Forbidden (BoyxBoy)

Chapter VI: Partners

Jason. 

It had only been a few seconds, but I already knew that I liked History better than English. For one, our history teacher, Giles, was definitely human. Humans smell like soap and citrus. Secondly, where Miss Piston was assertive and professional, Giles had the casual confidence of someone who knew everyone in the room was listening to him. 

Alaric liked him too, I could tell by the way his icy blue eyes lingered on him, and the way his mouth twisted into his small, amused smile. 

"Today, my dear children, we are taking a trip to Florence," Giles announced in his aristocratic accent. He spun on the heels of his italian leather shoes to set up the projector. He was in his late thirties, and was dressed in an expensive-looking grey suit. Beneath it, he wore a shirt the colour of violets unbuttoned casually. His dark brown, curly hair was long, so that it touched the collar of his dress shirt. A large painting of a man wearing red and black armour was projected onto the screen. 

"To around 1537 to be exact. Can anyone tell me who this dashing man is?" He asked the class. A few hands were raised, Giles pointed to a girl in the front row dramatically. 

"Is it Cosimo de' Medici?" She answered. It seemed that the people in this class had actually done the summer reading. Giles beamed in response and leaned against the edge of the desk, adjusting the lapels of his suit jacket. 

"Indeed it is, well done. Cosimo de' Medici was the second Duke of Florence and the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death in 1569." Giles explained thoroughly. As class went on, it became clear that this was going to be one of my favourite lessons at school. The lesson went quickly, with discussion between Giles and his students proving very entertaining. 

Alaric didn't contribute often, although it was clear he was enjoying himself. The entire lesson he had a quiet, fond smile plastered on his face. Every now and then, I found myself looking over at him, observing the way his curls of inky hair fell onto his face. His posture was still and composed, and again I got the impression that he was in control of his every thought and movement. 

We had ten minutes of the lesson left when Giles changed the slide to a portrait of a young woman. The woman wore a dress the colour of fresh blood, laced with gold and adorned in a few simple jewels. An intricately beaded bonnet sat atop her braided, warm brown hair, and gold earrings hung from her ears. A young boy hid himself in her skirts whilst holding her hand, clearly finding shelter in her presence. She had a serene, somber face, with porcelain skin and doe-like, liquid chocolate eyes. My eyes rested on the hand she had elegantly placed on her skirts, her finger adorned in a ornate ring embedded with a large, square ruby. 

Beside me, Alaric sat forward in his seat abruptly, his first out-of-control movement so far. I glanced at him briefly, seeing the way his bright eyes became glassy for a split second. I tried to smell the pheromones on him, hoping to figure out what had come over him, but I couldn't pick on anything. The soapy smell of humans was obviously too strong. 

"This painting by Bronzino is believed to be Maria de' Medici." Giles explained in a slightly softer voice than before. "She was the eldest daughter of Cosimo de' Medici, and is one of the great mysteries and tragedies of the Medici family. According to historical accounts, she was a decorous, highly educated young woman who was very reserved and well-guarded from men. Still, by the time she was a teenager she was engaged to Alphonso II, Duke of Ferrara. However, she died before she could ever marry, at the young age of seventeen. There are, interestingly, two accounts as to how she died." 

Alaric was as white as a sheet, but his face had fallen into an impartial, controlled wall. 

"Some say that she fell in love with a young man, Malatesta de' Malatesti, and they began to see each other in secret despite her engagement to Alfonso. According to this story, Cosimo caught the young lovers together, and in a fearsome rage, stabbed her in the heart and threw her lover in prison. He then covered it up by saying Maria had died from spotted fever. In the other version of the tale, some historians believe that Maria did in fact die from a then-incurable illness, malaria."

The class was quiet with suspense, the two theories brewing in their minds. My heart felt a little heavier than it had before, and I prayed for the long-dead girl in hope that the truth was the latter. Giles diffused the tension by handing out a stack of paper from his desk. 

"Here are you assignments for this semester, you will partner with the person next to you. I advise you to get started right away, because it is due in three weeks. As Cosimo de' Medici would say: in bocca al lupo!" He planted an assignment sheet on our desk and the bell rang with finality. 

"I guess we're partners then." Alaric said casually. Whatever had disturbed him about Maria de' Medici was clearly pushed aside, because he had returned to his calm, composed posture. I picked up the assignment sheet and shoved it into my book, realising that it was lunch time and I was actually starving. 

"Looks like it." Hopping up from the desk, I waited for him to follow me. He lingered in his chair, pulling out a piece of paper from his book and scrawling a series of numbers on it with his pen. He had neat, elaborate cursive handwriting. He handed it to me with a smile, standing up from his seat to follow me.

"Here's my phone number. I don't have a cell phone so just call, and we can organise meeting up to work on the assignment." He explained. I raised my eyebrows on him, having never met a teenager that didn't have a cellphone. Alaric obviously noticed my surprise, his eyes widening slightly. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, sure, I'll call. It's just a little unusual to meet a teenager without a cellphone." I admitted, feeling myself flush. Nice one, Jason. Alaric let loose another one of his deep, rolling chuckles. 

"Like I said, my family's old-fashioned." He shrugged. We were making our way back towards the stairs now, weaving through the groups of students milling around. 

"You're not kidding." I laughed, tucking his number into the pocket of my jacket. We descended the stairs together, and as we did Dean and Frankie came into view, heading towards us on the way to my locker. They spotted me, no doubt by smell, and started heading over. Alaric paused, and looked from me to them cautiously.

"Well, I should be going. I'll see you in class, or whenever you call." He smiled timidly, offering me a feather-light on the arm in goodbye. It was a small gesture, but it made me smile back at him shyly. He clearly wasn't sticking around to meet Frankie and Dean, and I recalled the way he was sitting alone in English this morning. It struck me now that maybe Alaric didn't really like other people, but he had made an exception for the overwhelmed new kid. It was... kind.

"Okay, I'll see you then, Alaric." I said to him, suddenly appreciative that he'd been there for me. He nodded gently before heading down the hall in the opposite direction. He weaved through the crowds effortlessly, and before I knew it he had disappeared amongst the other students. 

I met Dean and Frankie halfway, and happily listened to them rant about their Biology teacher and how Dean had spent most of the lesson flirting with a girl sitting behind them, all the time very aware of the presence of Alaric's phone number in my pocket.