Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Denial ❯ yellow shoes ( Chapter 14 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimers: Gundam Wing and the g-boys aren’t mine. I gain no profit from this fic, but the story is mine and unfortunately so is Quin. ‘nuf said.

Warnings: POV shifts, shonen ai, angst, see first chap for full spiel.

Pairings: burgeoning 1x2, 3x4, 5xS, Solox?. . .

AN: Unbeta'ed full version. ^_^

---xXxXxXx--- means transition or scene change

Denial

by priscel

Twelve- yellow shoes


“Good Maxwell, your time’s improved since last week.”

“Thanks Coach!” Duo chirped with a wide smile. The pale haired Coach nodded, clearing his throat, he turned his attention to the rest of the track team. Coach or Zechs was what he preferred to be called. No one on the field called him Millardo. No one called him that in school really . . . well except for Relena and a few of the faculty. Duo remembered feeling slightly intimidated by the tall Prince, not because he was a real live freaking prince or the even more questionable fact that he was a track coach . . . a literature teacher, fence instructor and couch all rolled into one. It was hard to wrap one’s mind around how a prince- noble by birth with enough power, money and overall physical beauty people literally killed for- preferred to be a high school teacher. Duo and Nanaki both had him for Art of Prose and Duo saw that those poached pieces of paper in his office (which he was becoming really familiar with because he was always late for that 9 a.m. class) were indeed as hard earned as the notarized seals proclaimed him of mastering.

On the first day, he was even more surprised at the end of practice when Zechs and Heero challenge each other. He remembered watching in awe at the fun their Coach and Heero were having as they raced the other, each bearing a thrilled, fierce expression on their face. He still wondered why Heero never participated in the meets, he was sure that Heero would have easily followed in Zechs’ footsteps and became Darlian’s next track star. But Heero didn’t want to do so.

Duo glanced back at Heero who sat against the bench, diligently writing something on the clipboard braced against his knees and tattered yellow sneakers rooted firmly in the grass. He smiled at Heero, curious about those shoes as Zechs snuck a ruffle of Heero’s thick, dark brown hair. He watched as Zechs gave Heero a look of ‘what’ and smirked at him when he glared death with the promise of severe pain before he met his maker or at least that’s how Duo interpreted.

Duo smiled at them as he walked by even though they didn’t notice him watching. His eyebrows furrowed at the odd feeling of resentment he felt toward the two. He sighed mentally, his smile never leaving his face as he caught up to Nanaki. ‘Do older brothers act like that? Do I act like that?’ He wondered, happy that Zechs wasn’t as snobbish and self-absorbed as his sister or a certain blonde that thought the world was her chess board. He had a wistful look on his face as he thought of someone he used to know like.
“You guys can’t keep up with the newbie and you’ve been here how long?” Zechs inquired with a mildly irate tone.

“Aww Coach, give us a break.” A willowy teen who went by the name McKenzie called out and a pudgy guy named Johann agreed with an audible satisfied breath after gulping down the water Heero had tossed him.

“All right, everyone except Duo and Nanaki do another lap.”

Groans of discontentment came from six of the nine students that were still on the track course, while two walked away and the other plopped down on the sloped grass at the center of the course. Ice blue eyes glared at the boy’s back as he continued to sit on his rump on the track while his teammates stretched in preparation for the next run.

“Johann!”

The pudgy boy started, peeking through the corner of his eyes to find Zechs’ fierce eyes staring at him. He couldn’t help his involuntary shiver he felt those light blue eyes. He entertained the thought of ditching, running right off the course to his dorm but immediately dismissed that thought, there was a reason why he was called the Lightning Count. He would have caught up to him in no time. Then he’d be stuck talking to the Bun lady from hell on rules of conduct.

‘The fastest runner in all of Europe,’ he remembered reading that headline in one of the newspaper clippings posted with Zechs’ trophy for the cross country track meet he won three years back. He thought that it would have been fitting if they had also mentioned that Zechs had the looks of a Nordic god to match the speed he’d been gifted with. He huffed, it was going to be hard to get his teammate, Marsha Boadicea, to notice him if he had to compete with a god. He hopped up to his feet with a mumbled apology and stretched with his teammates, scooting just a little bit closer to Marsha.

