essay. He was so intent on looking at what he had written; he did not notice how Erik was giving him the book. Erik had brushed his fingers up against Charles's own fingers causing him to start back at the sudden electric shock he felt. He thought for a moment Erik had something in his hand, but it was just his fingers. He looked back at Erik with wide eyes.
"What?" Erik asked, smiling knowingly at him.
"Nothing," Charles said in a dismissive voice and continued to finish what he was writing, then he looked at the book Erik presented to him. They would silently be working together once more, with Erik still giving him his usual dark stares; that smile still on his face and Charles would pretend he was not noticing it.
"My pen is not working. Do you have a spare?" Erik asked.
"Yeah, I do," Charles went to his large blue backpack and began to rummage in one of the numerous pockets for a ball pen and then he held it out to Erik, looking at both their hands this time, but Erik's fingers closed on his own and then he felt it again... that mild little shock and now warmth as Erik's fingers lingered on his own. He was about to say something, but Erik said a throaty 'thanks' and released him.
Erik then went back to writing in his own binder and Charles gave him an odd look, wondering why that fleeting touch made him feel flustered all over. His heart was beating a little faster than normal. Quit it, he said to himself, he's trying to get a rise out of me, that's it, he's trying to see if I will react to his touching, but I shouldn't encourage him.
Charles let out a breath and put on a serious, business-like air and said nothing. The other did not do anything for a while, but then he started again. Charles was studiously bent over the essay he was writing when Erik reached out and placed his fingers over Charles's wrist, one finger softly tracing, feather-like. It caused warm, electric currents to race up Charles's skin and he felt goose-flesh rise at that thrilling touch. He made a startled sound, his eyes becoming round as he looked up at Erik.
"Charles, I'm having some difficulty with this sentence, can you help me?"Erik said coyly. Charles pulled himself away from that touch and stood up, trying to ignore the effect it gave him, but he could see Erik's eyes twinkling mischievously, his expression innocent. Charles went to him and leaned over what he was writing.
"Well, this word here, 'rapport' should have two p's and the word 'affinity' should have two f's. Your sentence looks correct so far except for the spelling-"Charles had this inkling feeling Erik did the spelling wrong on purpose to get him to come nearer.
"Thanks," Erik said and continued to finish his essay while Charles returned to his seat.
Charles had made it so that he and Erik had two different takes on the current essay they were writing on Watership Down by Richard Adams, explaining the actions of the antagonists and the protagonists. After they were done, they would combine their work for presenting to Ms Grey and every Friday everyone discussed their opinions on the essay writing they did for the assigned books, selecting one particular book for that week that they want to make a presentation for. Erik had been attending Book Club without fail, except when Charles had been out for a week after Shaw had beaten him up.
"I can't get past how funny it is that these fictional rabbits have their own language, you know? Like J.R. R Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. Now when I look at a rabbit, I'm going to wonder what the hell goes through its mind-"Erik said as he stood close to Charles's chair while the other reviewed his work.
"Probably food and sex," Charles said offhandedly and then he realized what he had just said. He looked up at Erik and the other was looking at him darkly. Erik pulled up a chair next to Charles and leaned close to him, his arm pressing against Charles's arm.
"Maybe you can elaborate on that...I think I need to understand a little bit more," Erik purred. He was drawing closer to Charles, making him blush again, his cheeks and his ears burning as the memory of them kissing flashed before his mind.
'Ah...um there's nothing to elaborate-"
"Really? For a moment I thought these books have some sort of hidden message I don't know about-"Erik said throatily. Charles was hypnotized by his lips as he spoke. Those lips. Charles almost wanted to lean in close himself and let the other kiss him once more, his entire face burning up, reaching down to his throat and his back, his heartbeat quickening.
Erik was pressing his shoulder closer to Charles's own, his face mere inches away and close enough to kiss, eyes dark and darkening still with his intent. It made Charles want to scream or get mad with him. Charles was so rattled by his nearness he almost wanted to give in, and then he snapped out of the unwanted sensation he was feeling, pushing his chair back clumsily and walking briskly away from Erik. He stood out on the corridor outside the library; his breathing uneven. Erik followed him and was now looking concerned, all playfulness gone from him.
"Charles are you ok?"
He took his time answering, breathing through his nose and hoping the blush had cleared from his cheeks."Yes, just needed some air,"
They stood there quietly for a moment, with Erik staring at him as he took his glasses off and wiped at them with his handkerchief.
"Erik, try to keep your distance from me from now on. Sometimes you get too close and-"
"And what?"
