19 Nineteen

"Hey, Lucas."

Said boy paused his talk with Sam to turn back to whoever was calling him and immediately froze. He didn't expect to see a smiling Julie looking back at him.

"Uh, hi," He replied, albeit a little nervously. He unconsciously looked to see if Elijah was anywhere around.

"Can I talk to you for a second?"

Lucas turned to Sam, sending him an urgent 'help me' look but the latter simply smirked at him.

"You guys go ahead. I was going to go look for Miles, anyway." He subtly winked at Lucas and walked off, leaving a gaping brunette behind him. ‘So much for fucking friendship, Sam!’

Julie cleared her throat and he turned around to face her again.

"Well? What’s up?" He asked, trying to sound as disinterested and bored as possible.

"I was just wondering why you stopped talking to me after the trip. I had a really good time with you, you know."

Lucas gulped.

"What happened back there was nothing serious and you knew that. I wouldn't be expecting much if I were you."

She sighed, "I’m not, really. But what can I say? I had to try my luck. You know how to show a girl a good time," she inched closer, grazing his arm with her fingertips ever so slightly.

Lucas let out an exasperated breath and stepped back, "What do you want?"

"I like you, Lucas."

"I'm sorry but I'm seeing someone right now."

She chuckled, "How long will this one last? A week?"

"More than a week and two and many for that matter," He said confidently, feeling a little ticked off now.

Her eyebrows perked up in an amused manner, "Oh really? The notorious bad boy Lucas Kim is in an actual, serious relationship?"

"Yup."

"Are you kidding?"

"Not at all."

The girl just stared at him incredulously for a minute and Lucas sighed.

"Look, if that's all you had to tell me, can I go now?"

"What's her name?" Julie asked instead, ignoring his question. Lucas bit his lip.

"That is none of your business," He said firmly and with a final forced smile, he walked away.

When lunch break came along, Lucas was giddy as usual to go see Elijah and sit beside him. But he frowned once he saw everyone except the blonde sitting at their table.

"Where's Elijah?" He asked his friends without even bothering to say "Hi". It wasn't like they cared much anyway.

Alex shrugged, "I don't know. He didn't show up."

"Oh... I'm gonna go look for him, then." Without waiting for a reply, he strode out of the cafeteria. He noticed people giving him looks and he figured word about what he said to Julie that morning must have already gotten around. No surprise there, really. In fact, it's a good thing everyone now knew he was in a serious relationship so they could just stay in their lanes.

Lucas went to the first place where he thought he would find Elijah; the rooftop. He'd known the younger long enough to know that he had a special affinity for that place. And sure enough, he was there, leaning against the railing. Lucas took a moment to appreciate how the wind played gracefully with his soft blonde hair and smiled as he made his way to him, snaking his arms around his waist from behind and resting his chin on his broad shoulder. Elijah jumped slightly in surprise but calmed down when he realized it was just Lucas.

"Hey." The brunette breathed, taking in the fresh scent of Elijah's hair. Whatever shampoo he used, it gave him that distinct Elijah smell and Lucas absolutely loved it.

"Hi." The other replied, still staring ahead at nothing in particular.

"Why didn't you come to the cafeteria?"

Elijah shrugged, "I didn't feel like it."

Lucas stopped and turned the blonde around so he was now facing him, "Is something bothering you?" He asked concernedly.

"I'm fine," Elijah gave him a reassuring smile, "I just felt like getting some fresh air."

"Oh." The brunette sighed. He could see right through him. "You saw me with Julie this morning, didn't you?"

"What?"

"You did." Lucas observed the look on Elijah's face and smirked, "You're jealous, aren't you?"

Elijah scoffed, "Jealous my ass."

"Yes I am jealous of your ass indeed but that is besides the point right now."

Elijah blushed and lightly shoved the other by the chest, attempting to walk away but the other held his hand and pulled him right back against the railing.

"Look, I wanna be completely honest with you. I don't want there to be any secrets between us." Elijah observed Lucas, waiting for him to speak up. Lucas bit his lip as if it was difficult to just get the words out.

"I... Well, on the second day of the trip... I slept with Julie."

Elijah sighed, "Lucas, you don’t have to-"

"Just let me get this off my chest," Lucas sucked in a breath, "I slept with her because... that was the day I started having all these confusing thoughts... about you. I did it to prove myself wrong. It was stupid and immature of me to do that and I'm sorry, Eli. When I think back to it, I realize how big of an idiot I was... I regret denying my feelings for you. I regret sleeping with her just to prove a fucking point to myself... I'm sorry."

Elijah sighed and closed his eyes, before opening them again and locking his dark orbs with Lucas’, "I already know what happened that night and I don't blame you. We weren't even anything back then so it doesn't matter. Just forget about it, okay?"

