worth [naib/eli]

chapter 3

It was time. Norton had learned many new things about Naib, like how he was paranoid about many things, how he was always around Clark as if his life depended on it, how Naib had a crush on someone like Norton, who decided to make use of this information to spice things up.

The bell rang, signaling lunch break. As the students filed out of class, Naib waited for everyone to leave as usual and headed towards the cafeteria. He felt a presence behind him and turned around, tense.

"D-Do you need anyt-" Naib tried to confront the person he as now facing and fell short when he realized who it was. N-Norton? All Naib could do was stare into the football captain's onyx eyes as he chuckled. "Yes, I do need something, I was wondering if ya'd like to join me for lunch," Naib couldn't believe his ears. The Norton Campbell was asking him if he wanted to join him for lunch. "B-but I-" Naib stuttered, his mind wandered to think about Eli, who had warned him to steer clear of Campbell, but he couldn't help it. Naib fidgeted but Norton cut in, "Don't worry about Clark, he has Will with him." And before Naib could say anything else Norton wrapped his arm around Naib and lead him to the cafeteria.

Naib felt like he could combust at any moment. He had expected to be socializing with Norton and his rowdy group, but instead, Norton declined them and went to another table, settling down with Naib, alone. Sure, they both had their trays piled with food and Norton was happily digging into a donut, but all Naib could do was poke at his plate anxiously. He was afraid to embarrass himself in front of Norton, so he refrained from doing anything except breath. At this point, Naib really wanted to go back to Eli, but it'll seem rude since he didn't reject Norton's offer in the beginning. Naib coughed, "So-"

"So," Norton licked icing off his lips. Naib gulped. "Why aren't ya eating?" Naib was caught off guard as he tried to think of an answer. Norton loved these reactions he was getting. He knew Naib could fight back, but these vulnerable reactions from Naib enticed him. Norton chuckled, "It's 'aight, you don't have to answer that. But, do get something into ya system," Norton pushed a plate of cake towards Naib. "We can share this."

Naib knew Norton was trying his best to make Naib feel at ease, so he took a deep breath, giving Norton his signature smile and tucked in.

This whole time, Eli had been watching. He had a gut feeling something was wrong, but William reassured him every time he tried to say something related to Campbell. Eli sighed, swallowing the last bite of pizza. He didn't even bother to chew it. "You really are head over heels for that boy," William shook his head, placing all the trash into his tray. "I can't help it, he's just easy to fall for," Eli glanced at Naib and Norton's direction, internally cursing at how happy Naib looked with Campbell. He wanted to be the cause of Naib's happiness.

As long as Naib is happy... But if Campbell does anything, he's dead.