"Well...you know because of what happened...and...and I don't want this to get any more difficult for us both. You make me feel so nervous when you are too near-"
"Alright, I'm sorry-"Erik said simply.
But he still kept doing it anyway. Charles felt like he was slowly losing a battle of wills that it was almost impossible not to fall for Erik when the other was still showing how much he desired Charles.
In class, Charles would be listening intently to the teacher and he would suddenly feel this odd sensation, like a small heat wave was radiating his way and he instantly knew it could only be Erik, staring at him from behind. Charles did not dare to look back. At one time, Erik was staring so hard at Charles, his eyes intense and full of his dark, sexual thoughts that even the current homeroom teacher, Ms Emma Frost noticed and chastised Erik on it, she did not understand what that look meant, she was only aware that Erik and Charles had some sort of enmity going on. She was reading a line from their general science book when she did this.
"Symbiosis means the living together in more or less intimate association or close union of two dissimilar organisms. It is a cooperative relationship between two species. An example of this symbiotic relationship would be sea anemones and the clownfish...Mr Lehnsherr! I'm hoping the more you stare at Mr Xavier, you would have actually absorbed the same interest he has in my class-"
Ms Frost had expected some snickering or some laughter from the class, but no one reacted. There was only deadpan silence from everyone in the room. Charles was blushing hotly as he shoved his face down at his textbook, trying not to look anywhere. The other students dared not to react. They didn't want Erik going after them too. All the students knew how much Erik hated Charles and constantly bullied and harassed him, so they did not find it strange that he was staring at Charles. Erik looked up at Ms Frost and kept his face carefully blank. Ms Frost cleared her throat, regaining her composure.
"Mr Lehnsherr, can you give an example of a symbiotic relationship?"
Erik took his time answering, giving Ms Frost a snide smile, rudely sprawled upon his chair. He never lost his cool even when she called him out in class.
"Sharks and Dolphins," Erik drawled out, not caring if his answer was right or wrong.
Ms Frost shook her head."No Mr Lehnsherr, both species cannot be considered in symbiosis because they actually attack each other. One would eat the other if given the opportunity-"
Erik shrugged. He kept looking at her in a bored, insolent way that she finally moved forward with the rest of the class and called someone else. When it came time for their book club, Charles scolded him on the way he had been acting.
"Erik, this isn't going to work if you keep doing what you are doing-"
"What exactly am I doing, Charles?" Erik asked, his expression was one of amusement and feigned innocence.
"You still act like you are attracted to me!" Charles huffed out, his lower lip pouting, glaring at him.
"So what if I am? No one notices it; all they see is that you and I are enemies-"
Charles took his glasses off and pinched at the skin at the bridge of his nose, feeling exasperated over everything.
"Maybe you should quit the book club, Erik-" Charles said softly.
Erik shook his head, still smiling."No can do, Dear heart. I'm on orders from the principal to continue joining the book club. Think of it as a Symbiotic Relationship. If I continue attending book club, Summers won't send me off and we can still at least see each other-"
"I don't want to see you anymore!" Charles hissed out and met Erik's eyes with a hard gaze. Erik still kept looking at him smugly that it annoyed him.
"Charles, I know you don't mean what you just said because I know how you really feel about me,"
"Oh, so you read minds now?" Charles asked his tone sarcastic. Erik suddenly leaned forward on the table and gently touched his face, cupping Charles's cheek in his palm. Charles was too startled to move away, his blue eyes widened, face instantly becoming flushed. Erik was looking at him lovingly and his voice was low and soft when he spoke next.
"I look into your eyes and I know. You want me like I want you even if we can't be together because of a lot of reasons,"
Charles reached up and took the hand gently away from his face and sighed, still holding Erik's hand in his own hand, looking around surreptitiously and making sure no one saw them touching each other.
"What am I going to do with you?" Charles said in a resigned voice.
Erik grinned. "Love me?"
Charles had to chuckle at that and then he pushed Erik away from himself playfully.
"Not a chance, Mister!" Erik pretended to look wounded. Charles did not press the matter any further and they returned to their books. Erik furtively looked up from his book to look at Charles. It was only a matter of time, but he knew that somehow, he will get Charles to finally give in to him.
"H-have you ever had someone...fall in love with you at any point? You know, like sort of in an obsessed way-"
Charles asked Hank and Sean awkwardly as they waited for their pizza to arrive. They met up at the same local diner where they always eat and usually after eating, they would go back to Hank's house to play some PC games (Hank had the best gaming system Charles had ever used) or read some comic books or go visiting each other's houses to watch a movie on Blu-ray or gloat over their collectibles.
