Stars In Her I's

seven

Christopher padded around the hallways for what felt like hours. The corridors seemed twisting, turning, endless. Thankfully, he managed to make it to the art room as the art kids were leaving. Well, someone in there had to be able to give coherent directions to the library, right?

He'd been assigned to work on a project by himself- well, it wasn't a one person project, but at the time he hadn't wanted to work with anyone. Now, he regretted it dearly, not even being able to remember where the library even was, let alone know which books to grab.

He wasn't an idiot. In fact, he planned to be a doctor when he grew older. The thing was that people usually just lent him things that he didn't know he needed without even asking. The library was just never in the picture.

Lumos! Of course! He grabbed the stiff kid's arm just as he was leaving the art room. He straightened as usual and turned around, startled. He didn't relax one bit when he realized it was Chris.

"You busy?"

"What?" His head tilted to the side like a puppy begging for food. "O- oh, yes- I mean, no, no I'm not busy." He cleared his throat, changing the position of his backpack to be on both shoulders instead of one.

"Great, cause I need a guide to the library." Christopher slung his arm over his shoulders. For some reason, Lumos was ok when Christopher did it. Something about him doing it softly and in a purely friendly manner made it better. "Lead on."

Lumos made a few jerky starting steps before evening out his gait. He could smell Christopher well from this close. Yeah, that sounds creepy, but wouldn't you take in the scent, too? The one you've fallen for is close enough to smell and you don't grab that opportunity?

Whether you think it's creepy or not, he smelled wonderful. It was leathery like a new car while also a faint hay scent mixed with dog- it was like smelling a modernized farm of sorts. Lumos just smelled like tulips. Liam smelled like decaying roadkill.

Nothing would've made Lumos happier than to lean in to Christopher as they walked, but he knew that was impossible. He then felt Christopher's hand shift to pick at something on his backpack. "Wings? Why do you have wings on here?"

"It's... it's a reference to something. Just ignore them." He shifted again, self conscious.

"You've got paint on your face."
"What?"
"Here, I got it." Christopher then did the unthinkable. It was the most normal gesture to Chris, as he usually felt like he mothered everyone, but Lumos could barely stop himself from getting the chills.

He licked his thumb and wiped at whatever splat of paint that was on Lumos's face. "There. I didn't think you needed a new freckle." He chuckled, removing his arm from Lumos's back. If Christopher had still been looking at him, he would have seen that Lumos had gone red in the face. Thankfully, he wasnt.

Christopher felt somewhat unnerved by the absolute silence, so he rushed to fill it. "So that was your dad, eh? He seems like a piece of work." Silence was the only answer he got. "Not that I would know. My da-"

"I know. He's an American and you never knew him." Lumos kicked at a little chip in the floor as they passed, not looking up. He sort of felt like kicking himself for talking to Christopher. He didn't think he could handle another run-in with Liam. Why couldn't he just talk to him?

Oh, right.

"Wait, how do you know?" Oh, no. He'd given himself away. His perfect little lie was about to come crashing in. Honestly, he thought it would atleast last until winter break.

"Uh-uhm..." He didn't know what to say. If he told him now, he'd probably be found crying in the bathroom with a bloody nose. What was he supposed to say?

"Whatever. Probably Francis, or that buddy of his, Ethan." Lumos felt he could exhale. Crisis averted just as they came up on the library.

"Here it is." Lumos gestured to the door, his head still to the ground. "I'll see you tomorrow." Just like that, he began to walk off.

"Wait!" He had barely gotten two steps away when Christopher darted towards him and grabbed his hand, pulling him back over as Lumos's lungs hitched. "I've, um," he paused, biting his lip. "I know you aren't really in my class, but everyone got the same God damned assignment in literature. I... kind of didn't get a partner cause I thought they'd just expect me to do the fucking work, and I didn't think I really needed a partner anyway." He sighed, seemingly getting frustrated easily by this. "I know you haven't already got one. Will you help me with this bullshit assignment?" He wasn't one for profanity, but atleast he didn't use it too much.

"Uh-uhm..." He stared at the doors, wishing he could melt into the ground. If he accepted, he would get to spend time with Christopher. He would see him, smell him, touch him. It sounded like heaven.

But then again, Liam would hear about it. And besides, how much time could he spend with Christopher without giving himself away?

"C'mon, it'll be fun. You get to meet my dog - I know you like dogs - and my mom will probably insist on making you her special cookies, which are fucking delicious." Was it just him, or was he using more profanity? Maybe it was a sign that he was more comfortable around him? That's a good thing, isn't it?

"Sure." The word escaped his lips before he could yank it back into his lungs. He wished he could take it back, but Christopher's face had already lit up with joy.

"Alright, let's get cracking! I was thinking we talk about how murder mysteries got their start. The first ones were-... fuck, what were their names?"

"The ones that really kicked off the genre were Dupin from Edgar Allan Poe, Sherlock Holmes from Aurthur Conan Doyle, and Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie." Murder mysteries? He thought he was the only one interested in the subject. If Christopher was too, Lumos could see the endless possibilities. Besides a fun project, he could also bring it up in his notes.

"See? I'm tellin ya, this will be a great partnership!" With that, he turned around and walked into the library, expecting Lumos to follow. "Lets go grab the books with the old-timey detectives we need."

"I have them at home." The words made Christopher turn sharply on his heel, walking towards the exit.

"Then let's go there!" Oh Lord.

Well, if he didn't go, Christopher would find his house anyway and be dissapointed. If he did, he could try and keep him away from his parents while spending time, but risk an encounter with Liam.

Well, why not? What's the worst that could happen?