Heroic Acts

Eleven

Darien looked over at Seth, admiring his features. He grinned a little bit to himself, watching him get caught up in a video game. After a loss, Seth sighed and looked Darien's way, smiling. He got up and sat next to Darien in his bed.

The two didn't talk, they just sat together in silence, enjoying each other's company. Darien found himself locking eyes with him again, studying and appreciating the colors and little flecks of light in them.

His gaze moved down to his lips, perfectly pink and smooth. He bet they tasted as sweet as they looked, and he was determined to test that theory. Apparently, so was Seth, because he leaned in before Darien could. He pressed his lips against Darien's, taking in his flavor and his scent, caressing his cheek with his hand and resting his other one on Darien's thigh.

Darien began to melt, his chest warming up, his hands placing themselves in Seth's lap. He didn't want to stop now that he started. The kiss broke just so they could do it again, and Darien felt himself smiling through it. It was all so wonderful, and so perfect, until Darien woke up from his rest.

He sat up in bed, flushed bright pink, and he looked over at his roommate who was sitting up, playing video games, just like in his dream.

Why did I.. why did I dream that, of all things? Darien thought. I don't really have the hots for Seth.. do I?

He thought about the way Dream Seth had kissed him, and he blushed harder. It all felt so real. Seth looked over at him and smiled.

"Darien! Do you feel any better, now?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I think the nap really helped," Darien said softly.

"Are you okay? Your whole face is red," Seth pointed out.

"I'm fine! I just, I.. I had a bit of a nightmare, my body was probably just reacting to the adrenaline," he lied.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay," Seth said and focused back to his game. Darien sighed and looked down at the sheets, and then the bandages on his arms. He thought about the Phantom more.

I need to get him next time, Darien thought. I made a fool of myself on live TV! I wonder what Seth knows or feels about it..

"Hey, Seth?" Darien asked.

"What's up?" Seth responded.

"How do you feel about the Phantom?" he asked. Seth froze for a moment, trying to come up with a response, pausing his game.

"The Phantom? I mean, I don't like him, duh. He's terrorizing our city," Seth replied.

"I wonder why he does the things he does. What motive could he have? He needs to be stopped."

"Well, it seemed like someone else thought the same thing and actually acted upon it. Didn't you see the news anywhere? That guy in the blue costume fought him in the storm."

"I know, I heard," Darien said quietly.

"He's a fool."

"What?"

"I said he's a fool," Seth repeated. "The Phantom is just so powerful. You've seen him! He'll find a way to crush his enemies. In fact, he's the one who finished the match between the two. The boy in blue was left in the dust! He'd be an idiot to try again, in my opinion."

Darien bit his lip and thought hard before responding. Seth had a point, the Phantom was almost too powerful for Darien to handle. Almost.

"Well, I think he's a hero. He's doing what no one else can, and that's really great. Even if he did lose, he's still trying. Doesn't that matter?" Darien asked.

"I suppose it does, but I doubt it would matter at all if he gets killed in the process," Seth replied. They sat in silence for a moment, awkwardly thinking to themselves.

"You're probably right," Darien said.

"So, what should we do today?" Seth asked.

"Whatcha mean?"

"Well, there aren't classes today, and we can't just sit around bored, can we? Therefore, what should we do?"

Darien thought about his dream and flushed red.

"Uh, I dunno, you know this place better than I do. I just moved here," Darien said. Seth thought for a moment.

"Do you like having fun without having to pay money?" Seth smirked.

"Well of course, who wouldn't?" Darien replied.

"Come on," Seth said childishly and grabbed Darien's hand, dragging him out of the dorm room.

Darien smiled, caught off guard, following Seth and quickly leaning to grab his sneakers before he was brought out the door. He was pulled down the stairs and out into the parking lot over by Seth's parked car. Seth opened his door for him and let him climb in before going over to the driver's side.

"Where are we going?" Darien asked with a smile.

"Somewhere I bet you haven't been to in a while," Seth said. He started the car and began the drive. Darien took the time to put his sneakers on, since Seth didn't give him the chance to, and waited happily to reach their destination. He looked over at Seth to find him smiling. A genuine, sweet smile. It was contagious.

Seth continued down the road until he pulled into an area by a little park, stopping the car over by a huge playground. He turned off the engine and smiled over at Darien.

"A playground?" Darien asked.

"You bet, it's one of the best ones around, but no one really comes to it anymore," Seth said.

"Well, why not?"

"A scare from a few months ago. There were bear sightings over in the tree line way back there, everyone's been too afraid to come back. I come here all the time!"

Seth smiled at Darien, and he couldn't help but smile back. He nodded and hopped out of the car, running immediately to the swing set.

What a dork, Seth thought. He ran after him, standing behind him and offered to push his swing. He grabbed the chains and pulled them backwards, then letting go so Darien could swing forward. Darien laughed as the swing went higher, and once it was high enough, Seth hopped on the swing next to him. The two boys laughed and played like children, enjoying the company of one another and getting closer by the minute.

Suddenly, they heard thunder. This time, the work of Mother Nature, and not Seth's alter ego. The rain came quickly and suddenly without warning, drenching the boys, who just turned to each other and laughed.

"Run!" Darien shouted and raced towards the car. Seth jumped off of his swing and made his way down to the parking lot, losing the race to Darien by just a few steps. They hopped in the car quickly to get out of the rain and laughed at each other.

"You look like a lost puppy," Seth teased.

"Shut up, Seth," Darien smiled.

Seth turned the heat on, shivering from getting drenched. Darien laid back in his seat, resting his eyes. The two just sat in the car in silence, enjoying the sound of the rain.

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Author's Note: Alright guys, now that I have my college schedule, I know when I can and cannot sit down to write! So I'd like to know, how often would you like me to post, regularly speaking? And one more question.. which of the boys do you guys think will make the first move? ;)