Hank and Sean exchanged looks, then they looked back at him."No," was the unanimous reply from both.
And then Hank leaned over the table, giving him a small smile."Why do you ask? Did you have some girl falling for you or something?"
"You have a secret admirer! That's awesome! Is she pretty?" Sean also added excitedly as he grinned at Charles.
A faint blush crept upon Charles's cheeks as he dove for the straw of his soda and sucked on it quickly, his thoughts racing on how he could get this topic to be less awkward than it already is. He couldn't even begin to tell them that the obsessed admirer is actually another boy. He never discussed something like this with them before. Usually guys like them never got a second glance, they are just the typical school nerds, standing together in the hallway, nondescript and secure in their state of unpopularity. Still, Charles did not know if they kept any secret love situations from him so he asked.
"No, of course not! What I mean is, well...what if...what if someone did, what would you guys do?"
"Run like hell?" Hank said slowly as he gave Charles a doubtful look, wondering what brought on such a pointless discussion.
"Get her past third-base on the first date and go all the way!"Sean exclaimed, his eyes shining in an innocent and lewd way at the same time.
Hank shoved his shoulder up against Sean's shoulder hard, glaring at him."You know that's really gross. Only a slut would give in that easy. I think a girl like that wouldn't even need to go on a date...she'd probably be making out the moment a guy shows interest in her and then it just goes downhill from there-"
Am I a slut? Charles wondered silently at the comparison he was making in his head.
He slapped a hand to his face, realizing he was asking the wrong set of people. That was it. He had known these guys for the longest time and of course none of them ever discussed love. They did however, discuss the technicalities of sex—what they think they know about it—and shared links for online porn. Maybe he should be asking Raven, but she gets too nosy sometimes when he asked her questions out of curiosity. Like when he asked her about why girls shave their legs and he told her he didn't see the point. Raven then started asking questions like 'did he want to know how to shave his legs and did he want demonstration?'Charles felt his ears were burning at the memory of it. Nope. Not going there.
"Ok, guys! Let's just drop it. I don't even want to know anymore!" Charles rolled his eyes and tried to change the topic.
"Raven asked our dad to have a pool set up at that spare lot at the side of the house and he agreed. It would probably be done by next summer-"
Both boys from across the table nodded appreciatively at this.
"Pool parties-"Hank commented.
"Bikinis and boobs-"Sean added, earning him another shove from Hank.
"Is that all you think about?"
"Well no, that's not all I think about. I also think about what's down below a woman's...ooooff!" Hank shoved him harder in the ribs this time with his elbow.
Sean rubbed at his side, favoring it and giving Hank a hard stare."Quit that!"
"Then stop with the dirty talk, ok? Our pizza's coming over and I don't want to lose my appetite-"
"Killjoy!" Sean spat out, but he smiled faintly at the other, then he leaned closer to Charles and whispered, "He's such a prude-"
Charles giggled at that because he thought the same thing about Hank and he knew for a fact that Hank had a thing for his sister. He had caught Hank on several occasions staring at his sister's face and her legs when she wore her yellow and black cheerleader outfit and paraded herself around the house whenever Hank and Sean visited. The waitress placed their pizza on the middle of the table and everyone started to dig in.
"Hey Charles, is Erik still after you? Lately I don't see him hounding you as badly as before, Ow-"Hank suddenly said while he chewed on piping hot pizza, burning his tongue in the process and causing him to reach for his soda and guzzle it down quickly. Meanwhile, Sean struggled with a long web of melted cheese that hung on his lower teeth and had caught some on his carroty-red hair for some reason. These two are really gluttons for punishment. Charles tried to answer the question carefully.
"He's still on my case. It's just that I've been doing my best to avoid him and I think Principal Summers spoke to him about me already-"
"That's good, the principal is watching out for you. I was sort of worried he might, you know, really hurt you-"
"He wouldn't or else he would be sent to a reform school. You know how bad his reputation has been-"Charles said in a low voice as he left his pizza to cool on his plate first.
"I also noticed he wasn't as mean to me as he was before," Sean also added in after he conquered his melted cheese problem.
"I must not have told you this, guys. But I was at the little boy's room at school one time and I was taking a piss and then Erik came right in looked me over once, totally ignoring me. He just did his business and left, he didn't even say anything to me. Usually he would call me names like carrot cake or bunny muffin or he'd snicker at my-"
Sean gestured down to his own lap. Charles kept his face blank, but deep inside, he felt a wave of affection come over him. Erik was doing what he had asked him to do. He thought that was sweet of Erik.