Zechs kept the reproachful look on his face until Johann was stretching on the track course. Zechs sighed, shaking his head and pulling his hair up into a pony tail. He did his best to keep his annoyance off his face as the elastic band snapped into place. ‘Hot pink,’ his eyes were closed and his hands were still poised over the elastic tie, Relena’s elastic hair tie. He always forgot to bring some and his ever thoughtful sister made sure he never went without anything.

His hands dropped to his sides and he gave the ‘snack’ a sideways glance. Ever thoughtful, she had made him something to eat because she knew how he missed lunch between class and running out to meet his track team. It was sitting innocently in a blue sandwich-sized bag on the bench behind him where he had instructed her to leave it. It had his name on it so there was no hope that one his students would mistakenly pick it up and dispose of it for him. He was not fooled by the sandwich bag when it could be anything but what the bag was designed for.

He wondered if he could get Heero to test it before he touched. Heero had always had an indestructible stomach against her cooking. Maybe he could poke it with a stick just incase it was explosive. He paled when the thought of eating it came back to him. He was going to be forever traumatized by his sister’s cooking and forever clueless as to why their parents had thought it a good idea to give Relena that baking set in the first place.

Duo and Nanaki talked amicably before Duo darted away from his teammate at the sight of dark blond head of hair rounding the fence near the hill.

Solo waved to them from the somewhat shady spot he stood in, his thumb holding his place in the book he’d been reading before he saw his brother. He wore his uniform shirt open the first three buttons down revealing the wrinkled state of the white undershirt. His tie had been resting happily on his shoulder until he was felled by a glomping Duo.

“Duo!”

Nanaki came to their side with a laughing smile on his face. “No wonder why people think he’s the youngest.”

“You mean it’s more than my shortness?”

“Duo, c’mon, I can’t breathe!”

Duo laughed and squeezed his brother one more time before he released him with an exhausted huff. He dropped back onto the green carpeted earth and shifted across the ground until he could lie there spread eagle. He smiled goofily at nothing and no one as his eyes steadily drooped while he ran his fingers through the cool grass. ‘I just need to rest my eyes.’ He thought staring up at the tree leaves swaying in the breeze.

Solo brushed grass blades from his shirt and then smiled down at his brother who was already half asleep. He reached for his book, coming across more grass. He looked up to the shrub ensconced fence and the then at the large birch that seemed to have merged with it to find nothing indicating his book was among its limbs.

“Nanaki, did you see where my book went?”

“No.” Nanaki walked around preparing to help in the search when Duo grumbled.

“Oh so that what that was . . . the not pillow.” He lifted his backside and unsteadily held up Solo’s book until his brother took it. Solo smirked as Nanaki sat on his knees next to them with a smile of his own.

“Duo, you’re asleep already?”

Smacking his lips, Duo opened one sleep heavy eye and gave Nanaki a sleepy smile. “It’s . . . Newton’s first law: a moving body keeps moving until someone trips them up.”

Nakaki gave Solo a confused look and Solo, in turn, gave him a knowing, half-smirk. He nodded to him to go along with it.

“Duo are you saying that you’re the resting body or the book?” Nanaki asked with an amused quirk of his lips.

Solo snorted, laying on his side next to his brother who turned toward his shadow for shade. “Yea, he stops moving he’s likely to fall asleep.”

Nanaki chuckled. “Hmm than sleep’s the external force? Kooky. I wonder if we can pass him off as a sleeping Buddha? Hm, Duo what’s the meaning of life?” He asked jokingly, smiling at Solo.

“To exist and . . . lots of pepperoni on that pizza . . . Make sure you put extra sauce . . . on . . . Mmm.” Both Nanaki and Solo laughed.

“There’s your answer! The meaning of life is food.” Solo said with a smirk. He glanced down at his brother’s sleeping face and found himself agreeing with Nanaki’s earlier comment. Duo did work too much, but he already knew since that was his habit back on L2. Just like their mother, he wanted to tell him to slow down but he didn’t want him to find out what he was doing while he worked. He tucked defiant wisps of hair that never seemed to stay in Duo’s braid, behind his brother’s ear and smiled down at him when he mumbled a tired thanks.

‘It’s worth it.’ He reminded himself, opening his book to figure out where he’d left off.

