Categories > Original > Romance > MindStalker
Nobody said highschool was easy, and Reona knows it best. He's gay, he's in love, and guess what? He reads minds, but the only person his powers won't work on is Ashton, the way-out-of-his-league c...
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Chapter five – Idle talk
“Are you and this Elliot guy, uh, you know… are you, like, uh, together?”
Reona stared at him for a moment, swallowing dry at the sudden rush of questions popping into his mind. Was it some kind of trick question? Maybe Elliot was right after all, and the jocks were simply so bored out of their minds that even Ashton wanted to make him his personal laughing stock – but why was he approaching him now that they were all alone, when he could have exposed his homosexuality in front of everyone?
“Uh, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,”
Like that wouldn’t be an answer itself. “No, we aren’t like that,”
The jock nodded softly, acknowledging the fact. Reona just stared at him, studying his face – was it him or Ashton looked somewhat relieved? Was he making sure for the sake of his straight jock reputation? Afraid to be mistaken for the likes of Reona?
“What if we were?”
He looked at him for a long moment, as if weighting his reply. “I wouldn’t be surprised. You guys seem really, uh, close,”
Reona fell silent, not knowing what to make of that answer. He just felt so lost without his mind-reading powers, having to grasp at every hint on the jock’s words, looking out for double-meanings. If only I could catch a glimpse of his thoughts. He faced away, heaving a miserable sigh.
“Reona,”
He couldn’t help but shiver when that purring voice flared down his spine, making his insides melt. For his heart’s sake, the jock better either stop calling out his name altogether or start doing it all the time. Preferably that last option.
“I’m sorry about today,”
“Uh, it’s okay, it wasn’t that much of a long wait,”
“That too,” Ashton started, seeming uncomfortable with being the one apologizing for a change, “but I meant the whole, uh, group outing thing. I should’ve guessed you’d feel out of place. I mean, you looked like you had a gun pointed at you the whole time. I don’t blame you though – those jackasses act like freaking retards when they drink,”
Reona just stared at him, speechless and blushing up to his ears. Ashton was… watching me?
“I mean, I was supposed to be thanking you for the other day and all,”
“It’s, uh, okay,”
“It’s not. I’ll make it up to you,” the jock countered, flashing him a smile that made him forget how to breathe. “So, where do we head from here?”
He was so busy gathering himself he didn’t even notice that they’d almost reached the school grounds. “Uh, just go down that lane and turn right, and then, uh, make a left turn on the end of the street. Elliot’s place is just past the traffic light,”
“What about you? Where do you live?”
Reona blinked, stupefied. Idle talk definitely wasn’t Ashton’s style, but he just couldn’t let himself believe that the jock was somehow interested in him – could he? “In the opposite direction. I, uh, live in the outskirts.”
“Near the park?”
“Yeah,” How does he know?
“Me too,”
… Huh? Although he’d never been to any himself, Reona was positive that all of Ashton’s parties took place somewhere in the centre of town – it was the main gossip theme in the following couple of days – so it’d never crossed his mind that the jock would live somewhere else, much less that they were practically neighbors. His heart thumped a little harder against his chest at the idea. “I thought you lived in the centre,”
“Yeah, most people think so,”
He sighed as they parked right in front of Elliot’s house. Reona loved hanging out at his place, where everything smelled of homemade cookies and sundried sheets like a piece of heaven, making it impossibly not to feel welcomed – but right now, under the spell that was Ashton’s intoxicating presence, he’d give it all up for five more awkward minutes next to the jock.
“Uh, thanks for the ride,” He unbuckled his seatbelt and clumsily got off the car, missing the brim of the sidewalk. Suddenly Ashton was helping him up, pulling him onto his feet as if he were weightless. “Uh, thank you,”
“No problem. I better see you to the door, just in case,”
Reona flushed beet red, damning himself for his clumsiness. Not that he could help it – everything about Ashton seemed to get him on the edge, tickling deep inside his stomach in the most unsettling way. “Uh, no, it’s okay,”
“You know, to show him I’ve brought you safe and sound,”
“I told you, me and Elliot aren’t like that—,”
As if on cue, Elliot appeared on the doorway, startling him with the metallic clink when he opened the door. He leaned onto the wooden frame, arms folded on his chest as he gave the hockey team’s captain a hard look from head to toe. “Hey,”
Reona threw his friend a desperate look, begging him drop the act before Ashton got the wrong idea, but Elliot ignored him. Thankfully the jock seemed unaffected by the sudden mood change, and just nodded his acknowledgement with a flawlessly blank expression on his face.
