Living Like Kings (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 1 - Sin

My friends and I were different. Sometimes I wondered if we'd even know each other had it not been for the assigned seating in Chemistry during our freshman year.

"Noah, please."

I shook my head for the fourth time, gently closing my locker. God Sam was persistent.

"Not happening."

"I'm sure there'll be some hot guys you can talk to?"

"Doubtful."

"If you leave me alone with David and Conner I guarantee something horrible will happen. Plus, you haven't been to a party in— what is it, seventeen years?"

"Exactly, why would I break that record now?" 

Sam groaned in frustration and crossed his arms, leaning back against the lockers next to mine.

"It'll be fun, I promise you'll have a good time."

I laughed. My idea of fun was to sit down at the Gantry Plaza at night and watch the city lights across the river. I'd arrive at sunset with a good book then stare at the famous New York City skyline once it got dark, creating fictional stories in my mind about what people were doing across the east river.

"Sam there'd be nothing for me to do there, I'm sorry." He sighed and shook his head, his posture slumping in defeat.

"Fine. Leave me with those idiots, but if I end up in the hospital or jail, I expect you to cover for me with my brother." Sam turned away from me before jumping back— the idiots he'd just referenced had appeared quietly at his shoulder, smiling mischievously.

"What idiots?" Conner asked, grabbing the shark-tooth necklace he'd gotten in Hawaii and starting to carve a letter onto the outside of my locker door. I pushed his arms away and he just restarted his work on the locker next to mine.

"How would you end up in the hospital?" David added, nursing a sprained wrist he'd gotten a few nights ago. He'd tried to hop the fence of a hotel to get to their pool.

"You're kidding. Remember that time you threw a firework in front of me and I stepped on it? My leg was in a cast for a month. That was impossible to explain to my parents."

"Sam just let it go, we were freshmen back then." David responded.

"If I still have a scar, then I'm still allowed to bring it up." Sam said, glaring at him. The bell rang leaving him with the last word, and we all headed separate ways.

I walked into class and sat on the left side of the room, where I could see the city through the window and while having a clear view of the whiteboard. When Mr. Wilson stopped lecturing, I worked on homework while the rest of the class chatted.

After school, Sam and I met above the nearest subway station to go to his place in Long Island. He shared an apartment there with his brother, who was a senior investment banker at one of the top firms in the city. His parents moved to Europe a year back, but he'd insisted on staying in New York to finish high school.

"David and Conner are gonna come over later, they went to get hot dogs," Sam said as we walked down the stairs, the sounds of the noisy streets being replaced with the loud echoes of the underground.

"Of course they did."

The subway was dimly lit and humid. There were homeless people lined along the walkway with cardboard signs and jars full of coins. I'd always seen them all over the city, but I'd never get used to how many human beings the city had given up on, and were viewed as invisible members of society. I checked my wallet and found no cash, so I resorted to giving them awkward smiles when we passed.