The Case of Merlin Emrys: Merlin's Story Chapter 1: Freshmen Year Part 1, a merlin fanfic

Ok, people seemed to enjoy The Case of Merlin Emrys a lot, save for the fact that Merlin is dead. So I planned on writing a 'bonus chapter' showcasing the relationship between Merlin and Arthur from the time they met until the moment Merlin died.

Eheh. 3 chapters later and I've only just finished freshmen year of high school….

I hope you enjoy this!

Eight Years Ago….

August, 2001

Merlin set his school books in his locker and then shut the metal contraption with a sound 'snap.' None of his teachers had given out homework today. The minute his locker shut, Merlin jumped because there was another student right behind the locker door. The boy's smirk grew when Merlin jumped.

"Oh what, did I startle you?" he teased. "I thought you could see the future, loser. What happened to that, huh?"

Merlin inwardly sighed. Part of him wished he'd never told that cheerleader not to jump on the bleachers. Not only had it made him a suspect of foul play when the wooden seats gave way under her, but she'd blabbed to the entire school that he'd done it just to make himself look psychic. Then other kids that he'd warned of troubles in the future had begun to speak up, saying he was only doing it to scare people or trick them or gain attention or whatever. It had earned him two weeks of verbal torture from the other students. His current tormentor was on the football team, if his jersey stood for anything.

"I can't see the future," Merlin corrected calmly. "I sense it. There's a difference."

"Ooh, a difference," the jock jeered. "Hey! Cedric! Come check out Emrys! He can 'sense' the future!"

"Tch!" another male scoffed. His hair was half greased back, half simply combed back, and he was growing out a beard and mustache. Belaying the bright red and gold jersey he wore, the guy looked sleazy and untrustworthy. Sadly, his status as a basketball player set him at the top of the food chain and everyone wanted to know him.

He was going to rob a gas station across town three days from now. Two kids looking at candy would get hurt. He'd get away with three hundred dollars in cash and change along with twelve assorted candy bars, six bags of chips, three beers, and a slim jim.

Merlin shook his head to clear it and faced the current Cedric Sigan. He looked angry at even having to acknowledge Merlin's existence. Merlin narrowed his eyes at Cedric and briefly took in those with him. The tallest one had ear length brown hair in a boyish cut with blue eyes and a defined chin. He was a senior this year and looked decidedly uncomfortable about picking on a freshman he'd never actually met before. Cedric was a junior himself but he had no qualms about picking on whoever he could get his hands on. The other student with Cedric really caught Merlin's attention.

His hair was golden blonde and slightly shorter than the senior boy's was, and his eyes were bluer and deeper by far. His skin was fair and he was toned beneath his track jersey. And while he was quite something to look at, even at only fourteen, that wasn't what caught Merlin's attention. It was the feelings he got. It felt like all of time and reality had been pulled together within him and his heart was unraveling and he couldn't stop it. There was a mild negative feeling leaking from the teen but it was soon overpowered by an influx of amazingly beautiful feelings that Merlin couldn't even begin to describe.

Merlin felt faint and fell back into his locker with a semi-loud crash, barely managing to catch himself with his hands before his head hit the metal. Cedric scoffed again. "Loser. You're not worth my time. Leon, Arthur, let's go," he commanded before walking off like he owned the school building.

The jock that had called Cedric's attention scowled and shoved Merlin to the side before hurrying to catch up with the trio before they got too far away. Merlin, still reeling from the feelings he'd gotten only a moment before, couldn't catch himself this time and went cascading to the floor. His bag, which he hadn't zipped up yet, spilled his school supplies all across the hall nearby. In fact, the only thing that did stay in his bag was a simple composition notebook with the word 'Feelings' written in subtle grey pencil on the cover.

Merlin pushed himself off the floor, trying to ignore the laughs and teasing of his fellow classmates in the hall. He started to pull any of his supplies within arm's reach to himself but stopped when a feminine hand was placed before him, every pen and pencil he owned clasped within its grasp. Looking up, Merlin found himself face to face with a fair skinned girl with curly black hair. She smiled at him.

"Here. I got your pens," she announced quietly.

Merlin slowly reached over and took them from her before putting them in his bag. "Thanks," he murmured.

