Strangely Comforting (boyxboy)

Chapter 16

The next morning, I woke up exhausted, for it felt as if I was up the entire night. And I only had one person to blame for it. Xander Peyton.

I couldn't believe that our situations were alike in many ways and the two of us had experienced the same pain. It just didn't make sense to me. How could I be like Xander? But the thing that mystified me the most was that he was so damn easy to talk to and my mouth just kept running when I was on the phone with him. And I didn't mind.

But of course, I couldn't let him know. Although I had told him something of that sort last night, there would be no way in hell I'd ever repeat it or act as if it were true. I'd pretend I never said anything and surely, never felt anything.

Anyways, the walk was short to mathematics and when I arrived, I unpacked my bag and rested my head on the desk as I always did before class started. A few minutes later, I heard the chair next to me slide back as someone slipped in. I didn't bother to pick my head up, I was spent.

"Didn't sleep last night?"

I recognized the familiar deep voice and my face felt hot for no reason. And so, I didn't dare to lift it up.

"No."

A deep laugh rumbled next to me. "I wonder why."

He knew full well why I didn't sleep last night.

"You piss me off," I said, my head still down, causing my voice to be muffled.

"Huh? That's not what it sounded like last night," Xander replied and I was sure he was grinning.

This time I lifted my head and stared into Xander's eyes, willing myself not to look away. But I instantly became lost in his unique light green eyes and found it hard to speak.

"L-last night," I stuttered and cleared my throat. "I was tired last night. I didn't know what I was saying."

"Keep telling yourself that," Xander said and sighed, leaning back in his chair. "I knew you'd come up with an excuse."

"It's not an excuse," I muttered. "Get over yourself."

"You're-"

"Good morning everyone," Professor Bennington said as he walked in. "Let's get started right away so we are on pace for Friday."

I groaned and looked down. The damned exam on Friday.

"We still on after class?" Xander leaned over and whispered.

"No shit," I whispered back. "I need to pass."

Xander lifted a corner of us mouth as he sat back in his chair. Professor Bennington droned on for the duration of the class, and I instantly zoned him out. I was going to do great on Friday. Not.

When Professor Bennington was finished with his lecture, I slowly rose from my chair, still feeling worn out. Xander lifted his bag and hitched it over his shoulder as he stepped out from behind his desk. I trudged my feet as I followed him out of the classroom, my head hanging down.

"Jeez," Xander said as he moved closer to me and intentionally bumped into my shoulder. "You really didn't get any sleep."

I brought my hands to my face in annoyance before replying. "You wouldn't stop talking last night."

"Me?" he asked. "You're the one who wouldn't let me get off of the phone."

My body immediately felt hot in embarrassment. "It's your fault you're so fucking easy to talk to."

Crap.

Xander stopped walking, causing me to turn around and glance at him. Sure enough, he had a wide grin on his face that revealed his perfectly white teeth and I couldn't stop my eyes from taking in his appearance. His earring sparkled in the light and his dark hair was strewn across his forehead, his light green eyes shining. It made me realize that he actually was good looking. But I'd never tell him.

"What're you doing?" I asked, frowning at him.

"Call me tonight."

My eyes widened and I regretted spilling to him that it was easy to talk to him. "You're insane. I'm not going to call you."

"We'll see about that," he replied and continued walking. My arms shot out and shoved Xander's side as he stumbled to regain his balance. His eyes shot back at me and I shrugged, saying, "You're annoying."

"Good luck on Friday," he replied and quickened his pace, walking away from me. Shit.

I sped up and impulsively grabbed his hand, pulling him close to me. His eyes darted down to our hands and then slowly made their way back up to meet my eyes. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"Where are you going?" I asked, staring into his eyes which were inches from my own.

He didn't respond. Instead, he squeezed my hand, causing warmth to course up my body. He leaned closer and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"W-what?" I asked.

His eyes darted to my lips and my breath caught in my throat.

"I'm going to the library," he said, still staring at my lips.

What.

I instantly released his hand and found the strength to take a step back.

"You're not leaving?" I asked.

He lifted his eyes and looked into mine.

"You want to pass on Friday, don't you?"

---

The two of us made it to the library a few minutes later and I took a seat from across from Xander. He pulled out his textbook and notebook as I did the same. I shuffled through my assignments, finding the topics that would be on Friday's exam.

"Let's start here," Xander said and pointed to a problem written in his book. I looked at the problem displayed on the page and swore it was like looking at a foreign language. I really needed to pay more attention in class.

"Write it down," Xander said.

"Oh," I said and scratched it down in my notebook.

"Do it," he said.

I lifted my eyes, feeling a little ashamed of myself.

"I don't know how."

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