"Well you never know with him. He must be thinking of stuff at that time-"Hank said, recovering from his burnt-out tongue, but his speech was slightly mushy.
"Yeah," Both Sean and Charles spoke in unison this time.
They left the diner earlier than expected and they were walking down on Hank's side of the street. Hank was intending to introduce them to this new game he had just bought. He was describing it to them at length and the cool soundtrack that came with the package when a group of boys came out of a narrow passage at the side of the street to their left. It was pretty dark in that corner that Hank and the rest did not see their faces. At first, Charles thought it was Erik and his crew, but it was actually much worse. It was the Hellfire Gang from their rival school.
"Wachoo Grimrats doing? Off to ballet class or sumptin?" One of them said sarcastically and big moronic gusts of laughter came from his group. Hank was carrying a bag with the Grimalkin School Logo and colors, this was why these boys knew they were from there.
Charles and his friends just kept quiet, a numb silence settling over them, their hearts hammering in their chests in fear. Bullies seem to pop up just about everywhere they go, it made Charles wonder if they just happen to have some sort of aura on them that attracted bullies like a magnet would. Hank gestured for them to just move away to the right, but the thuggish boys started to surround them. There were five of them all in all and they of course meant to deal some damage to the smaller boys, who were pressing close to each other and looking about them nervously, trying to find a means to escape.
"It was a fluke that your stupid baseball team won last year and I ain't takin' no more shit from you. We'll be beating your asses this year and we'll be starting with you three-"
Hank lifted both palms up in surrender, trying to placate the goon."Listen, that has nothing to do with us. We don't even play baseball-"
"Yeah, Baseball totally sucks!" Sean cried out in a shrill, warbling voice. Hank gave Sean a withering glance. That was the wrong thing to say to a bunch of goons who are also baseball players, Hank could clearly see that got them even more riled up.
"You little pricks! You dare to talk back!" The one who spoke first, probably their leader, shouted out and lifted a fist up to punch Charles, the one closest to his line of vision. Charles winced and closed his eyes tight, waiting for it. But the fist never met its target.
"Are you such a bunch of sore loser pussies that you pick on the smaller fry?" Erik's deep and throaty voice reached Charles's ears, causing him to open his eyes wide and look up.
The goon's fist met with Erik's palm. He prevented the other boy from landing a blow on Charles by blocking it single-handedly. Charles felt hope flutter in his heart all of a sudden, brightening his face and causing him to smile. Erik saw his expression and gave him a quick wink. Charles realized what he was doing and stopped smiling. He shouldn't let on that he was glad Erik came to his rescue, but at the same time, he was concerned for Erik. Can he handle all five boys by himself? It looked like he was alone. Why was he here?
"Lehnsherr, you asshole!" The other boy seemed to know who Erik is. He pulled his fist back from that tight grip and without being told, the other thugs shoved Charles and his friends away and surrounded Erik instead, glowering at him angrily.
"This must be my night! I'll get to beat the crap out of Shaw's man!" The leader of the group said, cracking his knuckles as he sneered at Erik.
Erik laughed softly at that, insolently grinning back and lifted both hands up, ready for them. "We'll see. So what are you waiting for? Come at me-"They attacked Erik all at once.
Charles and his friends watched on in fear and awe, unable to believe that this is happening. Erik was beating all five boys to a pulp. He wasn't exactly superhuman, he got punched out a few times, but he was unbelievably quicker than any of them. No wonder the other tough guys at their school were afraid of him. He dodged their fists easily; sensing the punches before they came and he landed quite a lot of blows on the other five. It was getting even more violent as bodies crashed down to the ground, their noisy leader the first to be knocked out. One of them pulled a knife on Erik and he broke the bastard's nose, sending the knife flying off into the alley after he kicked the goon.
"We have to call the police!" Hank suddenly cried out, patting down his pockets for his cell phone. Erik heard him and gave him a baleful glance.
"Do that and I gut you!" Erik bellowed. Erik received a punch in the face because he got distracted.
Hank froze and awkwardly brought his hands down. There were only two goons left standing, the biggest of the five and they were bigger than Erik, with Erik being already tall for his age. All three of them staggered about, raining punches. Erik got slammed against a wall, but he head-butted his attacker in the stomach and gave him an uppercut. Blood flew and so did the goon, who fell backwards, unconscious. The other goon rabbit-punched his back and then Erik flung a closed fist into his face and kicked out at his shin, drawing a rusty scream from the other. Erik grabbed a nearby broken piece of wood; perhaps it was from a fence and slammed it to the side of the goon's head, finally knocking him down as well. Erik then collapsed to his knees, gasping and sweaty, his hair hanging over his face. It was all Charles could do to control himself and not go over to Erik to check on his condition. Erik let out a long breath, pushed his hair away from his face and stood up. He went over to Charles and his group, glaring at them ominously.
