A R I U S
The room is warping into itself and Arius doesn't want to get out. Through the window he can see his parents' faces twisting in disappointment as they yell curses at him. Viggo is pounding on the windows with is face screwed up in determination. Tamara appears beside his parents looking at him in disgust.
"Did you actually think for once that somebody will like you for what you've become? You're fucked up." she says and laughs, her voice filling the whole room he was hiding himself in. Elijah breaks in from the wall behind him and shoves him hard.
"It's a shame you're so handsome. But I just can't! Surely, you knew that? It's not fair to me. You'll find someone like you." He says and spits on the ground next to him, vanishing into thin air as the floor beneath Arius gives way and he's plunged into darkness, falling but never really hitting anything.
"Dude, Arius? Wake up!"
He sat upright immediately, breathing erratically and looking around him, until his eyes focused slowly on the dark figure hovering over him with an iron grip on his shoulder. He violently shoved them off himself and tried to get out of the mess of sheets he was in when the lights turned on and he realised that it was Elijah.
"Where? You lef-"
"Hey, hey just sit. You were talking in your sleep." Elijah said slowly.
"Breathe with me, okay?" He said, taking a visibly deep breath and letting it out as Arius watched him warily and involuntarily followed the breathing pattern, his heart still racing.
They did that for a few minutes and Elijah stood up suddenly, going out of his room and returning with a cup of water.
"We only have ice-cold water in the fridge." He said, smiling at him softly.
Arius took the glass with shaking hands and drank it slowly, allowing the cool liquid to run through his chest and into his stomach, waking him up completely.
"Viggo?" Arius mumbled.
"Er, he's gone back home for Christmas."
Arius nodded swiftly, everything that had happened the past two days coming back to his mind at once. He looked at the clock by the table and saw that it was five in the morning. It had been barely two hours since they'd fallen asleep after the movie.
Elijah shrugged on a hoodie over his shirt and grabbed the remote by the table, turning it on and playing The Breakfast Club.
He locked the door, turned off the lamp and grabbed Ryder's quilt from her bed, walking over to where Arius was sitting up.
"Scoot over, I wanna sit." Elijah said.
Arius didn't think this was a good idea at all, after he remembered that they'd kissed. Not once, but twice. And Arius had initiated one.
He moved a little, making room for Elijah as he shuffled close to him and they were sitting shoulder to shoulder and they watched the movie. More like, Elijah watched the movie half-dozing and Arius shot him furtive glances every two minutes.
Despite everything his mind was telling him and the horrible nightmare, his chest swelled at Elijah's gesture. He'd played the "boring ass movie" that he knew was one of Arius's favourites and was even trying to stay awake. Whatever happened after today happened, he wasn't going to be able to do anything about it.
He shut off all thoughts of what would ensue once the sun rose and leaned his head against Elijah's shoulder. Elijah tensed up and Arius could feel his heartbeat halting. But he slowly relaxed and slid further down the headboard, in a half sitting, half lying down position which made it easier for Arius to lay his head on his shoulder.
"Hey, you just uh, move a little?" Elijah asked softly and slid his arm around Arius's shoulder.
He snuggled into Elijah's chest and closed his eyes, willing his stupid brain to stop thinking and just sleep. For once, to enjoy somebody else trying to comfort him. Not everybody had ill intentions right? Especially not Elijah?
He hoped so.
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Arius opened his eyes as the blinding light from the windows streamed in. It was nine in the morning and unusually sunny today. He found Elijah asleep really close, facing him. His hair was a total mess and his eyes were slightly open, making him look possessed.
They'd probably shifted into a sleeping position because they were both lying down, Arius's head facing Elijah's chest.
His face reddened at the thought of cuddling with Elijah. It wasn't really cuddling though.
While he was busy thinking Elijah shifted slightly and peered his eyes open immediately jolting awake at the sight of Arius sleeping right next to him.
"What the fuck?"
"I don't know either." Arius replied, smiling through the confusion that was clouding his mind.
He could see Elijah visibly getting dreamy as soon as he smiled which only made him want to laugh out loud.
They were enveloped in silence as Elijah slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"Whatever happened yesterday, I-I don't want it to make us awkward around each other. I wasn't being myself man." Arius said, addressing the elephant in the room.
He had to do it. There was no other choice.
"Yeah, I get it. Me neither! What were we thinking?" Elijah shuddered, agreeing with him.
