wc: 1373
hello, i have not published in like three months, BUT, here have this drawn out gay dark academia piece! i luv you! hope u are doing well!<3 maybe i'll write a sequel maybe i won't, but enjoy anyways :) also i did not proofread so apologies for mistakes !
☁️💘🦋
james had never been more confused, yet intrigued, by someone.
every day, george would come into lectures, a mess of scrawled essays shoved into the pockets of his oversized coat, black coffee gone cold from the wind, his brown glasses slipping off his nose, apologising for the interruption before he would collapse down beside james. he'd give james a quick smile, before digging a pen out of his pocket and trying to find a blank piece of paper to write notes on. throughout the class, he'd drink the bitterly cold coffee, wincing as he did so, very nearly spilling it because of his shaking hands. the lecture would end and he would be off again, clutching onto his papers, trying not to drop them all.
if james ever saw george in the library, it would almost always be when james was pulling an all-nighter, struggling to stay awake when the only sounds were the clock ticking, and the muffled sounds of whatever george listened to through his earphones; james had never seen george in the library at a semi-regular time. often he would catch george peering over the top of the library computer to see whatever james was doing, the pair making eye contact before george looked back down at his work, light blush dancing on his cheeks.
soon the pair began sitting on the same side of the long row of computers, not right next to each other, but closer than before. james could see how george carefully laid out all his materials, and how the desk would be a mess by the end of the night. in the cold months of january, a new sound joined their sleepless nights; the relentless pounding of rain against the library windows., softened by the thick old glass.
james felt like he knew way too much about george, seeing as the pair had never had an actual conversation of length. he had never taken such an interest in someone; sure he had had crushes in the past, but this, this, felt like some sort of obsession, a deep craving to know more about george. many times, james had thought of suggesting getting coffee or wandering around a museum, but every time he would look george in his eyes, his words would leave him, he'd fiddle with the ends of his jumper before turning back to whatever he had been doing.
~~
the cold winter months gradually morphed into a milder spring; the rain showers stayed constant, however. as the clock struck 10 pm, the pair would find themselves entering the library as people flooded out of it. they'd sit down next to each other, start up their computers almost in sync. small talk would be made before they were absorbed into their work. the sleep deprivation had impacted james, as he was naturally inclined to wake up earlier, but to george it was second nature. george didn't mind james' dark under eyes, and fluttering eyelids; if anything they just made him want to look after james.
it had been a particularly gruelly week; george had turned in two of his three essays late and failed both tests given by his teachers, and his kettle had suddenly just stopped working, meaning he couldn't rely on instant coffee to fill the gap that was proper sleep. as he sat down beside james in the library that night, his hands were shaking more than usual and he couldn't focus on his work. nonetheless, he decided he couldn't waste the opportunity to get something done, and he still had two more books to read for his seminar next week. he pulled a well-thumbed copy of the great gatsby out from his bag, opening it up to where his bookmark was.
james typed relentlessly on the keyboard; he had an essay due at twelve that night, which still needed two more paragraphs and a conclusion. at first, he was distracted by george's minute noises, such as him flicking the pages, or clicking a pen to scrawl notes on the margins of the pages. eventually, he got sucked into his work, deaf to george and everything else around him, including his music. at 11:46, james realised he had fifteen minutes to submit this essay; with a quick scan over, he decided it was fit for submission. he wouldn't necessarily get a high grade on it, as it was so hurriedly written but oh well, he couldn't help that now. he took off his headphones, cigarettes after sex still blaring.
it was then he noticed george had fallen asleep on the desk. a lump formed in his throat. 'gee?' he whispered, not particularly even wanting to wake up the boy when he looked that cute in his sleep. 'george, bub, wake up for me,' james said, a bit louder this time. his cheeks blushed from the petname that had slipped from his lips. george's head moved slightly, and his eyes sleepily opened to reveal dilated pupils. 'mhm, james' george murmured, closing his eyes. 'gee, you don't want to do asleep on the table, come on bub, i'll take you to your dorm,'
george nodded, his head slowly coming up from the table. he rubbed his eyes, fumbling around for his stuff, and getting ready to go. james did the same, packing up his bag before moving to help george up do the same. the pair plodded up the stairs, tiredness now hitting james with the same force as it had done with george.
'what number are you george?' james asked. george yawned; '108.' they walked down the long spiralling corridors before they arrive outside george's door. he rooted around in his pockets before producing a set of keys, which james notices have a thick black ribbon tied around them. they entered george's cramped room, and james was instantly overwhelmed; if you could someone fit people's entire personality in a singular space, that would create george's room. the room was pretty basic, with a single bed, desk, a minifridge, and a kettle on the desk; a door led to the bathroom. in typical university fashion, the room had been laid out in the most inconvenient way possible but george had done what he could with the space. fairy lights were strung from almost every wall, instantly helping make the room cosier and more welcoming. pictures, and scraps of paper and sticky notes were tacked to the wall; books covered nearly every surface, stacked up his desk, in piles of either side of his bed somewhat resembling bedside tables, even more, squished on the lone shelf above his small table.
james followed george into his room, and george dumped his stuff on his bed, sitting down. he kicked off his shoes and got out of his coat which he threw somewhere in his room to find when he wasn't so tired. george was oblivious to the starstruck look on james' face as he soaked in his surroundings. george pulled his jumper over his head, slipping into bed in just his tracksuit bottoms and tshirt. 'thanks for looking after me james,' he murmured, eyes already slipping shut. 'no problem,' james smiled. 'I should probably go now, let you sleep,'
george's eyes opened again. 'wait, i was wondering if you wanted to stay? i have a spare duvet set in the wardrobe, i'll make up a bed on the floor for us,' george blushed, having referred to the pair as 'us', but was too tired to really be embarrassed about it.
about ten minutes later, the space beside george's bed had been transformed into a double bed. james and had dragged the mattress down, adding duvets, blankets and pillows galore until it resembled something the pair could sleep on. james slipped out of his shoes, shoving all his stuff somewhere in the room to find tomorrow. his heart rate had leapt up, especially when the pair lay down beside one another on the makeshift bed, keeping eye contact. james tentatively put his arms out, and george gladly fell into them. 'g' night, james' he mumbled sleep overtaking him once more. 'g' night, love,' james said. he marvelled at the dulled fairy lights illuminating george's features and the rhythmic movement of his breathing before slipping into sleep himself.