"I'm Guinevere…but my friends call me Gwen. Well, friend. I've only got the one, really….Which is really kinda sad when you think about it. Not to say she's a bad person or anything, I love Morgana. She's great. Oh. Not in a homosexual sense either, strictly platonic. Not to say that I have anything against homosexuals either," she corrected hurriedly. "Just saying, in case you are gay. Not that you look gay or anything it's just….oh dear, I've done it again."

Merlin laughed once. "No, it's fine. You've made me feel loads better actually," he admitted, grabbing the last of his things from the floor and stuffing them in his bag. He'd organize later. He stood up and Gwen followed suit, looking very relieved at his words. "I'm Merlin. Merlin Emrys," he introduced, holding out his hand to shake.

"Guinevere Leodegan," Gwen introduced formally, giving his hand a firm shake. "I saw how those guys treated you. It was really bad."

Merlin shook his head. "I'm used to it."

Gwen shook her head. "You shouldn't have to be used to it. It shouldn't happen at all. No matter what lies anyone tells or gifts anyone has, they shouldn't be bullied. Those idiots just don't have anything better to do with their time. Their parents are rich snobs who buy their kids anything they want so now they think they're hot stuff when really they're no different from the rest of us." She glared off in the direction the jocks had gone and Merlin smiled.

"Thanks, Gwen."

"Wah!" Merlin yelped as he flew through the air. He landed with a 'whump' and a lot of clattering in the trash and quickly put his hands over his nose and mouth, trying not to breathe in.

"See anything you like, freak?" a voice jeered.

"Hey, isn't this bigger than your room at home?" another called.

Merlin turned to face his attackers: a bunch of random athlete's from Camelot High. Cedric was leading them, as always. Leon wasn't there, but Arthur was. And there it was again. Every time Merlin saw or thought of Arthur, he was hit with those same feelings as the first time, and no matter how much Arthur bullied him the negative feeling just seemed to get dimmer and dimmer. Then, Merlin had decided, Arthur must have a beautiful heart hidden behind his male bravado.

There was a creak and all the jocks kind of giggled to themselves the moment before darkness encompassed Merlin's world. "Hey!" he cried, and gagged on the stench that now had nowhere to go. He pushed up on the lid to the large dumpster they'd thrown him in, but it didn't budge. The thing was way too heavy for him….Great. Trapped in a dumpster.

He heard the jocks chortling and jeering at him, but it was muffled by the plastic and the trash now pressed against him on all sides since he now had to lay down to fit. It took a minute or two, but Merlin heard them all leaving and tried once again to push up on the lid. It was no use. He wasn't in nearly the right position to lift it.

Was he stuck in here until the garbage trucks came? What would happen if he got put in one of those trucks? Would he die of the smell first? But he wanted to figure out that Arthur guy first! He wasn't ready to die!

Light peeked in at him and hit Merlin right in the eyes. He squinted at it, unable to see a thing. How was it- Then all of a sudden the whole lid went flying back and open again and Merlin had to blink a few times to adjust to the light again. He heard huffing and puffing and then two girls came around to the front of the dumpster.

"Hey, Merlin," Morgana greeted. She was a dark beauty if Merlin had ever seen one. Merlin had recently learned that Morgana was Arthur's adoptive sister and thus knew him better than anyone. She said he was a prat and that was all there was to it so Merlin didn't press her. Despite being one of the richest kids in all of Camelot, Morgana chose to hang out with Gwen, the daughter of a woman who worked at the orphanage she'd been at who she had known since she was quite young.

"Hey, Morgana," Merlin kinda…croaked. Good lord, did he need something to drink to wash the smell out! How long had he actually been in there?

Gwen was already climbing up the side of the dumpster and reaching a hand out to him. "Sorry we didn't get to you sooner. We had to wait until those jerks had left the area," she apologized. Merlin took her hand and she pulled him up into a sitting position again. From there, he began climbing out on his own. When he passed Gwen on his way over the edge, her nose wrinkled. "Goodness…You reek."

"Yea, well, I was just stuck in a dumpster in one of the most waste producing areas in all of Camelot," Merlin reasoned, jumping down. The dumpster was almost six feet tall, and about twice as long; plenty big for throwing a high school student in.

"You know, Merlin, if you just stopped telling people when they were going to be hurt, the athletics teams would leave you alone," Morgana said plainly.

Merlin shook his head. "That'd be like you getting ready to jump from the Empire State Building and me simply standing there and watching. I can't do it, Morgana. I just can't."

