Under his wing - 1. Chapter One

Chapter One
Justin's Heart

Talking to Justin was almost a religious experience. The way his lips moved to form syllables, the hazel flash of his eyes whenever they caught the light, the subtle haziness of his voice, all of it was magic. Occasionally, he would brush the hair out of his face, only to have the red locks fall back into place within seconds. His skin was lightly tanned, and his face bore a few freckles. He was about five and a half feet tall, and was skinny, but not anorexically so.

"Kyle, are you listening to me?" Justin had stopped talking, and was looking at me with a curious look on his face. He brushed the hair out of his eyes with his fingers, and exposed to me those beautiful hazel eyes. My mind reeled, and I desperately tried to think of anything at all to say.

"No...just looking at your beautiful eyes." It was terrifying to say, but I put on a smile, and stared at him.

"Ugh, what is wrong with you?" He laughed, and gave me a shove. I laughed, and pushed him away from me.

"No, I'm serious! You're just so damn sexy..." Justin just kept laughing, and we resumed our walk. It was getting late, and we needed to get to school on time; we had both missed first period too many times because of our long walks.

It hurt, you know. To tell him the truth, but have to disguise it as a joke. We had been friends since the first grade, and 10 years later, our friendship was as strong as ever. But over the years, something else had blossomed, or at least it had for me. Love. Yes, I loved my Justin...

We turned the corner, and the school loomed into view from across the street. It was a simple affair, a one story building with painted white concrete walls, and iron doors. It was surrounded by a small grassy campus, which gave way to a student parking lot in the back, and a bus drop zone to the side. Some buses were pulling in, and kids piled out, some walking into the building, and others roaming the campus.

"So, are we doing anything this afternoon?" Justin was looking at me with those eyes again, and I felt my heart start to beat faster. I tried to control it, but he just kept looking at me with those eyes. So I decided to give up, and just ask him.

"Well, my dad's going out of town for a few days for business. I have the place to myself. Want to come over?" Justin gave me a strange look, and I felt myself blushing. I looked towards the ground, and hoped he couldn't see my ever-reddening face.

"Sure. I can rent a few chick flicks if you want. We can cuddle on the couch, and maybe make out a little." I burst out laughing, and couldn't help looking up at him. He had on this cheesy love-struck face, and he batted his eyelashes at me. I shoved him, but he wouldn't stop. "Seriously! We can forget the movies if you want. Is hot, sweaty sex more of what you had in mind? Because that can be arranged!"

My mouth dropped, and I stared at him. He was laughing so hard that he was turning red. Redder than me, I'm guessing. We must have been a sight, the two of us blushing and laughing as we strolled towards the school. We bypassed the mass of students loitering around the front double doors, and headed towards the cafeteria.

"Hey, Kyle!" Justin and I turned around to see a boy waving at us. He hurried through the crowd to get to us. He had dark brown hair with a blond fringe, and darkly tanned skin that matched perfectly with his brown eyes. He was wearing a tight black shirt, and jeans. He stopped in front of us, and acknowledged Justin with a nod of his head. He then turned to me.

"Hey Nic, how are you?" He smiled, and started to blush. Nic was a closet gay, but I could tell he had a thing for me. So could most of the school...

"I'm good. So, uh...I was wondering if you were doing anything Saturday." He looked down at the floor, and then back at me. Justin snickered, and Nic looked at him curiously.

"Well, not really. Unless Justin wanted some more of that sweaty sex he was talking about earlier." Justin burst out laughing, and slugged me in the arm. Nic's mouth dropped, and he started to blush.

"Hehe, no I think tonight should just about cover it." Nic was looking at us bewildered, and I had to calm him down some. "It's a joke Nic. Nothing to get...'excited' about." I couldn't help it. Nic was so cute when he was nervous.

"Um...well. If you're not doing anything, I'm having a party." I smiled at Nic. He was trying so hard, it was obvious by the way he shifted his feet, and kept wiping his hands on his jeans.

"I'd love to go." Nic's whole face brightened, and he started to stutter.

"T-t-thanks Kyle. Oh, and it's...a c-c-costume party." Halloween...right.

"Oh, that's sounds awesome. Well, I'll be there. Hey Nic, I'll talk to you later, okay? I have to study for a killer Algebra test." Nic just nodded, and shuffled off. He was obviously excited, in more than one way. He was tenting.

"Hehehe, I saw that. You perv!" Justin had caught me looking, and had shoved me. Sometimes, I think he knew...but he couldn't.

"Saw what? What are you getting at?" I tried to look serious, but I think Justin saw through my facade.

"Sigh...nothing." He turned and walked towards the cafeteria. I couldn't help watching him. As he left, I caught a wiff of his scent. It was sweet, but with a slight tartness, like a citrus fruit. My head swam, and I couldn't help uttering a sigh. Justin must have heard me, because he shot me a quizzical look over his shoulder, and smiled seductively at me.

He couldn't know...could he?