a/n: Hullo! This is my first story, and I'd love any sort of feedback, especially constructive criticism. I might have some other ideas for these characters, so if anyone likes them, I'd love to hear it. Thanks for reading!
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Morning. February 1st. Cort's birthday.
I slunk from my bed and pulled on my uniform. I listened to the gentle tapping of rain on the roof as I made to brush my teeth and hair, and I tied the latter into a pony at the nape of my neck. My face clean, I smiled at the mirror. Cort. He was so sweet to me, and I knew I was going to be distracted all day by thinking about his after-dinner desert.
I decided to lie in bed and read a book for a short time before I finally left for breakfast.
***
He was one of the many people at whom I enjoyed gazing. I admired the looks of quite a few boys, but of course, there was something different about him. I adored his waddling gait, his long fingernails, almost too long for a boy, and his handsome hands and feet. When he spoke, it was a perfect whirring timbre that would put me instantly at ease. I would relax any time he was near.
We had spoken only a few times until one particularly festive dinner, when a rat crawled over his bare foot. He yelped and grabbed what was nearest to him, my thigh, with his right hand. In his fright, he squeezed tightly and his girlish nails bore into my skin, and throughout my confusion I felt a bizarre sting of pleasure delight both of my legs. I'd never been touched before, however innocently, by a boy, and I thanked God that I had worn my skirt without tights that night.
The other girls and a few boys jumped and screamed in fear while the supervisors rushed about trying to catch the rodent. In the midst of the hurly-burly, Cort had finally noticed that his palm still warmed my bare leg, and he awkwardly stuttered out "Uh, sorry... I kinda... uh...", and he shut up when I grinned. He smiled back and dragged his hand off my leg. We glanced at each other once more and waited for the others to settle down.
***
The next day, after class had ended, I was reading outside under a tree when he plopped down.
"Hello," he said.
"Hi, Cort. What's up?" I said.
"Not much, Gabby." He took off his jacket and languidly stretched before reclining, hints of his body available from underneath his sweater. Damn. "I, uh, apologize for accidentally feeling up your leg last night. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, or anything like that."
I decided to tease him. "I don't think you minded that much."
He barked a laugh and grinned at me. I noted that one of his brown eyes closed more than the other. "Are you implying that I'm the type of deplorable cad who enjoys molesting innocent young women in unspeakable, private areas?"
"I think if you're molesting someone, every body part is considered private."
He closed his eyes and I watched him breathe. He looked as peaceful as the leafy shadows dancing on his skin. I didn't know what we should talk about so I looked away.
"Uhβ"
"D'you wanna hang out? I have a ticket for the movie they're playing in the auditorium tomorrow, 'Invasion of the Soulsuckers', and I hear the popcorn is extra-disgusting this time round," he said, and reached into his pocket to proffer the stub.
I was trying to comprehend if he was asking me out, and if he was, why someone so effortlessly attractive would want me. I wasn't a toad, but I didn't think that I had any qualities that could interest anybody. I had friends, but that was it.
'Maybe he doesn't think of it as a date. Maybe he literally just wants to hang out.'
Either way, I loved terrible horror movies, and the absolute worst that could happen would be... nothing happening. "Yea, I'd love to! Especially if that rancid popcorn is involved."
***
So we saw the movie. And then, we saw another. B-movies became a habit of ours, and eventually, we formed a friendship. I would help him with some of his English work, and he'd reward me with a monologue from whatever he was performing in Theatre. "You get a sneak-peek," he'd say.
He was so unexpected. He seemed almost out of place wherever he was, but you could see in his careless gesticulations and easy grin that he was perfectly fit with his body. He was only a few inches taller than me, and I really liked how I could almost look into his eyes. I felt like we were literally on equal ground.
What I really loved about him is that nothing seemed to surprise him. As we became closer, obviously, I opened up a bit about myself. How I sometimes felt kind of lonely. How I was worried if I wasn't smart enough for school. He would nod his head until I finally shut up, and that was it. He just absorbed it.
***
At some point, between the 'Jenny's Haunting' film trilogy and light tutoring, he began touching me. Light, little actions whose consistency belied any trivial intentions. Cort would attack my waist, which he knew was a sensitive spot, and he'd touch my hand longer than needed whenever possible. He'd braid my hair for fun while I was talking to my friends, and I always, always felt his knuckles graze the back of my neck.