"Ok, you douche bags! None of you talk about this to anyone. No cops, no teachers, especially not the principal. Got it?"
All three nodded vigorously, too afraid to even speak. But Sean, bless him, managed to get over his fear and say something to Erik. Hank almost wanted to strangle him for doing so.
"You saved us from those goons, Erik. Thanks!"
Erik gave him a hard stare, finally wiping the smile that had formed on Sean's face.
"What made you think I did that for you? I did that for my crew and for myself. Don't any of you think I care to save your sissified little asses!" Erik said tersely as he shoved at Sean's chest, causing the other boy to cry out and fall on his rump. Then, he turned his malignant stare over to Charles and reached out to clutch the back of his neck, pulling him close.
"And you. I still have a bone to pick with you! No Hellfire freak touches you. Only I have the right to get you. Understand, Xavier?"
Charles looked up at him and he could see the tenderness there. Underneath the expression of wrath on his face, his eyes told a different story. Charles nodded minutely and Erik released him. Suddenly Erik gave Charles's stomach a shove with his booted foot, sending him down next to Sean. He pretended to laugh scornfully and then he grabbed Hank's glasses and threw it down to the cement, stomping on it, breaking it to pieces. He swaggered off as if nothing else happened, totally ignoring all three boys. The kick did not hurt Charles, but merely pushed him to sit down. Hank gestured for Charles and Sean to get up quickly because they needed to run as fast as they could and leave this place before the beat-up thugs woke up.
They ran on and when they got close to Hank's home, they stopped running. Charles was bending over, gasping, his hands pressed to his knees while Sean sat back on the sidewalk, splaying his legs out and panting like a dog.
"I don't know if I like the irony of this. A bully saving us from a bunch of bullies-"Hank said as he stood there with his hands to his hips, grimacing, his sweat making his pale yellow sweater dark in patches under his arms. His mom was going to kill him once he tells her that a bully broke his glasses again.
"I'm just fucking glad I did not get beat up!" Sean replied, still gasping for air.
"Me too!" Charles said, finally straightening up. He had to applaud Erik for his acting skills. It made him smile faintly as he tried to recover himself along with his friends. When they arrived at Hank's house, the mood had turned somber so they decided to call it quits for the night and play the game some other time.
Later when Charles was back at home and he was lying in bed, he thought about what Erik did for him and his friends. Although Erik had to act like the badass that he was supposed to be, Charles knew it was simply that, an act. This was so he could pretend in front of Charles's friends that he still hated his guts. He heard his message tone bleeping beneath his pillow, coming from his cell phone. He unlocked his phone and saw that the text was from Erik.
[Charles, I hope you're ok. Sorry if I hurt you. I feel terrible I did it.]
Charles felt his heart skip a beat, just reading that message from Erik, glad that Erik was concerned about him. Then, his phone began to ring. Charles could see it was Erik's number. It got Charles nervous and happy all at once. He was not sure if he should answer it. He sat up straight, suddenly flustered and gripping at his phone hard as he stared at the screen stupidly. To hell with it! He pressed the call button and brought the phone slowly to his ear, trying to sound calm.
"Erik? Why did you call?"
Erik let out a guttural sigh into the receiver.
"I just...I just want to make sure you are ok. That we're ok and I just want to say I'm sorry,"
"You don't have to apologize. We are just doing what we usually do, remember? We had an agreement-"
"I know, but I feel bad about it-"
"I'm actually glad you were there or we might have been beaten up. Why were you there anyway?"
Silence. Then, "I was...watching out for you,"
"Oh," Charles did not know what to say to that. It was a blessing in disguise anyway that he was there, at the same time his obsession over Charles was a bit disturbing. Would it be crazy of him to feel strangely flattered by it? Over the line, Erik sensed his discomfort over what he had done.
"I shouldn't be doing that, I get it, but I was worried and you had your friends with you so I had to do something-"
Erik sounded unhappy and unsure over the phone. Where was that confident, snide bastard they encountered earlier? This was a completely different side of Erik.
"I'm fine with it. Ok? So stop being a wuss, it doesn't suit you."
