Fic: Before There’s a Chance to Begin (1/5)
That sense of unease was gone, for one. The anxious feeling that was brought on when the host of the party kept glancing at the clock, checking to see if it was time to shoo everyone home before the parents returned. While the party guests were given the chore of not breaking too many expensive looking items.
Another big difference in college was the booze or, rather, the amount of booze. It was everywhere, unlike in high school where it was the crappy stuff from parents’ cabinets unless, of course, someone had snagged a fake ID.
The number of PDAs was normal, although maybe a little less awkward looking than in high school. And it seemed as if everyone was hitting on someone in the small dorm room that night.
Chris took a sip of his beer and watched a couple making out in the corner. They were just visible in the dim light, their bodies turned away from the rest of the party. He was impressed that they could shut out everything else in the room and Chris turned his head away in order to resist the childish urge to tell them to get a room.
There were some students trying to strike conversation, shouting over the music. It was the usual small talk: “What’s your major?”, “Where are you from?”, “What Rez are you in?”, all the usual ice breakers. Most people had decided to forego talking and were choosing instead to grind in the middle of the room, against the wall, or in the hallway where the party had overflowed. John Cho, Chris’s roommate, was chatting up a pretty looking girl in the doorway and Chris shook his head as she laughed loudly.
Turning the other way, Chris spied a tall guy through the haze of bodies leaning against the wall. Chris had almost missed him as he was pressed into the darkest corner of the room and, although Chris had to admit he wasn't bad-looking, he looked a little boring. Or at least he did not look overly enthusiastic about being there. It was almost as if he was a ghost, observing the party as it went on without him. He was drinking from a bottle of beer, which looked imported Chris noted, and wearing a striped blue scarf with a grey t-shirt. Snob, Chris labelled quickly with a slight curl to his lip. He was about to look back to the couple making out only to then realize the guy was watching him.
The man raised an eyebrow and Chris hesitated before moving to stand next to him, feeling a little sheepish.
“Hey,” he nodded. “I’m Chris.”
“Zach,” he replied. It wasn’t an overly sophisticated name like Chris had expected. And now that he got a good look at him, this guy-Zach-really did look otherworldly. He was tall, well-muscled, with hair everywhere and a great chin. It was weird to think but it was true. It was a nice chin. “First college party?”
“Y-yeah...” Chris ducked his head. “And you? Are you a first year?”
Zach took a drink and slowly swallowed it. Not in an obnoxious swirl-it-around way but more as if he actually tasted it instead of chugging it like most of the people there. “I’m ‘the roommate’.”
“Oh,” Chris immediately understood, relaxing against the wall. “Not your idea of a fun Saturday night?”
“Not my usual scene, nope,” Zach said with a huff and turned to look at Chris. His eyes were hidden behind thick rimmed glasses but Chris was stunned by how dark they were. Zach looked him up and down before he gave a tiny grin, “Obviously it’s your scene though.”
Chris gave a confused expression before looking down at his shirt where Zach’s eyes were trained. The name of the college was written in huge type across his chest along with ‘I’M TOO SEXY FOR THIS SHIRT’ written under that. It was the shirt everyone got for free from the university in the welcome bag. “Oh, no I don’t usually wear this kind of thing,” he tried to defend his attire, hands moving frantically as if that would illustrate his point better. “Can’t you let a guy fit in?”
“You look like a poseur,” Zach laughed finding the whole situation funny.
“Fuck you, man!” Chris found himself smiling instead of being offended.
“Relax,” Zach continued to look contented at Chris. The guy had an infectious laugh. Like it broke away this shield Zach had on and it was like he became childlike, all full of glee. Chris couldn’t help but grin a little wider, his eyes crinkling a little. But just a little. “What’s your major?”
“English. You?”
“Drama,” Zach appraised Chris, chin raised a tad. “Are you taking English as an easy degree or are you actually interested in literature?”
“I can quote things other than Shakespeare if that’s what you mean.”
This seemed to please Zach and he patted his pockets. “I’m gonna have a smoke. Want to join me?”