Not too far away, Heero watched the brothers laying in the tall hillside grass as he methodically tallied times and did comparisons of distances run this week versus the last. He absently noted Orin was limping, Johann was breathless after he pushed himself into a two minute sprint and Marsha had finished before the rest, stretching her long brown body. His eyes drifted to the three boys sitting in the grass. He stared at the two brothers unabashedly from the cover of Nanaki’s back, jotting down a few of the suggestions Zechs rattled off to his students by their names. He found it interesting how Duo’s pale skin contrasted with Solo’s tanned. His eyes trailed over Duo’s slender form drabbed in the same attire as the rest of the track team: gray, dark blue striped track shorts with a cursive “DI” just above the Adidas logo high up on the left thigh, topped off with a gray shirt saying ‘Darlian Track and Field’ across the image of a person running in dark blue script.

Somehow their track clothes, though unimpressive and not really interesting on anyone else, seemed scandalous on Duo. How they inched up his legs when shifted or clung to his body that time they got caught in the rain on route One. He swallowed at the odd emotion that prickled his senses, those track shorts on Duo gave him lots more skin to fantasize about and made him feel oddly possessive.

‘Hm, long legs.’ Heero’s eyebrows creased when his thoughts continued to deviate from his task. He told himself that he had merely made an observation. The longness of Duo’s legs was a factor in his improved times. He staunchly ignored the whispers in the back of his mind that said otherwise, asking him why he was trying to fool himself and daring him to find out if they were as hairless as they looked.

‘Touch him.’ His pen stopped in its downward stroke.

‘Why lie to yourself?’ The question came to him unbidden. He tapped the balled point of his pen on the empty space across from D. A. Maxwell, glaring when a large, long-fingered hand landed on his shoulder.

“Heero, where’d you go?” Zechs asked, squatting down beside Heero. He’d called Heero’s name twice and got no response. He cocked a pale brow when the teen had initially twitched under his hand. It was the closest that he’d ever seen Heero come to being startled. That was saying a lot for his stoic cohort, he could already see it was quickly becoming annoyance as the teen’s grip on the pen tighten and his green tank top-covered shoulders tensed under his touch.

Heero rolled his shoulders, dislodging the hand there before looking Zechs straight in his light blue eyes. Contrary to popular belief, they were the same cornflower tone as his sister’s and only appearing darker in opposition to Zechs’ white blonde hair. To Heero, they were the very same eyes absent of that infallible adoration and pedestal he was crucified on every time Relena looked at him.

‘Always look your opponent in the eye.’ His father’s words never left him even after his death. They left no opening for failure, allowed little deterrence and demanded absolute obedience. Or at least that’s what he had originally thought. Relena, apparently, was the exception. He couldn’t look her straight in the eye without looking away, bereft of the fondness he had known growing up with her.

‘If only she hadn’t hit her head.’ He thought regretfully, convinced she must have done so at some point while he’d visited home. It wasn’t like she noticed that he looked at the side of her temple or her eyelashes when she carried on about her hair, a new dress or something as equally mundane.

Heero glared up into amused cornflower blues. Zechs was one of the few people who saw him for who he was, a boy with imperfections. Zechs had shown him that by defeating him on the track field, in the pool, and at Aikido. He was his rival through and through. If he had to put a qualifier on the relationship between them, he’d consider Zechs as a much despised older brother. “I’m fine.”

Zechs shrugged letting his arm rest across his thigh and the other rest on the bench. “So says the lawn gnome formerly known as Heero.”

Heero scowled at him, he really disliked his short jokes.

Zechs smirked, his concern starting to show on his face. “Just so you know it. I’m here.”

Heero’s eyebrow twitched, ‘Was he serious?’

“Noin too.”

Heero let a small frown show on his face when he saw the earnest look on Zechs’. ‘He was serious.’ “Did you hit your head too?”

Zechs arched both his eyebrows and laughed. “No.” He snickered, familiar with Heero’s theory that his sister had some sort of head trauma that made her act differently toward him. ‘Crushes are interesting things.’ “Though I do think we should have her looked at and banned from cooking. Cooking of any sort really.”

Zechs smiled at the tiny twists at the corners of Heero’s mouth. It wasn’t often they could get Heero to show any expression that didn’t make him wonder about his mental state. He could be solitary like that, two of Heero’s friends shared similar dispositions but even Trowa smiled and laughed when he was around them. It seemed, though, that things were changing. He stood, a slight crease between his brows showing at the odd shifting of Heero’s eyes before he flipped the sheet on the clipboard to look over his homework. It wasn’t something that many people noticed Heero doing and the light color to Heero’s cheeks told him that it wasn't something he was usually caught doing.

