(HAPPY PRIDE MONTH! Y'all are getting 2 chapters a week! One on Wednesdays done on Sundays.)
{A Couple Weeks Later}
~Darius POV~
Since no one's allowed at Alador's place when his dad isn't home and my parents won't allow me to have anyone over ever, so Alador invited me to come to the library hideout in the middle of the night.
Alador pulled away. He looked kind of sad.(clarification: they were making out, not fucking.)
"What's wrong, Surdoué?" I asked.
"I hate this." He said.
"You hate what?" I asked.
"This arrangement." He said, shifting on my lap. "I hate how casual we're being about this."
"Then say that." I said then jokingly added. "But didn't we agree we'd talk more about this when you figured yourself out."
He pouted.
"I have! I've narrowed it down, I'm either bi, pan, or omni." He responded. "You didn't say I had to completely figure myself out before we talked more."
I didn't, did I?
"Why do you hate us being so casual?" I asked.
"I really like you. Like I really really like you and being so casual just doesn't feel right. It feels dirty." Alador said.
"What do you want to do about it?" I said.
"We could date." He suggested anxiously. "Be boyfriends?"
"Are you completely sure you want that? And are you comfortable with it?" I asked.
"Yeah." He said. "Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?" I asked.
"Like you don't believe me." He said.
The last boyfriend I had wasn't comfortable with his sexuality but I was persistent. Our relationship went quickly and poorly. I want things with Alador to go better.
"Darius." He said. "You told me you liked me for a while, why are you so hesitant?"
"Alador, come on, it's obvious you're uncomfortable with that idea." I said, using my hand to brush his hair from his face. "You were scared of your feelings before and even you're acting awkwardly trying to ask. You're the one who always says putting labels on a relationship makes it real."
"I'm not uncomfortable, I'm nervous!" He snapped. "I'm not used to being with a guy! It's still new to me but I'm not scared anymore! I was scared of my feelings messing things up but they didn't! I've accepted them!"
He acts so sure of that. Things have been going well and he has been pretty comfortable with me as more than friends. He's been the one to start the make out sessions and he's so calm about it too, I don't even realize what's going on at first. If he's comfortable enough for that, maybe he is comfortable enough to be more, to put a label on this. I sighed then smiled at him.
"Alright. We can try." I said. "Be boyfriends."
Alador grinned.
"Are you happy now?" I asked, cupping his face in my hands.
He nodded.
"You're my boyfriend." He said, excitedly. "Boyfriend. My boyfriend. You are my boyfriend."
"I am." I laughed. "Now calm down a little."
"Are you going to let go?" He asked, realizing I was still holding his face.
"No." I answered.
I was about to kiss him when the hideout door opened and a person rushed in dragging another behind them.
"Raine, no one'll be here!" Eda said, wrapping her arms over Raine's shoulders.
"Um...Eda?" Raine said, noticing Alador and I are here too.
"What?" Eda asked then looked over.
I let go of Alador and Eda let go of Raine. The four of us just kind of stared at each other for what felt like an eternity.
"Well, this is awkward." I said.
"Just a lot." Eda said.
"If we agree not to tell anyone we saw that, you agree never to tell anyone you saw this?" Raine suggested.
"Yeah. That's probably a good idea." Alador said.
{The Next Day}
Eber's been laughing all day.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
He just kept snickering.
"He's still laughing?" Raine asked.
"Yeah, and I don't know why." I said.
Eber started trying to say what he was laughing about but couldn't.
"What could possibly be that funny?" Porter asked.
"Nothing I know of." Eda said. "I've tried to get people to laugh this long, it never works."
Finally Eber got out what he was trying to say.
"Oh, shit. He followed me last night." Raine kind of blurted out then covered their mouth.
"He what now?" Eda asked.
Alador immediately blushed.
"What the fuck is going on?" Lilith asked.
"I'm just gonna go to class." Alador said.
"Yeah, same here." Eda said.
Raine and I nodded. We ran off. Eber continued to laugh behind us.
"What the hell was that about?" Porter asked.
{A Little Bit Later}
Alador panted as we stopped in the classroom.
"Sit down before you fall over." I told him.
He nodded and sat at our desk. I sat next to him.
"Are you okay?" I asked as Alador caught his breath.
"Yeah...I just...don't have a high endurance. That was more...running than I usually do." He answered.
"Maybe you should try to train for that." I noted.
He wrinkled his nose and shook his head.
"Alright." I rolled my eyes.
"I'm not athletic." He told me.
"But you're so good at duels." I teased.
"That's not athleticism. That's strategy." He rolled his eyes. "And usually duels don't involve running."
"I know I just love teasing you." I told him.
I ruffled his hair.