Chris couldn’t help but beam. “Yeah, okay.”
***
The journey out of the dorm had been difficult to say the least. They had just barely made it through the mass of bodies in the hallway, pushing off girls who kept grabbing at their asses and narrowly avoiding a pile of puke on the floor. A burly first year had almost knocked Chris down the stairs but Zach had reached for his hand in the nick of time, saving him from a fall that would have surely caused a sprained ankle.
They held on tight to each other until they made it outside.
The cool night air welcomed them to safety and only then did Chris realize how suffocating the atmosphere inside had been. He took out his pack of cigarettes and shared the light Zach offered. They perched themselves up against the wall of the residence and Chris relaxed as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs. Zach took a long drag from his own cigarette, obviously needing a break from the party badly. He had a nice mouth, Chris observed and he watched the way Zach’s tongue licked at the smoke before circling back in. It was oddly hypnotizing to watch.
“So a drama major,” Chris filled the silence as he knocked a few embers out of his cigarette and looked away from Zach’s mouth. “That’s cool.”
“Thanks,” Zach gave a tiny smile. “English sounds interesting.”
“Yeah, I hope it’ll be good...,” Chris mumbled as he sank into the calm atmosphere. The quiet was soothing and his eyelids drooped a little as he watched Zach chew at the filter on his smoke, both of them leaned against the warm brick of the building.
There seemed to be a party going on all over campus, each building vibrating with loud music while outside students roamed the new environment. Chris could spy a guy peeing on one of the school’s oldest buildings and he nudged Zach to look. Zach laughed and shook his head as the guy ran away. Right then, despite all of the craziness that was happening, Chris felt a sense of peace that he hadn’t felt all day. Hell, he hadn’t felt like this all summer. The slight drowsiness from drinking clouded his mind and the smoke from his cigarette hazed his vision and the presence of a new friend made him feel safe.
“Thanks,” Chris murmured after a moment. He turned to look at Zach who had a confused expression on his face and even Chris was unsure what he was actually thanking him for.
“You’re welcome...?” Zach said, cigarette bobbing in his mouth.
The embers glowed and shone in front of Zach’s face, making his glasses shine. Chris watched the way his own cigarette tip seemed to float in the dark. He tilted his head back and peered up at the sky. The stars were barely visible and only a few peeked through the clouds. Chris exhaled and shivered, suddenly feeling the cold through his free t-shirt. Zach moved closer, his shoulder bumping against Chris’s. Chris stopped looking at the non-existent stars and laid his eyes on Zach.
It was like he was brought back down to reality. Not that he felt the weight of the world all of a sudden. But more like this guy made him feel anchored. The giant sky above him and the madness happening around them all seemed to fade and he was brought back just by looking into those brown eyes. Chris chuckled again.
God, how drunk am I?
***
“Dude, it’s almost 1AM and I have a class in eight hours,” John complained from under the pillow where his head was taking sanctuary. “Can you please turn off the light?”
“Give me ten minutes,” Chris said as he added the final touches to his essay. Writing about the portrayal of First Nations in early American literature wasn’t exactly the way he’d originally planned to spend his night. In fact he had actually been thinking of going to sleep early but the 2000 word essay-which he could have sworn was due next week and not tomorrow morning-had put a chink in those plans.
“Fuck!” John groaned. “Can you go under your blanket or something? Pretend you’re jacking off discreetly.” He laughed, his sleep deprived brain finding his own quip funny.
Chris typed quickly as he thought up the ending sentence-“leave the reader thinking,” he heard his TA’s voice repeating in his mind-and then did a quick read through for mistakes. It was the crappiest thing he’d ever written but damn good for having finished it in less than twenty four hours. “Done!” He proclaimed loudly.
John chimed in with a mock cheer. “Print it out tomorrow...” He rolled over from under his pillow as Chris closed his lap top and, finally, turned the lamp off.
“Can I use your printer then?”
“Out of ink.”
