Beau finally finished pinning up a few of his photos along the wall beside his bed. He had never been big on having a neatly decorated room... If he was being honest, Lukas was the one that helped plan out his room back home. Lukas had been the one to put up Beau's jersey on the wall, he had picked his favorite photos and had insisted on Beau putting up a self-portrait he'd made in art.
But now all Beau could think to put up were a few simple photos taken before Beau had even kissed Lukas. There was one of the two boys standing in front of Beau's family's barn before prom, one of Beau, Lukas, and all of their friends, and a few family photos. But he didn't dare put up the photo from the arcade... That photo was sacred and putting it on display would make the whole thing lose meaning. It would be showing Lukas to the world and even giving apart of Lukas away. So instead he tucked it under his pillow.
Beau glanced over at Markos who had finally excepted the fact that his parents weren't coming to his rescue any time soon. His tapestry was a dark blue with gold and silver designs sewn carefully along it. He had two small yet simple paintings as well, one of a feather and the other of a dragonfly of all things. His bed was carefully made with a fluffy gray comforter and two decorative pillows but that was where his neatness ended.
His desk was cluttered with paper, jewelry, and even a couple of makeup products including eyeliner and stuff for his eyebrows. That was one thing that always intrigued Beau... Back home every guy he knew was too far up their own ass to do anything remotely feminine. Beau even has a friend who refused to touch pink foods... But the guy's Beau had met all seemed perfectly okay with showing a few feminine traits.
Austin wore very feminine clothing and was one of the first openly gay men Beau had ever met. Markos wore a little bit of makeup on some days. Aiden and Markos both had their ears pierced and had no shame in wearing purple or pink clothing. Beau had never felt more free to express himself.
"Have you seen my textbook for physics?" Markos asked as he dug around his desk. "Apparently notes are a requirement now and I haven't taken any so I need to catch up"
"No, sorry... I'd offer you mine but I'm going over to study with Aiden" Beau shrugged as he picked up the cheap black and violet textbook. "Maybe check the drawers?"
"Aiden...?" Markos stared at Beau confused before snapping his fingers. "Ohio boy" He announced before digging through his drawers.
"How did you forget his name? You see him almost every day" Beau chuckled as he watched the curly-headed boy dig through all of his belongings. Markos wore a violet, green and blue button-up with the first three buttons undone and tight black jeans. His fingers were decorated with silver rings and two small silver hoops hung from his ears.
"I don't talk to people when I'm sober" Markos sighed. "Somehow my memory is better after smoking weed than it is when it's refrained from any substances... Thank you, Beau" a wide smile broke out on his face as he pulled out a text-book identical to Beau's.
"No problem... If you need anything else I'll be across the hall" Beau sighed as he headed toward the door. He had decided to wear the hoodie Markos gave him and had fallen in love with it. The material was softer and finer than anything else Beau had ever worn. The only problem was Beau's fear of eating anything in it...
He brought a hesitant hand to Aiden's door before a wave of panic washed over him. How many times was he supposed to knock? Two felt like too little but three felt overbearing... Was there a way to knock two and a half times? Probably not... After what felt like hours of staring at a door Beau finally decided on three quick knocks that way they didn't seem so demanding.
A white-haired boy answered the door. Tight black high wasted shorts hugged his body and a baggy white cropped sweater showed off his toned abdomen. He wore the familiar black fishnets Beau had grown used to him seeing and his cold blue eyes gave Beau a once over. Austin had always made Beau uneasy. He had a feeling the boy was smarter than he let on and that he wasn't somebody he could truly trust... But Beau decided that he was just being paranoid so he only smiled.
"Is Aiden here?" Beau asked. Austin sighed and pulled open the door completely. Aiden was sitting on the floor of all places, flipping through his Physics textbook and copying things into a notebook. The ends of his hair messily stuck out of a red and black striped beanie and he wore a baggy black t-shirt and jeans. He glanced up at Beau before a small smile broke onto his face.
"Hey, Beau"
"Hey" Beau felt a bit relieved that he wasn't going to be alone with Austin. He was sure Austin wouldn't hesitate to ask uncomfortable questions... He didn't seem to have the best sense of boundaries.
"I'm going out" Austin announced before casting a teasing smirk in Aiden's direction. "Have fun" He hummed suggestively as he grabbed a small bag from his side of the room.
