Nate couldn't stop thinking about the way Dante had made him feel. They hadn't even kissed, and Dante had done was touch him for barely a second and his entire mind had erupted on rainbows, fireworks shooting from his ears while he felt all his muscles tighten unbearably for a few seconds. Afterward, he shoved a hood over his hair and waved his hand, mumbling, "Later," leaving the breathless Nate laying speechless on the couch.
The thoughts made him excited for tonight, wanting to see Dante again and unable to stop his mind from rewinded the images of how Dante's had appeared. The twitching of his muscles, the redness of his flesh, the gritted teeth and the continuous moans Nate had ordered him to withhold, which he attempted but failed miserably, to which he received a smack whenever he failed.
It was Tyler that pulled him away from his thoughts, smacking the back of his head and causing him to yelp, leaning forward and planting his palm where it began to sting. "What the hell Ty?"
"Oh, boohoo," she mocked, puckering her lips for a second and tilting her head. "You're going to go tell your mommy about it?"
"No wonder Jules cheated on you." When he saw the way her eyes widened, he squinted his own and bit his bottom lip. "Too soon?" She folded her arms over her chest and Nate noticed one of her fists tighten. "Oh boohoo," he mocked in her tone, pushing out his bottom lip to recreate the look she had given him. "You're going to tell your bro—ah! Ow!" The smack across his cheek practically made him stumble a few steps, slowly growing red.
A victorious smirk pulled Tyler's lips as she lifted her chin. "How did that feel?"
"You're lucky you're a girl or else—"
"Or else what?" The moment Nate heard that deep and threatening tone, his spine instantly straightened and he glanced elsewhere, studying anything that would help avoid staring into those brown irises. Jules reached Tyler first, wrapping an arm over her shoulders as a greeting before returning his focus on Nate. "You were saying something, Dante's boy?"
Nate rolled his eyes, muffling under his breath, "You don't need to call me that."
"You said something?" He challenged, leaning forward and broadening his shoulders. Even though Nate would always be around since he hung around Tyler most of the day, that didn't mean he would be friends with him. Being civil did not mean they would go skipping down the road; the only reason Jules wasn't breaking all his bones was because Tyler had asked him not to and Dante hadn't done anything worrisome.
"No," Nate mumbled, shifting his chin elsewhere and shoving his hands in his front pockets.
He wasn't scared of Jules at all, but did avoid any sort of animosity with him since Jules was not a small man. His muscles were significantly enhanced and he seemed to be able to break Nate's neck by squeezing his fingers hard enough. In hopes to avoid any conflict since that would definitely create tension between two already know criminal groups, he avoided even engaging in a conversation with him, unless he had to.
Before either of them could respond, the bell rang which signalled the soon start of the school day, making all three of them grumble and Nate tighten his bag over his shoulder.
"I don't want to head inside," Jules complained, furrowing his brows.
Tyler shrugged her shoulders, patting his back as she slightly shoved him forwards. "We have to, we're trying to graduate."
"I'm probably going to be killed in the next few months from all the jobs they've been making me do."
That made her eyebrows raise. "More than usual?"
"Much more," he whined, exhaling a long sigh. Nate wasn't trying to listen but he couldn't help himself, feeling his eyebrows raised when he heard Jules add, "They found out I almost used my gun at school."
Tyler slowly nodded her head, pulling open the door and holding it for Nate and Jules to enter. "Well, you deserve to be punished for it."
"Which isn't fair since the only reason I did that was because your sickening brother came to pick up his merchandise."
"Do you really have to call me everything in the book other than my name?" Nate hissed, raising an eyebrow. Yes, it was true that he was not trying to argue with Jules, but some things did annoy him the more he heard it and even him couldn't restrain himself.
"Mmm...." Jules frowned, staring at the ceiling for a second before facing Nate. "Yes, Dante's baggage."
Nate rolled his eyes but didn't respond, stepping inside their classroom that Jules was thankfully not enrolled in. Tyler followed close behind him and muttered to him, "I hope you're not actually mad at Jules."
"Of course not," he snorted, waving his hand dismissively. "It is annoying though—we could be great friends, him and I."
"And you will be." The hopeful tone was not one Nate believed, as if she had said that to multiple people before. She paused for a second, shrugging her shoulders. "Jules has a hard time opening up to people as it is, and now that you're—"
"What the fuck?"
Tyler's eyes lifted, realizing that Nate hadn't listened to anything she had said. His eyes were focused on something else, and as she followed his gaze, she realized he was staring at a student that she had never seen before. There was no doubt in her mind that this man was not from this town, and when she glanced back towards Nate, his eyes were still stuck on him.
"Nate, what's going on?"
Nate was paralyzed, his lips no longer moving, and all he did was stare. His blond curls bounced as he walked towards the teacher's desk, seeing him extend his timetable and the teacher nod his head, motioning for him to stay nearby. When his eyes lifted, Nate instantly noticed the way his freckles had darkened from the last time he had seen him. It was over half a year since the last time they even had a conversation, and Nate had never expected him to show up here randomly, in Dyson city.
He watched as the man's eyes travelled across the inattentive classroom, examining each individual and observing the side of the jocks especially long, before eventually landing his eyes on Nate's. Once their gazes met, they locked, and Nate saw the small smirk curl his lip. His hand lifted as a greeting and Nate instinctively did the same, swallowing hard. He hadn't expected himself to be placed in such situation—he was so nervous that he could practically hear his own thoughts as if voices were screaming all around him.
Even when the bell rang, it didn't catch his attention. He didn't hear any of Tyler's whispers, neither did he even realize that he had been tapping his foot against the floor the whole time.
The teacher finally stood to his feet, pointing towards the student. "We do have a new student today and I wanted to introduce him so that it isn't awkward. He is new to this school so make sure to be friendly. His name is Eric Flowers but he goes by E."
"Does he play football?" A few students chuckled when Jake chimed in, Eric doing so as well.
He answered for him, and Nate thought his throat has clamped on itself when he heard the delicate and soft tune from his vocal chords. "No," he breathed, "I injured myself too many times."
"Bozo!" One of the football players shouted, which had a few students laugh as well.
Mr. King rolled his eyes, motioning for him to walk forward. "You can find a seat, anywhere you'd like."
Even though he looked around, nodding his head and apologizing a few times when he had to squeeze between desks, Nate knew where he would end up.
While he shoved through them, Tyler was finally able to evoke a response from him, which made her gasp.
"That's...T-That's my ex-boyfriend..."