Matt slammed the door behind him, angry and scared as he stormed off down the dorm hall. Why do they always have to fight? I don't get it! Why can't they just be friends again? He slows as he notices all the doorways for the dorm, each with their own people inside. Are they really going to split and go to different dorm's? I don't want to be alone... He feels his heart ache, and he sits down curling up his back against a door. Lowering his head to his legs and crossing his feet.
A large teardrop fled from his cheek, landing on his jeans before soaking into the fabric. Only then did he register that he was crying. How come everybody leaves me? First dad then momma, now I'm going to lose my two best friends! His tears start to fall faster, dripping onto his leg and being absorbed by his pants. His nose begins to run, and he can't help but sniffle before he began whimpering.
The door behind him suddenly opens, and Matt falls backwards landing on a pair of legs behind him. The voice above those legs spoke up, and was laced with concern. "Hey... Are you umm ok? I heard crying and I thought maybe somebody was hurt."
"I'm ok..." Matt whimpered, sitting up and putting his head back onto his knees.
"It doesn't look like it..." The voice replied in a sympathetic tone. "Do you wanna come in and talk about it?"
Matt sniffled and looked up at the voice tipping his head up. Tears that had been falling had reversed with his head, and filled his eyes, blurring the man in his gaze. "I'm not really supposed to talk to strangers." Matt replied still not moving away from the floor.
"Well normally that rule is for little kids who don't know any better..." The man continued, his voice emphasizing his concern. "Look I can't in good conscience leave you out here to cry. My name is Ian, see now we're not strangers anymore..."
Matt's tears rolled up over his eyes and started up his forehead as he began to focus on the man. He had blue hair that was fading slightly, his true blond hair poking through near the roots. His eyes were hazel, and his nose was slightly crooked. His body was thin and not really noticeable through his baggy black shirt that hung to his knees, and faded gray pair of sweatpants that clung to his legs. Matt was mesmerized with him and he couldn't help but stare. "You look very pretty Ian..." He paused, staring at the bend in his nose. "What happened to your nose? Did you get in a fight?"
"You know most people reply with their own names when being introduced." Ian said with a half hearted chuckle trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Matt mumbled disheartened, "You just look really nice, and I've never met somebody with blue hair before..."
"Hey don't worry about it buddy. How about you tell me your name?" Ian coaxed further.
"I'm Matt. Does your hair naturally come out blue?" Matt asked, still focusing on Ian continuing to keep his head tipped up. His tears angling towards his temples as he looked at Ian.
Ian looked at him for a second before letting out a small laugh. "You're a strange guy aren't you Matt..."
"Sorry..." Matt replied in a sad tone, as he looked back down at the ground depressed.
"Don't be sorry, I like odd. It's... Nice." Ian interjected, "Hey, do you wanna come in and tell me why you were crying? You look like you could use somewhere to decompress for a while."
Matt looked at him for a moment concerned. "Promise you aren't trying to kidnap me? I won't go down easy if you try anything!"
Bursting into laughter that echoed down the halls like a rock on ice Ian clapped his hands together trying to regain his composure. "I promise Matt, I will not try and kidnap you. I'll leave the door unlocked so you can leave whenever you want!" He watched as Matt began to smile then twisted himself around before stumbling to his feet. "Hey Matt, do you spend much time with other people?"
"Not really..." Matt answered looking at Ian again still amazed. "I normally hang out with..." He looked over towards his dorm down the hall and his eyes began to quiver."Not really..."
"Hey it's ok Matt, don't cry." Ian reaches out and pulled Matt into a timid hug. "I have a hard time dealing with a cute boy, doubly when he's crying!" Matt looks up to him, confused as his hazel eyes seemed to sparkle through the reflection of his tears. "I had a kid brother that you remind me of, I hated seeing him cry too..."
"Oh. Is he in there too?" Matt points with one of his fingers behind Ian.
"I can't see where your pointing silly." Ian chuckled letting go of him and taking a step back. "I'm going to assume you meant in my room. The answer is no he's not there. He uh, He's not around anymore."
"Oh, where did he go?" Matt asked confused by the pain in Ian's eyes. "Did he go to a different college or something?"