"Shut up" Aiden scoffed. "Where are you going, anyway?" Beau decided to leave them to their conversation and took a seat beside Aiden. He watched carefully as the white-haired boy collected a few random items, stuffing them into his bag.
"I convinced the principal to let me continue dance so I found a group that only practices on weekends" Austin shrugged. "I'm meeting with them today and I am going to kick ass" And without another word, Austin left the room. Beau bit down on his lip as he stared down at the textbook. He wasn't even sure where to start...
He didn't usually study with other people. He had studied with Lukas once but it had been a disaster and Beau had ended up locking the handsome blonde out of the room until he could finish taking notes. From that point forward, Beau hated doing school work, taking notes, or studying in the same area as others... But Aiden had asked nicely and Beau just couldn't find it in him to refuse.
"You two seem to be getting along... That's a bit more than I can say for me and Markos" Beau chuckled. Beau and Markos could exist in the same room. They could share a few conversations, they could do small favors for one another, but they didn't do those things consistently. Markos had gone three days without even looking in Beau's direction...
"Austin is a pain in the ass" Aiden groaned. "But he's okay, I guess... And I thought you and Markos got along fine"
"We do... He's just a little too far in the clouds... We aren't always on the same page I guess" Beau shrugged. Aiden bit back a smile and nodded down at the textbooks.
"Come on, page forty-three"
_________________________________________
Markos sat on one of the old picnic tables outside, glaring at his messy cursive. Markos always had the worst handwriting imaginable... He knew about four people who could decipher it including his him and his father. The other two were just teachers he had had in the past... He had once joked that he'd become a doctor but his mother had taken him seriously and the two had had an hour-long discussion as to why that was a bad idea.
Markos bit down on his lip in frustration. Writing had always been a special talent of his. Whether it was poetry, short stories, or even an argumentative essay he had always been able to baffle and captivate his audience with his unique style. He liked using older words, words that had been nearly forgotten over time. He liked to hide a second meaning behind each sentence leaving anything he wrote up for debate on the meaning behind it. He was addicted to the feelings of confusion he could create with something as simple as ink and paper.
He wasn't sure when or why he had begun to love it, but he did remember his sixth-grade English class. They had been given an assignment involving poetry. Markos's teacher had been so impressed she had had him read his out to the class. And since he had been in an advanced placement with other kids who were actually interested in school, it had sprung a wild debate. The poem was about a blue jay living a simple life, unbothered by the world until tragedy hit. Or maybe it had been about the complexity of the world and how little time we take to look outside of ourselves. Markos wasn't actually sure what he intended it to mean, but he loved listening to others interpret it.
If only he had known how important writing would become to him... He had already left everything behind just for a body he felt a bit more comfortable in. There had been rules he had to agree to for his mother to sign off on any surgeries or medication he wanted. And that was that he had to disappear.
Rhea Ariti was dead. But the public didn't know that... From a young age, Markos had been thrown into a spotlight he never asked for. From the moment he was born his face had been plastered on a gossip blog or a celebrity gossip magazine or talk shows... Every detail of his life had been broadcasted to the entire world. He had been a model, he had done interviews, he had even been scouted for acting on far too many occasions. He didn't hate the fame... But he didn't love it either.
When he had come out as pansexual, his mother had played the supportive mother role. The public had been accepting for the most part and had idolized his mother for being such a kind-hearted person. In reality, she didn't even bat an eyelash at Markos when it came to his sexuality. But then he discovered he was trans... And his entire world crumbled. That supportive mother role was gone. She didn't even try and pretend...
Instead, she made sure he lied about wanting nothing to do with the fame anymore. That he wanted to go off and have a normal life... And like that Rhea had withdrawn from his fame. And then his mother lied about adopting her nephew, Markos. Of course, the world fell for it. They let her play with their hearts until they believed she was an amazing person that had rescued a poor and lonely boy. But Markos hated it. He didn't want to be known as her nephew or her daughter... He was her son and he always had been.
So when he was finally given the opportunity to feel comfortable in his own skin he had to give up everything... His friends, his career, his old school... Everything except writing. So here, in his new life, he was going to write the shit out of this story. He was going to get that feeling of being admired back. And what was the first step? Shutting up the annoying dribbling of a basketball.
