Drawn To You (boyxboy)

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Christian

"You seem upset."

Peter, arms folded and back facing me, turned around and narrowed his eyes at me, their hazel color seeming a little darker than it usually did. "Am I? How can you tell?"

Sarcasm dripped in rivulets off his voice. The few times it ever did, was out of humor. But now, with his nostrils flaring, and heat radiating from him like nuclear explosion, he was pissed and I was bearing the brunt of it. Of course, I was to blame. But it killed me to know that I'd hurt him once again.

"I deserved that," I muttered as he looked away again, realizing that I said that too often nowadays. I reached for his hand, but he pulled away quickly. I sighed. "Could you at least look at me, so I can explain?"

"Explain?" he scoffed. His arms unfolded and he turned to face me, the infuriated expression still on his face. "Okay, Christian, go ahead. Explain to me how you failed to mention that, for the second time this week, there was a fifty-fifty chance I would die today."

"I should have told you about the council," I replied, nodding quickly as I looked down. "And about the law. It was selfish of me not to." I paused for a moment, and then looked up again. "I thought it would frighten you away – I'd be worried if it didn't. So I figured it was better to enact this stupid plan of mine and apologize afterwards, rather than lose you for good."

His eyes narrowed even further, if that were possible. He continued to stare at me silently, and I was scared that he was about to slap me across the face and walk out of the house. But instead, he simply shook his head. "I'm going to ignore the insanely twisted part inside me that thinks that was sweet of you. You still should've told me."

Relief flooded through me. I chanced a wan smile, and nodded. "I know. But at least it worked out. Things got a little derailed at first, but I expected that reaction. They came around in the end, though." I frowned, thinking back to earlier. "Dannon keeps saying I don't give them credit, that I don't trust them enough. I'm starting to think maybe he's right."

"They may have agreed to keep my secret, but I doubt they'll be inviting me over for family dinners anytime soon," Peter laughed lightly, although his expression didn't reflect his tone. He shifted in his seat. "And as for what Dannon says... Well, I think he's only half-right."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why do you say that?"

"Because these guys are your friends; of course you trust them. But you said so yourself – you don't want to lose them." Peter's gave me a sad smile. "You've lost those closest to you in your life, so you tend to pull away. Away from the people you care for. The only one you give all of yourself for, since he's been there your entire life, is Dannon."

I barely had anything to say as I stared at Peter. He'd made sense, in days, of something I couldn't realize for months. "And you," I replied, taking his hand in mine. "I haven't known you for long, but I would give everything for you." I brought his hand to my mouth, brushing my lips against his knuckles. "You truly are amazing, Peter Mahealani, you know that?"

"Thank you for so graciously leaving out my middle names," he mumbled with a small laugh. The smile left his face a moment later, though. "Now, seeing as I'd like to avoid any future near-death experiences, you should probably tell me these laws I need to follow."

Yes, the orientation was long overdue. I nodded, pulling him towards me, and turned him around so that his back rested against me. He scoffed a little, raising his feet and propping them up on the armrest of the couch. "Are you sure this is an appropriate position, considering the seriousness of this moment?"