Erik had to laugh."Alright, you called me a wuss, I'm going to get you for that!" he said it in a playful and affectionate tone of voice. Charles felt shivers run up his spine just hearing Erik's voice. Erik had no way of seeing it, but Charles was blushing and smiling like an idiot in his bed, just by talking to him, his heart doing somersaults inside his chest. He laughed with Erik and told him he had to tuck in for the night. The other was very reluctant to end the call, but Charles had to cut it short before he got carried away again.
"And Erik-"
"What?"
"Thank you," Charles said in a sweet and soft voice.
Charles did not know what effect his voice also had on the other. Erik was almost close to hyperventilating, hearing Charles's voice in his ear, his heart pounding like mad as he sat restlessly on a chair, still nursing his bruised knuckles in ice water on the kitchen table at his house. Even at school, every time that they see each other, it was all Erik could do not to make any reaction whenever he looked at Charles. Just looking at him made Erik want to take him into an empty room and take him. Erik had all these romantic fantasies about him, not even feeling ashamed about them anymore and the wet dreams he'd been having about the other lately...that had been so hot.
"It's nothing," Erik tried to sound gruff, but failed at it, his voice breaking suddenly that he had to clear his throat. It made Charles giggle in his ear, making him smile as well, a warm feeling settling in his stomach.
"Good Night, Erik-"Charles whispered into the phone and was lying back in bed.
"'Night," Erik said abruptly and with slightly trembling fingers, he ended the call. He pressed the knuckles of his hand that still held the phone to his lips and sighed again.
Mr Logan made it so that his class was segregated. One set was composed of the more athletic group; the other had the physically-challenged students. He did because he wanted to part the bullies away from the 'permanent tenderfoots', a term he wanted to call the intellectually inclined students that must also attend his class. He may be a tough teacher and may at times look mean himself, but he was against bullying of any sort that was why he got permission from the principal to do this. The other half was supervised by his assistant, Anna Marie. She was the tenderfoot coach, while he handled the bad ass bunch along with the regular students. The tenderfoots included Charles and his friends, Sean and Hank. They were running laps that day, while the other group was indoors doing calisthenics with Mr Logan. Mr Logan had known that Erik had skipped detention a week ago so as punishment, Erik was made to run laps alone on a separate lane from the tenderfoots so that he would not trouble them in any way.
"Man, you look different-"Sean had commented as he eyed Charles's new haircut.
Charles's mother had insisted that he was starting to look unkempt so she had made sure he received a very short haircut when she took him to salon. Charles ran an uneasy hand through his hair. He rather missed his old hairstyle and then he pushed his glasses up his nose, a habit both he and Hank had developed.
"It will grow out," Charles said and then Miss Anna Marie was calling them in to get to the tracks.
Charles ran the track along with the rest. He was not that much of a weakling and he ran on sure and strong. He wore grey colored sweats like the rest of the group. He was already ahead of everyone, leaving Sean and Hank behind him. Sean was wheezing for breath while Hank did his best to catch up. Charles decided to go drink some water at the dispensers and then he began to run again in a light sprint.
"Looking good," Erik said at his side, his voice as always a throaty purr, but he sounded a bit winded that time, perhaps it was because Mr Logan had him running nonstop ahead of everyone at the beginning of the period.
Charles was so startled by Erik's sudden appearance that he tripped on his own feet and fell. Erik bent down to help him up.
"Sorry. Did I startle you?"Erik had placed a possessive hand at his lower back and had touched one of his arms, his body so close to Charles. He was wearing a sleeveless dark gray shirt and loose black running shorts that ended at his mid thigh, his exposed arms and legs rippling with muscle, his tanned skin basted with sweat which ran down his neck and soaked a darkened patch at the front of his shirt. He was tall and lean and undeniably too handsome to look at. Charles slowly pulled away from Erik's hands, feeling slightly dizzy at his closeness.
"Erik, you shouldn't be here. If Mr Logan saw you-"
"Lehnsherr! Did I tell you that you could stop?"Mr Logan hollered.
He was standing across the field, watching them. Erik lifted one side of his lip up, almost as if to snarl out a response, but he didn't. He gave Charles one last heated look and ran back to the opposite track. Mr Logan walked briskly over to Charles looking concerned.
"Did he hurt you or say anything else to you, Charles?"
Charles shook his head weakly, his face flushed. Mr Logan wondered if Charles was just covering up for Erik who might have said something mean to him. He patted the young man's shoulder and advised him to stick with his group.
After Phys Ed, the athletes finished up their shower first while the second group, the tenderfoots, would take their bath last. Charles meanwhile was the very last one to take his bath. Miss Anna Marie had assigned him the job of clearing the equipment the other students had used during calisthenics. On their daily roster, it was his turn that day. He had to clean the equipment first before putting them away.
