Thirty Steps to Glory

Step Three: Marble

Castor closed his eyes for a moment, imagining marble statues of the Greek gods and feeling a twinge of jealousy. Here he was listening to a classmate's speech for class, and the only thing he can think about is the current dilemma he has. Every since he broke up with Joanna, he's started looking at her twin brother in a much less friendly light and in a much more, maybe I like you, type of light.

Thing is, he isn't so sure that her brother even sees him in that light. After all, Castor is quiet and silent. He's still and watching of the world that passes. He only speaks when necessary and could spend hours cooped up in his room, drawing or reading. His eyes regard things so serene and cold. He is always put together at least visually when it comes to appearance. His hair is neat and his clothes are pristine. He chuckles, soft and gentle, so calm like a still lake in the middle of the night.

Jones is the opposite.

Jones is a man who smiles wide and laughs loud. He could recognize that fearless and proud laugh down some corridors and his heart would skip and beat. His head would lift up as if looking around only to realize he's not there. Jones' hair is messy and dark and no matter what he does, it never stays still like the man himself. He never seems to be still, always moving with energy that's threatening to burst in the form of laughter or movement. His brown eyes always twinkled with mischief. He is like the wind, free and moving and no matter how far he is, you know he's there.

Sometimes he feels jealous of the Greek gods, they could easily walk up to anyone they liked and chat them up. No one told them that they couldn't hit on them just because they're the same gender. Then again they were gods so there's not much room for denial unless you wanted something bad t happen. Well, bad things did happen be it accepting or denying...

"Castor?" Jones poked him, "The bell rang like, a minute ago."

Castor opened his eyes, "Oh, so we're free?"

Jones grinned, "Yeah! I don't know about you but I'm craving some ice cream right now."

"Alright, I'll meet you at Fruits and Ice cream?"

The two high-fived and separated, leaving Castor to watch Jones walk away with wistful eyes.

He's screwed, isn't he? Why couldn't he have fallen in love with a jerk? It wouldn't be as hard to stop having a crush then. He frowned and packed up his things.

That's when Joanna walked in the room, long black hair flying behind her as she strode over to him, a hand on her hips. "Hello, Cassy."

They're still friends despite their breakup, he had told her that things wouldn't work out since he began to see her less as a romantic partner and more as a sister. She was relieved by it since she had also felt the same way.

"Hi, Joanna," Castor smiled as he put on his bag, "I thought you had cheerleading practice?"

"They had to move it to tomorrow so here I am." Joanna crossed her arms, "So, Jones caught your eye huh?"

Castor twitched, "What do you mean by that?"

She giggled, unlike her brother, her laughter was like the sound of drizzling rain. "You've been looking at him at lot. Don't think I don't see it during science class. Whenever he comes close to you, you blush and make some space."

"I can neither confirm nor deny." Castor defended himself, looking away. Is he really that obvious?

"Your face says everything Castor, you wear your heart on your sleeve. Hell, even Jones noticed, he's just waiting because he wants you to make the first move." Joanna sighed.

Castor blinked, "What? First move? But-"

"Yeah, I know. I told him the same thing but according to him, he doesn't want to pressure you into dating him if you're not ready."

He took a deep breath. His hand gripping the strap of his back tightly as the knowledge of Jones liking him back and not wanting to pressure him?

"I'm telling him. I am so telling him!" He proclaimed to his audience of one in the empty classroom. "In fact, I'll do that right now!"

Joanna grinned at him, "That's right! Go tell him!"

Castor placed his chair back and dashed out the classroom, looking back to yell, "Thank you, Joanna!"

"Don't mention it!"

The world blurred by, corridors and classroom doors bleeding to the outside world with side walks and houses. He ran, not even stopping to wave at Mark and Bruce, or even to give himself time to breathe when his legs felt numb and his lungs were burning. No. This is more important because his heart is light and maybe, even this human mortal can be like the gods.

He arrived at the ice cream parlour, panting and gasping for air but happy to see Jones. Jones looked at him with that amused shine that always seem to be there, twinkling like the stars.

"Hey there, Cas, you didn't have to run you know?" Jones said as he crossed his arms.

"I love you!" Castor shouted, his heart bursting too much with elation to keep it in.

Jones stopped, blinked at him and grinned like a fox. "Cas!"

"I love you, Jones. The way you laugh, the way your eyes always shine with mischief, the way you always keep the other person in mind even if it's not the best course of action," Castor stumbled closer to Jones who had softened up to move to meet him. "I love the way you say my name with energy, the way you always seem to be moving, how your hair is always messed up and you can't get it to look tame for one minute."

Jones moved to hold Castor as he stumbled tiredly into Jones' arms. "I love the way you smile at me, and how you always seem to treat everyone with casual kindness. I love the fact that you make it your job to keep transfer students and our peers. I love the way you always seem to be caring about everyone to the point where no one can hate you. I love how you frown in confusion or when your eyebrows furrow when you're too busy thinking."

His speech was littered with heavy breathing as he fought to catch his breath and Jones, kind and friendly Jones, placed a finger above his lips. "Breathe, Cas. You can tell me all this when we're dating."

Castor smiled at Jones tiredly, as he adjusted himself in their embrace. "I love you, Jones."

"And I love you too, Cas. Come on, you sit tight and I get our ice cream." Jones said as he took out a chair and set him down.

Castor let out a chuckle. So he may not be a Greek god, made of marble and polished stone with tales of the lovers he took, but he'd rather be made of flesh and bone knowing that he can feel the kindness of the one he has. It's alright, not to be made of marble when he has this.

\Author's Corner!/
I have a soft spot for confession scenes, which is why my last two are both confession scenes. Castor's name is from the constellation Gemini which is why I figured I might as well make some sort of reference to Greek mythology but I couldn't fit in any beyond marble statues. Still, this is the longest one so far, and the one that took me a while to figure out what to write.

I hope you enjoyed this, thank you for reading!