Why was it so easy for Elijah to dismiss and give up the potential that they probably had? There was definitely something they both felt when they had kissed the way the did and held each other. Did it really mean it was only a mistake? Did he seriously just think all of that?
"I just got caught up in the moment, haven't kissed anyone for so long." Arius said, trying to convince himself more than Elijah.
"Same, yeah."
"It was really stupid of us to do that."
"I agree."
"I really shouldn't have kissed you again."
"Totally."
"Just so we're on the same page and can put this behind us, the kiss meant nothing right?"
"Hell yes, we're definitely on the same page." Elijah grinned and slapped his shoulder as he stood up to go to the bathroom.
In half an hour, they were both ready to go out and just walk around for sometime before they were called in for Christmas brunch. Arius was too lazy to go and change in his room so he'd borrowed one of Elijah's fleece hoodies and a pair of joggers. Mr.Bruce was really excited to be cooking extravagant dishes for a small number of people and had informed them to come by noon.
"Oh, wait." Elijah said as he rushed back into their room, grabbed another key and locked his door.
He went to the room right next to him and came out almost immediately as Arius shot Viggo a Christmas message.
"Ready to go?" Elijah asked to which Arius nodded, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
"Oh shit, I haven't called my mum yet." Elijah said, whipping out his own phone.
He listened in as Elijah spoke to his mother and presumably, his sister. They seemed like such a loving, warm, close family and Elijah smiled like no other when he was talking to them.
"Yeah, he didn't go home either." Elijah said, as Arius raised his eyebrows at him.
"I don't know, yeah we do."
"Abby! Shut the fuck up, he's not-I don't know." He said indignantly, as he blushed furiously.
"I'm going to go now, bye! Love you, tell Grams I said hey and merry Christmas." Elijah said and hung up, smiling at Arius quite nervously.
"So you told th-"
"Don't even fucking go there, if we're going to pretend whatever happened didn't happen, we're not going to talk about it completely, okay?" Elijah said in a warning tone, still blushing.
Arius suppressed the laughter that was starting to bubble up inside of him and just smirked as he looked ahead.
"I want to show you something."
"What could you possibly want to show me here?" Arius rolled his eyes.
"It's nothing you haven't seen before but yeah, I don't know."
They took a detour from their route and were making their way toward the courts. Elijah continued past the lacrosse and tennis court and finally arrived at the soccer pitch. He pulled out the keys from his pocket and unlocked the gate, slipping in quietly and gesturing for Arius to follow. He went to the storeroom and grabbed a soccer ball, throwing it at Arius who caught it, despite his prosthetic reacting slowly.
"How did you even get the keys?"
"Jake has a spare pair, I help him train sometimes." Elijah said, slipping off his jacket and hoodie. He was only in his tee now, shivering slightly which made Arius look in amusement.
"You know how to play soccer?"
"Yeah Johnson, what did you think?" Elijah smirked, rubbing his hands together as he positioned himself in front of the goalpost.
"Come on, take your best shot."
"This is really thoughtful and all, but I haven't played in so long and I don't know if it's good." Arius said, holding on to the ball tightly despite what was coming out of his mouth.
The anxiety was starting to kick in, and his breathing was becoming laboured again.
In an instant, Elijah was right next to him, motioning him to take deep breaths.
"It's alright, it's just you and me here okay? Nobody else even knows we're here. And I won't tell, I promise." Elijah said sincerely.
Sometimes, Arius thought it was easier to open up to a stranger because they wouldn't smother you and fuss over you which he personally hated. Elijah was a stranger, compared to what Viggo was. So what if he judged him?
"Who knows? You might still be really good." Elijah said enthusiastically. Well, that didn't help at all.
"Listen, when I play basketball, I forget everything that I am and everything that I've done before. I have just one goal, to get the ball soaring through the hoop, like everyone else. On this pitch, you really don't have to get conscious because we're equals here, I block the goalpost and you kick the ball in, that is all that matters. What happens inside the pitch, stays inside the pitch." He said walking backward and shooting him a winning smile.
Arius weakly dropped the ball down and took a swing with his leg, and was surprised to find that the shot was quite powerful, not as much as it used to be but really good for someone who hadn't played for eight to nine months.
Elijah caught the ball with ease and dramatically tumbled to the ground and yelling victory.
"Is that the best you've got? I'd expect better from someone who can play all the positions." Elijah said, shaking his head in mock disdain.
