Butterflies ; boyxboy

vi

/ / Chapter Six: The Only Bruise not Made of Hate/ /

Ariel felt like his skin was actively trying to escape, producing copious amounts of sweat in an attempt to make a waterslide to aid its abscond. Mother Nature had decided that, on the one day he needed to wear jeans and a hoodie to cover his neck and thighs, it would be excruciatingly hot. Resisting the urge to groan aloud, Ariel walked through the school parking lot. He entered through the large front doors, itching at the hood that covered his head.

"Ri-ri!" Chance bounded up instantly, clad in torn up jeans and a tank top with opened sides. "Not that you don't look beautiful--you look gorgeous in hoodies--but, aren't you a little warm?" the boy continued, tilting his head. There was a long pause during which Ariel searched for an excuse. As much as he loved his best friend, Ariel didn't want to tell anyone about his fuck-buddy situation with Kace. Chance was the type of person who believed in finding the one, who would've sensed Ariel's extremely hidden crush on Kace and tried to make something happen. Ariel was terrified of letting himself become attached to Kace only to have the boy leave. Chance trying to romantically pair them up wouldn't at all help with his resistance towards that.

In response to the silence, Chance spoke up again. "You can keep your secret," he said sweetly. "Anyways, how was your weekend?"

Fondly, Ariel smiled at his best friend. "Good," he said. "Slept all day Saturday and watched Netflix all Sunday." That was close to the truth. If he was to be completely honest, Ariel would've said that he'd spent Saturday morning with Kace and the afternoon sleeping. "You?"

"My date, Tommy, was really sweet," Chance replied excitedly. "I was kind of worried he wouldn't be okay with not having sex on the first date, but he totally got it!" Grabbing Ariel's hand as he talked, Chance led the way to the blond's locker. The Maori boy mumbled the combination to Ariel's lock as he spun the dial, deserving a little giggle and bumping of shoulders.

"How'd you meet Tommy again? The barista who spilled your coffee on you?" Ariel questioned, shoving books in his bag as he spoke.

Chance nodded cheerily. "Yeah, he was really cute and klutzy and sweet. He wrote his number on the cup that he dropped but I saw it before it got tossed. He's so... good." Ariel giggled, slinging his bag across his back and once again grabbing his best friend's hand.

"Do you have a second date?" The two boys walked towards their homeroom, chatting excitedly with their clasped hands swinging. As much as they looked the part of a happy couple, they were just friends--best friends. Ever since they'd met in kindergarten, the two boys had been inseparable. Soulmates, Chance had once said, emphasis on the mates.

"Hey, Chance." As Ariel and Chance entered their homeroom, Finn Kreek greeted the brown-skinned boy with a lazy smile. Strangely enough, the two boys were friends. They were far from the relationship between Chance and Ariel, but close enough to exchange greetings or make conversation without awkwardness.

"Hey, man," Chance replied, quickly flashing his pearly whites before returning his attention to Ariel. Ariel, who was quietly snickering at his best friend. "What?" Chance asked with a confused laugh as they walked to their seats.

"You get all... straight boy when you talk to some of your friends," Ariel teased. In response he received a look reminding him of a puppy that'd just peed on their leg and didn't quite understand what had gone wrong.

"No I- but-" Chance stuttered. "Stereotyping," he finally managed to spit out, though he was fully aware that the stereotypical "straight boy" was what Ariel had been referring to.

"You know what I meant," Ariel said with a small smile, bumping his shoulder against Chance's. Giggling, the younger boy nodded.

-

School days were long. Especially so when Ariel kept receiving odd looks from other students in response to the hood that covered his head and neck. When the final bell rang, he was practically sprinting through the halls in an attempt to escape. Unfortunately, luck didn't seem to be on Ariel's side and, as he passed some closet he'd never before noticed, a hand snapped out and dragged him inside.

"What the fuck?!" Ariel said, his voice unbelievably whiny. Stress from the day and something denying his travel home had caused him to lose the control over his Australian-accented voice. The sight of a grinning brunette standing in front of him with his pale hand wrapped around Ariel's tanned wrist didn't at all help. "Kace!" he snapped. "I am overheating and I want to go home."

"Then take the hoodie off, my darling," Kace replied, reaching forwards and knocking the hood off before Ariel could react.

"Just because you're fine with happily strutting around to show off your hickeys doesn't mean I want to," the older boy replied, scowling at the purple and red marks upon Kace's neck. Almost as if he'd wanted to draw attention to them, the year nine was wearing a pale blue crop top that was nearly white.

"Aw, baby," Kace said with an annoyingly cute laugh. "You want to return the favour?" Pointing at his hickey-free thighs, the brunette grinned hopefully. He was clad in a high-waisted miniskirt that buttoned up the front; Ariel grabbed Kace's hands before the boy could even think about unbuttoning it. "What are you-?" Kace started before cutting himself off. "I wasn't just going to strip in front of you!" he exclaimed with a giggle. Thankfully, Kace resisted the urge to comment on the blush that developed on Ariel's face, and continued speaking. "Anyways, how was your day?"

"You really want to have a chat in a janitor's closet? Creative location, by the way. Not cliché at all." Kace chuckled, gently pushing Ariel's shoulder.

"No cameras, it's private, it's not the nasty bathrooms," Kace defended without moving his hands from the older boy's arm.

"Yeah, well, I'm leaving," Ariel scoffed. "Please discontinue the creepy closet kidnappings, and if you ever put another hickey on me I'll rip out your fuck-boy quiff and hot glue it onto your dick."

Just as Ariel was halfway out the door, Kace said his parting words. "You know you can put a cold spoon on it and that helps. Makeup, too. I'll lend you some; I wore it way back when I was tanned and shit."

"I- uh- you-" Ariel stuttered, having been completely unaware of the methods Kace was suggesting. "Fine," he finally said, resigned. "Just throw it onto my balcony or something."

a/n from the past whilst im writing this: i am half asleep and probably just failed a test today so.. pray future shannon edits?

update from future shannon: i did not