"Something like that..." Ian replied in a muffled voice. "Hey uh, let's get inside, it's nearly midnight, and we should be quieter around this hour so people can sleep." He took a few steps backwards and started waving his hand beckoning Matt in. "How bout it bud. Wanna come inside and decompress?"
"Are you sure you don't mind?" Matt asked suddenly getting anxious at his kind gesture. "Normally people don't want to spend time with me since I'm not very smart."
Ian looked at Matt and smiled. "It's no worry really, I'm not very smart either! The dorm halls are always cold at night, so I bet you're freezing. I have warm carpet!"
"I did forget my shoes..." Matt replied wiggling his toes and following him in. "T-Thanks for letting me stay here..."
"It's no big deal, I mean we're both student's here, so I don't see a problem with sharing my room. Nobody usually comes here because they're all scared of me." Ian smirked.
"Why would somebody be scared of you?" Matt asked disarming Ian. "You look so nice, and you're really friendly! I don't see how anybody could not like you."
"Well that's quite a compliment for somebody you just met." Ian replied with a grin. "People tend to avoid me because I have a short temper when I'm grouchy. I guess people don't like being yelled at in the mornings to shut up."
"What's wrong with being loud in the morning?" Matt asked looking around the dorm room. It was small, but tidy. A fairly small couch sat next to a large bookshelf in the corner, and a fairly large oak dining table sat beside it. Next to that was a door that led to the bathroom. In the center of the room was a huge homemade rug that was intricately stitched. Matt was enticed with the rug immediately and focused on the stitch work intently.
"Well I am a night person." Ian replied startling Matt back into focus. "I work at night, and sleep in the morning." Ian smiled seeing Matt's amazement.
"So you're like an owl?" Matt walked forward and sat down beside the rug looking at the craftsmanship with awe.
"Well, not exactly. I work night's, but I don't like barns, or mice, or anything like that." Ian chuckled making Matt look back over to him.
"So you're a human owl? Is that why you're up so late?" Matt asked again drawn to the rug.
Ian couldn't help but laugh, "You really are a strange one aren't you Matt." Matt looked up to him his mouth open to apologize. "It's not an insult though. Strange is a good thing. There's a bunch of people out there who are just repeating what everybody else says and does, and it's stupid, so I became a strange person too.
"MADDY?" Kevin's voice rang out in the night. "MADDY WHERE ARE YOU?"
"Ugh. Everybody is up tonight aren't they? Ian grumbled rolling his eyes.
"That's just Kevin..." Matt replied fixated on the crazy patterns in the stitching. "He's probably looking for me so he can try and get me to come back. I don't wanna go back right now though. Him and Marcy are mad at eacho-" He stopped mid word and his heart began to ache as he started to sniffle.
"Here I'll handle it. I'll be right back," Ian said in a comforting voice before wandering over to the door and opening it slightly annoyed. "Hey can you keep it down. Some of us are trying to sleep!"
"Ehh fuck you," Kevin replied making Ian look at him in shock. "Look I don't have time to deal with you, I am looking for a freshman ok? He came waddling down through here a little bit ago. Probably crying..." He fell silent for a moment then resumed walking down the hall as Marcy's voice calling out for Matt echoed through the halls.
"Matt! Baby where are you? Can you come out please? We just want to talk to you." Marcy called trying to find him.
"Ugh," Ian rolled his eyes before shutting the door and heading back to Matt. "Great now there's two of them..."
"MAAAADDDDDYYYYYY!" Kevin cried out practically screaming. "WHERE ARE YOU!"
Ian walked back over and lay down next to Matt on the ground propping himself up with his elbows. Then looked at Matt who was cowering every time he heard them calling for him. "Are they the reason you didn't want to be in your room tonight?"
"Yeah..." Matt replied in a sad tone not wanting to go any further than that.
"Are you in danger there?" Ian asked looking at him carefully. "I mean do they like to try and do things to you? Like hit you and stuff?"
"No!" Matt looked up at him in surprise, "They wouldn't ever hit me. They just have some stupid pact or something, and ever since I turned eighteen a weeks ago they started acting differently." Matt picked at the rug a little bit pulling a piece of lint out of the rug and moved it to the carpet.
Ian looked at him in surprise. "A pact? What sort of pact?"
