•Jeli (Jim x Eli) oneshots•

Gym class

Of all the courses Eli took that year, gym was the absolute demon of his nightmares. And Coach Lawrence made it even harder to bare (if that was possible) with his upbeat but aggressive attitude and the squeal of his stupid whistle. If he was given the opportunity, he would smash that thing with his history textbook.

Eli trudged into gym class, dragging his tiny feet along the floor. Barely paying attention to the Coach's daily "pep talk" which was more like a pep yell. He stood up and walked to the 3 ropes hanging from the ceiling. Steve said if Eli could manage to ring the bell by the end of the week then he would teach him how to drive his vespa. It was Friday, and therefore his last chance. Of course, his determination far outgunned his lack of physical strength.

He gripped the rope and hoisted himself up, one hand over the other. He had reached about a third of the way up when he glanced over to the other people climbing the ropes. Toby was on the next one, still at the bottom and straining his muscles with everything he had. Jim was on the rope after that, and he was already three quarters of the way up.

Jeez, when did Jim get so strong? He thought. He almost lost his grip on the rope, the jolt snapping him awake again. With newfound determination, he turned his attention back to his own rope and launched back into the rhythm he had before.

○○☆☆timeskip about 2 mins☆☆○○

His muscles strained, his hands were calloused and red, and his eyes were squeezed shut from the effort. He took a deep breathe and forced his eyes open to check how far he had to go. To his surprise, he had reached the top of the rope. He grunted as he shifted his weight to his left arm and reached his right up to ring the bell he's been working so hard to reach. At the tinkle of the old brass bell, a wave of relief washed over him. But his body had taken the relief to mean Hey, we can relax now! And his grip loosened. His vision grew dark as he descended into the sweet pool of unconsciousness and fell.

○○☆☆Jim pov☆☆○○

He was so grateful to his training with Blinky. He had already climbed the rope twice and was going up for a third round. Ok so he was getting a little cocky, but it was an opportunity to impress Eli. What? The kid's cute.

He rang the bell for the third time that day, and looked over to see Eli still on his first go. He silently cheered on the boy, hanging on the rope casually. Eli was so close to the top, just a bit more and he would make it. Eli had never been this near the bell before, let alone been able to ring it.

Come on, love! You can do it! He had taken to calling Eli that in his head. It just seemed right.

Eli had paused at the very top, all he had to do was ring the bell. Jim watched him open his eyes and look up at the shiny object, he did a cute little grunt and rang it. The smile on his face was breathtaking. But it was short lived, as Eli's grip slipped and he began to fall. It was a huge drop, a fall like that had the potential to kill him.

His hero instincts kicked in immediately. He jumped from his perch on his rope, swung on the next one and did a backflip in the air. He lashed his left arm to the third rope and used the other to grip onto Eli's wrist. The force must've awakened him as he opened his eyes to find himself suspended in the air by his wrist. He snapped his head up and Jim froze, staring into Eli's big brown eyes, framed beautifully by his glasses. Slowly, he smiled at the boy below him. Eli tentatively smiled back, still shaken by the shock.

The two's little eyefucking session was interrupted by the sound of applause. They looked down to find the whole class clapping and wooping while staring up at them. Mary had her phone out, having filmed the whole thing. Steve was throwing flowers at them, where he got them no one knows. Claire and Toby were smiling smugly, being fully aware of Jim's crush on Eli.

The boys looked at eachother and smiled again.