Morgana sighed, knowing he was right. She wasn't sure she really believed he could 'feel' the future, but he'd told her about the gas leak in her car last week and warned her about the burners and her hair in chemistry three days ago (neither of which she'd listened to), so maybe there was something to it after all. Gwen didn't seem to care either way. Merlin hadn't told her anything even remotely bad was going to happen to her, so she had no proof one way or the other. Still, even if Merlin was just lucky, he was still a nice guy and tried to help everyone he could, so Morgana liked him and would do her best to help him.

"Um, Merlin….," Gwen murmured, trying not to look at her friend. Merlin tilted his head in question and she took a deep breath. "Maybe you should take a shower before we go to the movies, huh?" she suggested.

Merlin blinked a few times before jumping and looking at himself. He looked dusty, with something that was probably mustard on his right shoulder, a banana peel hooked in his right back pocket, a gum wrapper stuck in his hair, something that looked like cat litter on his left pant leg, and some sort of grease all up the back of his shirt. He grimaced and covered his nose.

"Uh…yea…yea, I'll do that," he agreed. "How about I meet you two up there, hm?"

Morgana nodded, a slight frown on her face. Those were Merlin's best jeans, and his favorite shirt. Maybe she could get them professionally cleaned as an apology for her brother's stupidity. "Hey, Merlin," she called before he was three steps away. "I'll get your clothes cleaned for you, ok?"

Merlin shook his head. "It's alright. I'm sure it'll all come clean in the wash." Then, before she could argue, he ran off.

Gwen put a hand on Morgana's shoulder. "You should've known he would say no," she said simply.

Morgana shrugged. "I know. But I was kinda hoping he'd let me help him this time. He never lets us help," she complained. It had been two months since school started, two months of this sort of treatment and Merlin just didn't seem to care! Morgana couldn't understand it! Most people would either get depressed or homicidal, but not Merlin. He was a riddle wrapped up in a mystery.

Merlin was sitting on the bleachers at the track, writing in his notebook about a feeling he'd gotten about a twelve year old girl he'd seen on the way to school that morning. He'd warned her not to walk home tonight, like she always did, but to take a bus or a cab instead. He even gave her fare. When she asked him why, he told her suspicions persons were seen in the area and he didn't want her to get hurt. She'd called him suspicious, but had accepted the money and told him she'd take a cab.

The foreboding feeling he'd gotten vanished immediately, so he knew she was telling the truth.

The sound of a gate opening echoed between the bleachers on either side of the track and Merlin looked up from his book. It was after school and there were no team practices today. That was why Merlin was here at all. So who else was seeking refuge in the empty track?

The most eye catching part of the person, when they walked into view, was their red track pants. Then Merlin noticed the skin tight white shirt and the golden hair and holy cow it was Arthur Pendragon! Merlin quickly ducked down into the seats and laid against the cool metal to hide. If Arthur was looking for him, he'd be able to see him through the open backs of the seats. But since he wasn't looking, this was a great hiding spot. Now the only issue was how to get out of the stands without being seen.

Merlin watched Arthur through the same gaps that would've given his position away as the track runner stretched and warmed up. He'd never noticed before but…Arthur's muscles were really well toned. Merlin shook his head. Now was not the time to be checking him out! Yes, Arthur was the hottest ninth grader in the school, but he was still the guy who picked on Merlin every day as one of Cedric's lackeys! He may have a nice heart but those good emotions Merlin was picking up from him were far in the future and he didn't feel like having his head flushed down the toilet today.

Arthur set himself up at the starting line, stared for a few long moments at something Merlin couldn't see, and then suddenly bolted as if he'd heard the whistle being blown. Merlin actually looked around for the coach or before he realized there was no whistle.

Arthur running was something else. Even from this distance, Merlin could see his muscles flex and ripple beneath taught skin. He was super fast and had this intense look on his face that Merlin had never seen before.

Merlin's eyes widened and his cheeks grew hot. Well if that hadn't done him in! He groaned softly and pressed his forehead into the metal of the bleachers, not caring about the lines that would be there later. The pain of the metal pressing into the thin skin of his forehead was nothing compared to the knowledge that he was crushing on someone who tormented him every day. It was nothing compared to the hardness between his legs now pressing quite uncomfortably against his jeans and the bleachers.

