K I N G

t w e l v e

"You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear." -Oscar Wilde

Neil's POV
Something had changed between Todd and Neil. The air turned thicker, and Neil's gazes turned longer. There was something fascinating in the way Todd moved. The small twitches of his lips, the fluttering of his blonde eyelashes, even the tapping of his nervous fingers. It enthralled Neil. Drew him in like a siren's song.

    Neil also found himself angrier. He saw Todd walking with Charlie or joking around with Pitts and something hot burned in his chest. He was jealous, that was obvious, but what did he have to be jealous of? Todd was his best friend. His. Not Charlie's, Pitts's, or even that floozy Cindy. Cindy...Neil's face burned as he recalled the girl batting her eyelashes at Todd. He saw the way her fingers lingered over his arm and lost it. Cindy had no reason to be touching Todd.

    These new feelings caused great confusion to Neil's young heart. He didn't truly know why he felt the way he did. Or what that meant about his and Todd's relationship. He didn't like dwelling on it either. If he was honest with himself, Neil was sacred. He wasn't sure what he'd find if he digged deeper. So, Neil avoided it. He basked in the time he spent with Todd and didn't ask questions.

    Neil walked into the room to find Todd huddled into the corner of his bed. His pink tongue sticking out slightly as he tapped his pencil restlessly against a pad of paper. Neil cocked his head curiously and called out to the blonde.

    "Hey Todd."

    A small grunt was the only response.

    Neil smirked slightly as he inched his way towards Todd. What could he possibly be focusing on so intensely?

    "Do you wanna help me with my lines?"

    Todd glanced briefly up at Neil, his sky-blue eyes dancing and a small smile pulled at his lips. "Like you don't already know them. Besides, I'm busy with something."

    "Busy with what?" Neil kneeled on the edge of Todd's bed and pouted. "It can't be more important than me, can it?" He asked with a teasing voice, only half serious.

    Todd did not respond but curled himself further into the corner, putting some distance between himself and Neil. Neil slowly reached out towards Todd before snatching the pad out of his hands. The chase commenced. Todd chased Neil around the room, yelling insults and protesting as Neil read what was on the paper. Neil laughed gaily as he saw it was poetry. Todd was obviously trying to complete Mr. Keating's assignment.

    "Give me--Neil! Neil give that back!"

    "'We're dreaming of a--' Poetry! I'm being chased by Walt Witman!" Neil yelled out as he crashed into the wall, Todd almost catching him.

    Neil however dropped the notebook as Cameron entered the room, his face screwed up with frustration.

    "What are you guys doing? Do you know how hard Chemistry is?" He complained, shaking the said textbook for emphasize. Both Todd and Neil chuckled as CHarlie came up behind Cameron, mocking him as he talked.

    Neil grinned wolfishly as he plucked the Chemistry textbook right out of Cameron's hands. Cameron let out a startled yell and the chase began once again. Laughter filled the room as Cameron ran after Neil and Todd, who tossed the textbook back and forth between them. Cameron had finally caught up with Neil when Charlie came to his rescue.

"Over here Perry!"

Charlie caught the book before sprinting out into the hallway. Neil and Todd laughed
heartily and leaned against each other for support. As they calmed, Neil was pulled towards another feature of Todd's. His lips. His lips were curled into a full blown smile. Something rarely seen by anyone but Neil. He could count on one hand the amount of times Neil had seen the action done. Neil's brain felt fuzzy, as if he was drunk. All he could think about was pressing his lips against Todd's.

    Neil choked on air as the images flooded his mind.

    He understood then what his feelings truly meant.