December Boys (BxB) | ✓

Chapter 16 - To be Alone With You

We were running. 

All I could process was that we were running fast, haphazardly, and in directionless patterns. I saw the black shape of Axel's head bobbing up and down in front of me, trained my eyes on the sight to keep from losing him. His arms were a blur, propelling his body forward and away. Away from the myriad of angry feet that were chasing us. I'd grabbed hold of Axel's sleeve at some point, and I was holding on to it for dear life as we sprinted through a staff door, fleeing into the resort building. Axel's jacket felt solid between my fingers, and I chased his image blindly.

"In here," he snarled, and I had no choice but to follow. We'd sprinted down a long hallway before ducking into a room on our left. The carpeted floor was the only reason I hadn't slipped and face-planted already. Our maneuver happened so fast I didn't have time to study the room properly.

Axel whirled over the floor, through another wooden door, and then turned around, grabbing the front of my jacket. Things were moving so fast, and I felt so slow in comparison. A dull ache had taken over the better part of my face, and looking at Axel was painful.

In a manner of seconds, I found myself dragged into a tight, box-like space. Axel slammed the door shut before us and wrung the knobs so hard they squeaked in protest. Everything went black, just like that.

The sound of our ragged breathing was quickly drowned out by the arrival of the football team. A loud slam resounded through the room, and then their voices rose to an absurd volume. It was hard to make out individual phrases, but one thing was certain: they had lost us, and they were pissed.

"They went in here, right?" a voice piped up from the cacophony of swears.

"Of course they did, moron. We all saw it."

"They can't have gone far," the team captain said. There was a tremor in his voice, and he seemed to be pacing around the room, inspecting every space. At one point he made for the closet we were in - yep, we were in a god damned closet - but he gave up when the door resisted him. He probably deemed it impossible for two grown boys to fit into a space that tight, anyway.

I was beginning to conclude the same thing. As I listened to the clamor of the angry players, heart drumming frantically in my chest, I started to notice how tiny the closet really was. I was sandwiched between Axel and the back wall, struggling to breathe and growing hotter by the minute. Axel was towering over me, grazing the ceiling with his head, but I couldn't see his face. The lighting was dim, so all I could make out was the bit of Axel's neck that stuck out of his shirt, and the sliver of light that got through the crack in the door. My nose was smashed against Axel's collarbone. Oh, god.

"Axel..." I began, but was stilled by a sweaty hand clamping down over my mouth. "Shhh!" he hissed, almost directly into my ear. "Be quiet."

I waited for him to drop his hand, but he didn't. Axel's palm stayed over my lips, warm and steady, keeping me from causing a ruckus. My brain was spinning, my nose hurt like shit, and I could hear the football team arguing outside. My winter jacket had decided to gently sweat me out of my senses. Was this the end?

While my own breath had calmed down, Axel's did not. He sounded like he was still running at a breakneck speed through endless hallways, and not standing still inside a closet. His breaths came in shallow huffs next to me, and his body was impossibly warm against mine.

"Let's look somewhere else." The captain's voice finally cut through his teammates' bickering. "They're nearby. I can feel it. Nick, Leo, you guys stay here in case they pop back up. Everyone else, follow me." Sounds of agreement came from all around, and then the footsteps receded, followed by the slamming of a door. I dared move a bit - just to remove my face from Axel's shoulder - but that's when Leo spoke up.