Chris’s tongue licked at his dry lips anxiously as he dropped himself on to his bed, exhaustion finally taking over. “I’ll just run over to Zach’s before class then.”
“You guys are close,” John yawned. “Was he here all day?”
“Yeah,” Chris yawned back.
Chris and Zach had three classes together, meaning that they spent a lot of time with one another whether they really meant to or not. It had been over a month since school had started and the semester was well underway with midterms just around the corner. The two often spent long hours in the library or in each others’ dorm common rooms, watching bad movies on cable while using the money on their student cards to buy junk food. College didn’t seem quite as intimidating as it had been when Chris had first started but the work load was insane. John always seemed to be working on project after project for his classes too. And when he wasn’t doing that he was hanging out with Karl, a student who lived in the same residence as them.
Zach stayed in a different dorm on the other side of campus. Chris couldn’t help but give a sleepy smile as he thought of how Zach had literally been with him the entire day. He had returned to his residence long after the sun had set after cheering Chris on in his academic journey. Zach had brought Chris food and even skipped a tutorial so Chris wouldn’t have to eat dinner alone. It wasn’t like Zach wasn’t working on his own stuff too. He’d claimed a spot on the foot of Chris’s bed while reading through an Oscar Wilde play.
Now as Chris slipped into a deep slumber he pushed his feet into the spot Zach had left and wondered if he was coming over tomorrow too.
***
There was a chill in the air that turned Chris’s nose pink and chapped his lips. He observed his surroundings with tired eyes as he curled up tighter on the metal bench. It was just before his early morning class and only a few students were milling about the street, leaving not a whole lot to look at. The trees had lost most of their leaves but there were still a few hanging on to the branches although Chris doubted they would make it through the day. The sky was grey and he could spy the sun slowly rising above the engineering building in the East. The students were starting to wear sweaters with their track pants and they walked about campus without any hesitation. No one carried a map with them anymore or forgot their student card in their dorm which made Chris feel an odd sense of pride for his fellow first years.
A particularly nasty wind chose right then to kick up dust and dry leaves into his eyes. He shivered, regretting his last minute decision to ditch his jacket, and itched at his eyes. It was too early though to think about what was practical to wear. It was really a miracle that he’d even remembered socks.
“Wake up, Chris.” He blinked rapidly, his eyes a little watery, and looked up to see Zach towering over him, a slight smile playing at his lips.
“Hey, man,” Chris said, allowing Zach to help him stand up from the bench. Zach’s hair was gelled back and he was wearing his glasses instead of his usual contact lenses. To pull the outfit altogether was a tweed coat that went down to his mid thigh and a pair of black, leather boots. Obviously Zach had found time to dress up for the lecture. Although Chris thought perhaps not as he could see a pair of ratty denim shorts hiding under the coat.
“Long time no see,” Zach smiled and Chris broke into a grin. He now noticed Zach hadn’t shaved and there was a nice bit of scruff going all the way down his neck. It looked soft. “It’s got to have been, what? A whole day since I last saw you?”
“Too long,” Chris played along and Zach wrapped his arm casually around Chris’ shoulder as they moved into the campus coffee shop.
As they stepped inside the cafe Zach lifted his head to sniff at the air. The coffee that was sold at the student run store was shit but it was better than going back to the kitchen at the residence to find a dirty coffee maker complete with dirty mugs. Zach placed his face back down against Chris and snuggled in close. Chris protested Zach’s weight as he leaned further onto him, both arms wrapping around his body. Zach ignored him though and pushed his face against Chris’s cheek and pretended to sleep. Chris didn’t protest the warm breath on his neck and even the beard burn wasn’t too bad.
“Hey,” Chris said pointing to a sign as they stood at the back of the line, jostling Zach a little. The handmade sign was advertising a fundraiser the school was holding. Apparently the Art History program needed money and was hosting a scratch card contest with the big prize being the newest generation of iPhone. “I could use a new cell phone...” Chris swiped his tongue along his dry lips.
“They couldn’t get an iPad?” Zach murmured. “I guess winning a doughnut would be nice.”
