On Thin Ice

Bonus | 01 - Fox's POV

Fox's Anthology

The Closet

"Who the hell is that?" I asked, knowing full well who that was. I knew him better than I would ever admit.

He was someone I never expected to see again; a fantasy I indulged in for one night, knowing I could never do it again. At least not for a long time.

"I think that's Josh's step brother," Ryan answered in a light tone. "Josh mentioned he'd be coming to school with us this year.

The weight of his words pounded on me like a beating.

I had slept with Josh's step brother.

The implications of this weren't lost on me. He could've told him about us, about me. So when I saw Josh walk up to him and say something before pointing over at us, my teeth were grinding together and my mind overly focused on what was said between them.

"We should probably go say hi," Ryan said, starting to walk over to the two of them before I pulled on the back of his shirt to stop him.

"No, we shouldn't," I quickly let out, earning myself a strange look from Ryan. "We shouldn't overwhelm the kid with a bunch of introductions."

Ryan seemed to buy my words and decided against introducing himself, instead stating that he was going off to find Jude. I kept my eyes on Elijah and Josh for a while longer. Their words together were brief, Elijah seeming to only give short answers which I knew would drive Josh up a wall. 

As soon as Josh walked away, I rushed over to Elijah and quickly dragged him into the nearest janitor's closet, hoping we hadn't been seen.

His eyes were wide and his body tense as he looked at me. He seemed to relax slightly when he realized he recognized me, and his expression filled with confusion.

I grasped his shirt in my hands, bringing my face close to his. Just seeing him here put me on edge. This could ruin me if he opened his mouth about us.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I seethed, looking into his wide eyes. At first he seemed startled, but he calmed down after a few moments. His stare looking more or less annoyed than anything else.

"I go to school here?" he said, though it came out more like a question, clearly showing me that I was inconveniencing him by pulling him in here but I couldn't let myself care about that. He was the only person in this school, besides Claudia, that knew my secret. He needed to be put in his place before he could jeopardize anything for me.

I rolled my eyes. "Obviously. But why? I though you were from a few towns over?"

"I moved in with my dad," he explained as my grip tightened on the front of his shirt. Elijah backed up, trying to create some distance between us, but I didn't budge.

"Great," I spat, narrowing my eyes at him as my face heated with anger. "If you tell anyone about what happened between us, I will end you."

Elijah narrowed his eyes at me, obviously getting more annoyed the longer I kept him in here spitting out threats. He couldn't possibly understand that I had to do this. He was the only other person at this school who knew my sexuality and I didn't trust him with it. I had to make sure he kept quiet about it. It made sense to me. I didn't expect it to make sense to him.

He shoved my shoulders, effectively distancing us. My hands were in fists at my side as his expression grew angrier.

"Chill, I'm not going to out you," he said. Unfortunately, I couldn't trust his words.