Forbidden Feast

Ch. 10: you're with me now

Mathew fully believed Cain had stopped existing until he finally found Cain outside of the school's dining hall. Mathew hiked up his backpack strap and hurried over to Cain, slumped low on the bench, texting away on his phone. Glancing up, when Cain's eyes landed on Mathew, he smiled. "Hey, you. How are you?"

"You beat me to my question," Mathew said with a laugh, pretending to be out of breath. He was getting good at playing human.

"I will do nothing if not try to be polite to someone first. My parents raised me well, but also taught me to be competitive."

"I'll try to remember that," Mathew said as Cain gathered his stuff to be by Mathew's side. Seamlessly, Cain fell into step with Mathew. Not even asking where they were going. Cain just wanted to come along.

"Hey, uh, I don't know if you have any plans this weekend, but I'm new around here and wanted to check the area, if you would like to go with me. If you have time," Mathew said, trying to wince at the word vomit he laid at Cain's feet.

Cain smiled, but cocked his head, obviously a little confused. "Is this a date?"

"Uh, yes," Mathew said, scraping the last of his courage from the bottom of the barrel. "If that's okay. We can go as friends too," he added. He didn't want to add any pressure, but Cain wasn't smiling like he was being pressured. That smile brightened his eyes, his face, and the world around Mathew. If Cain was any more handsome, Mathew wouldn't even be able to look at him.

"No," Cain assured Mathew's weak nerves. "I want it to be a date. I just thought you were going out with Jace."

"What?" Mathew did a double take, glancing around like he might get pranked. "How is that even possible? Jace doesn't like anyone."

"From what I hear..." Cain shrugged, dipping his head to the side as he nudged their shoulders together. "Jace seems to like you."

"Who are you hearing from?"

"Here, there." He grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Grant."

Mathew rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't believe him even if I was on fire, and he told me to grab an extinguisher."

Cain guffawed, throwing his head back, and if Mathew had wings, they'd flutter. "Every time I see you, I feel like you're a different person."

"You're the same." This was the first conversation he'd had in college, where Mathew felt like he was holding his own. "Do you just happen to be walking the same way as me, or are you just walking me to class?"

"I'll never tell." Cain bumped into Mathew again.

Standing outside the Stewart building, Mathew noticed Jace first. Jace's brow popped up his forehead, silently questioning all of Mathew's decisions. He must've thought Mathew was kidding when he said he was going to ask Cain out. He shot Jace a glare and slightly flicked his head to give Jace the clue to go away. He was already messing up Mathew's game without Cain knowing he was there.

"Oh, I think it's raining," Cain said, holding his palm up to catch a few stray drops. Little pellets of rain dotted the top of Mathew's head and shoulders. A horrible sinking feeling plummeted into his stomach. He could smell the oncoming storm. He had a vision of the thunder and lightning as if it was coming right for him.

"Uh, I actually..." Mathew cleared his throat. Every droplet was poison, slowly killing him. "I forgot something at my dorm." Eyeing Jace again, he nodded a little to let him know he needed him, but Jace was already barreling towards him, climbing over the school's topiaries to meet Mathew on the same sidewalk.

"Really? Isn't your class about to start—oh, hey Jace?" Cain said, growing more confused as he turned around to find Jace. As the rain strengthened, Mathew peered up and forgot to breathe, feeling as if he was plunged into the ocean. Water filled his lungs and swelled inside his ears.