Cheating in Love [Completed]

Chapter 13

 "So you're not looking for a new flat, right?"

"Not at the moment, no," Beckett's eyes slipped easily away from the television screen. "Do you... want me to?"

"No," Sawyer answered before he finished.

"Alright," Beckett forced his attention back to the movie. He struggled to pay attention to it, his mind wandering. Sawyer seemed to be fully engrossed in the movie. He let out a belly laugh at a line Beckett had missed and he made faces at the villains. "What are you doing?"

Sawyer scooted back in the seat. His hands fell into his lap and he glued his attention straight ahead.

"Are you embarrassed?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

A quiet grin crossed Beckett's face. Sawyer hadn't moved. He was sitting stiffly, the exact opposite of how he'd been lounging before. Beckett leaned further back and put his feet up on the ottoman.

"So who's that guy again?"

"You really haven't been paying attention at all, have you?" Sawyer threw a pillow at him.

"I have too," Beckett threw two pillows back.

"So remind me what's the name of the movie?"

"Star Wars?"

"It's not even... about space."

"Earth Wars, then."

"What am I ever going to do with you?" Sawyer shook his head. Beckett lunged for the pillows. Sawyer hit him with one and managed to throw himself on top of the other one.

"Don't you have a play to write, Shakespeare?" he wrenched one of the pillows away.

"Don't you have planets to orbit?" Sawyer tried to grab the pillow back.

"Nice try but no," Beckett pulled the other pillow away. "That was a while ago."

They stood on opposite sides of the couch, Beckett holding both of the throw pillows. The movie continued on in the background.

The lock clicked and the door opened. Beckett hid the pillows and Sawyer slipped over the arm of the couch.

"What in the world are you guys doing?" Katie's voice asked. Her silhouette appeared in the doorway moments later. "Movie? I wanna join. I'll throw on some popcorn." Beckett exchanged a glance with Sawyer as he sat back down on the couch. While Katie was in the pantry, Beckett threw one of the pillows back at Sawyer. Sawyer moved to throw it.

"You guys want butter or no butter?"

Sawyer put the pillow down on the couch. Beckett made a dramatic show of fake laughing. Sawyer stuck out his tongue.

"Butter sounds good. I'll make butter."

Beckett stared for a moment too long. Sawyer's attention flicked back to the TV and Beckett found himself waiting for a moment to throw the other pillow. Sawyer looked relaxed but his expression was blank.

A small movement caught his eye and Beckett looked over to see Sawyer trying to hide an excited punch to the air. Slowly, Sawyer turned to make eye contact with Beckett. At the same speed, his arm went down and he stuffed it under him.

"So what movie are you watching?" Katie asked.

"You don't need to be embarrassed," Beckett said quietly. "I've just never see you get excited about something like that before."

"Well the story line is really well written and-"

"I already know I'm not going to be able to follow what you're saying."

"I love this movie," Katie interrupted them. She sat down between them. Beckett scooted away and he could see Sawyer doing the same. "Popcorn?" Beckett shook his head. Sawyer took a small handful.

They sat, draped in an awkward silence for a long while.

"I have an exam to study for," Beckett excused himself. As he retreated to his room, he could see Katie scoot closer to Sawyer. He swallowed hard and tried to ignore it.

Moments later he heard footsteps behind him and a voice called out, "Do I really have to watch the movie alone?"

"The worst part is she thinks Sophie and I are still together," a low voice said behind him.

"Oh," was all he could say. "Look I really do have exams I need to study for."

"Of course," Sawyer shifted. They sat on their beds, each with their study materials. Beckett was aware that Sawyer was watching him more than his notes, but he tried his hardest to ignore it.

Beckett stared at the pages of his book, pencil in hand, ready to write, but his mind was elsewhere. The math on the page danced like the figures in a painting, stuck in some odd semblance of reality that didn't quite connect with reality.

The ruffle of a page snapped Beckett out of his trance. He glanced over at Sawyer, who was now scribbling notes on an already full page. They made eye contact.

Beckett looked away.

He wrote down a formula he recognized from a proof they did in class. The sound of his pencil scratching on paper seemed louder than the TV Katie had turned to full volume.

"Oh my god no," he heard a whisper. "You did not do that." Sawyer was talking to a portrait in his book the same way one might reprimand a child.

"What did he do?"

"I... just... I don't even... I don't get it. How could a perfectly normal guy just snap like that?"

"Um, alright," Beckett turned his eyes back to his textbook. His mind didn't move. You need to be working on physics, not worrying about how much you enjoy spending time with him, Beckett scolded himself. He read a sentence and his head drifted back to their first meeting.

Physics.

He seemed so nervous.

Physics.

He's just so much fun to be around.

Beckett snapped out of it. He held his pencil under the line of text to keep himself focused. Across the room, Sawyer was muttering to himself about whatever he was reading. Beckett shook his head and restarted the line over. Sawyer let out a chuckle. Beckett restarted the line again.

How in the world am I going to get through the rest of this semester? he wondered.