All The Ways We Touch [MxM]

five - panic at the science hall

Shuffling into the courtyard, Jamison yawned and watched Elliot and Jack chat. Now that he could consider them acquaintances, he knew he could walk up, greet them, and join their space, but the imposter feeling in his chest swelled at the idea of approaching them. 'If they knew, they wouldn't want to be my friend. How could they ever look at me the same?'

"Hey, Jamison!" Jack called, waving him over to his side. "Good morning."

"You seem a lot less tired than on Monday." Turning a little, he looked at Elliot and gave him a soft nod. "And you look much more tired."

"You don't sound so bad yourself," Elliot mumbled in between yawns.

Jack nearly elbow-nudged Jamison, only to be stopped by Elliot throwing out his arm. "No touching, remember?"

"I remember...it's just that sometimes, it's so automatic, you know?" Grinning up at Jamison, he shrugged. "Besides, he was fine last time. He has my confidence."

"It's not about you and your confidence," Elliot grumbled. "It's not pleasant for him. What about his confidence? What about his comfort?"

"It's okay." Putting up his hands, Jamison shook his head. "I'd rather hear why you two have reversed places from Monday."

Opening his satchel, Jack pulled out a banana and began to peel it. "Well, while he was so busy trying to find you online, I fell asleep studying and got like a full six hours!"

Folding his arms over his chest, Jamison sighed as he looked at Elliot.

"I know what you're going to say, but you only told me not to waste my money, not my time," he said and leaned back against the wall, yawning again.

"You know, you could've just waited and simply asked me instead of ignoring what I'd told you."

Jack bit into his banana, amusement on his face. It was nice to see someone else challenging Elliot beside him and Vera. However, he wondered if it would make him dislike Jamison or if it would make him like him even more.

Leaning forward, Elliot waved his hand, staring down at him. "I didn't think you were being so serious!"

"Why would I lie?"

"I dunno. Why aren't you online?"

Most of the playfulness dropped from Jamison's face and he finally looked away, glancing back at Jack. "Well, I'm just glad you got some rest and won't spend the class trying to doze off."

"Oh!" Jack said, his mouth full. "Is it because you don't have a cell phone?"

"It certainly doesn't help," Jamison shrugged. "But I just don't want to be online. I value my privacy."

"It's probably not going to remain that private," Jack said eagerly. "Elliot's hired a private investigator."

"Jesus Christ," Elliot groaned, his cheeks flushing red. Now Jamison would really lay into him.

Jamison's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?"

Grimacing at the horror on Jamison's face, Elliot nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "It was like 3:00 a.m. and I was drunk. Don't worry, I'll call them off."

"How much longer until the door opens?" Looking between both of them, he waited for one of them to remember he didn't have a way to tell time. Trying to keep his breathing under control, it felt as if his lungs were being squeezed from the outside, and his heart thumped desperately against his ribcage in a warning. Run. Run. Run.

"Less than ten minutes or so," Jack mumbled, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

"Elliot," Jamison said, trying to maintain some semblance of composure in his voice. "We need to talk."