"Stupid stupid stupid," he breathed to himself, pressing his forehead and nose harder into the metal and trying to think of anything besides Arthur Pendragon and his toned muscles and tight skin and intense eyes. Merlin groaned again. "Stupid."

Merlin tried to avoid Arthur after that. After one day he already felt awkward. The feeling of the future Merlin got when he saw Arthur had been something he felt all the time because Arthur was always there when he was being bullied and now Merlin hadn't felt it in over twenty-four hours. It…felt wrong to not see Arthur. After two days, Merlin felt hollow inside. By the third day, he just couldn't stand it anymore. So, on the way to lunch, he stood at the edge of the crowd of students making their way to the cafeteria and walked slow. As predicted, he was grabbed as soon as a space between two buildings existed and thrown to the ground in the midst of four jocks. Arthur was one of them.

He'd barely glimpsed his new found crush before Cedric hefted him up and dragged him into the nearest bathroom. Merlin barely made a noise when he was tossed into the room because he was feeling better already just from seeing Arthur's face.

A stall was pushed open and Merlin was lifted up again. He looked into the face of the person holding him and again felt all of time and reality merging in the eyes of Arthur Pendragon. He felt it expanding and broadening until it seemed the whole of the future was open to him. Just as Merlin was certain he could see something of Arthur's future, not feel but see, Arthur pushed him into the stall and he lost it.

The jocks were cheering Arthur on as he shoved Merlin's head towards the water in the toilet, and Merlin fought against it. He braced his hands on the side of the toilet bowl and tried to hold himself up, but Arthur was stronger than he was and soon Merlin felt his face hit the water. He knew what would come next. He pushed up with everything he had and felt himself come back out of the water. Then he was against Arthur's chest and one of Arthur's arms was around his waist and Merlin felt…at peace. It only lasted a moment before he was dropped like a rock and Arthur backed out of the stall.

"Ooh! Little freak's got some fight in him!" some guy from the baseball team that Merlin didn't care about jeered. Merlin had his back against the toilet bowl and his hair was dripping wet, but at least that was all.

"What? You gonna fight us, coward?" another challenged.

Merlin shook his head silently and looked up at Arthur. "I won't fight," he pretty much breathed out. He met Arthur's eyes. The world opened up to him and if he looked further he could see it. It wasn't a feeling. Merlin could literally see it! Arthur was…Arthur was…

He smiled and nearly cried when he realized how this would all end. He'd seen it. Arthur's future was…Merlin's future. Someday, though Merlin didn't know when, but someday Arthur would be with him. He'd seen them kissing each other passionately and holding hands and passing notes and a ring that Arthur would treasure forever.

"What are you smiling about?" Arthur's voice broke across him like a wave on a beach and Merlin was brought back to the present. "You like getting your head stuck in a toilet?" he sneered.

Merlin shook his head but never looked away from Arthur's face. Arthur. Somehow, someway, Merlin was going to change him. He wouldn't force it because he knew it would happen no matter what he did but…Merlin would get to see that kind heart that Arthur kept hidden deep inside him and he felt so happy that Merlin feared his heart might burst.

"You're such a freak," Arthur muttered, turning and walking past the stall door where Merlin couldn't see.

Cedric moved to take Arthur's place. "Now, where were we?" he asked rhetorically. The good feelings fled almost immediately and Merlin pressed back against the toilet in a vain attempt to get further away from the greasy teen. Then Cedric had a hold of him and Merlin heard the toilet flush.

"I just don't understand Mr. Gharti," Gwen complained lightly about a week later, shutting her locker gently. She sighed. "I think I understand the idea behind what he's talking about, but his accent is so thick that…I don't catch anything he says."

"I don't know why Biology is so important anyway," Morgana agreed. "Yay, things evolve and live and die and somehow we all get energy and life from something. I don't need to know it to be alive."

"But you do need it for your future career, so I'd pay attention," Merlin interjected as he stepped up to them and opened his locker.

"What?" Morgana asked, turning to face him. "What future career? I haven't even decided what I'll do yet."

Merlin shrugged with a little smile but didn't explain himself more than, "Just…pay attention in science classes."

"Merlin!" Morgana whined. "You can't do that! You have to tell me what you saw!"

Merlin shook his head as he finished putting his books up and taking the ones he would need for his homework into his bag. "I didn't see anything," he said truthfully, shutting his locker and turning his head. "I-"

"Felt it, right," Morgana groaned. "I forgot. You don't see the future."

