Dance Til You Bleed (MxM)

number thirty

Ariel Jiménez

"What?"

"Nothing," I mumbled as I stared at his, once, sleeping face.

He slowly lifted his lids and I made eye contact with his green eyes.

"It's something. What's wrong?" He sighed as he rubbed his eyes.

"I have to go out today," I exhaled as I folded my hands under my chin.

"Hmm?" He rolled over onto his back and ran his hands through his hair.

I sat up on my elbows and looked down at him.

"I have dance practice today. I'll be gone for a while."

He nodded.

I bit my lip as I stared at him. He turned to me and then what I was implying clicked in his mind.

"Oh, Ariel," he groaned.

"Jesus, I'm fine. You can go to whatever thing you have. I'm not gonna destroy the apartment and I'm not gonna hurt myself. Just go," Alex clicked his tongue and sat up.

"Alex," I called after him.

I jogged after him as he marched out of the room and into the living room. I grabbed his arm and spun him around.

"Hey! You've gotta understand why I'm on edge. You understand don't you? I leave for two days, you have cuts all over your arms. I leave for a few hours and you're not breathing, your hands are bloody, and you're unresponsive."

He rubbed his eyes.

"I'm—"

"I'm gonna call Andre."

"Ariel!"

"I'm gonna call Andre because he's worried too."

He pulled his arm from my grip and walked over to the couch. He plopped down and pulled his hair back into a bun quickly and sighed. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

I stood a few feet away from him and stared at him. I never really noticed until recently but his whole body was covered with scars. Some of them are burn scars.

I've always wanted to ask him about it but I didn't know if that'd be overstepping. I slowly walked over to him, I sat down beside him, and I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Just for today? You guys can hang out. It's not like he's a babysitter or someone you don't know."

Alex sighed and rubbed his hands up and down his pants.

"Fine. But just for today."

I nodded with my cheek pressed against his arm.

♥

I shook my hands out and fixed my sleeves.

I stared at my stomach and then at my arms. I looked around and then began flexing in the mirror. My arms are pretty toned and I have a slight four-pack.

The front door opened and I stopped what I was doing quickly in fear I'd be horribly embarrassed. I grabbed my cropped puffer and dance bag and stepped out into the living area.

"I'm not babysitting you."

"Yes you are."

"I'm not. I'm just worried about you. You always get like this around your birthday."

"You fucking know why."

"Celebrate it with Ariel this year."

"I fucking hate my birthday, Andre. I don't even want to acknowledge it."