Claustrophobia (Boy x Boy) ✔

19) CAN'T GET YOUR EYES OFF ME

*Cody Walker's POV

It was funny to see Ian looking intimidated. It was a sight I thought I would never see. That almost made me smirk, but instead I told Mylo not to scare him off. I have no idea why.

"I brought food. How's your head?" Ian asked while he sat down on the edge of my bed.

"I'm not hungry." I insisted, but I was almost literally drooling and staring at the bag in awe. To make it even more evident I was indeed starving, my stomach growled loudly. I looked down at my belly with a scowl and thought: you traitor!

"Sure, that's totally believable." Ian grinned and opened the bag. There were two hamburgers, two big packs of fries and nuggets with dip sauces. From his bag he took two cold cans of soda. 

There's three ways to my heart: make me food, buy me food or be food. At that moment I loved all about Ian Romero and his stupid face, but instead of saying it out loud I grabbed a hamburger and started eating. 

"I can see you're not hungry at all." Ian smirked and started eating his fries in a lot more composed manner.

"Shut up." I mumbled and continued wolfing down my meal. 

The truth is I had left my bed only once to go to the bathroom and, so unlikely to me, hadn't felt like eating. Instead I had just laid on my bed either sleeping, listening to music or browsing my phone. So you bet I was starving.

"Why are you here?" I asked after the worst hunger was satisfied. 

"To see if you're okay." Ian said, opened his can and took a gulp before continuing: "So, how's your head?"

"It's fine. Why do you care?" I continued while trying to decide if I should take the fries or the nuggets first. It was a very important and difficult decision to make. 

"I don't know, I just do." Ian shrugged. Then we just continued eating in silence. Only when we were done and Ian had cleaned the wrappers back in the paper bag, he started talking again. 

"Are you really okay after what happened?" Ian asked cautiously.

"I'm peachy." I sighed, feeling slightly irritated by his constant need to ask me stuff like that. 

"I know you're using sarcasm to hide your hurt." Ian just pointed out.

"I'm not hurt." I denied and added in my mind: I'm pissed off.

"Yes you are, and you have every right to be. But hear me out: I'm going to fix this. I'm going to make sure Bryce, Jeremy and Kaleb leave you alone from now on." Ian continued. 

"There's no fixing this and they're never going to stop, so I wouldn't waste my breath if I was you." I told him bluntly. I was, yet again, fiddling the rings on my fingers. 

"I'll find a way. But you have to come back to school." Ian reassured me.

"I'm not coming back." I sighed and lay down on my bed. "You should go now."

***

The next day Ian came to see me again and brought food. We ate, we talked a little and he told me I should really come back to school. After he was gone, I slumped on my bed and groaned. That guy seriously didn't know when to give up.

I couldn't understand why he suddenly cared about me, but he was making it difficult for me to keep hating him. Did I trust him? No way in hell, but I had to admit I wasn't finding the time we spent together totally horrible. 

I have two theories why Ian was so nice to me now: he either pitied me or tried to gain my trust so he could use it against me.

Maybe Ian felt bad for me, since he had seen how pathetic I was when he found me from the closet. Maybe he just wanted to make me believe we were friends again, so that he could make a fool of me by telling me no one actually wanted to be friends with me.

Whatever it was, it was making me confused. Big time.

***

"You're here again." I sighed as soon as I opened my eyes and found Ian waiting at my door. "Who let you in?"

"The one with the dark hair, thank god. Mylo is so damn scary." Ian laughed nervously, then he walked into my room.

"No he isn't." Before I could stop myself, a small chuckle escaped my mouth. I collected myself quickly, glanced at the time from my phone and then exclaimed: "It's 6 am, why the heck are you here so early?"

"I'm taking you to school and I figured you'd need time to get ready." Ian smiled. Why was he smiling so often these days?

"I already told you —" I began, but Ian interrupted me by lifting his hand. 

"That you're not coming back? Well, I'm here to tell you you are. So better get ready now." Ian said resolutely.

"Are you for real?" I frowned.

"Yes, and I'm just going to keep showing up until you come back to school. I'll come every morning at 6 am and I'll come again after school." Ian continued. 

"Oh, for fuck's sake.." I muttered and tried to pull the blanket over my face. Ian snatched it first and pulled it away from me.

"Get up. Take a shower right now or else you're taking a shower with me." Ian really wasn't going to give up, was he?

"I hate you." I mumbled, realising for the first time I didn't actually mean it. I didn't hate him, not really. Not anymore. 

Then I got up, picked the first clothes I could find from my closet and locked myself in the bathroom. I have to admit that taking a shower did feel pretty amazing after wearing the same clothes for three days. Then I dressed up in a dark grey college shirt and black jeans. I felt like a new person with my clean, although damp, hair, clean clothes and washed teeth. 

I took a towel with me in my room and continued drying my hair while sitting on my bed. When I glanced at Ian, I noticed he was staring at me — I swear that guy couldn't get his eyes off me. 

"What are you staring at?" I just had to ask.

"I like your hair." Ian said casually, taking me off guard. Did Ian Romero just compliment me? 

"Oh. Thanks?" I muttered and I had to look away, because I could feel my cheeks heating up. This was getting all too weird. I was starting to think someone had abducted the real Ian Romero and substituted him with this strange smiling and caring creature.

♡♡♡

Question of the day:
What's your favorite scent?

(Me: fresh coffee, grass after it's mowed, cinnamon bun fresh out of the oven and vanilla.)