"Actually. I did see it….Once," he admitted.

"Really? What did you see?" Gwen asked, excited. Merlin had successfully predicted how well she would do on each of her mid-terms a little while ago, to the exact percentage. And to prove himself to Morgana he'd told her that Gwen would be sick for four days last week but not to worry. Morgana told Gwen about Merlin's predication only after the fact so she would know it wasn't just something psychological. Since then, Gwen was excited whenever Merlin talked about things he'd felt.

Merlin shook his head, shouldering his bag. "Gwen, it was…I mean…I would love to see more. You have no idea how amazing it was," Merlin sighed. "Not the actual seeing bit, though. That was exhausting and took everything I had but…but oh what I saw!"

"You saw something good, I assume?" Morgana teased. "Lemme guess….Were you and she doing something…untoward?"

"She?" Gwen asked, tilting her head to the side a bit.

Merlin blushed a brighter red than anything Morgana or Gwen had ever seen before and Morgana began to giggle. Merlin opened and shut his mouth a few times before he found his voice again. "That…Well that is…Morgana, you're so…N-no!" he practically forced out when Morgana's giggles grew louder at his suffering. "Morgana!" he whined.

"Oh calm down, Merlin," Morgana teased. "If it makes you this happy, she's gotta be something else. Tell me, who is she? You've got to know her. You said you couldn't predict your own future so you must've been seeing hers."

"Oh," Merlin sort of…gasped out. He flushed faintly, a far cry from the glowing red he was a moment ago. "They're…um…That's none of your business," he avoided almost smoothly, turning to walk away.

Arthur Pendragon took that moment to come around the corner and Merlin gasped, holding his head and falling backwards. Morgana barely caught him and Gwen had to help to keep them standing. Arthur didn't even look their way. He was making his way toward Cedric.

"Merlin?" Gwen asked softly, trying not to draw attention to them. He shook his head and stood on his own with help from his locker. "What was it? Something bad?"

Merlin only ever nearly collapsed when it was something really bad. He shook his head lightly and looked over at where Arthur and Cedric were talking across the hallway from them. Morgana and Gwen turned to listen too.

"-wondering if you were coming too," Cedric was saying.

Arthur looked pleased with himself. "Yea, I'm coming. Where're you going?"

Cedric gave a smile that was oily and untrustworthy. "Mystic Pointe," he said smugly.

Arthur's eyes widened a bit. "That's pretty hardcore, man."

"Best club in all of Camelot," Cedric pitched. He wrapped an arm across Arthur's shoulders. "This guy I know can get us in free and without hassle. You still in, freshy?" Arthur nodded. This was his ultimate chance to make a good reputation for himself! Cedric grinned that oily grin again and pat Arthur roughly on the shoulder. "Then let's go, man. Jared's gathering the other guys at my car."

"Car," Arthur breathed out, following like an obedient puppy.

Morgana glared at his back. "Mystic Pointe? Is he serious? That place is the ultimate in dodgy. If dad knew….," she shook her head, "God would Arthur be in for it. Besides, he's fifteen. That place is for twenty-one and older, no exceptions. How in heaven's name does he expect to get in without being noticed? Cedric can pass for twenty-five, but Arthur? Psh."

"Aren't you more worried about him getting hurt, Morgana?" Gwen asked, a knowing glint in her eyes while her voice showed nothing but concern.

Morgana shook her head. "No," she said, very unconvincingly. "He'll be home in an hour with police escort and dad will be livid. He's just been promoted and this will not look good on his record." She faced her dark skinned friend. "I'll be laughing when he's grounded for the rest of his natural life."

"Let's just ask Merlin how it'll go. He can tell you if Arthur will be alright," Gwen suggested. "Can't you, Merlin? Merlin?" she asked, looking around.

He was gone.

"Jared," Cedric called as they neared a beautiful black car that looked newly washed to sparkling. "Meko, Charles," he greeted, taking his keys from his pocket.

"'Sup," Meko nodded, his blonde hair bobbing in front of his eyes. He was on the swim team. "Arthur coming this time?"

Cedric nodded but didn't say anything, simply getting in his car and unlocking all the doors. Jared sat in the passenger seat and Meko slid in on one side. Charles held the other door open and motioned for Arthur to take the middle back seat. Arthur grinned and moved toward the car but stopped when he felt a tug on his jersey.