And something snapped inside of Arius, he used to hate it when someone mocked him during soccer sessions and made it a point to get them with the ball atleast once. He knew he was good, and wasn't afraid to show it.
It was different now though, but the need to get Elijah with the ball was overwhelming.
He placed the ball on the ground and did a quick scan, lingering on the left side of the goalpost before he shot forward and kicked his right leg backward before powering it forward and kicking the ball toward the right side with a little spin.
He had thought that Elijah would go to the left side because it was a simple psychological trick to baffle the amataeurs. Clearly, Elijah wasn't an amateur because he had moved to the right side without hesitation, but the ball barely touched his fingers and flew into the net.
"Damn that kick was powerful!" Elijah said, looking at Arius in shock and amazement.
Arius couldn't help but smirk. Atleast he could kick the ball right, and that in itself was something to be grateful for right? His piano teacher had told him repeatedly how being thankful for every small thing he could do was so important and necessary in order to become just as good as before if not before.
He couldn't thank Elijah enough for actually bringing him to the pitch, his legs ached for the feeling of studs adorning his feet and his football gear so he could run through the pitch like he used to. He helped awaken his champion-soccer-player-side inside of him that had been sleeping for way too long, although he wasn't anywhere as good as he used to be.
They played for a long time, Elijah almost blocking all of his shots tirelessly and shoving the middle finger in the air when he did block the shots. And then Arius taught Elijah some juggling tricks, most of the time ending up in splits because he couldn't believe how someone could mess up such easy steps in such an expert way. They played for some more, Arius attempting to be a goalie which he failed at miserably, but he'd noticed that Elijah had a really good stance and his kicks were solid and steady, he must've played with really good players.
"Say, how do you play so well?"
"My sister plays soccer and I used to be her goalie since I was a tiny kid, I learnt watching her play. She was really, really good." Elijah said, as he kicked another shot straight past Arius's outstretched arms.
They delved into conversation about Elijah's family as they locked up the gates and walked back toward their dorms, the cold and wind long forgotten.
"See, this is me trying to block one of her crazy, experimental gymnastic shots." He said, showing his phone screen to Arius.
Little Elijah was definitely a heartbreaker back at his kindergarten. His face was screwed up in concentration and grit, tiny arms outstretched as a ball was snapped mid-air and a girl slightly older than him was in the middle of a backflip, her hair flying everywhere. She looked badass.
But Arius's eyes lingered on the cute toddler and he had to admit that Elijah was simply adorable, with the oversized gloves gracing his hands and the large football helmet on his head.
"You were so fucking cute as a kid, what happened now?" He laughed as he grabbed the phone and looked closer.
"Shut up dude." Elijah laughed back.
"Oh hey, before we go to dinner, I want to take Mr.Bruce's present."
"You bought him a present?" Arius asked.
"Yeah I did, a couple of hats. The one he wears now is kind of worn out at the back."
Elijah pulled out a neatly wrapped present from under his bed and another package that had ASSHOLE printed on it multiple times.
"Woah, you cannot give that to him you deluded fool." Arius said looking bewildered.
"Who said I'm giving that to him, it's for you. Merry Christmas arsehole." He said, throwing the package as Arius caught it.
He ripped the paper open and found a picture of the grinch with a message on the other side signed by Elijah.
Merry Christmas! Smile more often, be nicer. Then maybe, doors will open that you never noticed in the first place. Or, Bianca might allow you to watch the stars every night from the tower, you nerd.
~ Elijah
There was a red beanie, very similar his grey one inside the wrapping paper.
"Thank you for this, I didn't bring you anything though." He said, scratching his neck.
"I got that for you when I was searching for hats, thought it'd go with that hoodie you wear almost everywhere. That is all, you don't have to get me anything." Elijah rolled his eyes as he laughed.
Arius went to the mirror and put on the beanie, adjusting it over his head and after he was done, they made their way to the dining hall which they had decorated with ornaments and lights and candy. As soon as they stepped in, they noticed that all the tables had been pushed to the side and there was a long table in the middle of the room, with chairs arranged neatly around it, probably only for the ones who stayed back. There was so much food on the table and the room smelled heavenly. It looked like they were early as nobody else had showed up yet.
"Hey Mr.Bruce, Merry Christmas!" Elijah said, shaking the older man's hand and handing him the box.
"Merry Christmas Bruce." Arius said, smiling at him.