“Who is it, honey?” A soft voice came from within the house, breaking through the awkward silence.
“Reo’s here,”
Elliot’s mother joined Elliot on the doorway, welcoming them with a caring smile. “Reona, dear,” She went straight to him for a quick hug and a kiss before turning to the jock. “And who might this handsome young man be?”
“That’s Ashton, Mrs. Cleaver, Candy’s boyfriend,” Mae interposed, having come around to check up on Elliot. “Hey, Ash,” She waved at him and promptly braced her elbow on Elliot’s elbow, immediately getting shrugged off.
“Oh my, men didn’t come this good-looking back in my days. Pleased to meet you, dear,” Elliot’s mother greeted, blushing slightly when he smiled at her in return, instantly winning her over. “Should we go in?”
“He was just about to leave,” Elliot countered, pointing at the jock with his chin. “He’s just dropping Reo off,”
“What happened to your manners? At least have him come in for a drink,”
“Thank you, Mrs. Cleaver, but I really should get going,” Ashton declined, jingling his car keys.
And this is it, Reona thought. After that afternoon, Ashton would still be a jock and he would still be an outcast, both living in parallel worlds that just didn’t overlap. His little delusion had been cut short beyond cruelty.
“Hey, Ash, are you still having that party next week?” Mae asked.
“Uh, sure. You coming?”
“Hell yeah,” she beamed, “wouldn’t miss it for anything,”
Ashton suddenly looked as if he was struck by some brilliant idea, and grabbed hold of Reona’s shoulder. “You wanna come, too? I said I’d make it up to you,”
He shivered so hard at the casual touch he almost moaned. Reona couldn’t believe his ears – he’d never been invited to anything, and now the party host was asking him himself. Not that he cared much for parties, and judging by the gossiping minds he’d read on the days after, there wasn’t much he was missing, but he just couldn’t let the opportunity slip away.
“Okay,”
“You too, feel free to drop by,” Ashton invited in a dry tone, making Elliot grit his teeth and swallow a witty answer on regard of his mother. “Nice meeting you, Mrs. Cleaver,” He excused himself with a nod, flashing one of his trademark killer smiles. “See you guys next week,”
Reona stared after him as he left, his mind too much of a mess for any sort of coherent thinking and distracted by the soft spot that Mrs. Cleaver seemed to have developed for Ashton. “Hey, Mae,” he started, “what kind of party is it anyway?”
“You don’t know? It’s Ashton’s birthday,”
“Are you and this Elliot guy, uh, you know… are you, like, uh, together?”
Reona stared at him for a moment, swallowing dry at the sudden rush of questions popping into his mind. Was it some kind of trick question? Maybe Elliot was right after all, and the jocks were simply so bored out of their minds that even Ashton wanted to make him his personal laughing stock – but why was he approaching him now that they were all alone, when he could have exposed his homosexuality in front of everyone?
“Uh, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,”
Like that wouldn’t be an answer itself. “No, we aren’t like that,”
The jock nodded softly, acknowledging the fact. Reona just stared at him, studying his face – was it him or Ashton looked somewhat relieved? Was he making sure for the sake of his straight jock reputation? Afraid to be mistaken for the likes of Reona?
“What if we were?”
He looked at him for a long moment, as if weighting his reply. “I wouldn’t be surprised. You guys seem really, uh, close,”
Reona fell silent, not knowing what to make of that answer. He just felt so lost without his mind-reading powers, having to grasp at every hint on the jock’s words, looking out for double-meanings. If only I could catch a glimpse of his thoughts. He faced away, heaving a miserable sigh.
“Reona,”
He couldn’t help but shiver when that purring voice flared down his spine, making his insides melt. For his heart’s sake, the jock better either stop calling out his name altogether or start doing it all the time. Preferably that last option.
“I’m sorry about today,”
“Uh, it’s okay, it wasn’t that much of a long wait,”
“That too,” Ashton started, seeming uncomfortable with being the one apologizing for a change, “but I meant the whole, uh, group outing thing. I should’ve guessed you’d feel out of place. I mean, you looked like you had a gun pointed at you the whole time. I don’t blame you though – those jackasses act like freaking retards when they drink,”
Reona just stared at him, speechless and blushing up to his ears. Ashton was… watching me?
“I mean, I was supposed to be thanking you for the other day and all,”
“It’s, uh, okay,”
“It’s not. I’ll make it up to you,” the jock countered, flashing him a smile that made him forget how to breathe. “So, where do we head from here?”
He was so busy gathering himself he didn’t even notice that they’d almost reached the school grounds. “Uh, just go down that lane and turn right, and then, uh, make a left turn on the end of the street. Elliot’s place is just past the traffic light,”
“What about you? Where do you live?”