Zechs smiled mentally, schooling his features as he turned his back was to Heero so that it seemed like he was watching his students finish the final lap. He waited, watching out the corner of his eye, clapping and offering a few encouraging words on cue. ‘There.’ He followed Heero’s line of sight to see what had caught Heero’s attention so much so that he ignored his homework.

He blinked, a slow smile spreading across his face. ‘This is bound to be interesting.’

He clapped his hands together twice as Marsha crossed the finish line. “Ok. That’s it for today. You guys have twenty minutes free to do what you like, though I suggest that those of you who have Mr. Khushrenada tomorrow use this time to study.” He smiled when the crows of glee became groans of suffering and despair because everyone except Heero and Duo had Trieze’s class tomorrow.

Solo frowned when his brother stretched and Heero’s eyes followed his every move under the guise of writing on his clipboard. He glowered at Heero.

Heero scribbled on his homework absently, a crease of irritation appearing on his face as he tossed an empty water bottle into the waste bin at end of the bench. He stopped writing and glanced around. It, whatever it was, was annoying. Something had been bothering him since he’d forced himself to stop his perusal of the brothers. With his eyebrows creased in consternation, he found the source. Solo was staring at him.

‘Aa.’ He couldn’t help the smirk that snuck out at the corners of his mouth as he asked ‘what?’ without any verbal or physical movement. Solo’s brow twitched and he ignored Heero’s question and just stared back.

His irritation and curiosity mounted when the usual reaction to his intense eyes, the instinctive response to look away, didn’t happen with Solo. When he thought about it, neither did Duo. He turned away from the icy green eyes fixed on him and handed Zechs the clipboard minus his homework.

Solo smirked at the irritation he caught flash across Heero’s face. He liked aggravating the messy haired, older teen as much as he disliked him. He could imagine the annoyed grunt that came with that look but he was too far away to confirm it. It’s not like he wanted Duo to end up near Yuy because he wanted to see how much he could push Heero before he started pushing back. Duo let guard down with him and somehow, he didn’t know how or when it happen, Duo considered Yuy his friend. Better that Yuy blew up with him than with Duo.

“Hey, lets head over to the Forum for a quick game of pool?”

“Yea, that sounds like a great idea.”

“Oh and then a burger at JR’s?” Duo offered with a hopeful look.

Nanaki feigned a groan of disappointment. “Ah... Sleeping beauty wakes and my idea of marketing you as a Buddha goes down the drain when you stomach speaks for you.”

Duo gave his snickering friend a befuddled look, then smiled with a faint blush to his cheeks. “Gee, it’s getting so that I think everyone will remember me for my stomach alone.” He petted his stomach as if comforting a small child. “Don’t let them tease you because you’re hungry. It’s natural y’know because you’re a stomach.”

They laughed and decided that they’d study at Johnny Rockets. They grabbed their things and started off, Solo close to Duo’s side. Solo smiled, blinking when Nanaki bumped his shoulder to find Duo gone.

“Hey, ‘Ro!”

Heero had tossed the extra timer into his duffel when the long legged baka came to a stop next to him. ‘Aa, another nickname already.’ He thought, feeling the corners of his mouth twitching as he fought off the smile and spoke in his usual monotone. “Achi itte.”

Duo blinked and scratched his head. ‘Damn, he’s talking to me in Japanese again. Ch! How do I know if he’s cursing me out saying ‘fuck off’ if the only Japanese words I know are Kuso, Nani and Konnichi wa.’ Duo said frustratingly to himself as he pouted.

“Aa... Go away, baka.”

Duo smiled. ‘Kay! So if I stand here long enough he’ll translate.’ Duo smiled as he patted Heero’s shoulder companionably and leaned down, his braid slithering over his shoulder.

Heero watched it sway, dangling in his face, tempting him to grab it.

“Just wanted to invite you to a study slash food session with us.” Duo smiled invitingly, leaning in closer when he saw the work for one of the equations for their Calculus class was wrong. ‘Not so perfect...’

