Brothers In Arms

Chapter 4

Contrary to popular belief, the Wednesday poker game was pretty much like any other poker game. I felt like everyone thought I should be really nervous, but other than the odd sensation of being the youngest person in the room when everyone else had known each other for weeks on end, I wasn't particularly jittery.

I had already been the odd man out when I came here a month after school started so it wasn't a new sensation and I got over it pretty quickly. It helped that the guys were all pretty decent. Everyone just wanted to get at it and make a haul of candy come their way.

Except me, I didn't really care about any of it. Okay maybe the caramels, but that was it. Vincent had a really good poker face, but I caught on to the fact that he really liked gummy bears and worms so he would try to bluff those pots even if he had a crappy hand.

I had pretty much given away my love of caramels in the last game, so I used them to make the guys think I was serious about a hand and managed to bluff them out of a nice pot. Vincent grinned at that and the guy to my left, Jack I think it was, gave me a tap on the arm with a chuckle.

I just did my best fake innocent look and played with my now bigger pile of candy. I was holding my own pretty well, all things considered, and took it well when I lost by a small margin on a couple hands. I left slightly lighter in candy but heavier in caramels, so I figured it was a win anyways. The guys insisted I come back next week and I was looking forward to it.

I went down the hall to my room and hesitated as I locked the door behind me. I played over the night in my head as I lay in the dark waiting for sleep. I remembered each smile and laugh from one particular person and shifted uncomfortably with the knowledge of my growing attachment.

From the moment he first spoke to me, I had known he was going to be a danger to my sanity. He could have asked me to give him all my caramels that night and I would have had to think about it instead of decking him for suggesting such a thing.

I thought he was attractive when he was serious, but he was drop-dead gorgeous when he smiled. I thought he looked good in his uniform, but he was sexy as sin in his casual clothes. It was hard not to stare with half his muscles bare to my eyes in his plain white tank top.

His pajama pants had clung to the ridge of his v-taper while he lounged with his back to the wall on his bed. His room smelled amazing, like summer breezes and cookies. I sighed and looked down at the tent I now sported in my boxers.

Served me right. I was the one fantasizing over The Vincent Wright. If he could read my mind he would probably either be completely grossed out or beat the crap out of me. I mean I had just met the guy last week and we had hung out once.

It would creep me out if some guy I didn't even know was using me a fapping material. I might be flattered in a weird way, but it was still... is rude the right word? I don't know. I tried to turn my thoughts to my favorite porn star.

I think the last 'Sean Cody' I watched was pretty hot, before my internet privileges were revoked by my father that is. I tried to picture it instead of the very hot boy down the hall from me. It was hard, heh, to keep my thoughts from straying away from more appropriate material but I was determined not to completely perve out on my senior crush.

I did pretty well all things considered and cleaned up with my face cloth before throwing it into the laundry. I still couldn't sleep, even as I watched the hall light go out underneath my door. I tossed on the small bed. I couldn't get my mind to settle.

It insisted on replaying every look, every smile, every lick of his lips and flex of his muscles. It insisted on picturing him in every hallway I had spotted him, every time I had seen him in the cafeteria, every time I saw him walk down our hall. I had no idea I was so aware of every move he had made for that long. God, I was embarrassing.

I awoke with a start at the blare of my alarm and had no idea how long I had been out. My head was pounding with sleep depravation, but I still crawled out of bed to dress. Thank goodness I didn't require any thought to get my uniform on.

My brain refused to start and I felt like I was moving in slow motion. My hands refused to find button holes, fumbled with my shoelaces, and gave up on tying my tie.

I realised I needed to just head out as is, otherwise I was going to miss breakfast. I went down to the dining hall and grabbed my tray. Alec was halfway through his breakfast already and I held up a hand to stall his questions as I shoveled eggs down my throat.

I took my bacon in my mouth as I put away my tray with theirs and made for the door. My hands still didn't want to work the knot on my tie and I stood to the side trying to wrap it. Alec tried to help me but I was getting frustrated as time was running out.

Both our hands were slapped aside as a pair of strong hands grabbed hold of the loose ends. He untangled them, flipped them quickly into a neat knot and smoothed it down. I stared at him the whole time, in shock and grateful. He finally met my eyes and smiled before leaving the three of us standing around staring after him. He was... urgh.

"Did he just...?" Alec mused and pointed after him. I swallowed and nodded.

"You know I don't think I've ever seen him smile." Micah said before grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the school. I looked at him in shock.

"Really?" I asked. He nodded and I was confused. I mean, how many times had he smiled last night alone? Six or seven? Maybe he only smiled with his friends. Oh. Did that mean I was a friend now? He smiled at me.

I could still feel my heart pounding in my ears as I sat in my English class. I had troubles concentrating on what the teacher was saying. I wrote my notes without really seeing them. My head was lost in the clouds.

I don't know how I managed to get from class to class. Probably by routine. It was finally the end of the day and all I wanted to do was take a nap. My feet found their way to my room and I collapsed face first on my made bed in full uniform.

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