~ Magnetized. ( BoyxBoy)

Chapter 3.

I was frozen, stuck in that spot as the ice water dripped off me, forming a puddle on the floor.

It couldn't possibly be Drae, but it was. I could never forget this bastard's face. The same dark hair, always hanging in his face, same glinting eyes. His lips were pulled into a tight line as he looked me over, empty pitcher in hand.

Had he really spilled the entire thing?

"M-moron." I was shivering, making my voice hiccup.

"You're all wet." He muttered after scanning me head to toe, clearly bemused. Then he cracked a smile, "Why'd you run into me?"

"W-What? You ran into me! Clumsy idiot-" I clenched my hands into fists, ready to punch him again once my legs started to work...

"Can you clean up this mess Duke? I'll take our customer to the back." Drae's voice was a murmur, and I glanced up to see him speaking to another waiter. This one was shorter, with black hair and a pale complexion. He gazed past Drae at me, meeting my quizzical look with a blank stare.

Then, he bowed.

"Please accept our humble apologies for the inconvenience sir." His voice came out flat, so I really couldn't tell if he was being sincere. Maybe they were all just toying with me. But as he stood back up, I noticed the sad expression on his face. His appearance was somewhat childish, so it looked more like a pout than a frown. Drae side-stepped to block my view from him, then smiled snidely down at me.

"Now, if you'll follow me." Turning on his heel, Drae made it a few steps away before I objected;

"N-No! I'm not going anywhere with you!" The cold water had now seeped through my shirt, making the material cling to my skin.

Drae turned back to me, eyebrows raised.

"Don't make a scene, Hayden."  He drew out my name; a command rather than a suggestion.

I still didn't move.

He sighed.

Suddenly, the floor disappeared from underneath me. I was being...lifted? Yes. Light as a feather, Drae had picked me up and thrown me over his shoulder. The height change made me dizzy. I didn't even realize we were on the move until we disappeared down a hall, the shorter waiter's sympathetic eyes watching as we went.

"Wait! S-Stop! PUT ME DOWN!" I flailed, beating my hands against his back. He jostled me, and I realized how far I was from the ground. A fall from here wouldn't be too pleasant.

"Jeez, calm down. You're louder than a schoolgirl." His tone was meant to be scolding, but I could hear a smile in his voice.

UGH, the nerve of this guy.

I hate him.

I really, really hate him.

How could such a skinny boy be so strong?

"You piss me off." I muttered, helplessly swinging back and forth as he sauntered onward, taking me who knows where.

The lighting changed dramatically, from the dimly-lit halls to a bright white room.

Drae set me down and stepped back, I glanced from side to side. The room was filled with large lockers. A change room?

"Undress." He said, moving to open a locker behind him. My silent reply made him peer at me from over his shoulder, that familiar smirk on his face."You have to get out of those wet clothes. Or do I have to do that for you too?"

"No!" I sounded more flustered than I had intended. So I abruptly jerked around, and started to peel off my soaked shirt. I could see his reflection in the locker in front of me. He was undoing his shirt, my head snapped around. "Wait, what are you undressing for?"

"My my Hayden, don't get all pink on me." He mused, continuing to unbutton the shirt even as he turned his head to smile at me. "The water got on me too, you know."

"O-Oh. I see." I folded my damp shirt in my hands, turning back around. I gripped it tightly; my hands were shaking. Why was I so nervous? Even with my back to him, I was so aware of his presence.

The hairs on my neck were on end.

I could feel my arms breaking out in goose bumps.

I was just cold, that's all.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the sight of bare flesh. He had taken his shirt off, and I was hanging it up in the locker.

Don't look. Don't you dare look.

I looked.

He had been more muscular than I imagined, but also very slender. His shoulder blades jutted out a little from his back, shifted as he moved things around in the locker. And sure, I guess you could say his skin was milky white. Pure, untouched like newly fallen snow...for the most part. But it wasn't the sight of him half-naked that made my jaw drop.

It was the bruises.

The entire lower part of his back was covered in deep, purplish brown bruises and red wounds. The kind that were hard not to gawk at. If you ever saw those kinds of marks on someone in the change room, you would stop and wonder what kind of trouble this person had gotten into.

"Enjoying the view?" Drae's sudden question made me jump. His back was still turned to me. How'd he know I was looking?!

"What...happened?" My words hung in the air.

Drae was quiet for a moment.  When he finally turned back to me, his smile was gone.

"Put this on." He threw a shirt in my direction. It distracted me, that enough time for him to slip on a plain grey shirt, hiding the bruises. He came over to take my wet clothes from me as I inspected the white dress shirt.

"It's our uniform, we have some extras around here. I thought that one might fit you." He informed me while handing me more clothes. It appeared to be black dress pants, a vest and a tie.

"Don't you have anything else?" I inquired, it all looked too regal for me. Why butler costumes? No other restaurant made their waiters dress this way. But I guess that's what made the Magnet different.

"Nope, sorry." Drae replied. His grin was toothy, the playful glint in his eyes made me uneasy.

Thankfully, he seemed to sense my unease and turned around as I began to wiggle out of my pants. No doubt he would have poked fun at my Calvin Klein boxers if he had been looking. I quickly got into the dress pants, a little bit too long but at least they fit at the waist.

The white dress shirt was next, then the tie...

It only took a few minutes of me fumbling with it before Drae came to the rescue.

"You really don't know how to do up a tie?" He chuckled softly, bringing it around my neck.

"N-No. Shut up." I was starting to sound like Sunny. And I really needed to get a hold of this stuttering issue. But Drae was just too close, his head bent over mine as he worked on the tie, lips slightly parted with concentration. Avert your eyes, avert your eyes! I tilted my head away until he gave the tie a gentle tug and moved back.

Of course the tie was done perfectly, what else would you expect from Drae? The fitted vest was the final piece. At least I could do that one myself, argh.

"Fits better than I assumed." Drae sounded pleased. "Feeling better yet? Your hair is still wet..." Once more he ran his long fingers through my hair, playing with the ends. Who the hell gave him permission to touch my hair?

Before I could angrily swat him away, a singsong voice filled the room.

"Oh, Draaaae~ Are you back here? I'm coming in!" It belonged to a woman, a very uppity and regal sounding voice.

She waltzed in, her voice matched her appearance perfectly; a beautiful, tall woman in a red dress. Her brown hair was over-sized, large curls ran down to her waist. I didn't get any more time to look further than that before she spotted me.

Her eyes widened to an alarmingly size, and she pointed at me with a mighty white-gloved finger.

"HE'S PERFECT!"