Markos threw his pen against the table and shot a cold glare in Jayce's direction. The tall and well-built boy was mindlessly shooting the ball around. As surprised as Markos was to find that he actually did have a hobby outside of harassing Markos over the presentation, he was getting annoyed. And his annoyance only doubled when the ball bounced off the rim and landed on the table. The ball crumpled the paper below it, smearing some of the already illegible ink in the process.
"You've got to be kidding me" Markos hissed before grabbing the ball and scowling at an apologetic Jayce. Of course, any regret or sympathy left his face the moment he realized it was Markos. "What the hell" Markos snapped.
"It was a mistake. You can live with a crumpled piece of paper" Jayce scoffed. "I'm sorry, okay?"
"You smeared the ink. Everything I've written today is gone" Markos fumed. He could feel his frustration building... All of his hard work was gone. Everything he had managed to write was smeared beyond recognition - especially since it was already hard enough to read.
"Look, I said I'm sorry" Jayce rolled his perfectly shaped chocolate brown eyes. "But you said so yourself, you're smarter than I give you credit for so why should I worry? You'll figure it out" Jayce shot back with a smug smirk.
"Fuck you" Markos scoffed. "I don't know what your issue with me is, but you need to grow the hell up. I haven't done shit to you"
"Just give me my ball back" Jayce scoffed. A wide, forced smile reached Markos's face as he held up the ball before purposely dropping it. He watched proudly as a rolled down the slanted sidewalk and then down the grassy hill. "And I'm the one that needs to grow up?" Jayce scowled as he pushed past Markos. "Bitch"
"Arsehole"
_________________________________________
Austin felt sweat drip down the back of his neck as he struggled to catch up. He had been able to do the stretching and the different exercises. He had even learned the first half of their new dance, but he was lost when they'd practice old ones. So now, he was staying after to work with a pretty boy who offered to help him catch up.
He was tall and had rich golden-brown skin. His hair was dark and lightly curled at the ends and he had pretty brown eyes. He had a thick and foreign accent and Austin was convinced that if Raphael were to murder him, he'd die with a smile on his face. He was just that pretty.
"That's right" Raphael commented with a proud smile as the music faded out and Austin almost collapsed in exhaustion. His shirt was stained with sweat and his feet ached more than he had intended. Just a few weeks away from dance had put him out of shape. Even his flexibility was beginning to go downhill...
"Thank god" Austin groaned. "My feet are killing me" Raphael chuckled and glanced down at Austin's canvas slippers - a shoe designed for male ballerinas. His were brand new and hugged his feet uncomfortably. He knew that the moment he took them off he'd find nothing but blisters and pain.
"Is it the new shoes?" Raphael asked before he grabbed his water and took a long drink.
"You could say that" The white-haired boy chuckled in response. He decided it was best not to say that he had been out of practice. Because then Raphael would ask why and Austin really didn't feel like telling an insanely hot man that he was only in Washington because he had taken a baseball bat to his stepfather's new car.
"I'll see you next week?" Raphael asked. Austin nodded and began to head to the locker room when Raphael spoke up. "And next week bring a phone, I'd love to get your number"
"You can count on it" Austin agreed with a wide smirk. He groaned as he collapsed onto one of the locker room benches. He took off the slippers and rolled his eyes as he found that he was correct. His feet were blistered and bruised. Heck, he was even bleeding a little on his right foot. He silently cursed to himself as he half-assed his way through taking care of them before changing and heading to leave.
The moment he got back to the asylum he was going to take a much-needed shower... He climbed out of his taxi and rushed inside. He allowed the security guard to search through his bag to be sure he wasn't bringing anything illegal. He silently memorized where he did and didn't search. That way he knew where to hide the phone he planned on sneaking in... And maybe a bit of whiskey too... He needed it.
He headed toward the showers deciding he'd just change into the clothes he had been wearing before practice. He unlocked the locker that had been assigned to him and pulled out the worn gray towel and three travel-sized bottles of shampoo, body wash, and conditioner.
Austin had been pleased when he had first seen the showers. At first, he thought it would be summer camp all over again. He hated showering in front of a ton of straight men who were convinced he wanted to get with them. He didn't see why he would, half of them couldn't even be bothered to wash their ass. Instead of the open and exposing showers, they were more like the kind you'd find in a waterpark. They had a simple curtain you could pull across the small stall.