Heero’s eyes widen slightly and found himself considering it, caught off guard by the simple invitation and Duo’s open friendliness. He glanced behind Duo and saw Marsha and Johann joined the other two teens by the hill. Marsha waved him over, already aware of Duo’s intentions. He was considering still when he caught the aborted movements of the blond teen. Solo was watching them intently, his contempt directed at him. Heero glared at him thinking about going in spite of Solo. He rose in one fluid motion, rolling his shoulder once then twice to no effect. Usually a person’s hand dropped off another’s shoulder when they stood up even Zechs got the point when he shucked his hand off. Heero frowned when the appendage’s owner seemed oblivious to his lingering hand and continued to grin like an idiot at him.

“Ya know I could use help with Cal and since we both have Mr. Weaver we could help each other out in deciphering his hand writing on the study sheet.” Duo smiled hopefully at Heero, ignoring the glare on his face.

Heero blinked at him, his irritation melting away at Duo’s disarming smile. He wondered about his earlier ire and why he was still standing there with the braided baka’s hand on his shoulder. He moved to knock Duo’s hand off his shoulder but instead found his treacherous appendage resting over Duo’s.

Duo’s smile didn’t change. He just removed his hand from Heero’s shoulder and hooked his thumbs in the pockets of his shorts. He shrugged his shoulders and looked away, confused at why his hand still felt warm and why his heart sped up a beat. He smiled sheepishly at Heero. “Sorry about that. So, how ‘bout it?” Covering up the slight tremor he felt in his voice with the shifting of his feet in the grass.

Heero glared into those blue-violet eyes, not really sure why he was still glaring. “Iie... No, I have things to do.” He wasn’t sure if he understood what was going on or why Duo seemed skittish all of a sudden. ‘Did he expect people not to reciprocate the touch?’ He thought, forgetting his own actions.

“Ok roomy. You’re welcome to join us anytime.” Duo said brightly, clapping him on the back of his shoulder before running off to the group waiting for him.

Heero watched him go out the corner of his eyes. He saw Solo smile at Duo and then sent him a barely coveted threat. Heero snorted, shouldering his duffel and making his way back to the dorms.

Heero stretched, closing the book on his reading assignment and decided for Calculus a change of location was in order. He picked up the book, a large binder and scrounged around in his duffel for his homework sheet. He pursed his lips, pulling out his crinkled, wayward homework sheet with a mild look of disgust on his face. He was becoming messy. He stood and looked at the other side of the room with clothes books, papers laid haphazardly everywhere then back to his side of the room. Ordered, pristine and ... there was a manga on his bed. He picked it up, flipping through it and then stopped. He flipped to the cover and read the title, “Monster.” He looked at the chaos that was his roommate’s side of the room not sure where to put it. He stood there for a while and then called himself a baka for wasting time debating where to put it when he could just put it anywhere on Duo’s side of the room. ‘It’s not like he’d notice.’ He shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the door to their room, slipping the manga behind his Calculus book and headed for the stairs.

The hall was quiet but that was expected consider how let it was. His shoulders relaxed a little as he passed Sally’s door, that also meant it was past someone’s curfew. He smiled to himself, turning over his Calculus book and flipping through the manga for the page he’d skimmed earlier. He walked into their kitchen and inhaled the sweet, warm smell that permeated the small space from the pot on the stove.

‘Baka.’ He turned off the burner, Duo often left the burner or oven on for his late night snacks and burned them. But instead of throwing it away like any sensible person would he'd eat the part that was salvageable leaving the charcoal parts for the trash. Heero grimaced at the memory, still mildly curious about it because Duo wouldn't answer a direct question about why he wouldn't throw it all away.

He eyed the honey bear container on the counter and similarly tinted substance in the pot. ‘It’s soothing.’ He remembered Duo saying at some point. He rarely drank the lactose laden substance and thought it probably did soothe a person by reminding them of prenatal days at the breast. He stepped into the lounge and Duo stood up in a tired stretch from the couch.

“Hey buddy.” Duo called out to him cheerfully before a yawn overtook his face.

Heero stared attempted to leave but his feet wouldn't budge. He grimaced, wondering why this always seemed to happened around Duo. He sighed in resignation and took a seat on the couch Duo was occupying since Duo’s things inhabited everywhere else.

“Last minute studying,” Duo offered, gesturing to his opened notebook and Calculus book, written notes from labs and biology class strewn across the table, “couldn’t be helped. Gahhh, ‘Ro.” Duo chucked the pen he was holding to the table as if it were the sole cause of his troubles.

Heero watched Duo curiously as the perpetually happy teen's smile slipped from his face.