"Hey!" He laughed. "Stop it! Leave my hair alone!"
"Never. I will never leave your hair alone." I stated. "It's cute when you get all mad. Your face goes completely red."
"I'm not cute." He protested.
"Yes, you are." I said. "You will never convince me otherwise."
He sighed. I kissed his hand.
"Why did you do that?" He asked.
"To see how you'd react." I answered. "You didn't and I'm very disappointed by that."
{A Few Days Later}
We had dueling club yesterday. We've managed to get Porter in but he absolutely sucks at dueling. Archer actually ranked everyone. Alador's at the top, then it's Raine, next Eda, following her is Eber and I at a tie, then Lilith, and finally Porter.
An explosion came from the potions class and everyone rushed out.
"Edalyn?" Alador asked.
"Definitely." I said.
"Hi, Alador." Odalia greeted attempting to sound sweet and innocent but actually sounding condescending.
Alador just walked away and I followed.
"Just ignoring her now, huh?" I asked.
"Of course. She does get that I don't like her." Alador said. "Maybe I should tell her I'm seeing someone."
"Is that your way of asking if you can tell people we're together?" I asked.
"Yes." He said. "What's the harm? Raine, Edalyn, and Eber already pretty much know. No one in the group really cared when Raine and Edalyn were outed as dating."
"The group isn't the problem." I said.
"Then who is?" He asked.(⚠️TW⚠️)
As if on que, a random student called me the f slur.
"The rest of the school is." I said.
"I can handle it." He said. "I'm not fragile."
"I've seen you breakdown because of an A-." I reminded him.
"That's different! That's grades. You know I have issues when it comes to low grades." Alador said. "And I have you so I know I can handle what people say."
"Alright, you may have a point there." I said.
"So we can tell people we're boyfriends?" He asked, excitedly.
"Has having a boyfriend settled in yet?" I asked.
"It has...not." he admitted, not nearly as excited.
"Let it settle in first, then we can tell people." I said.
"Fine." Alador sighed.
He smiled at me.
"You're my boyfriend. It's so weird to say but also so exciting. Boyfriend. The word itself is exciting." He told me. "Boyfriend. Boy. Friend. Boyfriend. Boyfriend. So awesome! I'm a boy dating another boy. I have a boyfriend. A. Boy. Friend. Boy. Friend. Boy. Friend."
He kept going and I laughed. He's cute when he's happy. I felt something on my arm and looked over to see Alador had bitten me. He let go and his face went red from embarrassment.
"Sorry. I got too excited." He admitted.
"It's fine." I assured him.
I ruffled his hair and he smiled. I wiped his spit off my sleeve. He looked concerned then opened his school bag. Ben and Ace were asleep inside it. He let out a relieved sigh. We're not supposed to have our palismen out during school hours but Ben and Ace don't like being put away for long periods of time. We just hide them in Alador's school bag during classes.
"They've been quiet for awhile so I got nervous." He admitted. "You know, I've been wondering palisman can fall in love."
"If they can, those two definitely did." I said. "They're practically inseparable."
"It's cute though." He said.
He put his hand over my mouth.
"Do not say it." He told me.
{A Couple Hours Later}
Alador and I walked around the town square. Someone ran past us, bumping into Alador and knocking him into the fountain.
"Sorry!" The person said and kept running.
Adrian. He definitely did that on purpose.
I helped Alador out of the fountain. He spit out water.
"Ah, man. Now I have to go home and change!" Alador sighed.
"No, you don't. I keep an extra set of clothes on me at all times." I told him.
{A Little While Later}
I knocked on the bathroom stall.
"Are you done yet?" I asked.
"Either your clothes are big or I'm small." Alador answered, opening the door.
I tried not to laugh. Alador's shorter than me so my clothes are long on him. It made him look smaller.
"You look so small." I teased. "Now don't get those dirty or I'll be mad."
"I won't." He rolled his eyes. "I promise."
He kissed me on the cheek.
"Thank you for letting me borrow your clothes." He said.
"You're welcome, Surdoué." I told him. "And you needed to get out of that uniform. It's covered in old, dried abomination slime. Filthy. You wear it every day, even when it's not a school day."
"I don't have time for laundry." He rolled his eyes.
"You don't know how to use a washer or dryer, do you?" I asked.
"I do! I said I just don't have time for laundry. Inventing and studying takes time." He told me.
He crossed his arms and I laughed. I kissed his cheek.
"Cutie." I teased.
"I'm not cute..." He mumbled.
"No, you are cute." I noted.
I grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the bathroom.
"Now, let's get back to our afternoon, Cutie." I suggested.
He rolled his eyes and nodded.
"I'm not cute though." He replied.