Upside Down (COMPLETE) Inside Out, Book 2 [BoyxBoy]

Keith

He bid a quick goodbye to Mr. Anderson and some of his friends in the hallway. Keith really wanted to say goodbye to Ivan, but he didn't know how to start. They might play the staring game a lot, but they rarely talked to each other. Their communication was limited to only hellos and byes and nothing more.

Realizing he would probably miss the chance to tell Ivan that he was leaving, the pain intensified in Keith's chest. He walked straight to his locker even though it was almost empty now. Don't worry, Keith thought, I can always go home. His mother had no plans on selling the house that she owned here. Thinking that he could always stay in LA during his free time somehow calmed himself a little bit.

Keith reached into his locker and took out what looked like little farewell cards and notes. Slipping them into his pants pocket, he slammed the locker shut. When he turned around, Ivan Fickler was leaning against the locker next to his, shooting him a funny look.

His heart leaped out of his chest.

"I heard about you leaving," Ivan started.

Suddenly there were no words in his mind. Keith trembled, his knees started to feel like jelly, his breath quickened, and goose bumps rose all over his body. He didn't want to let Ivan Fickler see him shuddering like this. Heat warmed up his cheeks as he looked away, trying to collect some ideas so he could at least respond something.

"Yeah ..." Keith finally said. "I—I never thought you'd know."

Ivan let out a small snort, lifting one of his eyebrows up. "Why?"

"Well ..." Keith's heart was beating so fast. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning around ... he had to face Ivan Fickler now, this might be his last chance. "Because ... uh ..."

He couldn't come up with a response, and that raged himself so much. Think, Keith, he forced himself, even though he knew he couldn't. He knew he was stupid, anyway; why would he tell Ivan that he hadn't thought Ivan know about him leaving? Of course he knew, maybe some of his schoolmates had given the news to Ivan previously.

Keith stared up and noticed Ivan's expression changing. Ivan was starting to appear solemn, and that made Keith uncomfortable. Is he feeling bad that I'm leaving? Keith brushed away the thought immediately. No, that's impossible—we barely talk to each other before ...

"I heard about you leaving LA," Ivan said, repeating himself. There was a rush of strange feelings that was rolling like a storm in Keith's chest when Ivan held his gaze. The fluorescent light in the hall caught Ivan's eyes, making his irises appeared browner than usual. For once, Keith thought he might collapse, like Ivan had a power to put strong, beautiful visions into his head ...

A thought crossed Keith's mind. Maybe Ivan could be his mate—his mother had told him before that there wouldn't be any specific symptom that signals you to your mate; you just happened to know when the person belongs to you. However, Keith realized that his feelings for Ivan didn't develop right off the bat; Ivan seemed nothing more than just a goofy dude to him before. In fact, the possibilities of a werewolf being mated to a full human were very low. Keith had also never been so passionate about Ivan like his mother had been to Anthony whenever she talked to him on a phone call—her smiles would be very odd, looking humorously intense but nevertheless beautiful.

Maybe Ivan only made Keith's heart raced because he was attractive.

"Well . . ." Ivan broke away the silence, "is it true?"

But maybe Keith cared so much about Ivan because of the personal interaction they shared for two years. Maybe it was more than just a sexual tension.

Suddenly, Keith could hear Ivan's slow laugh. "Keith?"

"Oh—oh, yeah, it's—it's true."

Ivan moved side to side, as if he was trying to make himself comfortable. Keith tried to breathe evenly again, because Ivan standing in front of him was like a hand clasping around his mouth.

"Too bad," Ivan said. "We barely talk to each other before."

Ivan's deep voice shrilled deep into Keith's system; he could feel it vibrating in his bones. Keith prayed silently for this sense of panic inside of him wouldn't show on his face, although he was certain Ivan could see it clearly. Ivan was now staring at Keith as if he knew every word that was going across his mind.

Then a sense of warmth closed around Keith's skin, and it took a while before he realized it was Ivan's hand.

His long-term crush's hand, clasping around his wrist.

Ivan pulled Keith towards him, until they were only inches apart from each other, their chest touching. Suddenly, Keith realized he was captivated in Ivan's embrace, his face pleasuring the hardness of Ivan's stony chest. A moment of déjà vu hit him in the brain; this was one of Keith's bedtime fantasies, where he would usually hug a pillow and fantasize it being Ivan Fickler's chest. But he was not imagining it now; he was literally in Ivan's touch.

Keith wanted this to last, even if this was just a dream.

Ivan held and pushed Keith gently away so their eyes could see each other again. His face was about two inches above Keith's head. Keith had to stand on his tiptoes to make their heights even. Ivan might not be fleshy or bulky, but he was just the type of guy Keith wanted. Once again, the intense brown of Ivan's eyes sent impulses of fireworks to Keith's brain.

Ivan paced a few steps backwards, pulling Keith with him.

"C'mon. Let's go somewhere quieter."