Lucas shook his head, "I rejected her today. I told her I'm seeing someone. And that I'm serious about them," Lucas’ eyes shone with sincerity as they bore into Elijah's. The latter's heart melted. Lucas could have just left this story as it was, and no one would have ever talked about it. Elijah was certain he was never going to breach the topic since it simply didn't matter anymore. He just couldn't help but feel a little annoyed seeing the two together that morning because it reminded him of that night. And when he thought back to it, he did feel jealous even though he didn't particularly have a right to. Yet, Lucas insisted he would be honest with Elijah and told him everything, and he even apologized for something he did when he was in a puzzled state of mind. And they weren't even dating back then. At that moment, Lucas really grew in his eyes and he couldn’t help but smile.

"It's okay. I'm not mad or anything. Seeing you guys talk today kind of reminded me of the trip and I guess it just kinda ticked me off. But I trust you. You don't have to explain yourself."

Lucas smiled and hugged the blonde tightly, "Thank you." It was true that Elijah was an irritable person. But at the same time, he was very understanding. Beneath the stoic facade he put on he had a big heart, even after everything he had been through in what were supposed to be the best years of his life. Lucas promised himself he wouldn't hurt Elijah and that he would only keep him happy for as long as they were together.

After dance class that day, Elijah invited Lucas over to his house and the latter was quick to agree. It was his first time being invited into Elijah's private space and he was going to fully utilize the chance to look around every nook and cranny to find out more about the blonde. Elijah let the elder do as he pleased as he sat on his bed, reading glasses perched on his nose as he got his homework done. It wasn't like he had anything to hide, really.

Lucas spotted the photo frame on Elijah's bedside table and picked it up to see a picture of two teenage boys, no older than twelve years of age, smiling happily at the camera. He instantly recognized the slightly elder one as Elijah. He looked exactly the same, except a younger version and with brown hair, but still the same beautiful crescent-eyed smile. He couldn't help but notice the glint in his eyes, how he looked so genuinely happy. The younger boy beside had an equally large smile on his face and resembled Eli quite a bit. Lucas could only assume that was Ricky.

"You never really told me. Why'd you bleach your hair? I think that's the only half badass thing you've ever done."

"Well…” Elijah trailed uncomfortably, looking at the frame. “I uh, I did it a year after my little brother passed away. I just wanted to forget, you know? Start a new page."

"O-Oh." Lucas bit his lip, feeling somewhat guilty for having asked. He could only assume Elijah did it as a way to heal his wounds and forgive himself. "I'm sorry for asking."

"It's okay." He sighed, going back to writing in his note book, "I don't mind."

After standing there awkwardly for a few seconds, Lucas went back to rummaging through Elijah's bedroom. He wanted to know even more about him and there was no better place or time to do just that. Looking through the large bookshelf, he saw a large collection of books and musical albums.

"I see you like f(x) a lot," Lucas noted, seeing as Elijah had quite a few of their albums.

"Yeah," Elijah muttered as he scrunched his face up, probably focused on some math problem, "Their music fits my aesthetic."

"I'm learning something new about you every day." Lucas honestly didn't expect the blonde to be into pop music at all. "What genres do you like?"

"Can't you see I'm busy now? Ask me later," Elijah snapped irritably.

Lucas pouted but didn't want to bother Elijah any more so he went back to searching through his collection. A sudden idea popped into his head and he looked back to see that the younger was concentrating in his work. Biting his lip, he casually made his way to Elijah's bedside table and opened one of the drawers.

‘Hmm... let's see, Eli. Are you the boxers type or the briefs type?’

"What are you doing?" A sudden stoic voice stopped him from investigating further and his hand froze in the air. Elijah lifted an unamused eyebrow, "Why are you looking through my underwear drawer?"

"I'm just trying to get to know you better, 'kay?" Lucas huffed.

"And how does that involve my underwear drawer?" Elijah retorted, stretching forward to close it shut, preventing Lucas from snooping any further.

"Look, I'm bored! Why'd you invite me here if you're just gonna study?" Lucas whined, childishly crossing his arms. "Honestly, you don't even give me any attention!"

Elijah sighed exasperatedly, "Just let me finish this off and then we can do something together."

Lucas couldn't help but think of inappropriate things when Elijah said that. After all, they were alone, in his bedroom. Honestly, the thought of doing anything... intimate with the blonde made Lucas a little uncomfortable, so he preferred not to think about it at all. It was still early in their relationship and he was still new to the whole being bisexual thing. He figured he just needed time to get used to the idea. There was no rush, and they were going to take their time. But his mind just couldn't help but wander sometimes.

Lucas nodded, "Okay. But please hurry up."

