Acquired Tastes

Chapter Twenty-Five

A few evenings later, Neil went for a jog around sunset. By his third time winding through the same heavily shaded stretch of woods, the dusk had thickened. He didn't think much of it until a sound in the woods somewhere ahead of him made his heart jump. He took his earbud out, not slowing his pace but eyeing the edge of the trail warily. For several more strides, nothing happened, until an arm appeared out of nowhere, catching his throat hard enough to knock him onto his back, choking. Before he could lift himself any higher than to his elbows, several figures appeared around him, seeming to tower above him in the darkness. The one nearest to his head stepped onto Neil's chest, pinning him back to the dirt beneath him and leaned down toward him.

"Hey, Neil," came the voice of the person pinning him down, pulling a knife off her belt and pressing it up into the skin beneath Neil's jaw. Neil felt his head tilt back on its own, trying to create a space, but her knife matched his movement as she glared down at him through lowered eyelids, the rest of her face hidden with a mask. She tucked his arms beneath his back. "This doesn't have to be a big deal," she said, shifting so that she was kneeling on his chest, her knife never wavering. Neil's knuckles scraped against the gravel beneath him as he stared up into the dark eyes, appearing hollow in the dim light. "Just stop getting in the way. Start coming in somewhere in the middle of it." She paused, eyeing him closely. "We're asking now, but listen to me, Neil Martin, we'll kill you." The edge of her knife pressed a little closer and Neil winced, tiny beads of blood bursting from the skin across his throat. "If you want proof, come in first in your run tomorrow." She leaned back far enough to lift the knife to his face and drag it from one cheek to the other, over the bridge of his nose, then straightened up, getting back to her feet slowly, without taking her eyes off him. Finally, she gave a little nod, and the whole group ran off, disappearing around the dark corner. For a long time, Neil barely moved; he stared up at the faint outlines of branches against the sky, heart still racing. When he couldn't stand to stay there any longer, he pushed himself up, and took off in a little jog. He realized his face was stinging, and when he lifted the back of his knuckle to his cheek, it came away fully colored red. Annoyed, he lifted the collar of his shirt and wiped his face.

The rest of the way back to campus felt unending. Finally, lights began to fill the distance. By the time he reached the track, all he wanted to do was collapse in bed. He slowed to a walk, running his hand over his sweaty hair, mind spinning frantically but feeling too tired to come up with anything useful.

He made his way up the stairs of their dorm building at an impossibly slow speed, eyes dragging with his feet. It wasn't until he was at the door to his room that his mind settled down enough to return to the one thing it had been on lately. Heart already speeding up, he took a little breath, then pushed the door open. Just seeing Roman sitting on his bed, drawing, all warm and soft in a hoodie, joggers, and socks, melted everything inside Neil. In the split second it took for a smile to spread over his face, a horrified look came over Roman's. He was on his feet in a second. "What happened?"

"Shit." Neil quickly ran his hands over his face again. Even the touch made everything burn terribly. "Nothing, it's not a big deal," he said, desperately wiping his palms on his shorts, before lifting them to Roman's neck, pulling him closer, meeting his lips hungrily. Roman let him for a second, lifting his hands slowly to Neil's ribs, to his shoulders, before pushing him back enough that he could study Neil's face.

"No, what happened?"

"It's really not a big deal. Don't worry about it."

Roman pushed Neil down onto his bed and sat down beside him, facing him. "Hey, Martin, look at me."

Neil met his eyes, playing with his hands nervously. Roman brushed a bit of dried blood off the tip of Neil's nose. As desperately aware as Neil felt that it had been that very moment that Roman had gotten upset with him for extending themselves in this way, he couldn't help melting a bit beneath Roman's eyes, their infuriating sincerity, uninhibited warmth. Neil let out a little breath. "It's just some students that want me to stop trying to get points."