Temporary Bliss

Chapter 1

It was a gloomy day. Dark clouds covered the sky, a cold wind nipped at his skin, bringing a flush to his pale cheeks. To make matters worse, a light drizzle had begun and he still had two blocks to go before he made it to the school.

By the time the reddish brown brick building came into view, Angel Williams was soaked to the bone. 

He ran up the walkway, ignoring the other students cursing him for pushing past them. Fuck them, he thought, at least they had all thought to bring jackets. All Angel had was his football jacket and a white t-shirt underneath, both of which were soaked. 

He went straight for the locker rooms, hoping he had kept spare clothes in over the summer. 

When he opened his locker, the blue painted door squeaking on it's rusty hinges, Angel was met with... Nothing. He slammed the locket shut, growling in anger. His shirt was nearly translucent. You could see every muscle in his chest and stomach, which admittedly wasn't much. Despite how much he ate and worked out, Angel couldn't for the life of him gain any weight. He was always small, even in his childhood. While all the other boys went through growth spurts, he remained his five feet and ten inches. 

"Are you good?" That voice. 

Angel whipped around, coming face to face with his best friend and new captain, Reese Gillian. Reese was named captain after their former captain, Ben Marshall, graduated last year. Angel was also upgraded from his position as linebacker to the new quarterback. He wasn't sure how smart that was considering he couldn't tackle for shit. They had yet to play in their new positions so he supposed he would see how they did during their first practice later today.

"Hello?" Reese waved a hand in front of his face. "Are you in there?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry." He mumbled. He hadn't seen Reese all summer because he had went away on a family trip to Peru or something like that. Reese already had dark skin but it seemed more glowing than before he left and his dark curly hair was longer. He also looked like he had packed on more muscle, his arms flexing against the sleeves of his t-shirt. 

"I asked if you were good but by the looks of it, the rain got you." Reese smirked, his dark eyes raising from his feet to his damp hair. 

Angel huffed. "The weather app said cloudy. It didn't say anything about rain."

"Since when is the weather app accurate?" Laughed Reese. He stopped when he saw the pout Angel gave him and sighed. "Come on. I have a change of clothes in my locker."

"You keep clothes in over the summer?" He followed him over to his locker which was only across the hall from his and watched as Reese turned the dial on the lock.

"Well yeah because if I don't, I end up in the same situation as you."

"Haha." 

Reese pulled out a black t-shirt and dark blue hoodie with the school's name written across it in large black letters. "I don't have extra pants so this will have to do."

Angel took the clothes, heart pounding in his chest as he put them on. He felt Reese's eyes on him as he changed and hurried to cover his lean body. It wasn't just his weight that he had an issue with. He was also unbelievably pale and he was covered in light brown freckles. They didn't just stop at his face, they covered his whole body. Arms, legs, stomach, back. He hated them almost as much as he hated the fact that no matter how much time he spent in the sun, he couldn't tan. 

When he pulled the sweater on, the sleeves pooled past his hands and the length of it was almost past his waist. Despite being stuffed in a locker for two months, it still smelled heavily of Reese's cologne. He breathed in the scent just as Reese's chuckle filled the room. "You look like a child."