Felix and Warren (boyxboy)

Twelve

Felix wasn't sure what to say at first. The thought of spending time at Warren's house filled him with nerves. Weirder still, his heartbeat had quickened within his chest. Was he nervous? Surely not. Felix didn't get nervous.

"Sure," Felix said, reminding himself to keep cool.

Warren smiled, as some relief waved over him.

Although he probably wouldn't admit it out loud, Felix sort of admired Warren. He was so kind, and he didn't even have to be. He didn't even have to try to be. It seemed like this kind of thing just came naturally to him. For a moment, Felix wished he could be a better person. That moment didn't last long. Felix was over trying to change himself, especially as far as other people were concerned.

After a moment, Felix realised that thought was not strictly true. He had been trying to be a better brother to Wynn, after all. He had been trying to be a better friend to Warren.

"Great! We should probably head to class," Warren replied.

Felix nodded, as he quickly found his voice again.

"Yeah, let's go," he said.

The two boys left the cafeteria and made their way towards their first class. English, again.

"You work hard. It's impressive," Felix said, as he watched Warren open his school notebook on the table and saw the many notes that were written neatly there.

Felix took a moment to compare it to his own scrawled notes and felt a temptation to shake his head in amusement.

At least he could read his own writing. Most of the time.

"Thanks," Warren replied, with a small smile.

He was still getting used to Felix being kind to him, after the two of them had got off on the wrong foot, but it was a pleasant thing to get used to.

Granted, there were some days when Warren wanted to hit Felix with his notebook for chewing his gum too aggressively beside him. There were also days where Felix wanted to shut Warren off, afraid to know someone too closely again. For the most part, though, the two of them were more than okay.

"I like having you around," Warren said, as he finished the sentence that he had been writing.

Felix felt warmth flood through his chest.

He felt the same thing.

However, when he tried to express it, the teacher scowled at them for talking in class again. She was a hawk.

Instead, he just playfully nudged Warren with his elbow and tried to scrawl a few more notes down in his book.

Thankfully, the bell soon rang, giving Felix an opportunity to speak to Warren again once they were out of class and back in the hallway.

"So, do you game often?" he asked.

"Yeah," Warren said. "You're confirming your worst nightmares. I'm a total nerd."

"I respect it," Felix said, as he raised his hands up in a peaceful gesture. "My cousin, Abigail and I used to game together when we were little, but I don't know...we fell out of touch."

The last time Felix had spoken to any members of his family beside his younger sister had been the funeral.

He hadn't bothered to keep contact after that.

They hadn't done anything wrong. Felix just found it too painful to talk to them all because he knew without a doubt that they would bring up his parents. He couldn't face the subject.

Warren nodded understandingly.

"Did you game with your parents ever?" Warren asked.

"I uh-" Felix paused. He didn't want to talk about this with Warren. At least, he didn't want to talk about it yet. He wanted his time with Warren to be a grief-free zone. Something that could distract his mind. If Warren knew the truth, he would only see Felix as some broken teenage soul, lost in the world. Felix couldn't think of anything worse than that. "No," Felix answered, finally.

Warren couldn't help but notice the sadness in Felix's tone, but he didn't want to press him on the subject, so he kept walking.

The two boys had one more class for the day and then they would be able to head to Warren's house.

They grabbed a quick lunch of turkey sandwiches from the cafeteria and then made their way to their final class.

After it was finished, Felix headed out and waited for Warren in the hallway. Warren had said he wanted to get some practice tests from the teacher.

Warren had a point, Felix thought, as he stood in the now almost empty hallway, he was a nerd.

Felix swiftly removed the smirk from his face, as Warren stepped out of the classroom to join him again.

"Shall we?" Warren asked, with a bright smile on his face.

The kind of smile that made Felix's heart feel weird things.

"We shall," Felix replied.

So, they made their way out of the school and walked the way to Warren's house.

As soon as they arrived, one thought became present in Felix's mind. Their house was big.