Reverse Rivalry

A New Way To Feel

The atmosphere was heavy and felt eerily daunting. Silence permeated the locker room and wariness was weighing down his shoulders. Skylar's hands on his shirt tightened as he dragged it over his head, pushed his arms through the holes then moved it down over his stomach.

He breathed out softly into the air then stepped back and closed the locker door as soft as he could. It was almost 6 and they were bound to be berated by the coach if he even caught a semblance of teenagers still here doing god knows what.

The light on the ceiling flickered off and drenched Skylar's slowly relaxing silhouette into darkness then back on as if it was illuminating the redness of the fresh bruises on his arms. His skin was still tingling from the second bathe he took with Kierson in his embrace, mindlessly washing away the evidence of sex down the drain, but in silence.

Skylar stared at the metal contraption for a minute because everything felt a bit surreal. All of this felt like a fresh wound in his chest, bleeding into a dormant symbol that was just now brimming to life. A scorching hurt that was peeling him apart layer by layer but, in a good way. The other person in the room was quiet, too quiet for Skylar's liking but he didn't say anything.

He glanced over his shoulders to look at Jale who was laying down on the low long bench that ran through the middle of the room. Skylar could see that dark cloud raining over the boy's head. Jale's eyebrows were creased into a deep frown and his hands were clenched on his clothed chest.

The boy looked tired, and still very much conflicted. Jale barely said a word to him after their escapade. He blatantly ignored Skylar while slowly sinking into a sour mood that should have gotten on his nerves because there was nothing much left to think about.

But, for some unexplainable reason, Jale's reaction didn't scare him, in fact, the deep calmness running through him was soothing. He didn't know why but Jale's fingers clinging to his back in the shower felt desperate as if, he would rather die than let Skylar go in that singular moment. Every fibre in Skylar was pleased and that small insignificant detail made everything, every unknown fear inside him dissemination away like steam.

Jale didn't run like the coward he was. He didn't combust like a volcano as he normally would. He didn't throw it all back into Skylar's face like he expected him to. Jale Kierson was still here, quiet but still here and that made him surprisingly steady.

Skylar turned from his position and walked closer to the bench. He stared down at the boy in wonder. Jale's eyes were closed but Skylar knew he wasn't sleeping. His chest was rising slowly and fell slowly. Skylar felt compelled to touch him, wake him and drag something out of his mouth.

Skylar crouched down to his knee and slid closer to the body on the bench. He rested his hands near Jale's arm at his side and stared more. Skylar wanted to see his eyes. The urge in him to be looked at was rising like a helium balloon inside of him but he tried to exercise patience.

Skylar lifted his hand to lightly touch Jale's face. He slowly leaned over more in an aerial view to peer down at him in fascination.

The boy had always been handsome, ethereal if any other word could fit. He captured attention wherever he went from he was young as if he was a bright magnetic sun. Skylar thought he had despised all of it, that he wanted to steal it but that was bullshit in every possible way. Why did it take so long for him to realise this twisted fucking mad feeling inside him to monopolize every ounce of Jale's existence wasn't hate but love?