The Study Group

Chapter 2: Trio Reunion|Quintin

He looked so cute, snuggled up close to me as he slept. Zach's face was beautiful. When he was awake. When he was asleep. No matter what he was doing, I couldn't help but find him attractive. His style. His personality. His soft, sandy blonde hair. His seafoam green eyes that seemed to pierce through me. He was enchanting.

My hand moved on its own. From around his shoulders, my hand reached up and laced my fingers through his hair, softly cradling his head. Zach didn't react. He was finally asleep. Fully asleep.

"Finally," I sighed. More to myself than to him. "You're impossible sometimes, Z. I hope you know that."

I was no fool. Zach had been up for hours the night before. He was nervous about the move. It needed to go exactly as he planned or it could've left him an emotional wreck, and too mentally drained to recover. I knew him. He spent the entire night laying everything out and preparing to move into the dorm. He hadn't slept at all. All things considered, he must have been absolutely exhausted, since I got him to fall asleep pretty fast. I laid as still as I could, afraid that the smallest of movements could cause him to stir. Then all my efforts would be wasted. That, and I didn't want this moment to ever end. I wanted, more than anything, to remain here with him. Suspended in time. Together. Oblivious to the world around us. Seeing nothing beyond one another. I silently said a prayer of thanks as I held him there.

"Am I interrupting something?" A familiar, irking voice whispered from beneath us.

Great. Moment over. Back to reality.

"Hey, Mars," I whispered down to her.

I felt the bedframe shudder slightly as she climbed up to look at us. A bob of strawberry brown hair popped up beside me, as the pair of hazel eyes observed Zach and I with excitement and fascination. She smiled at me.

"Wait, so," she started to ask. "Did you--?"

"No," I cut her off. I didn't need him learning this way. Even if he was asleep, I wouldn't risk him waking and overhearing us.

"What? Why not?"

"I never found the right opportunity."

"Then what the hell is this?"

"He was tired."

"So why are you two cuddling?"

"He wanted to."

"Oh. Yeah," she responded cynically. "I'm sure Zach was the only one who wanted to cuddle here."

"I--Well--That's," I stuttered.

"Can you two keep it down?" Zach mumbled.

He was awake?! I thought in surprise and terror. How long has he been awake?!

"Your heartrate's picking up," he mumbled. "Can you slow it down again?"

I felt the heat rushing to my face. Mariah was somewhere in the distance, cackling maniacally. I was sure I would never live this down. She would make sure of it.

"How--how long have you been awake?" I asked nervously.

He smiled sleepily.

"Since Mar-Mar said you wanted to cuddle, too."

My heart sank into my stomach. He had heard that? This was it. I was gonna die of shame. Not from the family business. Not from my crazy little brother. It was this boy. He would quash my heart and unrequited love.

"Sorry to say Mar-Mar," he sat up and looked over me, at Mariah. "But he actually didn't want to cuddle. I made him stay."

Mariah began laughing hysterically. I looked down. She was literally on the floor, crying tears of laughter.

You idiot, I thought to myself. Are you really that dense? Did you really think I didn't want to?

"Welp," Zach stretched. "That was a nice little nap. Thanks, man."

He patted me on the shoulder before climbing down. The moment was truly over.

"So, what's up?" He asked Mariah as he helped her up. Her laughing had diminished and she wiped away her tears."

"Give me... a sec..." she gasped for air. "Whew! I can't... breathe!"

"Any day now, Mars," I sighed, leaning over the railing of the lofted bed.

"I was..." she was still gasping for air. "Just stopping by... to say hi... to my neighbor."

"What do you mean?" Zach asked her.

"The rooms are by door, in Cunningham Hall" she sighed, finally having caught her breath. "That means that girls are in one dorm, and a guy's dorm can be right next to it."

"So you're across the hall?"

"Nope!" she smiled, before knocking on the wall beside me. "I'm on the other side of this wall!"

"Oh that's great!" Zach smiled. "I'm glad I won't be alone here."

"What do you mean?" she cocked her head, confused. "Aren't you two roommates?"

"Nah," I chimed in. "I got assigned a different dorm. McCormick Hall."

"What?!" Mariah asked, shocked. "But that's on the other side of campus!"

"Yep," I sighed. "I don't like it either."

"Wait if he's not your roommate, then who is?"

"Oh," Zach blushed slightly. "I--uh--I don't have a roommate. The school said they couldn't find anyone."

I smiled to myself. As soon as I had learned I wasn't going to be rooming with him, I had sent a little message to the school. It would seem they upheld their end of the deal. No roommate for Zach in exchange for a handsome sum of money. I would have to let the accountants know to prepare the sum right away.

"Well, that's good,"  Mariah said.

"What?!" Zach whined. "How is that a good thing?!"

"Because," Mariah's smile faded. She stared at him coldly. "The walls in this dorm are thin. Very thin. I could literally hear the two of you crawl into the bed. So. If I am studying in my dorm one night and I hear your bed creaking back and forth, I swear to whatever god you worship, Zachariah Holmes, I will kill you. Then! I'll bring you back to life. And get all the details, of course."

Zach's face was bright pink. He was totally embarrassed. He looked away and Mariah looked up at me. I glared at her. She was perfectly aware of my feelings. She'd known since we were all freshmen in high school. She smiled at me.

Did she really just say that and then smile at me? I thought in disbelief. If she wasn't on the no-kill list, I swear--

Zach cleared his throat.

"Um... You won't need... to worry about that," he was still blushing. God damn it. He was so cute when he blushed like that. It sent my heart into overdrive. He was completely and utterly perfect. Anyone would be lucky to have him as their boyfriend. Which is why it was confusing he never had a partner before.

What's there to be confused about? I asked myself. Someone shows a romantic interest in him and you scare them away. That's how it's been for a dozen years.

I guess that's to be expected. With great power, comes the ability to intimidate others into submission.  With the resources I've had at my disposal for the last few years, intimidation is incredibly easy to do. Determine the person who needs to get a message. Put a target on the backs of their loved ones. Give the order. Hold their loved ones for ransom. Worst case scenario, mail them a severed finger or ear if they are reluctant to fulfill the demands. Though it rarely came to that. Considering my demand was to never become romantically involved with Zach, my targets would often agree without a second thought.

In any other situation, people may think I'm crazy. But no matter my life circumstances, Zachariah Holmes is mine. Always. Nothing would ever change that fact. However, my life circumstances did make it easier to keep other potential suitors away from him.

After all, the underboss of a mafia has plenty of henchmen at his disposal.