December Boys (BxB) | ✓

Chapter 2 - Dazed and Confused

My heart drummed inside my chest. I felt like a dubstep song, all noise and no sense.

Axel furrowed his brows and backed away from me. I dared blink again, just once, in case he pounced on me. His fists were in front of his face, shielding himself from any opponent, my scrawny ass included. Except I was nowhere near an equal opponent for him. I was just Nao, 18-year-old media dude. A guy of average height and muscle mass, who wanted nothing more than a drama free life. A guy who had unfortunately just been dropped into a massive pile of 100 % undiluted drama.

"Partner?" Axel murmured, frown deepening. "Who are you?

I felt like everything was moving in slow motion. The guy Axel had just beaten up was already stirring. Class had most likely resumed downstairs. Everything should have moved in time with the ticking clock and the hum of my pulse, yet it didn't. I felt like I could count every single one of Axel's eyelashes with how slowly he was blinking. I might even have had time to measure his bruises.

"N-Nao." I choked, finding my voice at last. "I'm in 2M. We're working across classes this year so... Media and Specials are cooperating." I wet my lips. "You're doing the video project, right?"

A pause, and then Axel blinked. His frown slowly fell away, and he straightened to his full height. I was left noticing just how tall he really was. I probably looked like a kid next to him, damn it. 

"Ah," he finally said, as if things made sense again in the world. The dark atmosphere that had enveloped the room faded away, and the deadly glint in his eyes was nowhere to be seen. When I made eye contact with him now, all I saw was a pair of hazel eyes.

"I forgot. You've been ill or something, right?" he continued, watching as I nodded meekly. He seemed to be understanding the situation, and he somehow felt less dangerous as a result. I noticed him adjusting the collar of his shirt, or what remained of it, anyway. The front was completely torn, revealing flashes of smooth skin underneath the fabric.

"Unnnhh..." A gruff voice sounded from behind us. Axel turned his head, expression unchanged. My spine had started to dig into the railing, and I begrudgingly thought about how wrecked my back would be the next day. Maybe I'd even get an ugly rash, just to top it all off.

"I can't deal with that now," Axel deadpanned, and then he picked something up from the ground. It was his backpack – black leather, sleek design – and he proceeded to sling it over his left shoulder. "What's your last name? I'll hit you up on Facebook."

I stared at him in disbelief, but the words "Summers, Nao Summers." Fell out of my mouth all the same. Axel nodded once again, before swinging out of my way and disappearing down the stairs. In a matter of seconds he was gone, and the only audible sound was the moans from his opponents.

I felt myself sink to the floor in a heap of exhausted teenager.

I... Survived? I actually survived? I came face to face with Axel - who'd been fighting mere seconds before - and escaped with not just my life, but a new Facebook friend?! The absurdity of the situation caught up to me, and a surprised laugh escaped my lips.

The human lump on the roof moved again, and his groans picked up more force. My hands were still shaking, and I still felt rather like live jelly, but the time had come to leave the premises. I didn't want to think about what these people would do to me when they woke up. Wouldn't want them to think I was in league with Axel.

Even though we'd be working together from now on...

I was watching the Walking Dead when my phone buzzed against my thigh. The words "Message request" lit up the screen, so I picked it up and entered my passcode.

"Request by Axel..." I frowned.

I slid the message open to find a short text.

"What do you need for the project?"

I stared at the words for a few seconds. I could hear my mom rummaging in the kitchen, exchanging insults with my brother. The TV was noisy in the background, probably running a game show.

"Oh, shit," I said, realization dawning on me. This was Axel "hitting me up on Facebook."

I scratched my neck and leaned back into my bed, holding the phone close to my face. There was a magazine at the foot of the bed, which I kicked out of the way as I made myself comfortable. What the heck was with this message? Was Axel always this blunt and rude? He hadn't even opened with a "hello".

I shook my head, trying to remind myself who I was communicating with. This was Axel. He was probably the leader of December High's Fight Club, if there was one. Then again, I wouldn't know that, would I? The first rule of Fight Club was...

"I guess we need a manuscript," I typed back, biting my lip.

The video project was supposed to be a film collage that highlighted the different programs at December High. There was the Athletics program, a course that functioned as a stepping stone for future professional sportsmen. Then came the Dance program, a class that focused primarily on contemporary dance and visual arts. They had subgroups for musicians and other creatives as well, but dance was the flagship of the school's pride. Next up was the media program – my own branch. It was a program dedicated to film, web design and different types of multimedia. We were usually in charge whenever the school needed an ad, or someone to help the useless gits down in the IT department.

Last in line was the Specialized program, a course that deserved its own wing of the campus, and served as a hub for every elitist prick at December High. The course was created to prepare its students for demanding university majors and high paying jobs. Everyone in that program wanted to become doctors, lawyers or politicians. Graduating from the Specialized program was pretty much a guarantee for landing successful positions in the future. Naturally, everyone enrolled in that program was insufferable by default. They also happened to be extremely popular with the local gold diggers.

The students in the Specialized program had many quirks and flaws – as I had learned from attending school with them for two years – but they were also ambitious and hardworking people. That's why I found it impossible to grasp that Axel was enrolled along with them. All his ambitions seemed to be centered around just one thing – causing trouble.

Axel is typing.

"Alright. What have they ordered us to do?"

I narrowed my eyes. Hadn't he been paying attention at all? I was sick for three days, but at least I knew what the main task was. I angrily typed out my next message.

"It's a highlight reel of the programs. Didn't anyone tell you about this?"

"Not really."

I flopped onto my stomach and studied his little chat icon. Speaking of which... I hadn't snooped on his account yet. I wondered if his profile was open to non-friends. Axel began typing again before I had time to start sleuthing.

"I have to go. Tell me what the plan is and I'll do my part."

I stared at the screen for a couple of minutes, disbelief swirling around in my head. What the heck? We hadn't decided on anything! "Tell me the plan" basically translated to "you make all the hard decisions" and I wasn't prepared to do that. He was leaving it all up to me.

"Active 3 minutes ago." He was gone.

I tossed my phone into the laundry basket. I didn't close my eyes, because I knew it would only take me back to that scene by the rooftop, and those cold, empty eyes. Blowing up on Axel was tempting right now, but it was also stupid. I didn't know what he was capable of, and pissing him off seemed like a bad idea.

I stared at the ceiling lamp, willing my thoughts to calm down. Just calm down, Nao.