By the time he was done everyone else was gone from the shower rooms. Charles had wanted it that way because he preferred taking his bath alone, which was why he didn't mind taking a bath later than everyone else. He was already lathering up and enjoying the cool blast of water on his skin. He suddenly jumped back in shock, almost slipping when a hand touched the back of his neck. That same hand had reached out to steady him to prevent him from falling.
"Are you always this jumpy, Charles?" Erik murmured from behind him.
"Erik, what are you doing here?" Charles countered with a question of his own.
His eyes widened even more because Erik was standing there, naked. Both of them are in the shower room, all alone. Charles was paralyzed with the thoughts that suddenly rushed to his head. Jesus, what is he up to? He's naked! Erik can't possibly do something to me here. People would see us-
Erik reached up to caress the side of Charles's head, running a hand through the wet locks. Charles felt the heat instantly; his body reacted to the touch.
"You look good with your hair short like this-"Erik said softly, his eyes slightly dreamy, his voice like crushed velvet to Charles's ears. Charles tried to push his hand away, feeling like his own limbs are swimming in quagmire, his movements strangely lethargic. The water was still beating down on him from the shower head.
"Erik, you promised me-"Charles cried out, his voice sounding petulant, but he couldn't help it.
"Well you should know better than to trust my word, Charles-"
"You asked me to kiss you one final time back at my house, remember? You said that was supposed to be the last time-"
Erik shrugged, taking the other in his arms and smiling wickedly."I lied,"
Erik pressed him up against the tiled wall, steadying him and then he leaned in to kiss Charles. Charles struggled weakly, but that was all he managed to do. When their lips touched again, Charles felt as if any sense he ever had was drowned out. Erik kissed him slowly this time, sucking at his lower lip and biting down gently. Charles instantly reacted to that kiss. Just with that Erik could see Charles's manhood rising up and stiffening, even though the other was trying to turn his head away from the kiss and pushing at his shoulders.
"Erik, I can't-"Charles moaned out, shutting his eyes tight. The feel of Erik's skin next to his...it was deliciously hot, his skin tingling all over.
Erik lifted his chin up."Look at me," Charles let out a soft gasp and did as he was told. Erik was looking at him gently, his eyes pleading.
"Why do we have to fight what we feel, Charles? I don't want to fight it anymore. I don't know if what we have is love or lust. All I know is I want you. I want you so bad it's like it's hurting me here,"
He lifted a hand up and pressed it to his chest as the water beat down on both of them from the shower and then he slid his hand lower, down to his lower torso.
"And it hurts down here too. Don't you ever feel that way about me?"
Charles did not answer for a long time. He just kept on looking at Erik's face, then his eyes roved over Erik's body. Erik was taller than him, more muscular and lean, his waist narrow, but his shoulders are broad and strong. Charles's eyes suddenly found Erik's throbbing sex; he was biting down on his lower lip slowly at the sight of it, his mouth watering. He turned his dark gaze back up to meet Erik's eyes, his cheeks burning.
"I feel the same way," he whispered, the sound seeming to echo in the shower stall.
He suddenly flung his arms out and threw it around Erik's neck and drew him close to kiss him roughly. Erik fought back and pressed him against the wall, moaning into his mouth as they frantically kissed each other. Erik traced hot kisses over Charles's chest, playfully licking at his nipples and pressing himself up against the other's erection, making the other gasp out lustily. Erik reached for Charles's behind, forcing him closer and he squeezed down at the yielding softness. Charles giggled against Erik's open mouth, the other sliding his tongue out to lick at Charles's lips. Then, Erik pulled back to steady him against the wall, a self-satisfied smile forming on his lips.
"I want to do something-"
"W-what?" Charles asked, his entire body trembling, wondering in anticipation on what Erik was up to. Erik leaned in close and licked at his earlobe and bit at it.
"I'm going to give you a bath," he whispered.
"Oh," Charles was slightly disappointed. He thought Erik was going to do something extremely sexual to him. Erik still kept on smiling at him and then he began to rub the soap on his palms, lathering it and he did begin to wash Charles.