Chris’s tummy gurgled in agreement. They made their orders, each of them getting a scratch card from the cashier, before making their way to class. Chris slurped at his drink, burning his tongue in the process but at least it gave him a jolt of energy. He scratched at his card which revealed a sorry, please play again.
“Hmm,” Zach gave a tiny hum as he looked at his own card.
“Did you win a car?” Chris snorted and peeked over Zach’s shoulder to snoop at the card. “Ah no way, man!”
Zach raised a playful eyebrow at Chris. Showing off the You have won a year’s worth of coffee! to Chris.
“Shit,” Chris took a gulp of his drink in disdain. “Now I am actually jealous.”
“Want it?” Zach began to wave it in front of Chris’s face.
Chris laughed at Zach but when he stuck the paper in his pocket Chris couldn’t help but be surprised. “Really?”
“You drink way more coffee than me,” Zach shrugged. “It makes sense.”
“Are you sure?” Chris asked. Zach nodded, a smile crinkling his eyes. “Fuck!” Chris whooped. “Thanks! God, I could fucking kiss you right now!”
Zach gave a chuckle and Chris thought he spied a slight blush staining Zach’s cheeks--it must have been because of the weather. Chris followed Zach inside the lecture hall, a little bounce in his step. There were almost no students due to it being an early class and the ones who had shown up were discreetly dozing in their seats. Zach filed into the middle row and took his spot.
“Have you heard about the play their doing this year?” Zach asked once Chris settled in his chair.
Chris took a long sip of the coffee, tongue seeking out the last few drops on his upper lip. “I’ve seen a few posters for auditions,” he said. “I assume you want to do this play?”
“Of course,” Zach gave a coy smile and batted his eye lashes a bit. “They're doing Twelfth Night, while not my favourite Shakespeare play, I want to do it.”
“Do first years usually get lead parts?”
Zach shook his head. “I like challenges though.” He gave a tiny wink and Chris swallowed his coffee too fast. He had no doubts Zach would fight hard for the lead part and he threw an encouraging smile to Zach as the lecture began, trying to ignore his burnt tongue.
.next part
Another big difference in college was the booze or, rather, the amount of booze. It was everywhere, unlike in high school where it was the crappy stuff from parents’ cabinets unless, of course, someone had snagged a fake ID.
The number of PDAs was normal, although maybe a little less awkward looking than in high school. And it seemed as if everyone was hitting on someone in the small dorm room that night.
Chris took a sip of his beer and watched a couple making out in the corner. They were just visible in the dim light, their bodies turned away from the rest of the party. He was impressed that they could shut out everything else in the room and Chris turned his head away in order to resist the childish urge to tell them to get a room.
There were some students trying to strike conversation, shouting over the music. It was the usual small talk: “What’s your major?”, “Where are you from?”, “What Rez are you in?”, all the usual ice breakers. Most people had decided to forego talking and were choosing instead to grind in the middle of the room, against the wall, or in the hallway where the party had overflowed. John Cho, Chris’s roommate, was chatting up a pretty looking girl in the doorway and Chris shook his head as she laughed loudly.
Turning the other way, Chris spied a tall guy through the haze of bodies leaning against the wall. Chris had almost missed him as he was pressed into the darkest corner of the room and, although Chris had to admit he wasn't bad-looking, he looked a little boring. Or at least he did not look overly enthusiastic about being there. It was almost as if he was a ghost, observing the party as it went on without him. He was drinking from a bottle of beer, which looked imported Chris noted, and wearing a striped blue scarf with a grey t-shirt. Snob, Chris labelled quickly with a slight curl to his lip. He was about to look back to the couple making out only to then realize the guy was watching him.
The man raised an eyebrow and Chris hesitated before moving to stand next to him, feeling a little sheepish.
“Hey,” he nodded. “I’m Chris.”
