Gauntlet

Chapter 3

What a wonderful Thursday it was. Although it was almost a carbon copy of the previous day, there was an extra pep in my step. I had spent the rest of my night chatting with King, so I woke up grinning like a lovesick puppy.

-Flashback-

"Oh! M-me too." I mumbled, staring blankly at my dejected sandwich. The possibility of some sort of relationship crossed my mind after he said that he liked men, but I pushed it out as quickly as I could. I was getting ahead of myself.

"Oh really?" His words came out in a low purr, one of those deep purrs that would resonate in one's chest. An involuntary shiver coursed throughout my body. "That's good to know Xavier." He added.

"Y-yeah." I coughed, trying to mask whatever weak whimper I almost released. Someone's voice shouldn't have this much of an effect on me. In a hurry, I changed the subject, hoping that the exciting buzz in my body would disappear, but it didn't for the rest of the night.

-End Flashback-

"Oh shit!" A loud thumping noise rang throughout the hallway. The sudden force of the human wall in front of me had me falling straight onto my butt, my backpack falling off in the process and sliding a little ways away. I had not so gracefully rammed into someone headfirst. This is what I get for keeping my head down all the time when I walked. "Are you okay dude?"

"Aaron, the fuck? What if he has a concussion or something." The person I bumped into chuckled before replying.

"My chest isn't that hard. I'm not a brick. Anyway." A hand pushed itself into my face and my head lurched back on impulse. I began wondering if he'd suddenly get angry at me for running into him, if he'd yell, or shove me as payback. My shaking figure cowered at the mere idea. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Let me help you up, man." Hesitantly, I clasped onto the hand and was hauled up and into the air as if I didn't weigh a thing. Maybe he wasn't a brick...he was some sort of beefy slingshot.

For a minute, I took a good look at who was standing in front of me. There was a fairly short girl, standing next to the tree-like man. She was tiny compared to her friend or boyfriend. Her hair was a fiery red which matched her current mood. Her freckled-covered face was puffed out in anger and she was squishing her lips together in an angry pout. My gaze shifted to the tree- ...man. He was tall obviously and packed with muscle; A big guy who looked like he lifted for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I found myself admiring his arms specifically, wishing that I had some sort of muscle myself. I then peeped at his face. He was quite handsome. He had a smooth face with a chiseled jaw. He had these big, chocolatey brown eyes that were as wide as saucers. His ears were adorned with many earrings. He also had an eyebrow piercing, a lip piercing, and a nose piercing. He looked incredibly cool but somewhat intimidating.

I probably came across like some sort of fragile little boy, shivering in fear next to a giant. Utterly embarrassing.

"Fuck, maybe he does have a concussion." He mumbled. I winced and hugged myself. My heart palpitated and I began to feel the beginnings of a cold sweat on my forehead.

I should have paid attention. I'm such an idiot. Now I'm probably holding them up. My eyes slowly began to water, blurring my vision as I once again stared at the floor. My only goal was to escape.

"I'm fine." I barely whispered, then searched around for my backpack that had fallen on the floor. I was glad that I had remembered to zip it or else everything would have been halfway down the hallway. The moment my bag was on my shoulder I sped away, ignoring the call of the tiny girl who was asking me to wait. I didn't stop until I made it to my second class.

When I entered the classroom, my eyes immediately landed on my Professor who was gleaming like she had won the lottery. I grimaced and hurried to my seat in the back of the classroom before she could catch me staring. It was more comfortable in the back. I was always paranoid that some random person would be staring at me from behind. The furthest I was from everyone the better, especially now with my slightly irritated, watery eyes. I was a mess, and my brain kept screaming incoherent things at me.