Floating Face Down (boyxboy)

Chapter Twenty Three

Victor came in to school that day, about halfway into registration, only around ten minutes after Arran. I wouldn't have noticed if I hadn't turned to see him sit down. He was looking at me.

He smiled. I remembered to smile back.

When I was back to normal I had a feeling future Elliot would be bothered if I destroyed my fictional chances with a guy like Victor despite their impossibility. I'd probably beat myself over it.

His eyes sparkled, a handsome smirk to his lips, he glanced behind me and saw Arran, blinked and sat down slowly, ignoring Emma as she reached over to play with his hair from behind.

He did look back at the class planner in front of him on the table nearly immediately after but leaned over to the kid at the desk beside him and spoke to him and periodically looked over at Arran for the last fifteen minutes of the class.

When it came to getting to our next class, mine was IT, he stopped me on the way out.

"Elliot, your desk was clean today, guess they learned their lesson..." He grinned at me.

"Ah... yeah, I suppose they did." I didn't bother correcting him because I didn't care enough to. I just smiled, hopefully warmly, and kept moving.

He put a hand out in front of me and I felt someone stop beside me, felt it because of all the people in the room the only one I was somehow very aware of was Arran, his presence felt like something tingly behind me.

"Are you okay?" He gestured to the split lip, and then looked over my shoulder behind me.

I looked him over for a second, appreciating the attractive jawline and blue eyes and nice lips and shoulders.

It wasn't like I didn't find him handsome anymore, I still had eyes and the attraction remained well and intact, but there was some kind of emotional bond I had with him, however one sided it was, that was curiously missing, jarringly so.

"Yes." I nodded. "Just those guys... you know, pranks..." I smiled, the awkward flustery kind that used to feel natural to me.

He shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Honestly? I thought with the suspensions and all they would learn their lesson. You want me to have a word with them?"

I shook my head slowly.

He didn't look at me though and just blinked back at the figure behind me. "Hello."

"Hello." He rumbled a reply, and I turned to look at him.

Arran smiled like a tiger sometimes, something terribly intimidating in his eyes as his lips curved and he looked down on you, he did not change this for Victor.

Victor stared back at him. "So you're new? You guys are friends?" There was a weird lilt to his voice, maybe a little chillier in tone than normal.

"What?" I mumbled.

"Friends?" Came Arran's silky smooth reply. "I'm trying to get past. You two idiots are in the way."

Victor blinked, long and slow.

Even I felt marginally surprised.

Victor was a class favourite, really a school favourite, the year sevens all posted his pictures around every year and made little mouse noises when he walked past them on the school grounds or in the hallways.

Even the worst students in class begrudgingly seemed to respect him, although I was never exactly sure why.

I moved out of the way after a moment, but Victor stayed there, turning to give a look I couldn't see to the last person leaving the class, ironically Tariq, one of the bullies, who hurried out without even giving a look back.