Title: Save Me

Pairing: Ian/Gabe

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Set in episode two. They were instant friends, so could they instantly become lovers? Ian's POV.

Chapter 1 - Señor Guapo (Posted October 27th 2010)

I was extremely confused when I first woke up at Tower Prep. I still am confused about a lot of things here, but my new friends make it a little easier to be here despite this fact. Suki, CJ, and Gabe all make me feel like we can figure this mystery out. But I feel like this the most when I'm around Gabe.

It's only been a few days, but it doesn't take a genius to see true friendship when it's staring you in the face. It does, however, take a genius to understand why one of your friends has this strong pull on you and doesn't even seem to notice it. I am not a genius, so I have no idea why every time I see Gabe I just want to keep looking at him.

Sometimes I catch him glancing at me in class. We give each other quick smiles and look back at wherever we had previously been looking. But I wouldn't want to look away. I'd see his smiling face in my mind, and I just couldn't drive it out. And watching him use his hyper-suasion ability was mesmerizing. He was so calm and cool, he knew exactly what he was doing and had every confidence in himself.

I try not to dwell on it, though. I know it's just the unfamiliar feeling of having a friend as good as him (and one with whom I instantly clicked).

Of course, this morning I invited him (and his roommate, Howard) to breakfast with me. And I got to watch him hyper-suade again. It truly is amazing. But, of course, as Gabe and I were catching each other's eyes in the middle of Science's lecture, a trio of creeps came and accused me of stealing from other students. Then Headmaster threatened to send me to West Campus (who knows what they do there) if I was proven guilty. Then he told me I'm not even allowed to ask my friends for help, I was even assigned a monitor (Chelsea) who is supposed to watch my every move. The heck with that, my friends are the only way I could prove my innocence. Oh, but I found out Gabe has a sock monkey. How cute.

When I left Headmaster's office, this weird opera singer guy asked for his recordings back (apparently I stole them). Thankfully Chelsea dragged him away and Suki, CJ, and Gabe rushed over to me. They knew I'd never steal anything from anyone. And Gabe adorably wondered who would own a sock monkey. I was just in the middle of asking for their help when my stupid monitor came back and shoved me in a closet until my friends walked away.

The next night, something amazing happened. I found this doorway in my wall that leads to some kind of walkway that goes all around the school. Of course, I had to explore. It was amazing. After a few minutes, I found our hideout and climbed in, surprising my friends and enjoying the little smile on Gabe's lips. It was great to see him. I mean, all of them, it was great to see all of them.

After helping them come up with a few ideas for the tribunal, I left and went back to my room. I got a little lost and caught Headmaster asking Whisper about the gnome head. I saw Howard cleaning Gabe's shoes. I also saw my skeezy roommates creeping on some female students, and knew I had to hurry and find my way back to my own room.

That's when I found the sock monkey. I took it with me and made it into the room just before the skeez balls came in.

The next day at lunch was torture. I couldn't talk to Gabe at all. Or CJ or Suki either. I had to do something, just to be able to hear his... their voices. And, brilliant me, I 'accidentally' spilled my juice. Chelsea lovingly left to get me some napkins, and I was able to return the sock monkey to Gabe.

"Señor Guapo!" Gabe yelled joyfully as I tossed it to him.

I took a moment to take in Gabe's happiness and proceeded to tell them how I found him.

Later that night, everyone snuck into my room. Gabe and I went into the walkways and CJ and Suki stayed behind to cover for me. Being down there in the dark wasn't scary, I had been by myself the first time, so I don't know why I was so nervous.

The whole time we were finding clues, I kept thinking about the things I liked about Gabe. I liked his smile. I liked his confidence. I liked his looks. I liked that he was so spontaneous. I liked... Gabe. I liked Gabe? I had no idea where that one came from. I supposed I did like him, as one of my friends. But, was that what the pull was? If so, why didn't I feel it from Suki or CJ, who were also my friends? Still, the way he picked up Guapo's beads was sweet.

Then I saw it. My preflex kicked in and I saw the beads go flying right before the ground beneath us started shaking.

"Ian!" he screamed, compelling me to run over to him.

We fell together, deeper into these mysterious walkways of Tower Prep. Down a few flights of stairs. It seemed like forever until my body stopped tumbling.

"Gabe?" I asked as I carefully sat up. "Gabe?" I called out again when no response came.

I looked around, and saw him heaped on the floor just a few feet from me. "Gabe!" I shook him and he finally regained consciousness. "Are you alright?" I asked, leaning my head a little closer to his.

"Yeah..." he said, kind of confused, as he gazed into my eyes.

"You sure?" I asked, getting closer still, "You're not hurt?" I put my hand on his shoulder merely as in an attempt to comfort him.

"Yeah, I'm... fine..." he still seemed like he wasn't sure what was going on.

And I realized I also had no idea what was going on as I just kept leaning closer to him, telling myself that I was just trying to get a closer look at him to make sure he was alright. But I don't think that's what I was actually doing, because soon I was forcing my lips against his, feeling (and enjoying) their softness and warmth. I was kissing Gabe. Kissing him. And loving it. And he wasn't stopping. Was he confused? Was he more confused than me? Was he thinking about stopping? I wasn't thinking about stopping. All I could think about was how good this felt and what he would do when it was over.