The Sencen Solution (Keefex)

The Game

After a while, things began to fall back into a steady rhythm.
  Keefe and Dex snapped back into sync and both pretended that their little incident had never happened.
They went about their lives, and their group went back to normal, but Keefe couldn't shake the feeling that things weren't the same. Because he couldn't pretend it didn't happen.
  It did happen. He knew it happened by the butterflies that filled his stomach eveytime Dex laughed at his joke, or the sudden hot pang of jealousy he felt when he caught a wave of affection when Dex was with Sophie.
  He knew it happened by the sleepless nights he'd endured as he played the kiss over and over again in his sleep-addled mind.
  At first, it was easy to ignore. He'd felt that way before. Hell, he'd felt that way about Sophie when she first showed up. But he'd never felt that way about a boy and never for so long. It scared him, and it was starting to drive him crazy.
  It didn't help that everything Dex did was perfect; annoyingly so. The other week in the cafeteria, he'd tripped on his own feet and almost gone flying. His blushing face and shy smile as he made his way over, had sent Keefe into such a state that he'd feined a sudden headache and rushed out, red faced and flustered, as his friends watched on.
  He knew they were suspicious of him, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was sure it would pass soon enough.
  It didn't.

•••
"...encen. Mr. Sencen. Keefe!"
  Keefe was jolted from his dazed state just in time to see a bright blue splotcher hurdling toward his face. He yelped, barely managing to dodge the colourful ball before it hit the wall behind him with a resounding splat. He looked around wildly, catching the eye of a very concerned Sophie, before fixing his gaze on the annoyed mentor in front of him.
  "Care to explain where you were, Mr. Sencen?" his mentor sneered.
  Keefe cleared his throat and let his signature smirk grace his features.
  "Sorry sir, I was in a better place than here." That got a few giggles from the rest of the class.
  His mentor smirked at that.
  "Is that right? Was Mr. Dizznee with you? Because you've been staring at him for the past ten minutes."
  Keefe felt his face grow hot as the class erupted into laughter. Of course he was staring a him!
  He glanced at Dex and saw the other boy  train his eyes to the ground, face becoming a bright red as well.
  "And since over there is so much better," the mentor continued, "you two can be partners for the splotching match."
  He nodded disdainfully at the bright blue mark on the wall. "And try not to let this happen again."
  Keefe nodded, sufficiently humbled, and made his way over to where Dex was still trying to sink into the ground.
  "Hey," he said lamely.
  "Hi," Dex replied.
  Keefe shuffled his feet.
  "Sorry for staring at you for so long, I guess I just zoned out."
  "S'fine."
  The two boys stood in uncomfortable silence until it was time to start.
  "You ready?" Keefe asked, adopting his usual smug demeanour.
  "As I'll ever be," Dex shot back, biting his lip in anticipation. And wow did that do things to Keefe. He gulped as he watched Dex's tounge slide out to wet his lips, suddenly unable to focus on anything else around him. He was, in fact, so entranced, that he completely missed the cue to start.
  He was out the first round, shame painted across his face in bright orange.

                                           •••
As he was packing up his stuff, Keefe noticed Fitz loitering by the door, pretending to be interested in the intricate tile work of the wall he was leaning on.
  "Dude. You're not stealthy. I can feel the concern coming off of you in waves." Keefe laughed, wrinkling his nose as he spoke. "So what gives? Not all of us are telepaths you know."
  Fitz had the decency to look embarrassed as he made his way over.
  "Nothing, just... are you okay?" Fitz asked concern lacing his voice.
  Keefe was a little taken aback by the sincerity in Fitz's tone, and blinked dumbly a couple of times before answering.
  "I mean, yeah. Why?"
  Fitz took another step forward.
  "Cuz you've been really out of it lately. Like today! You love splotching... or at least splotching other people, and you were out the first round? Did something happen?"
  Keefe was even more surprised by this question and was at a loss at how to answer. Don't worry, it's fine. I just got distracted when my very good, and very male, friend Dex bit his lip in my direction and I remembered when he and I kissed a few weeks ago. No biggie. Yeah, no thanks.
  Luckily, Keefe didn't have to say any of those things as Fitz continued talking, apparently taking his friend's silence as a yes.
  "Is it your dad? Did he say something? If he did, I swear I'll-."
  "Dude," Keefe interrupted. "I'm fine. Just a little tired." It wasn't a lie. Keefe had spent the last two nights imagining what Dex's bright, periwinkle eyes might look like under moonlight, but Fitz didn't need to know that.
  Fitz didn't look convinced, but he thankfully didn't push it.
  "Okay, but if you ever need to talk..." he trailed off there, but Keefe understood the message and was grateful.
  "Thanks man, some goes for you."
  Fitz smiled, before punching Keefe on the shoulder.
  "Hey, so what'd you get on that elvin history assignment?"
  Keefe paled.
  "The what?!"
  Fitz stared at him for a second before bursting into laughter, managing to choke out "the one that was due yesterday" in between breathless giggles.
  Keefe groaned into his hands, but couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at his friends obvious delight.
  He shook his head, and grabbed a still laughing Fitz by the hand and made for the exit.
  "Come on you idiot, or I won't be the only one missing an assignment."
  This spurred Fitz into motion, and the two boys took off down the hall, all thoughts of inconvenient crushes and periwinkle eyes forgotten for now.

Authors note: as always, any corrections are much appreciated. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed! :)
-L