Without Me

Note

He screamed. Or thought he screamed. He found himself sitting up from his bunk bed, almost knocking himself on the ceiling since it wasn't too far away. He breathed in deeply and out. Repeating the process until he calmed down. He rubbed his temples slightly.

What a time to be getting a nightmare.

He let out a sigh and wiped his sweat with the back of his hand. He wondered what time was it but realized it was still quite dark out. He laid down again and tried to sleep.

Sleep didn't greet him all too well again as the rest of the restless time passed. Light poured in and greeted him as well, hindering him from sleeping any longer. He grumbled slightly and got down his bunk. Shou was wrapped up in the lower bunk and in deep sleep too.

Sometimes he felt jealous of heavy sleepers but he guessed he had a bit more of an advantage in some ways being a light sleeper. He headed into the bathroom to get ready for the day instead of thinking anymore nonsensical stuff.

He had classes later on so he decided to just finish whatever homework he had left since there wasn't much time to do them during the weekdays when classes go by in a breeze. He woke Shou up at the first alarm and prepared to head to class. He felt fine unexpectedly, guessing the nightmare didn't really affect him too much. He could barely even recall what it was.

He headed to class and Chuck greeted him first thing in the morning. He returned the greeting with the other asking him of his whereabouts last night since he never showed up in his room ultimately but Jonathan just told him that he swam for too long and got knocked out when he went back to his room which wasn't fully a lie. Chuck just casually accepted it and they went through the class smoothly. The one he was excited for was the second class where he could meet Mark but he tried to hide his excitement that was slowly building up. He didn't know why but it just made him jittery, knowing he would meet the other again. It was almost like a secret.

Between the two of them.

He headed to his next class and took a seat, waiting patiently although his foot found its comfortable pace of tapping. It made him look impatient but it stopped when Mark showed up. Always fashionable. It made Jonathan wonder how many clothes the other had. He had just about a few sets enough to last him a week or so with constant laundry as well. Mark took his usual seat and they both greeted one another. Secretly. Quietly.

It made his spine tingle with anticipation but Jonathan knew better than to anticipate anything. He had to keep himself level headed now. Can't let his own mind play him. That would be rather disastrous in its own way.

"Johnny," Mark's voice that was barely a whisper caught his attention. He glanced over to watch the other flick a folded paper over. He blinked and unfolded it, admiring the neat handwriting. He snapped out of it and actually read the contents. 'Want to grab dinner again? Same place. No kiss this time, promise.'

Jonathan almost let out a small laugh at the last sentence but held it in so he wouldn't get into trouble with the teacher instead. He flipped the note over and replied with a 'Sure. No kisses, of course.'

He flicked it back over to Mark's table, feeling jumpy at the thought of them meeting again. Friends. He hoped Chuck had plans tonight so he wouldn't need to reject the other or avoid him.

It took him awhile to notice it but it was there. A small strange pull. He snapped his head up and looked around his class. His gaze stopped at a certain person who was sneaking glances at him. That person was familiar by now with that hoodie laying rest on his back instead of his head. Ares. Jonathan smiled and gave him a small wave. The other jumped and turned back over to Jonathan's confusion. Did he scare Ares? He hoped not.

No, wait. Did he see them exchanging the note? He hoped not. He didn't want Chuck to find out through Ares and he definitely hoped the other wasn't the type to go around spreading rumors. Jonathan doubted it but it was always better to be cautious. He couldn't risk anything now just so he could stay out of trouble.

Ares didn't turn back anymore after that but Jonathan kept an eye on him instead, just to be sure.

Class ended after the hour was over and Mark gave Jonathan a soft pat on his hand as he walked pass. He tried to keep a calm look on his face as he grabbed his bag and followed behind him but they went in different ways to their next class. He let go of the breath he didn't think he was holding in as he entered his next class.

As if he was being haunted, he turned around to find Ares entering the same class he was.

"Ares. Hey," he said as he walked over to his seat. Ares pursed his lips and looked around before responding with a nod. The shorter boy quickly made his way to his seat further from Jonathan. Jonathan was a tad surprised and confused at his reaction. What happened to the boy who wanted to play ball with them or hang out for lunch? He wondered if Ares had something against talking to people during class hours but that was something for him to find out soon.

Some people were looking at Jonathan oddly ever since he greeted Ares at the door. At first, he didn't think too much about it since he felt like it wasn't really a big deal. But then it wouldn't stop and to make things worse, students that were walking outside started staring in as well. Jonathan could only hope they weren't looking at him but he knew otherwise.

It was only when a certain someone passed by, eyes throwing daggers into his class, was when he remembered.

Shit. Viktor.