"Huh?" he let out, turning to see Merlin Emrys standing right behind him with a firm grip on the bottom right side of his red Camelot High jersey. "What do you want, freak? Let go," he ordered.

Merlin shook his head. "Don't get in the car," he wheezed out, his free hand on his left knee and his whole body bent over double as he tried to catch his breath. Had he run a long way or something?

"Arthur!" Cedric called out his window. "Leave the loser and get in. We'll be late meeting my friend!"

Arthur nodded and grabbed Merlin's hand to pry it off his jacket. Merlin looked up at him, his eyes pleading. "Please. I know you don't believe me and I know you hate me but please, Arthur….Don't get in the car. There's so much left to do. If you get in that car, it's all over before it can start," he explained hastily, breathily. "Please don't…"

Arthur pulled Merlin's hand from his jacket, not as roughly as he'd planned. He couldn't look away from Merlin's face and the moment his hand was off Arthur's jacket, Arthur saw such a heart wrenching look, something so broken, that he barely managed to let go of Merlin's hand and move toward the car. Merlin's fingers inched forward again, grasping at air vainly.

"Arthur!" Merlin gasped out. "Please don't go!" he begged. "Please!"

Arthur stopped and turned a bit to look back at the boy he helped torment every day this year. Why was he….

"Arthur!" Cedric yelled, honking the horn of his car. "Get in or I'm leaving you!"

Arthur glanced at the car, where Charles was still holding open the door, and then back at Merlin. Merlin was begging him to not go with every fiber of his being. Arthur shook his head. "This is crazy," he breathed out and faced the car again. "Go ahead, guys. I'm gonna sit this one out," he called half-heartedly to the other athletes in the car.

"You're funeral, dude," Charles said before getting in the car and shutting the door behind him. Arthur saw Cedric roll his eyes and then they were pulling away.

Arthur stood there for several long moments, just watching the car drive away. Then, "Arthur," Merlin breathed out in awe. "You…"

"-listened to you," Arthur finished harshly. "It's probably the end of my life as I know it, but yea. I did. Now stop talking to me!" he ordered angrily, stomping off.

Merlin smiled. Arthur was mad at himself because he didn't know what to think anymore. But no matter what came of this moment…Arthur had believed him and stayed behind! Arthur believed him! "Thank you, Arthur," he said quietly, even though Arthur was gone from sight.

"Did you hear?" a girl was whispering in first period when Gwen sat down.

"Yea. It was terrible!" another answered, her and three others all leaning their heads together so they could whisper quietly to each other and still get the gossip around.

"What happened?" Gwen asked, turning to Morgana. The entire class, no the school, had been buzzing like this.

Morgana flicked her eyes from the whispering girls to Gwen. "A group of guys from our school died last night," she said softly, but not in a whisper, more like it was something taboo. "Cedric's guys. Last night. They were hit by a semi going seventy miles an hour. Everyone died."

Gwen gasped, her hands flying over her mouth. She parted them just enough to breath out, "Arthur?"

Arthur chose that moment to walk in. Everyone stopped talking for a moment and looked at him and the brooding look on his face. He ignored them and moved to sit in the back of the class, like usual, and the moment he was seated everyone started whispering to each other again. Arthur brought his school stuff out of his bag with a kind of muted aggression that showed he was hearing every word they whispered and hated it.

"He didn't go with them," Morgana said in that same quiet tone. It was less audible than the whispering but not as quiet, if that made sense. "He actually showed up on the bus yesterday afternoon, as if he'd never planned on going. He didn't talk about it. Actually…he didn't talk at all," she informed Gwen.

"I wonder why he didn't go," Gwen mused at the same level as Morgana but without the taboo tone.

Merlin came into class looking tired and running a hand through his hair while he yawned. Arthur's head snapped up to watch him but he noticed the other students looking at him and quickly went back to preparing for class, though anyone could tell he was already set up and ready. Gwen watched Merlin sit down and Morgana watched Arthur a bit more before they both simultaneously looked at each other.

"You don't think-" Gwen began, her voice softer than before.

Morgana shrugged, her voice lowering with Gwen's. "I don't know. Maybe. Should we ask him later?"

