Mystery of Love

18

If Theo had to be honest, he had long been obsessed with those he hated. It may sound ironic to some, but it made complete sense because humans have a tendency of casting hate onto people that are better than them in some way.

He was especially resentful towards those who were stronger yet abused their power for whatever motive they had. It had been Jovan who made him realize that.

He recalled the first time he ever felt like he needed to prove himself so badly. After all, no one craves for power unless they had hit rock-bottom at some point and realized how weak they were.

He was in that exact plight at the beginning of high school, when Jovan always seemed to excel in every area while he was practically clueless and seemingly lost all the time.

Jovan had touched him and made it impossible for him to fight off the pleasures. He didn't deny what he felt, but perhaps a part of him refused to be dominated which would explain why he resisted Jovan's sexual advances so desperately.

Theo began to work hard academically in order to receive some form of validation. He wanted to prove he could be better and stronger than Jovan.

He often wondered why their relationship failed to work out, eventually attributing it to the fact that he was scared and hence, refused to commit himself fully.

However, he would be lying if he said he had gotten over him completely. A tiny part of Theo still longed for him - for that handsome, tanned face and his muscular biceps and thighs. He never hated Jovan, he simply hated how Jovan made him feel sometimes.

Theo felt as though he couldn't commit himself fully into his current relationship as well. Loyalty was essential for any relationship to work out and he knew that. He didn't cheat, yet he wasn't entirely loyal either. 

He might run across a complete stranger and unconsciously be fixated on him. It couldn't be helped. His hormones would began to act up and he could feel his manhood tingle just at the sight of that handsome individual. 

He felt like a traitor in the relationship with Kaleb. He did attempt to fight the urges at the beginning, but they had only gotten stronger the harder he resisted. In the end, he gave in to it.

Theo lived in an apartment building together with a neighbour who lived a few floors above. That neighbour was a boy, a few years older than Theo himself and presumably had three siblings. And the only reason Theo also knew about his name and even the school he went to was simply because he stalked him avidly online. 

It wasn't creepy if he didn't plan to do anything dangerous to him - or so that was how Theo convinced himself. He simply wanted to keep a few pictures of the basketball player who had incredible height, fair skin and a messy bowl cut, not to mention his incredible and exotic facial features. 

All it took was an encounter in the elevator that sparked Theo's obsession with him. He even thought about visiting his apartment since he knew which floor he lived on, but realized quickly that it would make him appear as a creepy stalker and so decided not to do it. 

He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the whole episode. It made him sleep better when he closed his eyes and fantasized about all the things they could do together, the boundless possibilities with the maker possessing total control of the storyline. 

It was an efficient approach to get himself asleep quickly, which was what he needed the night before the camping trip. He would get anxious the day before any occasion, despite knowing how pointless it was to worry beforehand. Fear of the unknown was what it was.

On the morning of the next day, many students could be seen carrying huge camping bags strolling to the assembly area. Theo himself thought he was dressed hideously, shouldering both a backpack and a vertical, cylinder-shaped bag with large hiking boots. 

The well-dressed students seemed to carry only a duffel bag and wore sports shoes. Theo found his class and sat with them. The place was filled with boisterous energy, each talking louder than the other, as though trying to compete for volume. 

"Find your class, take your seats. The shuttle buses are arriving in about five minutes. You will only split into your various camping groups when you arrive at the camping site with the two other schools." A teacher spoke loudly into the megaphone. 

Theo waited patiently as he let his mind wander. He had been assigned to the same group as Anna, his friend from band, along with some other students from his school that he wasn't close to. Anna was supposedly the only person he knew personally which worried him a little, considering that additional strangers from different schools would join the group. 

But what struck him the most profoundly was when his classmate, Finn, had pleaded with him to "look after Anna for him." He was frankly grossed out by his request. Everyone in his level knew that Finn had a huge crush on Anna but the latter appeared unbothered and never gave an answer to his confession. 

That did not stop Finn from perpetually chasing after Anna. In fact, he seemed to be hopeful that Anna will eventually cave in and succumb to his strong desire for her. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥.

Finn had the looks necessary to charm an average girl. He had thick eyebrows that complimented his small, sharp face and a slim build. His only shortcoming was his height, as he was apparently the shortest boy in the whole class. 

Within ten minutes, shuttle buses pulled up inside the school carpark. Theo took the window seat as usual - plugged in his headphones which played Rose Colored Lenses by Miley Cyrus as the bus zoomed off.