Quarter Mile

Heaven

CW// alcohol consumption

The rest of the week went by slowly. Dakota was finding his way around the school much more easily and he was starting to get used to the new routine.

Parker, Eli and Harvey were welcoming. Dakota still wasn't sure about Easton, he seemed standoffish. He didn't speak to Dakota much and when he did, his voice was often laced with a hint of annoyance.

Then there was Beck. Dakota was always catching the blonde boy staring at him, but he didn't seem to be bothered about being caught. He would smirk, and continue bearing his eyes into Dakota's. Dakota would shy away, looking anywhere else but the boy.

But still, he felt intrigued. Beck sat in the back of all of his classes, the teachers knowing not to call on him. He was a smart kid, so they didn't mind if he didn't feel like contributing to the class discussion. He would sit quietly, get his work done early and get out a notebook he always kept in his bag. Dakota noticed he held it close to him if it was out of his bag, blocking the view if someone walked past.

Dakota wanted to know what was in the notebook, but he didn't want to pry. He knew Beck liked his space, and he was going to respect that.

Friday rolled around and the six boys were sitting by the track at lunch.

Dakota, Parker, Eli and Harvey were tossing a ball between them, a comfortable silence hovering over them. They didn't really have anything to talk about.

Easton sat on his phone and Beck was scribbling something in his notebook.

Parker suddenly spoke up with a hint of annoyance. "What's your problem, Easton?"

Easton looked up at the boy, flicked his eyes to Dakota and back to Parker. "Nothing," he grumbled, looking back down at his phone.

"Nah man," the black haired boy replied. "You've been acting funny this whole week. You're not usually this grumpy."

"Seriously bro, it's nothing." Parker stared at Easton with a knowing look until he caved.

"Fine. If you must know, I just don't like bringing new people into the group," he stated, rolling his eyes, still not looking up from his phone.

Dakota wasn't surprised. He had caught on that Easton didn't like him being around. Still, he was a little bit hurt. The other boys looked shocked.

"Bro, not cool," Harvey said, giving a sorry look to Dakota.

Easton finally looked up, directly at Dakota, a sour look on his face. "He doesn't belong here."

Dakota was taken aback. What had he done wrong? Eli's mouth hung open in surprise. Dakota saw Beck's fist clench.

"He belongs here just as much as you do." Dakota was shocked to hear the words come out of Beck's mouth. He thought for sure that his new friends would side with Easton.

Easton dropped his head, shaking it slightly. Beck spoke again, in an angrier tone than before. "If you can't look at him and apologise, you can fuck off."

Easton shot his head up, glaring at Beck. Dakota started to speak up before the boy cut him off. "Beck, it's fi—."

"No, Dakota, it's not fine. He can go." Easton looked around at the rest of his friends, searching for any assistance, but receiving none. The other boys just looked at him sadly, knowing his pride was too big for him to apologise.

Slowly, Easton stood, turned on his heel and walked off, leaving the five boys in a stunned silence.

Shortly after, Beck also stood. "You can't let people push you around like that, Dakota." And with that, he was gone too, leaving the other four boys wondering what the fuck had just happened.