Gwen nodded and they both turned away, as if they hadn't just been talking, to get ready for class. Merlin was half snoozing on his desk, Arthur glancing covertly over at him every few minutes, even after class had started. The minute the teacher came in, Merlin was awake and alert as anyone, maybe more so, and was the perfect student. Arthur had to force himself to keep his attention on the class work.

"Hey, Merlin," Gwen called as she came over to her locker, which was two down from Merlin's locker, after school that day.

"Hey, Gwen," he greeted in return, putting one last book into his bag before shutting the door and turning to face his friend. "You need something?"

She giggled. "You always know when I want something," she said happily and nodded. "Morgana won't admit it, but she was really worried about Arthur last night. I think she's still reeling from the fact that Arthur could've died last night too. So…I was just wondering if….maybe….you warned him about it?"

Merlin seemed to contemplate her for a long moment and then he nodded. "Yea. I did."

"You did?" Gwen repeated. "And he believed you just like that?" she asked in disbelief.

Merlin laughed once at the expression on her face. "No," he admitted with a shake of his head and a smile on his face. "I really had to beg him not to go. I don't think he was going to listen to me at first, but in the end he told the others to go on without him."

Gwen smiled gently at him. "Thank you for that, Merlin. Morgana might never admit it, but she truly does love Arthur and would be sad if he had died."

Merlin was happy to let Gwen think that Morgana was the reason he told Arthur not to go. It was easier that way. But the truth was that he hadn't really given Morgana all that much thought when he'd rushed off to stop Arthur from getting into that car. He'd only been thinking of Arthur and the person Arthur would become and all the great things he was still meant to do. The future was always changing. If Arthur had gotten into that car, all the wonderful things Merlin had seen and felt would never happen, none of it at all.

"Well if she won't mention it, then I won't say 'you're welcome,'" he joked lightly. Gwen giggled. "Anyway," Merlin started. "I'd best be heading home. I'm supposed to be looking up a part time job today."

Gwen nodded and waved as Merlin began to walk away backwards. " 'Kay! Be safe and good luck!" she called out. He smiled and waved back before turning and walking normally out of the building. Merlin was so nice. Gwen was happy to be his friend.

Merlin came out of the boys' bathroom still air drying his shirt even though he'd used paper towels and an automatic hand dryer. Some genius thought it would be funny to dump their whole lunch on him. It had been done so obviously on purpose that Merlin wondered why they had even tried to play it off like an accident. It was the first incident of bullying since his top four tormentors had passed away. For awhile there Merlin thought he was off the hook.

"Merlin!" Morgana called out happily as she moved into step with him down the hallway. "You look good today."

"Yep," Merlin agreed with a nod. "You do too," he complimented.

A light blush sprinkled Morgana's cheeks. "So," she started. "You haven't been bullied in over a month. How does that feel?"

Merlin tactfully avoided mentioning the lunch incident. He smiled. "It's great! I mean, I get to go through a whole day without getting thrown in a dumpster or flushed down the toilet or tripped in the hall. You know it's been a whole month and a half since my locker was booby-trapped?" he asked teasingly. Morgana chuckled almost to herself.

"You seem happy," she commented with a smile. "I know this seems really mean but…I'm kind of glad Cedric died." Merlin cast her an almost offended look and she held her hands up. "I know. I know. It's terrible to say that. But you haven't been bullied since, so some good did come of it. I'm not saying it's a good thing he died, just that it had a few good effects. That's all."

Merlin frowned a bit. The bullying wasn't over. He couldn't tell her that. He gave her a slightly encouraging smile. "Don't worry, Morgana. I know what you mean."

She let out a breath, looking relieved. "Good. For a minute there I felt like a jackass."

Merlin laughed outright at her and then, while he took in another breath, paused and looked behind him. He quickly faced forward again and kept walking so Morgana wouldn't ask about it and smiled. "You're funny. Now come on, Gwen needs to borrow ten cents to buy a soda."

"Huh?" Morgana asked and then nodded. "Oh. Sure. I think I've got a dime I can give her."

"You do," Merlin agreed and Morgana pouted.

"Merlin, cut it out!" she protested childishly. "I wanna have some suspense in my life! Geez!"

Merlin laughed again, a long string of giggles, and Morgana half-playfully hit him over the head, which just made him laugh harder. Behind them, a blonde head poked out from around the corner of another hallway, and then Arthur Pendragon leaned back against the wall again. He hit his head on the wall a few times and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Shit."

