Partners In Crime (lietpol/Poliet)

Chapter 4

Feliks grabbed Toris's hand and dragged him down the hallways. Toris had no idea where Feliks was taking him.

"Where are we going?" Toris asked.

Feliks smiled. "It's going to like, be a surprise." Toris seriously doubted that even Feliks knew where Feliks was taking him but he didn't dare argue. Toris was smiling so big and so wide he knew he must've looked ridiculous but he couldn't have wiped that grin off his face had his life depended on it.

Feliks ran down a short flight of stairs, Toris being towed behind him. They had descended onto the basement floor. Feliks made a sharp right, jerking his friend after him into an open side-room.

Toris collided with a cold steel shelf, and he grabbed it to steady himself. He looked around uncertainly. It seemed like they were in some sort of storage room. Unopened boxes of textbooks, pencils, and myriad of other things lined the walls, rising into high stacks.

Feliks raised his arms above his head. "Ta da!" His voice echoed through the abandoned room.

Toris shook his head, smiling. "Please don't be all cliche and tell me that this is your secret hideout that no one but me knows about."

Feliks crossed his arms. "But what if it, like, is? Lying is totally not cool y'know." His lips formed into a mock-frown. Toris playfully slapped him on the shoulder. The Lithuanian hadn't felt this carefree since...forever. The entire situation was like an adventure.

"Actually this is like the first time I've ever been in this room," Feliks admitted. "But now it's totally my secret hideout." He pointed to Toris dramatically. "OUR secret hideout!"

Toris chuckled dismissively. "Yeah, okay," he murmured.

"It's like, our lair. If I ever murder someone you are totally being my partner in crime and helping me hide the body here."

Toris raised an eyebrow. "And why exactly would you murder someone?"

Feliks straightened his posture, speaking in a 'manly' low voice. "Because no one hurts my Liet and gets away with it!"

Toris laughed at Feliks's attempt to look intimidating.

Out of the blue, Feliks pulled Toris into a tight hug.

"Huh?" Toris asked over Feliks's shoulder. "What was that for?"

Feliks dropped the embrace, and looked into his friend's eyes.. "To be honest, I do that to everyone as cool as you." Feliks placed his hands on Toris's shoulders. "So in other words, just you."

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Toris took a step backward, hitting the wall.

The sound of the final bell of the day reverberated throughout the school, quickly followed by the sound of students' feet stomping from the floor above. Toris could distantly hear the sound of a teacher yelling, "I dismiss you, not the bell!" from afar.

Toris, flustered, asked, "Should we leave?"

"Nah," Feliks responded. He knelt along a bare outstretch of the wall and sat cross-legged. Light shone in through a hole gaping through the cement, decorating the smooth floorboards with golden streams of light.

Toris awkwardly shuffled over to his friend and took a seat next to him. "I want to like, stay here with you a little longer," Feliks whispered.

Toris began to wonder if perhaps Feliks had mean like-dash-like and not like-comma-like. But Feliks seemed so happy, and honestly, so did Toris. He had never had a friend that made him feel this way, and Toris didn't want to spoil the relationship and make things awkward. Maybe he could just discreetly find a way of expressing his concerns.

As he opened his mouth to say something, Feliks pulled him into a kiss.

Toris's eyes widened in shock. Feliks caressed his shoulders warmly. The kiss was totally one-sided, Feliks gently moving his lips against Toris's. The Lithuanian's heart sped up. Tingles spread all the way down to his toes.

Although Toris did not return the kiss, he could feel the passion behind Feliks's touch. It was slow, patient, filled with hope and desire. Toris's stomache churned. He could feel Feliks's uncertainty toward his own quick action, perhaps even his regret. But their lips didn't pull away. Feliks was waiting for his maybe-more-than-a-friend to make an action.

...

Toris pulled away as he was blinded by sudden flash a light. A mechanical shutter clicked.

Toris blinked, spots dancing before his eyes.

"Ohonhonhonhon."

Toris whipped his head toward the sound, finding his feet instantly. Feliks shrieked and hid behind his taller friend.

The sound came from the gap in the wall! Whoever had taken the picture was outside. Toris glanced through it, bewildered, and spotted sight of wavy dirty-blond hair ducking beneath a bush.

"H-hey!" Toris called out.

He squeezed himself into the gap, leaving Feliks crouched on the floor. Toris tumbled through the air for a milisecond, crashing into the bushes below.

"Ow! Mi amigo you are squashing me..."

Toris rolled onto his side. He had been crushing... Antonio? Antonio was one of the most popular boys at school.

Two more pairs of eyes gazed at the Lithuanian from different bushes. Toris recognized them as Francis and Gilbert, two more extremely popular kids, especially among the ladies.

"W-why were you stocking me?" Toris stammered. Francis batted his eyelashes mockingly. "We were just watching two love-birds," he cooed.

"Holy shit!" Gilbert yelled, glancing at the photo Francis had taken. "Toris is kissing the new boy! Woah!" Gilbert looked up at Toris. "Oh, sorry. You're right here."

Toris clenched his hands into fists. "Give me that!" He yelled, groping for the camera.

"No can do," Gilbert snickered, tossing the camera to Francis just as Toris was about to snatch it. "It's a good peice of gossip to spread around."

Toris stood slack-jawed. Something hit him: Natalia. She said he couldn't even talk to girls... What would she do if she found out Toris was off being kissed by boys?

Toris needed that picture deleted. He needed it the same we he needed oxygen and water. Toris's eyebrows furrowed and his nostrils flared in anger, puffing out air harshly.

He wasn't sure if he was madder at the Trio, or the fact that he was absolutely hopeless.