//I hate finals. They are the work of Satan. Real life isn't giving in to my fanfiction demands, though. Isn't that annoying? There's absolutely no give!
Ah well. On to the end of the fic, which ended up being a lot more fluffy then I thought it could possibly be…//
What Shadows Hide: Turn
Jack stopped at his locker for only a minute, grabbing his homework and slamming the door shut. The sound was lost in the laughter and ruckus of hundreds of other students getting ready to leave.
It was all a matter of self-control, after all. He had made a decision and he would stand by it, come hell or high water. He stopped for a moment, pondering the saying that had flashed through his thoughts, before shrugging it off and walking quickly down the hall. It didn't matter and he had no time for things that didn't matter.
He hadn't been able to say it, he remembered bitterly. He had just let Ralph leave silently, watching him the entire time with hungry eyes.
But it will be different today, he thought, walking faster. He'll seek me out soon enough, wondering why the hell I didn't give him a meeting time or place.
Of course, once he'd have been happy that I didn't tell him where to meet me-
"Jack."
Ralph was waiting, lounging easily against the wall next to the door Jack always left the school from. Realization flashed through Jack's mind- he knows my habits as well as I know his, doesn't he?- before he gathered his composure.
"Yes?" he asked politely, getting only a small thrill from the irritation and confusion that was present in Ralph's eyes before he hid his feelings from Jack again.
"What do you have planned for today?" Ralph asked coldly after a long moment of angry glaring. Jack closed his eyes briefly, berating himself for that weakness.
I'll have to see him every day in school; I can't let him affect me like this.
"Go home, Ralph," he finally said, his voice tired. He felt defeated, but that made no sense. This was what he wanted.
Ralph was silent, maybe even speechless. Jack knew Ralph was trying to catch his eyes, make him look up at Ralph, make him answer those silent questions that Jack wouldn't.
Couldn't?
"Home," Ralph echoed, anger finally stirring, hot like sun-flame in his voice. Jack wanted it to burn his longing to ash, wanted to make Ralph hate him and set him free.
And here I thought I was the hunter. Didn't I know that prey can turn?
"Just stay the hell away from me," Jack suddenly hissed, anger rising within him to match Ralph's, but his anger was cold as liquid ice and his heart was having trouble beating. Everything inside him was freezing and how was he to lose that need when it was frozen forever, caught inside his aching soul for the rest of his life?
"Stay away from you? Excuse me, but I thought you were the one who was stalking me!"
"Don't flatter yourself. You wanted away from me and now you've got it." Jack tried to push past Ralph but the other boy was strong. He knew what he wanted. Jack was still trying to deny it.
Didn't I know that prey can turn?
"What is your problem now, Jack?" Ralph demanded in a hoarse whisper, pinning him against the wall with his entire body. Jack nearly screamed in frustration and rage. "What kind of game are you playing now?"
"I'm not playing any games," Jack whispered back, his body so tense that it was starting to shake minutely. "I don't want to talk to you ever again. I don't want to see you ever again-"
"Maybe this isn't about what you want anymore," Ralph interrupted just before he kissed Jack with a surprising gentleness. Almost against his own will, Jack kissed back, with all the need and desire and something infinitely more tender and sweet that had found its way into his soul during this long, terrible, beautiful game.
Not a game anymore. Was it really in the first place?
Ralph drew back, though he still held Jack in place, staring at him with hurt filled eyes and a determined expression. "What now, Jack?"
"If I were to say that I never wanted to see you again, what would you do?" Jack asked, a little breathless. Ralph smiled suddenly, a spark of humor in his gray-blue eyes.
Like an ocean in cold weather, where you aren't lost in heat but searching for it, because to be so lonely is like being dead.
"Questions again?" he teased. Jack's hand was moving up to catch hold of Ralph's hair, ever so gently, before he even realized it. "I would say that you're lying, and hold you here until you told me the truth."
"It doesn't work that way," Jack said suddenly. He tried to push Ralph away but his efforts were, for the most part, disregarded by both boys.
"Then give me a week to try and convince you otherwise," Ralph dared.
//Review if you like, flame if you have to, blink in confusion if you just don't get it.//