Chapter 2
There was a small gentle slow whoosh of air as Jim climbed in, bathing Wills cheeks in cold air, which quickly sucked the embarrassing color away.
We will always be friends, thought Will, simply because we’re so different.
He couldn’t stop watching Jim. He moved so much, even in silence and stillness, radiated such life, constantly dancing with the fey, even in his fluid stillness. It always seemed he didn’t belong in that worldly prison, as if he should be with the angels, as if he was a siren, and Will the lovesick sailor. Jim was tall, muscular, with curly chestnut hair that hit his temples like a Greek hero of old. His skin was paler than standard, with just a tinge of gold, as if smudges of Will had painted him that beautiful color. Jim’s eyes were light, piercing green, and his dark full lips gave him the look of a fallen god. Will’s attention was quickly shifted away from the physical perfection of his best friend when Jim threw a book at him. “Wake up weirdo! It’s my time to annoy you!” Jim’s eyes were bright, revealing that special light only present around Will. Will laughed, and shoved the heavy tome away. “Of course, Nightshade. Oh, Mom’s using my second mattress, so I can sleep on the floor.” Jim looked confused, then asked blatantly “Why’d she do that?”
“Because, apparently, you ‘never’ sleep over anymore, so I don’t need it. Really, I don’t think we’ve asked our parents to let us come over in like, a year and a half!”
Jim laughed, giving off a strangely happy glow. Will was ecstatic, as he always was when he elicited this reaction. Eyes sparkling mischievously, he managed a straight face and snarkily replied, “Well then, I guess we’re sharing the bed!” Will was shocked, and Jim caught his expression for what it was. “It’s the 1960’s, Will‼ We’ve been friends for seventeen years‼ What in the hell are you so worried about?”
Will swallowed his thoughts, his silent worries, and his secret unknown longings. “Fine.” He said grudgingly. “But if you’re a blanket hog, I’m gonna punch you in the kidney.” Jim chortled, then turned for the window. He made a cutting silhouette against the setting sun that glowed through that sheet of glass. Will quietly reached over to the bedside table, grabbed his Polaroid, and took a picture of the beautiful boy whom he loved so much. At the click, Jim whirled around, trying in vain to escape the snap that had already come. He turned to Will, the indignation already dying in his eyes. “What was that for? I know I’m beautiful,” he stuck a pose, “but that costs money; you’ll have to but me dinner first!” Will just smirked. “Jim, if you were a girl, it would only take the mention of dinner to bring u to my bed, not the actual food” Jim shrugged, smiled remorsefully, and then said, “you wish! I’d be a sexy girl‼” he didn’t wait for a response. Jim swung his hips, turned around, and started singing, “touch me” by the rolling stones, all the while slowly taking off his clothes. Wills mouth dropped open, almost hitting the bed, before his hand darted over to the edge of the beloved nightstand and scooped up the pile of change that lay there. It was too beautiful, too false, too tempting to watch. It teased Will with what he wanted, but could never have. He threw the first coin to counteract the lust, to ruin the moment for himself. He could sell his soul, but not his sanity.
Chapter irk
The penny bounced off the back of Jims head, surprising him so much he stopped singing. He turned around so quickly the room seemed to blur around him. “Owwww!” he complained loudly, rubbing the back of his head and glared at Will. “What was that for?”
Will smiled mischievously, and Jim felt his heart melt slightly. Too late, he noticed the quarter flying his way, and as he dodged it, he noticed that Will was sitting cross-legged on the bed, a large pile of change in front of him. When he whirled to escape the next coin’s trajectory, he heard Will say, “I’m makin’ it HAIL‼!”
It was too funny. In spite of himself, Jim let another laugh escape his chest. He stood, still chortling, shucked his jeans, shoes, and socks off, and threw them to where the already discarded shirt lay. Jim climbed next to Will. The latter promptly scooted over to make room in the small bed for his friend. He grabbed the change that Will had abandoned on the bed, and slipped it into his boxers. “Mine now, sonny boy.” Wills eyes traveled down, down, down, to where his money had disappeared. He shrugged, faking nonchalance, even as he wished he were brave enough to scoop it out again, to touch Jim that intimately. “It’s yours! You worked for it. So, added on top of the things I now about my best friend” his heart sped as he formed those word, “there is now the fact that he’ll strip tease for about fifty cents. Good to know for future reference.”
He could feel Jim’s glare on the side of his face, he smirked, then fully turned to look him in the eye. Jims retort stuttered out as he saw the dark, smoky blue of Will’s eyes. Instead of a witty retort, all he could say was “Scoot over dumbass” facing Will; Jim closed eyes, and pretended to fall asleep.
*
Will couldn’t believe his luck. Jim was RIGHT THERE, practically nude, right next to him in the small bed. Will knew it was wrong, creepy even, but he wanted to, needed to, just… touch Jim. To run a thumb across his full lips, to caress his long luscious eyelashes, to run a hand through that widely blown curly chestnut hair, to stroke that chiseled cheek. Breathing shallowly, unable to contain the trepidation he felt at this crossing of the finely drawn line between them. Doubts ran across his mind as he’d once ran after the young Mr. Cooger. ‘What if Jim wakes up? What if I ruin our friendship because of my own selfishness? What if Jim is disgusted, and leaves me all alone in this cold, cruel world? So he waited. And waited. And waited. When the clock struck one, he acted.
With a touch as light as a moths wing, he swept his hand down Jims cheek, marveling at the softness with a fine layer of gentle fuzz. He slowly ran a thumb across the lips that fascinated him to no end, felt the rough, yet soft, slightly chapped feel of them. Will wondered for the umpteenth time what they would feel like pressed against his, but didn’t dare try. Even slower now, he slid his finger down Jims regal nose, again passing a finger gently over his wonderful, mystifying lips. He stopped at Jim’s collarbone, before slipping his cursed curious fingers on to his warm, bare chest, lingering there as he felt the reassuring swell and fall as Jim breathed. Had will not been so enraptured, he would have felt Jim’s heart race, and his breathing hitch as the path Will had made burned like a sensual fire, stoking up the warmth in the pit of his stomach. Will, oblivious, continued his exploration, gently twining his finger in one of Jim’s curls, before running a hand through it, like a rustling breeze.
Satisfied, will put his cursed hand back down to the mattress, and just stared. It seemed that James Nightshade was too rugged, too beautiful, too much a portrait of extremes to be real, much less friends with him, William Holloway. He tried hard to keep his eyes open, because any moment without Jim seemed altogether pointless. Will chided himself, remembering stupidly that they were sleeping in the same bed, he wouldn’t be alone, he would know if Jim decided to leave him. With that, his rebellious eyes slipped closed and he fell asleep.