He ran his soapy hands over that soft, pale skin...he did it with aching slowness, tracing down from the shoulders, his chest, thumbs pressing at the nipples, inching downwards to his belly, his hips and then he drew Charles close to him, still holding his dark gaze and he lathered soap down Charles's back while embracing him and then he was soaping Charles's behind as he squeezed down and forced their lower bodies closer, making Charles moan out loud in arousal, his skin tingling and racing with gooseflesh. That electric touch making him so sensitive. Then, he kissed Charles again, biting softly at the lower lip and sucking on it, sending tiny, thrilling shockwaves upon Charles's hungering lips, all the while his hands moved all over Charles's body, spreading soap and the heat of his palm over the other's skin. It was the most sensuous bath Charles had ever had. Erik broke free from his lips, his eyes heavy with want and he began to kiss Charles's neck and his ears. Charles was so restless and so turned on by everything Erik was doing to him, eliciting sounds of arousal, trembling sighs and helpless gasps from him.
"Now turn around," Erik coaxed him, pressing his hot mouth against the other's ear as he said this and Charles obeyed. Without warning, Erik reached his arm down and was lathering soap at Charles's cock from behind, doing it slowly, tightening his grip.
"O-ohhh!" Charles cried out.
Erik's hand was moving faster and tighter over the length of his cock, only stopping to lather soap upon his balls and fondling them gently. Charles moaned and writhed restlessly against the tile wall, his hands splayed out against the wet tiles, as if he did not know what to do with his limbs. His behind jutted backwards and he could feel the press of Erik's own manhood against him. So hard. He didn't force himself into Charles. Not just yet. He wanted to please Charles so much, wanted to drive him crazy with want that the other would be the one begging to be taken. Erik was thinking that this strategy was somehow working. Charles sobbed out against the tiles, bringing one arm up to press his eyes against it as Erik continued to give him that slow and deep hand job under the shower. Erik was going faster, up and down, down and up his length and tighter...tighter he goes, squeezing the come out of Charles.
"Oh God! Oh God! Can't stand it anymore!" Charles moaned out loud, his breath was quickening unevenly, his own hips bucking up, frantic to meet those motions until finally he came, letting out one short, breathless cry, his come spurted up the tiles as he almost collapsed to his knees, but Erik used his other arm to support him and press him against his own body. Charles was gasping, his eyelids still fluttering as the throes of pleasure ran up and down his spine and sending a blinding blaze of pure white lust up to his mind, mouth hanging open at the intensity of it. All the while the water from the shower head rained down upon them.
Charles felt his knees wobble, his cheeks still brightly hectic with color, the pleasure still running through him as Erik kept on hugging him under the shower. They finished their bath together and then they went to the locker room after to put their clothes on. Erik watched him as he pulled his pants up and was buttoning his shirt. Erik looked as if he wanted to undress him again, his eyes darkly glittering and strangely possessive. Erik had finished brushing his teeth at the sink as Charles combed at his hair, then he put his glasses on, smiling at Erik from his reflection in the mirror. Erik grinned back at him, looking quite self-satisfied after their moment in the shower room. He put aside his bag on a nearby bench. Suddenly, Charles went to Erik and hugged him from behind it startled the other. Erik turned around to look at his face, he was still blushing, and it was so cute. Charles gently lifted both his palms and pressed it to Erik's belly, slowly running his hands over it.
"We can't be seen together, Erik-"he whispered; that desperate desire still on his face.
Erik kissed his forehead as he bent down closer to Charles's face. "So what do we do, Charles?"
Charles's face reddened even more and he looked embarrassed, but he struggled to say what he wanted to say. "Please come to...come to my house tonight," he mumbled and then looked away, his eyelashes downcast, he was trembling slightly. Erik smiled to himself. Charles had finally given in and wanted him bad enough to invite him into his house. He was extremely excited, but he did not dare show it to Charles.
"Ok, tonight-"
Charles could not prevent the huge smile that formed on his lips, his eyes shining as if he was almost about to cry. It made Erik look at him with affection. Both of them stepped out of the room together. Charles suddenly pulled on the notepad in his pocket and his handkerchief fell out in the process. He shifted his backpack to the side, attempting to pick up the fallen handkerchief, but his backpack toppled off his shoulder and fell to the floor noisily. Erik bent down automatically to pick up both the bag and the handkerchief, handing them back to Charles and smiling down at him gently.
"You're such a klutz, Charles-"Erik said with affection, his hands lingering on Charles fingers.
Then he bent his head close and whispered into Charles's ear, his lips pressing against the skin."But I still like you,"
Charles blushed, smiling shyly back at Erik. Erik helped him shift his back pack up his back. They were walking side by side, so intent on each other that they did not notice Mr Logan coming out of his office and catching sight of them smiling and laughing over something. Thankfully, Mr Logan did not see their moment at the doorway. He furrowed his brow in wonder at them both. Are those two becoming friends?
Rev-02