“Zach,” he replied. It wasn’t an overly sophisticated name like Chris had expected. And now that he got a good look at him, this guy-Zach-really did look otherworldly. He was tall, well-muscled, with hair everywhere and a great chin. It was weird to think but it was true. It was a nice chin. “First college party?”
“Y-yeah...” Chris ducked his head. “And you? Are you a first year?”
Zach took a drink and slowly swallowed it. Not in an obnoxious swirl-it-around way but more as if he actually tasted it instead of chugging it like most of the people there. “I’m ‘the roommate’.”
“Oh,” Chris immediately understood, relaxing against the wall. “Not your idea of a fun Saturday night?”
“Not my usual scene, nope,” Zach said with a huff and turned to look at Chris. His eyes were hidden behind thick rimmed glasses but Chris was stunned by how dark they were. Zach looked him up and down before he gave a tiny grin, “Obviously it’s your scene though.”
Chris gave a confused expression before looking down at his shirt where Zach’s eyes were trained. The name of the college was written in huge type across his chest along with ‘I’M TOO SEXY FOR THIS SHIRT’ written under that. It was the shirt everyone got for free from the university in the welcome bag. “Oh, no I don’t usually wear this kind of thing,” he tried to defend his attire, hands moving frantically as if that would illustrate his point better. “Can’t you let a guy fit in?”
“You look like a poseur,” Zach laughed finding the whole situation funny.
“Fuck you, man!” Chris found himself smiling instead of being offended.
“Relax,” Zach continued to look contented at Chris. The guy had an infectious laugh. Like it broke away this shield Zach had on and it was like he became childlike, all full of glee. Chris couldn’t help but grin a little wider, his eyes crinkling a little. But just a little. “What’s your major?”
“English. You?”
“Drama,” Zach appraised Chris, chin raised a tad. “Are you taking English as an easy degree or are you actually interested in literature?”
“I can quote things other than Shakespeare if that’s what you mean.”
This seemed to please Zach and he patted his pockets. “I’m gonna have a smoke. Want to join me?”
Chris couldn’t help but beam. “Yeah, okay.”
***
The journey out of the dorm had been difficult to say the least. They had just barely made it through the mass of bodies in the hallway, pushing off girls who kept grabbing at their asses and narrowly avoiding a pile of puke on the floor. A burly first year had almost knocked Chris down the stairs but Zach had reached for his hand in the nick of time, saving him from a fall that would have surely caused a sprained ankle.
They held on tight to each other until they made it outside.
The cool night air welcomed them to safety and only then did Chris realize how suffocating the atmosphere inside had been. He took out his pack of cigarettes and shared the light Zach offered. They perched themselves up against the wall of the residence and Chris relaxed as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs. Zach took a long drag from his own cigarette, obviously needing a break from the party badly. He had a nice mouth, Chris observed and he watched the way Zach’s tongue licked at the smoke before circling back in. It was oddly hypnotizing to watch.
“So a drama major,” Chris filled the silence as he knocked a few embers out of his cigarette and looked away from Zach’s mouth. “That’s cool.”
“Thanks,” Zach gave a tiny smile. “English sounds interesting.”
“Yeah, I hope it’ll be good...,” Chris mumbled as he sank into the calm atmosphere. The quiet was soothing and his eyelids drooped a little as he watched Zach chew at the filter on his smoke, both of them leaned against the warm brick of the building.
There seemed to be a party going on all over campus, each building vibrating with loud music while outside students roamed the new environment. Chris could spy a guy peeing on one of the school’s oldest buildings and he nudged Zach to look. Zach laughed and shook his head as the guy ran away. Right then, despite all of the craziness that was happening, Chris felt a sense of peace that he hadn’t felt all day. Hell, he hadn’t felt like this all summer. The slight drowsiness from drinking clouded his mind and the smoke from his cigarette hazed his vision and the presence of a new friend made him feel safe.
“Thanks,” Chris murmured after a moment. He turned to look at Zach who had a confused expression on his face and even Chris was unsure what he was actually thanking him for.
“You’re welcome...?” Zach said, cigarette bobbing in his mouth.