"Something about now that I'm old enough to give consent they could try and touch me or something..." Matt looking over at the large bookshelf, then back to Ian. "I mean... Kevi's always been handsy with me, but Marcy. Well, she's started saying and doing handsy things too after my birthday."
"Handsy how?" Ian pressed, his cheeks growing red."Are they touching you in places they shouldn't be and making you uncomfortable?"
"Well sometimes..." Matt answered honestly, "But never really anything that goes too far. They mostly like to kiss me, and have me sit in their laps. Sometimes they will run their fingers through my hair too."
"And you're ok with this?" Ian questioned, his jaw dropping.
"Well their my best friends. Why wouldn't I be?" Matt replied casually before moving another piece of garbage off the rug. "We have all been friends since I was in elementary school. Back then I didn't have any friends. Then Kevi noticed me and asked me to be my friend. He was already almost a middle-schooler, but we grew up in a small town where they combined the two. So Kevi was never far away.
"Has he been handsy like this the whole time you've known him?" Ian prompted as he continued to question Matt.
"Well kinda, a few years later Marcy came around and she wanted to be my friend too! A few weeks later they started to argue, and after one really bad night they yelled at each other and I cried really loudly. Then they both looked at me, and they started acting like friends again. After that we all became best friends. They kept bullies from getting to close and all they wanted from me was for me to hang out with them. It was really fun! We went to the movies, went out to eat together, and we made sure to go to the arcades like every weekend!"
Ian looked at Matt comprehending all that Matt was saying. He scooted closer to the rug and started to poke at the stitching. "So they are your only friends then huh?"
"Well no, I have you now!" Matt replied visibly brightening. A second of silence ensued before Matt spoke up again this time he was whispering. "I-I wouldn't mind if you got handsy with me too." Ian looked over in shock to see Matt blushing furiously. "I mean if you want to..."
"Oh boy, um, Matt... Look you're a nice boy but, I don't think that's a good idea." He cringed when he saw Matt look down depressed. "I just think your friends wouldn't like that very much if I did."
"They are too busy being mad at each other to notice me, and you are being really nice to me." He looks over to Ian embarrassed, as his cheeks burned brighter. "Do you not want to?"
"Well..." Ian replied looking up and down the small man child with a soft smile. "It's not that I wouldn't want to. I just think that you already have enough people trying to get your attention. How about we just be really good friends?"
"Oh, ok..." Matt responded somewhat unhappy as he looked back down at the rug. "Did you make this yourself? It's super pretty."
"I did," Ian replied relieved, "My mom showed me how to sew and quilt when I was little. I spend a lot of my free time making things like rugs and blankets. Maybe I can teach you someday?"
"I would love too... But I'm not very good at making anything." Matt replied looking at his hands and wiggling his fingers in a slow melancholic manner. "Maybe you could make me one for my birthday instead?"
"Sure! When's your birthday?" Ian asked amused with the simple-minded man child.
"It's not for another forty-nine week's, but you can always give me my gift early!" Matt grinned looking up at him with a smile.
"You're saying you just turned eighteen?" Ian asked laughing, "Why are you thinking about your birthday already? It's a long time away from now."
"Well..." Matt started blushing again, "I was just thinking that when somebody brings somebody else presents, it means that the person likes you enough to either buy or make you something. And I was hoping maybe I could get a present from you..."
"Oh," Ian smirked softly looking back to Matt as his own cheeks began to pinken. "You really are a cute guy, you know that?" Matt perked up and smiled wider. "I think, maybe you should get some sleep though. I will be up for the night reading like I normally do, but I think maybe you should rest a little bit. We can continue this conversation in the morning if you want to. My bed's over behind that door. I suggest you use that. The rug may look nice but it's not comfy to sleep on."
"Ok," Matt agreed nodding his head somewhat sad as his heart began to sink. "Hey Ian...?"
"Yeah bud?" Ian responded trying to sound casual.
"Thanks for being so nice to me..." Matt leaned forward and kissed Ian on the cheek before he dashed towards the door and shutting it behind him leaving Ian alone on the floor.
------------------------------------
I think I am getting better at this whole editing thing. I'm starting to push through edits faster and faster. Thank goodness, I don't love this part so yay for efficiency! XD Anyway, have a fantastic day, and drink some water.
-Asted!