His hand shakily moved closer to Hudson's, his pinky finger slightly overlapping Hudson's own. The palm of Hudson's hand was rough and calloused but the top of it wasn't. It was smooth and honey-colored and sent chills down Eli's spine.
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Nick •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Nick froze when Jeremy's hand came into contact with his arm. The warmth that rested there, the warmth of another human, lingered even when he pulled it a way a few seconds later.
"Nick, talk to me. You can talk to me." Jeremy consoled, his eyes scrunched with concentration, trying to accomplish this impossible task of befriending Nick. "You...You don't have to be alone anymore."
Nick could feel his nose twitch slightly as he desperately tried to keep his face emotionless. He was confused, worried that this would just be some trick. He looked at Jeremy's face, bruised from both him and Josh. He sighed in defeat, there was no reason for Jeremy to be treated so poorly by people he genuinely cared for. "I-if you are playing some sort of game, I will...I swear I will never trust you again."
Jeremy's face lit up in relief. "I promise, I am not playing some game." He placed his hand over his heart and wore a small grin. He was glad he had gotten as far as he did but now he just stared down at the tiles on the floor, unsure of what he was supposed to do then. "Umm..."
Nick clenched his jaw, a habit he has picked up throughout the years. "How do we do this? A-are we friends now? Or...what?" He fiddled with the lighter in his pocket, hearing it cling each time he opened it.
Jeremy nodded his head, glancing at the clock on the wall. "We should probably get back to our classes."
Nick tsked at the idea. "No way. I just had to deal with you, there's no way I am going to deal with the jackasses in my class."
Jeremy nodded, beginning to walk out the door, turning his head back to look at Nick. "First things about being friends: speak nicer." And then the he was gone.
Nick sighed, sinking down to the floor. What had he just done? He ran his fingers through his unruly hair in frustration. He shook his head in disappointment; disappointment in his own decision. "Calm down! You just agreed to be friends with him, that doesn't mean you have to tell him every single thing about your life!" He though to himself, ignoring the small portion of his heart that wanted to tell everything, to finally let the ocean of pain out and have someone be there to anchor him.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
Eli stuck his head out of the open doorway, noting that no rain drops were falling on him. He looked back to Hudson with a crooked smile. "We should probably get back home before the rain starts again."
Hudson nodded his head, lifting his body up off of the floor where he sat. His legs were stiff and his muscles sore from holding the same position for so long. He stood and stretched out his legs and arms, groaning as if he just woke up. He stumbled over to Eli at the doorway and lumbered out, the gray slush that had formed coating his shoes. He closed his eyes and breathed the air in deeply. Although there was no door to the hut, it was still musty in the corners where he was huddled. He let his eyes flutter open and he sighed. "Y'know, the smell of rain is the most calming."