The embers glowed and shone in front of Zach’s face, making his glasses shine. Chris watched the way his own cigarette tip seemed to float in the dark. He tilted his head back and peered up at the sky. The stars were barely visible and only a few peeked through the clouds. Chris exhaled and shivered, suddenly feeling the cold through his free t-shirt. Zach moved closer, his shoulder bumping against Chris’s. Chris stopped looking at the non-existent stars and laid his eyes on Zach.
It was like he was brought back down to reality. Not that he felt the weight of the world all of a sudden. But more like this guy made him feel anchored. The giant sky above him and the madness happening around them all seemed to fade and he was brought back just by looking into those brown eyes. Chris chuckled again.
God, how drunk am I?
***
“Dude, it’s almost 1AM and I have a class in eight hours,” John complained from under the pillow where his head was taking sanctuary. “Can you please turn off the light?”
“Give me ten minutes,” Chris said as he added the final touches to his essay. Writing about the portrayal of First Nations in early American literature wasn’t exactly the way he’d originally planned to spend his night. In fact he had actually been thinking of going to sleep early but the 2000 word essay-which he could have sworn was due next week and not tomorrow morning-had put a chink in those plans.
“Fuck!” John groaned. “Can you go under your blanket or something? Pretend you’re jacking off discreetly.” He laughed, his sleep deprived brain finding his own quip funny.
Chris typed quickly as he thought up the ending sentence-“leave the reader thinking,” he heard his TA’s voice repeating in his mind-and then did a quick read through for mistakes. It was the crappiest thing he’d ever written but damn good for having finished it in less than twenty four hours. “Done!” He proclaimed loudly.
John chimed in with a mock cheer. “Print it out tomorrow...” He rolled over from under his pillow as Chris closed his lap top and, finally, turned the lamp off.
“Can I use your printer then?”
“Out of ink.”
Chris’s tongue licked at his dry lips anxiously as he dropped himself on to his bed, exhaustion finally taking over. “I’ll just run over to Zach’s before class then.”
“You guys are close,” John yawned. “Was he here all day?”
“Yeah,” Chris yawned back.
Chris and Zach had three classes together, meaning that they spent a lot of time with one another whether they really meant to or not. It had been over a month since school had started and the semester was well underway with midterms just around the corner. The two often spent long hours in the library or in each others’ dorm common rooms, watching bad movies on cable while using the money on their student cards to buy junk food. College didn’t seem quite as intimidating as it had been when Chris had first started but the work load was insane. John always seemed to be working on project after project for his classes too. And when he wasn’t doing that he was hanging out with Karl, a student who lived in the same residence as them.
Zach stayed in a different dorm on the other side of campus. Chris couldn’t help but give a sleepy smile as he thought of how Zach had literally been with him the entire day. He had returned to his residence long after the sun had set after cheering Chris on in his academic journey. Zach had brought Chris food and even skipped a tutorial so Chris wouldn’t have to eat dinner alone. It wasn’t like Zach wasn’t working on his own stuff too. He’d claimed a spot on the foot of Chris’s bed while reading through an Oscar Wilde play.
Now as Chris slipped into a deep slumber he pushed his feet into the spot Zach had left and wondered if he was coming over tomorrow too.
***
There was a chill in the air that turned Chris’s nose pink and chapped his lips. He observed his surroundings with tired eyes as he curled up tighter on the metal bench. It was just before his early morning class and only a few students were milling about the street, leaving not a whole lot to look at. The trees had lost most of their leaves but there were still a few hanging on to the branches although Chris doubted they would make it through the day. The sky was grey and he could spy the sun slowly rising above the engineering building in the East. The students were starting to wear sweaters with their track pants and they walked about campus without any hesitation. No one carried a map with them anymore or forgot their student card in their dorm which made Chris feel an odd sense of pride for his fellow first years.
A particularly nasty wind chose right then to kick up dust and dry leaves into his eyes. He shivered, regretting his last minute decision to ditch his jacket, and itched at his eyes. It was too early though to think about what was practical to wear. It was really a miracle that he’d even remembered socks.
