What Happened in Winter [boyxboy]

Chapter Twenty

Kyle POV

Kyle was late for class. He ran from the parking lot, calling a goodbye to his mother as he rushed to class. He ran down the hallways, only stopping when he saw a teacher in the hall. As soon as they passed, he kept booking it.

Finally, he stood in front of english lit. He heaved a sigh, trying to rid himself of anxiety. He slapped his face twice to snap back into reality and opened the door.

Stevens wasn't in class yet. 'Thank the gods,' Kyle thought to himself. He strode into class, eyeing the kid sitting next to Greyson. He towered over the guy, his hand gripping his backpack strap that was slung over one shoulder.

"Move," Kyle commanded and darted his eyes to his old desk. He didn't have to say it twice, the kid was already up and on his feet, moving to Kyle's previous desk.

Kyle sat down next to Greyson, smiling. "Heya," he said, throwing up a peace sign. River sighed behind him. Craft said nothing.

"H-hey, Kyle," Greyson said, his eyes bright and his cheeks glowing. This was impossible.

'Ahh... you're so bright,' Kyle thought to himself, squinting.

"Pardon?" Grey asked, his head cocked to the side in confusion.

"UM," Kyle blurted. 'Did I really just say that out loud?'

"I mean... you're pretty... like the moon." River, again, muttered something derogatory under his breath. 'Oh, god. Shut the fuck up. Please just shut the fuck up,' Kyle pleaded with himself.

Greyson's eyes shone so brightly, Kyle swore there were shiny stars hovering in them. "Thank you," he whispered.

Stevens entered late again and began teaching right away. 'He's gonna end up getting fired,' Kyle thought to himself.

Greyson slowly pushed a composition notebook onto Kyle's desk, something written in small, neat letters in the corner of the open page.

"I think you're pretty, too."

Kyle sucked in a breath and looked over at Greyson, who was looking everywhere but at Kyle. Kyle clicked his pen and scrawled something down and scooted the book over to Greyson.

"Do you wanna go get ice cream after school?"

"Yeah. I would love to," Greyson whispered aloud so only Kyle could hear.

River POV

"Yeah, I'll come to get you before lunch so we can go together," River said to Craft as the bell indicated the end of class.

"River? Can you please stay after class for a moment?" Mr. Stevens said pleasantly, walking up to River's desk.

"Oh, sure," River said. He turned to Craft. "I'll catch you later. I still want to hang out at lunch." Craft nodded and headed out of the room, along with the other students.

"Hello, River," Stevens greeted once all the students left and they were the only two in this fluorescent hell scape. "I remember now why you seemed so familiar to me."

"Um, huh?" River said, withdrawing uncomfortably. He did not want to be alone with this man. He felt an instinct to run ticking like a clock in his chest.

"Nathan? Nat? He's my little brother."

River felt like he might die. He really thought he could die in that moment. It felt like the air had gone dead and his lungs had been pressed flat. His vision sloshed around like whisky in a bottle. He fought to keep his balance, his feet suddenly feeling like cinderblocks, his legs as strong as string.