inevitable entanglements » a.i. + l.h.

22

Luke stumbled away from the door, too shocked to close it. Without a second thought, he ran away with Ashton as his destination. 

He didn't care about Gabriel's lessons anymore. Ashton had promised to be there for Luke when something was wrong. And now he was confused, hurt, scared, disgusted and feeling like he would throw up.

That counted as something being wrong, right?

With a little more manners now, he knocked on the classroom's door before entering.

"I don't mean to disturb."

He murmured, his voice barely audible. But because that was nothing new, neither of them noticed. 

"You're not disturbing us, Luke. Just a moment please. Ashton just needs to finish this maths problem and he's free to go."

Gabriel informed him with a smile, gesturing to the teenage boy that sat at one of the desks hunched over a piece of paper. Judging from the way his tongue stuck out it was an immensely difficult problem.

Luke nodded obediently and took a seat on one of the chairs. He didn't think his legs could carry him any longer. While he waited, words seemed to pile up in his head. There were so many things he wanted to say and with every second that passed, he found more ways of expressing them. His head seemed to be spinning even more now, thanks to all the thoughts that wouldn't let him go. By the time Ashton was finished, he felt like he was choking on them. They climbed up his throat, itching for him to open his mouth and say something. But his lips were dry and his tongue was up for stuttering.

"What's wrong, Luke?"

Ashton asked while he closed his books. He'd expected Luke to be reading, not wandering around the castle looking paler than ever. He stood up and walked towards his lover.

It took Luke twenty-seven seconds to answer.

"Your dad noticed me in the corridor."

Ashton's gaze travelled downwards immediately as the panic started to get to him. 

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? You said no, right?"

"You don't understand. I can't say no. But I did manage to postpone it."

Luke replied, nuzzling his face in Ashton's neck. All of a sudden, the words appeared to have left him. It was utterly silent in his head. It seemed as though hearing Ashton's voice had changed something inside him and had caused all the thoughts to disappear down the drain. 

Now his lips felt like they were glued together and his throat felt tight. He didn't want to try to put what he was feeling into words. He wanted Ashton to know without him having to explain it. 

"I know that, love. Will you stay with me tonight? Please?"

Luke nodded against his chest, before he stretched his arms and pressed him away so he could examine him. His father couldn't have done anything all that horrible, but he still wanted to know. 

"Did he do anything?"

The blond bit his lip and looked at his feet. He felt a little ashamed about telling him. He loathed saying it out loud. 

"He kissed me."

It came out as a whisper, one he kind of wished Ashton hadn't heard. But he had and judging by the look on his face, he was furious. Ashton hated his father for ruining things. What if Luke would shy away again after their encounter? They had gotten so close and affectionate. He didn't want Tomas to ruin that. 

"Will you kiss me? To make the awful feeling in my stomach go away?"

Luke asked innocently, surprising both Ashton and Gabriel. Of course Ashton wasn't going to deny a request like that. He'd do whatever to make Luke feel better and kissing him was just about the best thing he could think of.