Austin headed into one of them, hanging his bag of clothes and his towel on a small rack just outside of the water's reach. He stripped down and quickly turned on the water. It didn't necessarily get as hot as Austin liked it, but he was used to cold showers. It happened often when your step-parents were too lazy to pay for a half-decent trailer. Or even pay for the renovations on theirs. Heck, Austin was certain the trailer didn't even drive anymore.
He let the lukewarm water drizzle through his hair, down his back and face, washing away any grime or sweat. He closed his eyes, letting his tense muscles relax after hours of hard work and practice. He was physically exhausted and wanted nothing more than to take a nap and forget about his piling school work.
After he finally felt clean, Austin dried himself off and changed back into the shorts, fishnets, and sweater he had been wearing before practice. He headed out of the stall just in time to run into another boy. He supposed that since he had a boy as passionate as Raphael to admire, he didn't need Jullian. But there was just something that Austin couldn't keep his eyes off of. Maybe it was the recurring daydream of Jullian's perfectly sculpted body pressing him against the wall, pinning his hands above his head and turning him into a moaning mess. Or maybe it was just the fact that Austin was a sex-addict and hadn't been laid in nearly a month.
Austin gave the dark-haired boy a flirtatious smile as he headed to his locker to put away his belongings. Jullian barely gave him a second glance, but Austin was persistent.
"Hey, you're Jayce's roommate, right?" Austin asked. "I was there a few nights ago. My name's Austin" Jullian let out a long sigh and slammed his locker shut. He didn't even look at Austin as the boy headed off toward a nearby shower leaving a pissed-off white-haired boy.
Back in Aiden's room, two boys still sat on the floor. The blue-eyed and copper-haired one sat straight up, smiling down at the pretty Indigenous boy laying in his lap. His heart fluttered as he watched Aiden mess with his lip ring and he tried desperately to get rid of that feeling. He was there for Lukas. He was there to succeed for Lukas. He wasn't there for Aiden as anything more than a friend. And that was that.
But at the same time, Aiden was breathtaking. He had lost his hat sometime throughout their study-session leaving a messy mop of dark brown hair. His eyes were long and almond-shaped. They were a deep brown that reminded Beau of oak-wood and his skin was a rich honey color. His lips were pulled back in a smile and a simple black hoop was wrapped loosely around his bottom one.
The thing about Aiden was that he was everything Beau had pictured himself with. Before he knew he had a chance with Lukas, Beau always assumed he'd run off to a big city and meet a boy that was everything Lukas wasn't. Someone who was wild and free, who didn't care about others' opinions and just did his own thing. Somebody who wasn't afraid to be himself...
"Can I ask you a personal question?" Beau hesitantly asked. Aiden's eyebrows shot up in slight surprise before he nodded.
"Sure? What is it?" Beau hesitated a moment longer. He probably wasn't supposed to ask this but he had to know. He wasn't sure he could take watching another boy he cared for being ripped away from the world due to an overdose.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to... It's just... I've kind of had a difficult thing with this stuff in the past and... Well... I just wanted to be sure-" Beau rambled before pausing. He needed to just ask. He needed to relax. "You're done with drugs... Right?" Aiden's smile fell and his eyebrows creased together as he fell into deep thought.
"If I'm being honest, I have no idea" Aiden sighed. "I don't just do it because I like it... I went through a lot a couple of years back and it started as a sort of escape... Then it became an addiction... I've tried stopping. I've tried rehab, I've tried locking myself in a room until I can't take it anymore... But the problem is that I don't want to get better... I don't feel the need to" Aiden gave Beau a guilty and sad smile at the end. "Even here, all I can think about is how good just one blunt would be or even just a painkiller..."
"Oh," For the first time since Aiden had met Beau, he wasn't smiling or even trying to. He was just blank and that broke his heart... So he decided to make a promise he hadn't made to anyone since before his grandmother passed away. He smiled and reached up, running his fingers along the pretty boy above him's freckled face. Lightly tracing his soft skin and watching a blush break out on his face. He could sit in that moment forever.
"But I'll try... I promise I'll try"
// Thank you guys so much for all of the support! Over a thousand reads in just a few days is insane! I love reading your guy's comments and hearing your opinions on things! So I'm going to start a Question of the Chapter type of thing. Sometimes it will be about the story, other times it will just be something random like your favorite ice cream!
Question of the Chapter: Who's your favorite character so far?