Aria nodded, and the two of them exited the classroom together. "Why'd you leave Harrison? That's a good school."
Camelia pressed her lips together, but the panic that usually arose when people asked about her past was strangely absent. She shrugged one shoulder, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "My dad is an ambassador and got transferred here to be closer to the capitol. He asked if I wanted to come with, and there wasn't anything especially pressing that was keeping me at Harrison. Ridgeview is a phenomenal school and they acceptedall my transfer credits, so..." Camelia trailed off, shrugging again, and Aria nodded.
"You're lucky. I've heard they can be picky about what credits they accept." She pursed her lips as the two of them exited the building, glancing towards the student center and cocking her head to the side. "Do you want to come and grab a bite to eat with me? We can review the lecture, if you want."
Her voice was so shy but bright and hopeful that it almost made Camelia laugh, and she smiled as she nodded. "My roommate has decided that she wants nothing to do with me, so I'm not especially in a hurry to head back to my dorm. But we don't have to talk class, if you don't want. We can just...you know. Hang out?" Camelia's voice tilted up shyly on the last few words, and her stomach curled in on itself in anticipation of the expected rejection.
"Great!" Aria's entire body relaxed, and she looped her arm through Camelia's lax one, clearly ignoring the surprise from the other girl. "There's a yummy Greek place that a student started as part of a thesis project, and it kind of exploded from there..."
She continued chatting as she tugged Camelia along, and Camelia slowly relaxed as she followed her new friend into the student center. The thoughts of Evan and James still lingered in the back of her mind, but she was able to shove them away to concern herself with later.
Chapter six
Evan
Evan's classes barely held his attention, barely interested him, but that was nothing unusual. The few classes that he did need to pass were easy for him, and he had enough of a natural affinity for academia that he didn't need to take rigorous notes in order to do well.
Especially not when his mind was fully elsewhere.
The girl that he and James had cornered in the hallway of the economics building...she had haunted him every minute since the encounter. The way her dark eyes had widened at his mild taunting, the way her dark hair shone unnaturally bright and healthy under the fluorescent lights of the building...
Something about her called to him. And it wasn't just the curves of her full breasts and hips that practically begged for his touch. Something inside of her sparked something inside of him, a protective instinct, an urge to wrap her up and make sure that no harm came to her.
But Evan couldn't devote too much of his thought to her. Not when James was...off.
He and James shared two classes in the afternoon on Mondays and Wednesdays, and the entire time they had been together, James had been more stoic than usual. He barely took notes – notable, given that he was normally incredibly particular about his academics – and he had spent the entire second half of their Roman history course staring at the wall, not even holding a pen to put up the pretense of paying attention.
It was unusual, and Evan couldn't help the trickle of worry that settled in his stomach. He itched to reach out and touch James' thigh, to pull his attention and make sure that he was alright, but he wouldn't do that out in public. Not when they didn't know if any other students or professors had been paid off by his dad to keep an eye on him.
When the last class of the day ended, though, and James remained seated even after most of the other classmates and the professor had already vacated, the trickle of worry turned into real concern. "James?" he asked quietly.
"Hmm?" James didn't even look at him, and Evan furrowed his brow as he stood up, grasping James' shoulder firmly and dragging him along with.
"Come on. We need to talk."
Evan didn't look behind to make sure that James was following as he made his way out of the classroom. He could feel his friend's warmth against his back, and it only took a moment of searching before Evan found a door that opened into an empty, somewhat dusty supply closet. He jerked his head at James, who was looking at him with mild suspicion, despite the fact that his eyes were still somewhat far. "In."
A hint of irritation flared in James' eyes. "I'm not a dog, Ev. You can't order me around and expect me to heel."
Evan leaned close to him, glancing up and down the hallway before focusing on James again. "Either come in here and talk to me, or I'll drag you in."
James' eyes flared with annoyance again at the hint of steel in Evan's voice, and when he stepped into the closet and Evan closed the door behind them, locking it for good measure, he folded his arms and glared. "What?"
The defensiveness of his posture did nothing to deter Evan, who quickly crossed the space and wrapped his hand around the back of James' neck. He squeezed, and when he spoke his voice was a low growl, tense. "What's wrong with you?"
James' nostrils flared, and his fingers dug into his arm. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Evan pulled him closer, their chests almost touching as he searched James' gaze. There was something...something deeper there, that James wasn't talking about. That he didn'twantto talk about.
But Evan knew his friend better, and frowned. "You've been distracted all day. You barely took any notes in your classes. You've hardly said two words to me since..." He frowned deeper, the pieces suddenly clicking together. "The girl. You've been thinking about her. Just as much as I have."
A spark ofsomethingflashed through James' eyes, and he averted his gaze, pulling away from Evan's grip on his neck. "I don't know what you're talking about, and I'm not talking to you about this. I have a lot on my mind, it isn't a fucking crime, Ev."
Evan blocked him when he tried to step to the side and leave, and a shove to his shoulder pushed James back against the wall. Aggression heated his gaze, and one of James’ hands curled into a fist. He threw a punch before Evan could prepare himself, and Evan barely managed to duck out of the way of the swing before James shoved him away again. His slate eyes were burning with annoyance and that same spark ofsomething, and Evan couldn’tstop himself from growling low in his chest as he ducked another punch before shoving James back against the wall again.
Before James could mount another offensive, Evan pressed close again, his hand wrapping around the column of James' neck this time and squeezing firmly to get his attention, speaking low and harshly. "I won’t let you avoid this. This is more than you just being distracted, James..."
The moment their bodies collided, the hard lengths of their cocks rubbed together and anything that Evan had been intending to say evaporated as his attention immediately zeroed in on the erection that he had been ignoring all afternoon. James let out a low groan, and his hips thrust up against Evan as his entire body suddenly relaxed, the fight going out of him, and his head dropped back against the wall.
