Butterflies ; boyxboy

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/ / Chapter One: An Artistic Annoyance / /

Ariel painted slowly, his eyelids drooping as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The 17-year-old yawned and resisted the urge to turn in his seat and bitch-slap the boy behind him. Kace Gaare, in all his blond fuck-boy glory, was chuckling breathily and showing absolutely no signs of a hangover. Ariel, on the other hand, was slouched over his desk with his head rested against his hand, sunglasses perched over his eyes. The teenager's ass ached from the night prior, and every time Ariel closed his eyes he could feel his heartbeat in his eyelids.

Ariel shifted again, wishing the cheap, plastic chair had some sort of padding. The teenager was so incredibly grumpy that he was starting to debate whether or not the electrifying orgasms he'd had were worth this torment. "Are you sore, honey?" Kace's teasing voice didn't at all help to assuage that.

"Fuck you," Ariel grumbled, scowling at his unfinished painting. He considered tacking on "which I'll be doing next time," but bit his tongue. The boy never wanted to assume that there would be a "next time."

"Don't worry, honey, you can top next time," Kace said lightly. Ariel scowled viciously, turning and smacking Kace's arm. The lanky year nine had dragged his chair to sit just slightly behind Ariel.

"My name's Ariel," the boy muttered, pronouncing it as Aw-riel. Following up with a loud sigh, Ariel stood and walked towards the back wall of the classroom where the extra paint was stored in a closet. Kace followed, his pink high heels clicking. The teenager wore tight black jeans and a greyscale flannel that hung loosely around his thin frame.

"Is that my shirt?" Ariel asked as he stretched onto his tiptoes to reach the top shelf of the storage closet. Kace giggled and Ariel almost thought he saw a blush. "You're the worst," Ariel grumbled. Suddenly he stumbled, having reached too high in an attempt to grab the correct pot of paint. Kace grabbed the year eleven's arm, steadying him.

"I'll get it, babe," Kace said, gently kissing Ariel's forehead before the boy could protest. Ariel waited until Kace was stretched up towards the shelf before kicking him in the calf. The 17-year-old giggled as he watched the brunette fall, hangover temporarily forgotten.

Kace looked up from the ground, a pout sliding across his visibly soft lips. "Meanie," he mumbled, pawing uselessly at the air in an attempt to receive help standing up. Ariel didn't extend a hand, going as far as making a point of covering his hands with his sleeves. The teenager was clad in black skinny jeans, his usual tortoiseshell glasses, and an oversized, blue sweater that fit like a blanket. "I was trying to help you get your paint," Kace whined, "and you kick me?" He stared at Ariel with puppyish blue eyes.

"I never claimed to be nice," Ariel replied, lightly bumping the shelf with his hip. His desired paint pot fell from where Kace had slid it to the edge of the wooden surface. Ariel caught it easily. "Much appreciated," he said with a smirk. The champagne-coloured blond walked back to his desk, absently tugging at his wild mess of untamed curls.

"You're a cruel, cruel man!" Kace called after him as he slowly and dramatically crawled to his feet.

"Who're you talkin' to, Kace-Kace?" one of Kace's friends called. The American-accented guy was one of the popular year nines -- meaning he had absolutely no idea who introverted, year eleven Ariel Iemata was. To them, Ariel was somewhere in between a featureless face in the crowd and Kace's fuck-buddy.

"The hot year eleven," Kace replied, unaware of the way Ariel's faint smile melted into his weary scowl from earlier. The older boy hated the way his chest ached at the flippant way Kace spoke about him, loathed the fond butterflies that stampeded through his stomach when Kace was around. Despised how he wanted to stare endlessly at the boy's dark hair, the brunette colour so dark it was nearly black. His blue eyes that were nearly grey; the way that they sparkled like a starry night when Kace was happy and became stormy when he was upset. Ariel abhorred the fact that he had a big, stupid crush on the lanky year nine.

Kace loped back to his seat, dragging the chair to sit next to Ariel. "Aw, grumpy Ari is back," Kace teased. On any other day, Ariel would have scowled at or punched Kace but, in that moment, the boy didn't even look up from his painting. "What's wrong, boo?" Ariel's grumpiness quickly melted away. I shouldn't act differently just because Kace called me the "hot year eleven," Ariel thought. That's what I am to him.

"Ew," the year eleven announced. "'Boo?' That's disgusting." Kace laughed loudly at the way Ariel's nose scrunched up and his face curved into an expression of pure horror.

"It's cute!" Kace defended, a high-pitched laugh causing his voice to ascend. "Y'know, like-" the 15-year-old stammered, his voice shrill and giggly as he struggled to complete his sentence.

"How do you get your voice that high?" Ariel snickered. "It sounds like your balls haven't dropped." Kace let out a little gasping scoff of indignation. Ariel hated how freaking adorable it was. Kace reminded him of a little bulldog he'd seen as a kid. The dog had always been so excited to see Ariel that she'd barreled through the house, squealing and snuffling similarily to Kace.

"Shut up!" the lanky year nine finally managed, gaining control over his voice. "You know perfectly well that that's not true."

Ariel rolled his eyes, kicking out and knocking Kace off his chair. The older boy dragged the chair back to Kace's desk and gestured at it pointedly. Looking up from the floor, Kace petulantly kicked at Ariel's chair as the older boy returned to his painting.

The teacher finally noticed for the first time all class. "Hey, you two. Stop with the noise," they muttered without looking up.

"Public school," Kace snickered, before kicking the chair out from under Ariel.