The Impossible is Possible (Ryden)

Chapter 8

It's with a heavy heart that Brendon enters Math the next day.

He's not at all prepared to see Ryan. It's not just that the kid actually nearly stabbed him, but it's also that, well, Brendon actually came whilst thinking about him. The very thought makes his cheeks flame red, and - horrifyingly - kind of makes him hard.

He doesn't look anywhere but at his desk as he enters, not wanting to even know if Ryan is in the room. He sits down in it, heavily, and pulls his books from his bag, putting them down on the desk with probably a little too much force. Mr. Dunn looks over from where he's writing the day's instructions on the board, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you alright, Brendon?" he asks, studying him carefully.

"I'm fine," Brendon lies, in a mumble, and ignores the muttering that's coming from Timothy across the room. The boy hasn't said a word to him since he punched him, but he's been sending him smug smirks every time they've seen each other since.

Mr. Dunn doesn't look convinced, but he shrugs a shoulder and gets back to writing the questions on the board. Brendon opens his book and pulls a pen from his pocket, attempting the first. It's something to do with brackets, but Brendon doesn't really understand, or care.

The thought that Ryan could be a few seats behind him is making all the blood rush from his head, making it pretty hard to think. He winces, as he feels his jeans become uncomfortably tight, and tries to think of anything that might make his problem go away. He thinks of Mrs. Harris. He thinks of Rodney. He thinks about getting punched by Timothy.

But all he can really think about is Ryan, and that most certainly isn't helping.

He shakes his head, trying to clear it, and looks back at the board. There are twenty questions on there, and everybody else seems to be at least halfway through, but Brendon just can't focus. There's a heat creeping up his neck, and he feels even more restless than usual, and he really, really wants to stand up because he's itching all over.

He squirms in his seat, tapping his fingers on the desk, wishing that all these weird feelings would just go away. Well, the restlessness is hardly weird for him, but the sudden hot flushes and erections, well. They're not unheard of - but they most certainly aren't this frequent, especially when they're over a particular, psychotic boy.

Just he thinks this, somebody enters the room, almost ten minutes late for the lesson. Brendon looks up, automatically, and immediately feels like his heart has exploded or something. It's Ryan, which makes him feel enough as it is, but there's something different about Ryan, too.

Ryan has a black eye.

Brendon stares at him, his breath catching in his throat, as Ryan mumbles some excuse to a surprised looking Mr. Dunn. Then, Ryan glances around the classroom, and his eyes fall upon Brendon. Brendon opens his mouth to ask what the hell has happened, but Ryan looks away. He sits down at the desk next to Brendon, however - Spencer's desk, come to think of it, which makes Brendon wonder where the hell his friend is - and pulls his books out of his bag.

Even if Ryan did nearly kill him the day before, Brendon can't help but forget it all in the light of the bruise around his eye. His heart actually hurts from sympathy, because Ryan is looking hurt and more vulnerable than he's ever seen him, staring at his desk and not even attempting the work that's been set. Brendon wonders what Ryan would do if he tried to hug him, and then thinks that maybe it wouldn't be worth it.

The thought of even touching the boy sets his mind alight, so he thinks it would be wiser to keep some distance.

The rest of the lesson passes agonisingly slowly. Brendon's now not preoccupied with sex, but preoccupied with making sure that Ryan is okay - he can't believe he feels so protective after what happened the day before, but he can't help it. He hasn't got the heart to hate him, or even fear him. He just wants the lesson to be over so that he can find out what's happened.