Reona blinked, stupefied. Idle talk definitely wasn’t Ashton’s style, but he just couldn’t let himself believe that the jock was somehow interested in him – could he? “In the opposite direction. I, uh, live in the outskirts.”
“Near the park?”
“Yeah,” How does he know?
“Me too,”
… Huh? Although he’d never been to any himself, Reona was positive that all of Ashton’s parties took place somewhere in the centre of town – it was the main gossip theme in the following couple of days – so it’d never crossed his mind that the jock would live somewhere else, much less that they were practically neighbors. His heart thumped a little harder against his chest at the idea. “I thought you lived in the centre,”
“Yeah, most people think so,”
He sighed as they parked right in front of Elliot’s house. Reona loved hanging out at his place, where everything smelled of homemade cookies and sundried sheets like a piece of heaven, making it impossibly not to feel welcomed – but right now, under the spell that was Ashton’s intoxicating presence, he’d give it all up for five more awkward minutes next to the jock.
“Uh, thanks for the ride,” He unbuckled his seatbelt and clumsily got off the car, missing the brim of the sidewalk. Suddenly Ashton was helping him up, pulling him onto his feet as if he were weightless. “Uh, thank you,”
“No problem. I better see you to the door, just in case,”
Reona flushed beet red, damning himself for his clumsiness. Not that he could help it – everything about Ashton seemed to get him on the edge, tickling deep inside his stomach in the most unsettling way. “Uh, no, it’s okay,”
“You know, to show him I’ve brought you safe and sound,”
“I told you, me and Elliot aren’t like that—,”
As if on cue, Elliot appeared on the doorway, startling him with the metallic clink when he opened the door. He leaned onto the wooden frame, arms folded on his chest as he gave the hockey team’s captain a hard look from head to toe. “Hey,”
Reona threw his friend a desperate look, begging him drop the act before Ashton got the wrong idea, but Elliot ignored him. Thankfully the jock seemed unaffected by the sudden mood change, and just nodded his acknowledgement with a flawlessly blank expression on his face.
“Who is it, honey?” A soft voice came from within the house, breaking through the awkward silence.
“Reo’s here,”
Elliot’s mother joined Elliot on the doorway, welcoming them with a caring smile. “Reona, dear,” She went straight to him for a quick hug and a kiss before turning to the jock. “And who might this handsome young man be?”
“That’s Ashton, Mrs. Cleaver, Candy’s boyfriend,” Mae interposed, having come around to check up on Elliot. “Hey, Ash,” She waved at him and promptly braced her elbow on Elliot’s elbow, immediately getting shrugged off.
“Oh my, men didn’t come this good-looking back in my days. Pleased to meet you, dear,” Elliot’s mother greeted, blushing slightly when he smiled at her in return, instantly winning her over. “Should we go in?”
“He was just about to leave,” Elliot countered, pointing at the jock with his chin. “He’s just dropping Reo off,”
“What happened to your manners? At least have him come in for a drink,”
“Thank you, Mrs. Cleaver, but I really should get going,” Ashton declined, jingling his car keys.
And this is it, Reona thought. After that afternoon, Ashton would still be a jock and he would still be an outcast, both living in parallel worlds that just didn’t overlap. His little delusion had been cut short beyond cruelty.
“Hey, Ash, are you still having that party next week?” Mae asked.
“Uh, sure. You coming?”
“Hell yeah,” she beamed, “wouldn’t miss it for anything,”
Ashton suddenly looked as if he was struck by some brilliant idea, and grabbed hold of Reona’s shoulder. “You wanna come, too? I said I’d make it up to you,”
He shivered so hard at the casual touch he almost moaned. Reona couldn’t believe his ears – he’d never been invited to anything, and now the party host was asking him himself. Not that he cared much for parties, and judging by the gossiping minds he’d read on the days after, there wasn’t much he was missing, but he just couldn’t let the opportunity slip away.
“Okay,”
“You too, feel free to drop by,” Ashton invited in a dry tone, making Elliot grit his teeth and swallow a witty answer on regard of his mother. “Nice meeting you, Mrs. Cleaver,” He excused himself with a nod, flashing one of his trademark killer smiles. “See you guys next week,”
Reona stared after him as he left, his mind too much of a mess for any sort of coherent thinking and distracted by the soft spot that Mrs. Cleaver seemed to have developed for Ashton. “Hey, Mae,” he started, “what kind of party is it anyway?”
“You don’t know? It’s Ashton’s birthday,”
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