HORNS (BoyXBoy)

Chapter 151*

Chapter One Hundred and Fifty One

Have you ever had a moment that left you feeling like a popped balloon? A moment where all your boundless energy just goes right out the window because something occurs to you? Well, all my experiences going through my first day of orientation gave me that feeling.

To sum it up?

It was boring.

Yes. Boring.

Mind-rottingly, brain-meltingly, one hundred percent boring.

I'd already sat through nine lectures with different professors in each orientation room, and every single one of them had given lackluster speeches with the same bored, non-enthused drawling tone about the rules and regulations and class requirements, grading systems, GPA expectancy, class etiquette--on, and on, and on. I was so thoroughly and genuinely disappointed by the lack of fun that I sat in my chair and moped, even as I committed everything to memory.

Hugo and Kylie, bless their fucking souls, kept me company at the very least for the first few hours. They followed me from room to room and sat beside me each time we went to a different orientation lecture, cracking jokes with each other, giving witty remarks. I was now in the tenth and final lecture, sitting with my chin on my palm and staring at yet another balding, snooty professor wearing a tacky pair of plaid red pants with suspenders over a black button up.

Tiffany would have a stroke if she could see this guy's fashion sense, I silently mused, smiling to myself as my thoughts wandered to her pretty face, and then subsequently to her husband's face and then their children. I blinked slowly, lazily, distracted by a sudden mental movie of Kim, Adam, and Rosie lying piled on my back as we'd watched some retro anime cartoons.

Little hands in my hair.

Playing with my long, furry ears.

Leaning on my horns and bouncing happily when good things happened to the tv characters. My heart abruptly throbbed with a strange ache and I swallowed, suddenly missing them intensely. I hadn't seen Tiffany or Woody or their kids in what felt like forever. My eyes wandered over to the windows along the wall, overlooking the trees out in the plaza.

Wind rushing through the leaves.

Memories of dancing like a creature of the wild.

Of my father's eyes, accepting and warm...

My brother. His wife. My cousin.

My satyrs.

My heart swelled and I had the urge to stamp my hoof, and that feeling intensified when a tendril of foreign warmth fluttered to life inside me and undulated in response, tangling with my own emotions and reminding me that I was loved. Goosebumps rose on my arms and I shuddered.

Luka.

Comfort flooded me, both from his presence and his silent emotional messages of support.

A sudden nudge on my arm got my attention.

"Hey," Kylie whispered, and I glanced down to see her leering at me, concerned. "You okay?"

"Hm?" I quipped. "Why do you ask?"

"You've been quiet all morning," she explained, setting tentative fingers on my arm, blonde lashes lowering as she deflated. "Hugo and I... we're not making you uncomfortable, are we?"

"What? No," I snorted, raising my brows; I glanced at the Hispanic dude, who had his earbuds in and was bobbing his head to some music while he scrolled through his MyLife page. He didn't seem to be paying any attention to the lectures, but I figured it was natural.