Secrets that Kill (boyxboy)

...And The River Ran Dry

A secret smile crept across Erik's face. "About how cute you looked this morning when you woke up with your hair all messy. You should wear it like that, you know."

Nate's face exploded in a sea of red hues. Why did he have to say stuff like that, stuff that was just cute enough to make him blush but not too mushy to be totally lame.

"You shouldn't say stuff like that." Nate mumbled, glancing out the window at the empty parking lock so he wouldn't have to look at Erik.

"And why not?" Erik asked, his voice implying he had no intention of doing so, but was curious as to the logic behind Nate's request anyways.

"Because. It makes me feel awkward."

Erik let out a small laugh. "You know what they say. 70 percent of communication is body language."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Nate asked, stealing a wary glance at Erik.

Erik raised an eyebrow at him, sending a slight shiver down Nate's spine. "That the red blush you get every time I talk to you tells me more than anything you say probably ever will."

Nate swallowed hard. "Yeah, well, I don't know where you read that, but it sounds like a bunch of bullshit."

Erik let out a small sigh, waiting till Nate's eyes were on him to speak again.

"Nathaniel, why is it so hard for you to admit that you like me?"

"Because I don't." Nate shot, annoyance filling his voice.

"Really now? Because Amber seems to believe otherwise."

God damn her! She was going to be the death of him, no doubt.

"Yeah, well, she runs her mouth a lot."

"Yes, she does talk quite a bit. However, I've never once known her to tell a lie. And she is your best friend, after all. I'm sure she knows you as well if not better than you know yourself."

Nate fidgeted in his seat. Crap. Erik had him backed into a corner.

"So. Freakin. What. You want to hear me say I like you? Is that what you want Erik?"

Erik tilted his head to the side, a thoughtful look spreading across his face.

"No, Nathaniel."

"Then what the hell do you want?"

"You."

Nate almost choked on the soda he was drinking. So much for being tactful.

"Nathaniel, I have spent the last month trying to get to know you, despite your sincerest efforts to prevent it from happening. I have always made my intentions quite obvious to you."

"No, you haven't."

"How?"

Nate could feel the frustration that had been welling up inside of him explode. "Because! It doesn't make sense! It doesn't make sense that you, an all-star football player, straight A student, prince of the school is all of a sudden taking a huge fucking interest in me! I'm not popular! I don't have good grades! I don't have money, or status! So what the hell are you doing here, with me, when you could have any guy, or girl, you want?"

Erik's features softened, as he started at Nate with an odd look in his eyes. "You should not sell yourself short, Nathaniel. Not everything is meant to be understood, broken down, and analyzed. You may not understand the reasons yourself, but I like you. That's all that should matter."

"Well it doesn't."

Erik averted his gaze from Nate's for a second, a pensive look spreading across his face before he made eye contact with him again. His voice was unusually serious as he spoke, lacking the witty sarcasm Nate had come to expect from him.

"You know what I think? I think you're scared."

"Yes. Of course. That must be why I dislike you. Because I'm scared of you." Nate scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"Not me." Erik corrected. "You're scared of the fact that you actually do like me. You're scared of the possibility that we could become something if you stopped pushing me away. Most of all, though, you're scared of the fact that that might just be what you want."

Nate's jaw tightened as he ground his teeth together, staring at Erik with an odd mixture of resentment and...gratitude?

Erik had actually taken the time to try and understand him, figure him out, despite the fact that Nate had done nothing but push him away and insult him. He had nothing to gain from it, no personal motive to fulfill by understanding why Nate treated him the way he did unless...unless he actually liked him.

Nate still found the thought completely unfathomable. He could still feel the ever-persistent question of 'why' racking his brain for answers it didn't have. Maybe though...just maybe he could wait for an answer to that question and actually try and enjoy himself instead of brooding.

Nate cleared his throat. "Don't expect me to tell you you're right, because I'm not going to. But...thanks."

Then something happened that almost made it all worth it. Erik smiled, not one of his crooked smiles, or small, restrained smiles, but an all-out, genuine smile. He realized that in all the time he'd known Erik, including the last 3 years of high school, he'd never seen him smile like that, not even when he was with his friends.

"I knew it...."

Before Nate could proceed to ask Erik what exactly he meant by that, Erik cut him off.

" Now that we've had that little chat," Erik said, starting up the car again, "We have somewhere we need to be by 2 p.m."

"Huh?" Nate asked, completely confused. "You planned all this out?" He could feel himself getting angry again, but made an effort to stop himself from resenting how easily Erik seemed to be able to read and manipulate him.

"Not so much planned as anticipated." Erik said, that small smirk of his coming back as he pulled out of the parking lot. "Don't you remember what I told you, Nathaniel? There's only so much a person can talk about before letting a secret or two slip."

Nate had a momentary flashback to their little chat back in the diner.

"You know, eventually I'm going to catch on to your little mind games." Nate said, still slightly frustrated at himself for being such an open book.

"Perhaps." Erik mused, glancing over at Nate for a second, "But by then, I won't have to resort to mind games."

"And why's that?" Nate asked, glancing at him suspiciously.

"Because," Erik stated simply, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his lips, "You'll want to tell me all your secrets and desires."

Nate felt an odd sense of anticipation settle in the pit of his stomach. For once, he could acknowledge, although still not completely accept, that he was genuinely excited about whatever Erik had planned. He was excited about the fact that Erik seemed to have taken such an intense interest in him. And best of all, he was excited about the fact that, thus far, everything that Erik had said seemed to have come true, which meant this just might be the beginning of something he'd always secretly yearned for.

A/N: Please vote if you liked the chapter, and if not let me know why. Thank you for taking the time to read my work.