Breathe With Me (One, Two, Three)

Chapter 31: Mountains

When the bell rang, it didn't take long for all of the students to scramble out of the classroom. Seth usually was the first one out, eager to get away from everyone, but hung back to wait for Percy, who still insisted on going unseen by the students even though Mr. Blofis had already spotted him.

Seth quickly packed up his things, rocking on the balls of his feet as he patiently waited for Percy to talk to his dad for a moment. When Percy was finished, the two peeked out the classroom door to see if anyone was coming, giggling quietly to themselves as they did, knowing that they were being ridiculous.

"Coast is clear." Seth grinned, cheeks flushed pink, and, in a moment of bravery, he grabbed Percy's hand as he dashed down the hall to the front of the school. They slowed to a stroll and Seth took them to the side of the building where a nice clearing with a large red maple tree was.

"Oh, wow!" Percy gazed up at the large tree, his eyes immediately catching on any branches that looked sturdy enough to support his weight. He idly swung their hands between them because he found it a bit amusing that the other hadn't realized to let go. He chuckled when Seth snatched his hand away with a red face but mercifully didn't say anything about it. "Are we going to climb it?"

"Y-Yeah!" The seventeen-year-old nodded, putting his bag down on the floor so he could pull out his lunch. It wasn't much, just a small sandwich and a baggy of chips that he packed for himself. His mom hadn't gone grocery shopping, so he was probably going to have to go to the store later that day. He just hoped Tess wasn't at the house so he could squirrel away some of the food in his room.

Seth offered the bag of chips to Percy, who took it in surprise, before he held the sandwich bag between his teeth so he could use both hands to scurry up the tree in practiced movements. He held a hand out to Percy and helped the other male up to his branch, scooting carefully to the side to give him more room. "I like coming here to think." He said after a moment of silence, simply holding his sandwich bag in his lap.

"It's nice." Percy kicked his legs in front of him, not reaching for his food either. It wasn't because he wasn't grateful, he really was, but his dad had basically given him the platonic version of the shovel talk and Paul had basically hinted that Seth's home life left something to be desired. "Do you always come here during your free period?"

"Most of the time." Seth hummed, hesitantly copying Percy with far more careful movements. "Sometimes I'm in the library studying."

"My dad mentioned that you're graduating early. Got a date yet?"

The seventeen-year-old nodded as he finally unwrapped his sandwich, taking a small bite. "February seventh. It's, uh, four days after my birthday."

Percy grinned at him. "That's exciting. College?"

Seth grimaced, fiddling with the edge of the plastic bag in his hands. "I want to but... I don't know, I don't think I could afford it. Plus, I can't- There's not really any schools I'm interested in here."