"Thank you lads! And oh, you really didn't have to bring this." The older man's eyes welled up with emotion and sincere gratitude as he looked at Elijah and thanked him.
He opened the package to find two hats inside of the box; one was plain, just like the one he wore now and the other one had 'The Flip Side' printed on it with a spatula above the words.
"It's been years since I've received a thoughtful gift, thank you my boy." He said.
"You're welcome! Since no one's here yet, do you want us to help you take everything to the table and set the cutlery?"
"Yes, that would be nice."
Arius and Elijah set about helping the man with whatever he had been doing all alone. After a few minutes, Bianca and Mason walked in and Bianca too, immediately rushed to help them, Mason following closely behind.
They all made small talk as they worked, mostly Bianca and Elijah talking about random shit. And then Ms.Baker walked in with her baby stroller and set it by the table, joining in to help them as well.
Mr.Rufus and a handful of students walked in, talking loudly and making some noise.
Finally, everything was set on the table and Mr.Bruce welcomed everyone and asked them to help themselves to whatever they wanted to eat first, no rules.
Arius wasn't lying when he said there was way too much food on the table. And he came from a rich family that went to fancy buffets and extravagant dinners every week.
Mr.Bruce had made mashed cheesy potatoes, three cheese ravioli, roast turkey in old gravy, creamed mushrooms with broccoli and zucchini, eggs, eclairs, meringues, pies, roasted vegetables, brandy and vanilla bean custard, rich chocolate cake, cookies, assorted ice creams and so many other things Arius was sure he didn't know the names of.
Although he didn't engage in too much conversation, he felt warm and at home, here in this Hall. Everyone was laughing and cracking jokes, talking about nonsensical, trivial stuff and it was just wholesome.
"You've outdone yourself this year Bruce, all of this is delicious especially the old gravy. Class act." Mr.Rufus smiled as he raised a toast to Mr.Bruce and his cooking. Everybody agreed wholeheartedly and dug in, while Mr.Bruce looked on with a gentle but proud look on his face which made Arius smile a little bit. He wished Viggo was here with him.
It wasn't much, but it filled Arius's heart to see everybody so carefree and happy. He wasn't a people's person by any means, mind you.
But as all good things must come to an end, Christmas would too and everybody would have to immerse themselves in their routines once again.
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"I uh, broke my arm while hiking and I've been in a bad situation ever since. Haven't played soccer in a long time." Arius said, answering Elijah's question, eyes sad and moping. He loved soccer more than anything (except Viggo, of course).
"Oh, I'm- I don't know what to say." Elijah replied, fumbling with his words and wringing his hands together.
He knew it was a very vague answer but he really didn't want to talk about it ever.
They sit on the wall of the tower, with their legs swinging back and forth as the sun dips beyond the horizon, flooding the sky with brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow, lighting up everything around them with a fierce golden glow.
They don't say anything more, revelling in the silence between them.
The sky turns a dark shade of blue, slowing dissolving into a midnight black with stars littering the sky one after the other. Arius was mesmerized, he'd never seen the sky so dark and the stars as bright as they looked. Not even the previous night.
He could spot the Three Kings in the most visible region of Orion's Belt.
"I made it to the basketball team in one go, I'm sure if you tried out for soccer you would've too." Elijah said all of a sudden.
Arius looked at Elijah, grinning slightly at Elijah's radiant, ever-happy face.
"Maybe, you know, just try next year. It'll be hard. But this might be good for you huh? Besides, you're a talented player."
"Maybe next year Kingston, maybe." Arius said, decision already made in his head.
Something had changed between them. Arius knew what had, but they weren't going to adress it or talk about it ever again. It was what was best for the both of them.
Their usual, bickering, savage dynamic had taken a shift. Arius felt hollow inside, the foreboding this wasn't something he could run away from was undeniable.
And if his gut was true, they were both fucked.
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A/N
You guys, the story goes like this because Arius is bisexual, I hope y'all remember that. So it doesn't surprise or disgust him when he finds out Elijah's been crushing on him. Also, they're both mature in their own ways and not the kind to ignore or react violently because they've both realised that their friendship is more important than anything else that might happen because of how rocky their dynamic was in the beginning. They've talked about what they're going to do and have decided to take their friendship forward, putting their feelings behind themselves.
Can't wait for them to actually start dating. Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh.
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Much Love XD. Thank You!