Then He Smiled [BoyxBoy]

Water

For Mirrors_Of_Illusion because she's bae <3

Arnold crept into his dorm room, trying his best not to step too hard on the floorboards.

He'd just closed the door shut when Zach spoke.

"Where have you been?"

Arnold's slim shoulders visibly tensed. "Around."

He faced the other way and there he was. Zach, in his night clothes but with his bed sheets still untouched. He sat with his back pressed against the wall, his legs crossed beneath him.

He was curious more than he was upset.

"Around?"

Arnold desperately wanted to cross the threshold and collapse onto his own bed, but Zach pinned him with a look that told him that was not happening any time soon. Not unless Arnold could explain everything in under ten minutes.

Arnold's eyes felt heavy with fatigue, his legs ached, he was pretty sure his left elbow was bleeding again, and his chapped lips were begging for at least one gulp of water. One sip.

Zach didn't seem to notice as he sat at the other end of the room.

"Can I at least clean up a little?"

"Five minutes."

"Fine."

Arnold walked past his bed, swearing he could feel an invisible rope tugging him towards the comfort of his pillow.

He ignored it, and flicked on the bathroom lights. They stuttered before glaring down at his weak form.

He washed up as quickly as possible, tired his best to hide the fact that his elbow was bleeding, tugged on his pajamas, before stumbling out of the bathroom with his pants barely secure around his waist.

He fell against his bed with a content sigh.

"I'm still waiting."

"Tomorrow," Arnold groaned.

"Ar-"

"Please." Arnold projected all his emotions into that one simple word, but Zach knew better.

"You said that yesterday, Ar."

"I know, but I'm exhausted."

"That's your own fault."

It isn't, Arnold wanted to say, but that meant more questions and Arnold hated questions.

Zach stood up from his bed and slowly walked towards Arnold's.

The latter's heart skipped a beat at the image of his friend walking towards his bed, but he quickly composed himself and made some room for him.

"I'm worried." Zach's voice was a gentle hush.

Arnold throat felt drier than it already was. "You shouldn't be."

"I can't exactly control it."

"Of course you can."

Zach shot him a sad smile, and even in the dim lighting, Arnold could see the worried lines on his forehead.

"At least help me understand," Zach said.

Arnold felt his stomach clench. "It's just them. It's always just them."

"They're hurting you again," Zach stated.

"It never actually stopped." Arnold's fingers tugged at the hems of his pants, but they were expensive and new. His mother bought the pair along with a few others just a couple of months ago. There weren't any strings to pull out.

"I thought you said they backed away."

"They did. For about a week."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"So you could storm over there and defend me? They'd just hurt us both." Arnold slid his round glasses off the bridge of his nose and set them aside on his night stand.

Zach watched his movements carefully. "Where did they hurt you?"

"I'm okay."

Zach stretched out a hand but it moved too fast and Arnold almost hit his head against the wall as he flinched back.

"Sorry," Zach hurried. "I wasn't going to hurt you."

Arnold tried his best not to cross his arms. "I know."

"I would never hurt you," Zach said quietly.

"I know."

Zach climbed off Arnold's bed and filled a glass with water. "You look drained."

"I feel that way, too."

Arnold took the cold glass from his hand with a nod of thanks, pouring the liquid down his throat with barely any pauses.

He licked his lips.

Zach filled the glass three more times before Arnold finally set the glass aside.

Zach returned the glass to where it belonged beside the jug of water. "Get some rest."

Arnold watched as his dorm mate slid under the covers of his own separate bed.

He watched him twist and turn until Zach finally settled on facing the ceiling.

Arnold couldn't tell if Zach's eyes were shut, or if they were also starting to weigh down with sleep.

Either way, he tucked himself into bed, turned his back on the other bed, and finally managed to fall asleep.

This chapter's a little different (and short, lol). I felt like changing things up. Let me know what you think.

Also, if you guys ever feel like chatting, hmu, I like meeting people from different places. We can discuss our different cultures and stuff. Or just story lines. Or music (BANDS!¡!). Or books. Idk.

Thanks for reading <3