On Friday, Merlin walked down the hallway like he always did with Morgana and Gwen when school let out, except today he was alone. He'd told the girls he'd forgotten something in his last class so they should go on without him. He walked slowly until there were only one or two students still wandering the hall and then continued normally toward his locker like it was any other day and he wasn't running five minutes late.

He opened his locker and stuffed his whole bag inside. He needed nothing that was inside it until Monday, so he was just going to leave it in his locker this weekend. He'd left his notebook at home today, so no worries there either. The minute he shut his locker, Merlin found himself suddenly flipped and pinned to the metal cubbies by none other than Arthur Pendragon.

Arthur's voice was quiet, but his face was so close Merlin could almost feel his breath against his own cheek. "You walked slow on purpose," he accused.

Merlin shrugged as best he could with his hands pinned against the lockers. "I had a feeling you had something you wanted to say to me."

Arthur locked eyes with him and simply stared for a few short moments before suddenly pulling Merlin along into an empty classroom and shutting the door behind them. He held on to Merlin's wrist for several seconds after they'd stopped moving and then dropped it like he'd been burned. Merlin waited patiently as Arthur ran his hands through his hair and took deep breaths.

"God I…..I don't know what's wrong with me," Arthur breathed out, turning to face Merlin with an intense look in his eyes that took Merlin's breath away. "I'm just going to say it." He took another deep breath. "You saved my life, Merlin."

Merlin felt butterflies in his stomach when Arthur said his name, and Arthur seemed to pause after the word left his mouth. They stared at each other, both taking in the difference in that one statement.

"Ever since that day I…I can't stop thinking about you," Arthur admitted softly, and that seemed to be the trigger he needed to say the rest of what was on his mind. "Every day, all the time, all I think about is you. Every time I close my eyes, you're there. I…I dream about you. And recently, they've been….well…" Arthur cleared his throat, color dusting his cheeks. "I…I don't know what to do with myself anymore." He shrugged almost forcefully. "I mean, I'm an athlete at the top high school in the city, and soon I'll go to the top college in Camelot as well, but….I want something else too. I want…I want you, Merlin."

Merlin felt all the air leave his chest at that. He'd had a good feeling about this talk Arthur wanted to have with him, but it still shocked him that Arthur was confessing this to him.

Arthur wasn't even looking at him anymore. He was pacing. "I want to hold you and protect you. I don't want to bully you anymore! I want to believe in you and have you believe in me and I don't want you to be scared of me and I want to….cuddle….with you and….and I want to kiss you…..I want to be with you!" he finished almost forcefully.

If Merlin was being honest with himself, seeing Arthur so flustered was really quite attractive. The usually so composed track star didn't know what to do in a situation like this and Merlin loved him for showing this side of himself.

Arthur was so tense he was shaking as he paced. Merlin smiled and took a step forward; placing his right hand on Arthur's left shoulder. Arthur jumped and looked at him, looking almost pleading for some answer Merlin could give. "Arthur," Merlin said softly. "It took you long enough," he teased.

"You….what?" Arthur threw out, sounding more angry than confused.

Merlin did his best to smile, but he was suddenly so nervous. "I saw you running awhile back and…well…I realized I liked you. And…I….I want to be with you too," he admitted with a blush. "I like you."

Arthur stared at him. The longer he stared the more Merlin's blush grew until he was certain his entire face was bright red. Then, all at once, the information seemed to process and a bright grin grew on the jock's face. Almost immediately after he smiled, though, it vanished and Arthur looked troubled.

"Oh god….I'm gay, aren't I?" he breathed out.

Merlin frowned lightly. "I suppose. Is…is that bad?"

The future was always changing. What if Arthur made a decision to not be with him right now and he lost all he'd seen in Arthur's eyes?

"My father. He hates homosexuals more than anything else in the world," Arthur murmured. "What am I going to do? If you like me and I like you, then I don't want to not try but….Shit. I don't know…"

A light bulb clicked on in Merlin's head. "So he just can't find out, right?" he asked with a smile.

Arthur looked up at him. "Pretty much….why?"

Merlin's smile grew. "I've got an idea."

To be continued….

So? What do you all think? A good start to a story that hopefully lives up to it's um..predecessor…sequel…thingamajig?

Reviews are life. I'd hate to die. Lol.