After a few more minutes of looking around the room, Lucas got bored again and kicked off his shoes, moving to lie down on Elijah's bed. He sighed contently as he felt the mattress sink under him and rolled over to where Elijah was sitting, resting his head on his palms as he watched the boy jot down calculations into his note book. He started to admire Elijah's veiny pale hand and his perfect handwriting. Everything about Elijah was always so neat, his handwriting, his room, his attire, his hair, and even his personality. He was always so organized. Lucas, however, was the exact opposite of that. His room was always a mess of clothes strewn all over and his writing was hardly legible.

After watching Elijah write for some time, his hands began to hurt and he rested his head on one of Elijah's crossed thighs.

"Are you gonna be done any time soon?" Lucas grumbled, the vibrations from his voice against Elijah's thigh sending little shivers up the latter's spine. It was a little hard to concentrate with Lucas’ head on his lap.

"Almost."

"Okay... Can you play with my hair?" Lucas requested with puppy dog eyes. Elijah was ready to shoot him a glare but stopped once he caught that look. ‘How the fuck could I say no to that face?’

"No."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeease."

"Not gonna happen."

"I'll buy you bubble tea."

Elijah rolled his eyes, "I can buy myself bubble tea thank you very much."

"Come on! Please? Think of it as bonding time."

"Shut up, Lucas. I'm trying to concentrate here."

"I'll stop annoying you if you do it."

"Ugh, fine." With an annoyed sigh, Elijah lifted his left hand and began to gently stroke Lucas’ soft brown hair. The latter smiled brightly and closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling of Elijah's hand running through his hair. Elijah went back to work with his right hand, not before appreciating how soft Lucas’ brown locks were. Lucas leaned into the touch, sighing contently. He slowly opened his eyes to see a focused Elijah and yet again started admiring his features. It was his first time seeing him from this angle and he didn't look any less attractive. On top of that the boy had his reading glasses on and Lucas thought he looked even smarter and more sophisticated than he already did like that. And not to mention, hotter. ‘Yup, I could totally get used to those glasses,’ he concluded. Slowly, he brought his own hand up to lightly touch Elijah's cheek, making the younger stop to glare at him.

"Just ignore me." Lucas whispered.

"I thought you said you wouldn't annoy me anymore."

"Is this annoying?" Lucas gently fixed a loose strand of blonde hair back in place. The affectionate gesture, along with the way Lucas was looking up at him made Elijah gulp visibly.

"I-It's distracting."

The brunette smiled softly and withdrew his hand, "Sorry. I'll stop then."

Elijah started stroking his hair again and it was so relaxing that within a few minutes, Lucas found himself dozing off on the younger's lap. But just as he was about to fall asleep, "I'm done." Elijah closed his books, took off his glasses and was about to get up but Lucas stopped him.

"Don't go," He whined, "I’m comfy like this."

Elijah scoffed, "Yeah, for you. I'm the one who’s having his circulation cut off."

"Love is pain, baby," Lucas cooed with a smirk, making Elijah roll his eyes and lean back against the headboard. Surprisingly enough, he absentmindedly continued to play with Lucas’ hair, staring ahead. This had to be Lucas’ new favorite thing.

...

"Be my boyfriend," Lucas said abruptly without much thought, making the other sit up straight in surprise and stare down at Lucas incredulously.

"What?"

"I want to make us official. Be my boyfriend." He stated firmly, eyes locked straight on Elijah's.

"Where is this coming from?"

"I don't know, but I'm very sure this is what I want right now. I know it's been like two weeks and we only went on one actual date but… If you haven't noticed already, I'm kinda crazy about you."

Elijah blushed and looked away from Lucas’ intense gaze, clearing his throat.

"How are you so fucking honest all the time? And you're saying it so casually too."

"Because I have no reason to hide anything. I say what's in my heart. You said you trust me. Do you trust me enough to be my boyfriend?"

"I don't know." Elijah shrugged, "I guess."

"Do you like me?"

"Are you really asking me that right now?"

"Time waits for no one so let's not beat around the bush and just cut to the chase. Do you like me, Elijah Quinn?"

Elijah wasn't sure how to answer that. He knew he liked Lucas but he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud just yet.

"I... Maybe?" It came off more like a question. The brunette seemed satisfied with that though as a huge grin began to spread on his lips.

"That's a yes, then! We're official." Lucas said happily, beaming like he just won the lottery. Elijah lifted an eyebrow. He didn't even know what to think of this whole situation but Lucas looked happy so he guessed he could just go along with it.

"Whatever," He muttered, but Lucas didn't fail to notice the small smile on his face.

His boyfriend's face.

Just the thought of it made him all giddy inside. Boyfriend. It sounded so odd and alien to him yet so good at the same time.

Lucas knew he didn't ask Elijah in the most proper or romantic way but it just kind of came out in the spur of the moment. Now that he thought about it, he realized he wouldn't have had it any other way.