Then He Smiled [BoyxBoy]

Wrinkled Shirts And Saving Seats

Shorter chapters but faster updates?

Arnold met Zach during freshman year.

Zach was new.

New to the school, to the country, to the town.

It was refreshing.

Arnold wasn't.

Arnold had been around from day one, he knew everybody in town, and everyone knew him in return. He wore glasses from a young age and preferred the company of fictional characters rather than real people.

Zach had smooth, dark hair. He had clear skin. He was tall, really tall, and he was smiling when Arnold first saw him. He wasn't smiling at him, but Arnold liked to think that maybe if he had been in Zach's line of vision, the smile would have been directed at him.

But he wasn't. He was standing far away, many people in front of him.

At first, nothing about Zach drew his attention. He just looked out of place.

Arnold only glanced at him once.

Until he glanced at him again and saw Zach walking in his direction. Then his eyes just wouldn't pull away. His attention was on the boy walking towards him and nothing else mattered but the way Zach's long legs strode confidently across the hall, the way his smile didn't waver, and the way his hands were tucked casually in his pockets.

He'd left his parents behind with the headmaster to meet his new room mate, and it took Arnold a few minutes to realize that was him.

He would have to spend at least this first year with Zach before he could ask for a different dorm mate. Unless Zach did the asking first and saved him from explaining why. Which, Arnold thought later as they unpacked their bags together back in the room they had to share, would save him from a lot of trouble.

"Which side do you prefer?"

Zach's voice was smooth, and Arnold liked it. He wanted to know what it would sound like in a few years, when puberty really kicked in.

His skin flushed at the thought, and he turned his back away from Zach, bending down to retrieve an item from his bag. "I don't mind."

Arnold's voice still sounded like a girl's, and it didn't help the redness on his skin.

"I'll take the right."

Arnold gave a weak nod in response and moved his bag of clothes over to his bed and began folding the items out on the empty space on his bed. His mother had suggested asking the help to unpack for him, but Arnold instantly refused, not wanting a spoilt rich kid to act as his first impression.

He didn't regret his decision once, until he realized he had no idea how to fold a shirt. He knew how to role it, or fold it in half, but no matter how much he tried to follow the creases left on the shirts, he couldn't get them to look the same.

"I can help with that," Zach spoke from behind him. Arnold wanted to hide under his bed.

He took a deep breath. "It's all right."

"You fold like my brother. He's five years old."

Arnold felt a familiar twist in his stomach, the one he felt whenever it seemed like he was about to get teased or pushed around.

This time was different, because he wasn't teased.

Two hands appeared from his right, and he glanced up at Zach's calm facial expression.

"My mother taught me how when I was ten, I think. I got it wrong all the time until she sent me to live with her sister for the summer. My cousins made fun of me, but my aunt took pity and had me practice folding shirts until I finally got it right." He handed him a folded shirt with a small smile.

"Thank you."

Zach brushed his gratitude aside. "I can show you how."

Something stirred in Arnold's chest, and it was painful but good at the same time.

"I'd like that."

Zach taught him how to fold up shirts. The casual movements of his hands imprinted in Arnold's memory. His soft skin, the veins underneath, the bones of his fingers, his clean and neatly trimmed fingernails, the round curve on the tips of his fingers. All of it. Arnold copied his movements for the rest of the afternoon, until all his clothes were tucked away their designated drawers.

When Arnold went down for dinner, Zach walked with him. When he chose an empty seat, Zach slid in beside him.

Arnold figured it was because Zach knew no one else, but Zach sat beside him for breakfast the next day. He sat beside him during the few classes they had together, through lunch, dinner for the second time, and everyday since.

Lol, I love finding cute boys on the internet, kind of crushing on them, and then laughing at myself because they might as well all live on the moon. Woo.

Thanks for reading <3