Ghost (Second Edition)

Chapter Ten--A Step Forward

Nathan

Nathan leaned on Luis's locker the next day, glad there wasn't any graffiti on the metal. He couldn't stop going over what had nearly happened last night. What had they been about to do before that dog started barking? Have sex? He guessed he would never know. He also couldn't get out of his head how much Luis was neglected. And that neglect and bullying didn't stop at school either. It was like Luis was a ghost.

He saw Luis then, cornered by a bunch of Andy's friends who were taunting him. Nathan rushed over and caught some of what the boys were saying.

"You're useless!" One of them yelled, as they shoved Luis against the wall. "You shouldn't even be here! You should just go and k—"

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Nathan forced his body in between the bullies and Luis. He glared. They were much bigger than he was, but no one was going to hurt Luis if he could do anything about it. They sneered and laughed as they left. Nathan turned to Luis and placed his hands on Luis's shoulders. He ducked his head to look Luis in the eyes. "Don't listen to them. They're full of bull!" He said. Luis looked at him, then away. Something flashed in his eyes that Nathan couldn't place.

"Alright..." Luis murmured. Nathan gave him a quick hug.

"I'm here for you." He whispered, and gave Luis a smile, "Come on, class starts soon."

Luis gave him a small smile back and followed Nathan down the hall. He stuck close to Nathan's side, their hands brushed, and caused more stares than ever before, as students looked between them and muttered.

***

Outside, the days were warming up. Nathan sat with a tray of food at the wooden picnic table that was under an oak tree. Luis sat beside him, eyes sparkling with delight as he ate his lunch of lamb stew, creaming soda, and a cookie. Food he never got at home. Though he wouldn't tell Nathan what he was fed, Nathan guessed it wasn't much.

Luis had his math book and study sheets laid out on the table; Nathan was helping him work through the questions.

"And that is how you get the area of a square," Nathan said, writing down the formula in Luis's scrappy math book.

"I see." Luis said around his cookie, "It's not as hard as Ms Smith made it sound."

Nathan looked around and then kissed Luis's temple. "It's easy once you get the hang of it."

Luis blushed at the kiss before answering some of the questions on his study sheets using the formula Nathan had written for him. "Well done." Nathan praised, seeing Luis had gotten all the answers right.

"Do you think I will get a C+?" Luis asked, turning, and smiling at Nathan.

"I think..." Nathan mused. All the answers were correct. "That you could hope for a B-. You definitely passed!"

Luis beamed. "I'm glad."

Nathan smiled back at him. He loved the way Luis smiled. A light would shine in his eyes and the smile would be kind of wonky but warm...

The bell signalled the end of lunch. Luis shoved the rest of his cookie into his mouth and went to drown his soda, Nathan stopped him.

"Andy could be blocking the toilets again, and Mr Wallus doesn't let anyone go during class," Nathan warned. Luis hesitated, then set the soda bottle back down. Nathan put the cap on and placed the bottle in his bag. "We'll save it for later."

"Ok." Luis hesitated and looked around before asking, "Are—are we a 'thing' now?"

Nathan smiled at his innocence. "After last night... I would say yes."