“Couldya hit me if I mention studying and food in the same sentence. Shit, do it if I saw it in the same breath even.”

Heero smirked, he figured that something like that must have happened for Duo to be so flustered. The interesting thing was that Duo didn’t actually eat all that much. He made to get up, his usually blank face taking on a determined, slightly sinister look.

Duo’s hands went up in defense, his mug gripped by the last two fingers on one hand. “Whoa there! You're looking a bit too eager.”

‘Well he did say it.’ Heero mused, feeling at ease enough to simply be himself though he didn't recall ever trying be anything else but who he was. He sat back down, putting his binder on the table and leaving his book to rest in his lap. He cracked his knuckles as he surveyed the clutter on the table. ‘At least it’s all on one side.’ Heero reached for a pen and cursed silently when his Calculus book from slipped and revealing the manga he’d acquired.

“Hey ‘Ro you want some?” Duo jiggled his empty cup and Heero nodded tightly, stuffing the manga into the crease between the arm and couch pillow he sat on. Duo arched an eyebrow in question before going to the kitchen.

He glanced at the kitchen door and wondered if Duo if Duo thought his actions were strange. They were but he was curious why it mattered to him what Duo thought of him. He decided he’d leave it there if he couldn't sneak it back without getting caught. Duo left enough of his stuff around for that to be a distinct possibility.

They sat in companionable silence, each one doing his own thing with the TV’s low hum filling the background. Heero had settled comfortably back in the couch, putting his socked feet up on the table as he went over the divided section in his binder labeled ‘History notes’ when there was a sudden pressure on his shoulder. He twitched, but it was a subdued reaction that came as more of an afterthought and found Duo fast asleep against his shoulder.

‘Warm milk also puts you to sleep.’ Heero concluded as his lips quirked in a small smile. He shifted his shoulder in an attempt to wake Duo but Duo just shifted right along with him, snuggling up to his side. Duo slept like the dead, and for good reason, the baka was working odd hours and didn’t get nearly enough sleep.

‘I hardly ever see . . . ’ His eyebrows furrowing in thought. ‘Why did it matter?’ He asked himself as he watched Duo’s sleeping face, he forgot about the question. He forgot about a lot of things and just sat there staring.

He was very attractive, even with the shadows under his dark lashed eyes. Duo took that moment to shift again, his head tilting back putting his cheek further up on Heero’s shoulder as his chapped lips part and a breath escaped the inner confines of his mouth. Heero sat, unmoving, his binder lay open across his lap as he stared at Duo. He brought his hand up and stroked back the loose wisps of hair that framed Duo’s face as if he were in a trance. He found his fingers lingering on Duo’s cheek and trailing down his chin. He had this sudden urge to . . . he kissed him. It was a brief touch of his lips to those chapped, surprisingly soft ones.

He was tempted to do it again, feeling Duo’s warm breath across his lips as he exhaled. He was already leaning in for another when he stopped abruptly. His long lashes sweeping up when Duo made a sound. His whole body tensed as Duo’s lashes fluttered against his skin. Heero withdrew his hand in one jerky motion, surprised at himself and thinking about the last time he’d stolen a kiss. Duo sat up with a yawn as he rubbed sleepily at his eyes. Heero sat rigidly in place, his hand resting beside his thigh in a tight fist as his face remained completely expressionless.

“Sorry man.” Heero watched Duo cautiously, hoping he wasn't aware of the liberties he’d taken. He was honest enough with himself to admit he didn't want Duo to be an enemy. “Damn, I didn’t even know I fell asleep.”

Heero relaxed and fiddled with his notebook. “Hn, baka you should just go to bed.”

Duo gave him a lopsided grin, “If you help me with Calculus it’s a deal.”

Heero nodded, picking up his book and flipping to his rewritten problem set. ‘Why did it matter?’ He asked himself again, giving into the pleasing calm he got from huddling close to Duo even though he logically tried to explain it away as a necessary and involuntary action to going over specific examples in the book. He glanced out the corners of his eyes at Duo as he chewed on the end of his pencil. ‘That eraser is going to be useless if he needs it.’ His brow twitched in amusement as Duo realized what he was doing and groaned. He couldn’t answer that question now but he knew the answer was there. He handed Duo the pencil he was using and received a thankful smile.

Tbc...

JR- Johnny Rockets