“Wake up, Chris.” He blinked rapidly, his eyes a little watery, and looked up to see Zach towering over him, a slight smile playing at his lips.
“Hey, man,” Chris said, allowing Zach to help him stand up from the bench. Zach’s hair was gelled back and he was wearing his glasses instead of his usual contact lenses. To pull the outfit altogether was a tweed coat that went down to his mid thigh and a pair of black, leather boots. Obviously Zach had found time to dress up for the lecture. Although Chris thought perhaps not as he could see a pair of ratty denim shorts hiding under the coat.
“Long time no see,” Zach smiled and Chris broke into a grin. He now noticed Zach hadn’t shaved and there was a nice bit of scruff going all the way down his neck. It looked soft. “It’s got to have been, what? A whole day since I last saw you?”
“Too long,” Chris played along and Zach wrapped his arm casually around Chris’ shoulder as they moved into the campus coffee shop.
As they stepped inside the cafe Zach lifted his head to sniff at the air. The coffee that was sold at the student run store was shit but it was better than going back to the kitchen at the residence to find a dirty coffee maker complete with dirty mugs. Zach placed his face back down against Chris and snuggled in close. Chris protested Zach’s weight as he leaned further onto him, both arms wrapping around his body. Zach ignored him though and pushed his face against Chris’s cheek and pretended to sleep. Chris didn’t protest the warm breath on his neck and even the beard burn wasn’t too bad.
“Hey,” Chris said pointing to a sign as they stood at the back of the line, jostling Zach a little. The handmade sign was advertising a fundraiser the school was holding. Apparently the Art History program needed money and was hosting a scratch card contest with the big prize being the newest generation of iPhone. “I could use a new cell phone...” Chris swiped his tongue along his dry lips.
“They couldn’t get an iPad?” Zach murmured. “I guess winning a doughnut would be nice.”
Chris’s tummy gurgled in agreement. They made their orders, each of them getting a scratch card from the cashier, before making their way to class. Chris slurped at his drink, burning his tongue in the process but at least it gave him a jolt of energy. He scratched at his card which revealed a sorry, please play again.
“Hmm,” Zach gave a tiny hum as he looked at his own card.
“Did you win a car?” Chris snorted and peeked over Zach’s shoulder to snoop at the card. “Ah no way, man!”
Zach raised a playful eyebrow at Chris. Showing off the You have won a year’s worth of coffee! to Chris.
“Shit,” Chris took a gulp of his drink in disdain. “Now I am actually jealous.”
“Want it?” Zach began to wave it in front of Chris’s face.
Chris laughed at Zach but when he stuck the paper in his pocket Chris couldn’t help but be surprised. “Really?”
“You drink way more coffee than me,” Zach shrugged. “It makes sense.”
“Are you sure?” Chris asked. Zach nodded, a smile crinkling his eyes. “Fuck!” Chris whooped. “Thanks! God, I could fucking kiss you right now!”
Zach gave a chuckle and Chris thought he spied a slight blush staining Zach’s cheeks--it must have been because of the weather. Chris followed Zach inside the lecture hall, a little bounce in his step. There were almost no students due to it being an early class and the ones who had shown up were discreetly dozing in their seats. Zach filed into the middle row and took his spot.
“Have you heard about the play their doing this year?” Zach asked once Chris settled in his chair.
Chris took a long sip of the coffee, tongue seeking out the last few drops on his upper lip. “I’ve seen a few posters for auditions,” he said. “I assume you want to do this play?”
“Of course,” Zach gave a coy smile and batted his eye lashes a bit. “They're doing Twelfth Night, while not my favourite Shakespeare play, I want to do it.”
“Do first years usually get lead parts?”
Zach shook his head. “I like challenges though.” He gave a tiny wink and Chris swallowed his coffee too fast. He had no doubts Zach would fight hard for the lead part and he threw an encouraging smile to Zach as the lecture began, trying to ignore his burnt tongue.
.next part