There's A Snake In The Grass(Erik)

Oriel would find his peace interrupted: a shadow fell over his prone body; there was the distinct smell of cigarette smoke. That would be his only warning; Erik had a strange talent of appearing suddenly and without fanfare.

His voice lacked that subtlety. “Hey asshole.”

Looking down at his face, Erik found that he would’ve loved to visit harm on him still. He didn’t buy all that talk of forgiveness – and he was quite resentful that, while he’d gotten a lecture and some detention time, Oriel had largely gotten away with it all. It was unfair. Erik still thought that it was the other boy’s fault any of it had happened…but in the end it was Erik who had loosed a venomous serpent in the cafeteria. Oriel was just talking a bunch of shit, and there were no rules against that.

For a while he thought maybe he’d visit him at night. Maybe, as a pit viper, he could squeeze under the door while he slept and deliver the promised venom. But of course he hadn’t. It was just a fleeting fancy, really, and he couldn’t fathom the amount of trouble he’d be in if he did; neither had he ever learned Oriel’s name or his dorm number.

Regardless of whether or not Oriel reacted with fear or aggression, Erik’s eyes stayed narrowed. “What’s the matter, don’t got anyone t’piss off today?”

Erik felt prickles of annoyance sweep up and down his spine.

“The fuck’s that supposed t’mean?” he snarled. “Do people usually act like a bitch t’you when you fuck ‘em? ‘Cause that’s a problem.”

Erik was starting to think Oriel wasn’t straight. This might have seemed obvious in retrospect, but Erik wasn’t used to guys hitting on him, at least not so honestly. He had always considered blatant flirtation as a joke aimed at him – and it so often was. Back in Louisiana, he got it a lot. Just a bunch of fuckers trying to get a rise out of him.
But Oriel was consistent – that might not have been a good thing, but at least he was starting to make it sound like screwing guys was what he did on a regular basis. Erik admitted to himself that fuckin’ didn’t seem like such a bad idea right now. He didn’t get a lot of it, on account of his temperament and his reluctance to admit that he was gay…just some from Dominique once in a while.

He wasn’t really keen on giving Oriel the same treatment, though. “I ain’t that desperate anyway,” he muttered. “And it’s funny y’should mention…I seem to remember you actin’ like a bitch right off, and you didn’t offer t’bend over.”

Erik hadn’t come here to start shit right about now. He really hadn’t. But he should have known better – it didn’t take much to set him off and Oriel took pleasure in pushing it. His teeth grit together. His nails dug into his palms.

Erik could only take Oriel’s inane dribbling for so long. He’d only just got out of detention for the commotion down at the cafeteria, but right now that didn’t mean shit. Here was the kid who’d baited him, who’d screamed like a little girl at the sight of his other form…and he was talkin’ a bunch of crap like nothing had ever happened. This time, Erik wouldn’t resort to that serpent. Instead he’d go for something much more ordinary and instinctual.

With something like an exasperated grunt, he delivered a swift kick to Oriel’s ribs. Erik was pretty weak, but a hit like that would at least take the breath from him.

“Shut up!” he yelled. “The only thing that come outta your mouth is a stream of bullshit and I don’t got to listen to it. You’re a fuckin’ idiot and this’s th’ last time you piss me off!”

Erik scuffled with him, trying to land blows…but really, the whole scene ought to have been pretty funny for anyone watching. As angry as he was, Erik didn’t have a whole lot of strength to back his threats up; he was built like a piece of thin wire, and he fought like it, too. It would’ve been easy to subdue him.

Erik had never really got in a real fight. He’d been hit before, of course, but he wasn’t exactly at fighting weight and most of his efforts fell flat. That wasn’t to say he couldn’t try.

By the time Oriel had got both his wrists in his grip, he’d come away with a few good blows (some of them might even bruise) and maybe a scratch or two. By then most of his fury had been whittled away to frustration. Obviously flustered, Erik spent the tail end of his struggle gasping. “Lemme go,” he growled, after a moment. He tugged at Oriel’s grip on his wrists.

Regardless of whether he did or he didn’t, Erik considered transforming…but his back still ached from the last time. It always bitched up a storm whenever he did. Felt like lying on a hot bed of coals, then pins and needles, and then it just got a little uncomfortable. He wasn’t too keen on starting it up again, though.
There was the fact the other boy hadn’t fought back, either. It hadn’t escaped Erik’s notice. Not many people could stand all his spittin’ and threatenin’, and withstand a physical assault, too, without wanting to give him a big ol’ smack on the mouth.

“I was s’posed t’apologize,” he answered, muttering.

Erik angrily reclaimed his wrists, pulling them back as they were let go. He could feel some people looking at them from afar, but Erik wasn’t really the type to care about that; he just stared at Oriel’s face, his brow furrowed, and eyes narrowed around the corners.

“I didn’t want to. They told me to.” Erik wasn’t aware that the other boy was avoiding him; all he knew was that he hadn’t seen Oriel around lately. When he’d finally caught him, it was with his arms out, lying still in the courtyard…he’d looked so peaceful, Erik couldn’t help but interrupt him.
But he had not meant to go off on him. Not really. Erik always felt like a ticking time bomb. A young, misguided thing like him, with a lot of misplaced anger and a savage temperament, had buttons to push as wide as saucers. All that hate seemed a constant companion, staring hunched over behind his shoulder.

He realized Oriel was still waiting. “Well, you ain’t gonna get it now,” he snapped.

Looking at him, Erik might have thought him sorta fuckable in normal circumstances – but he could still see that look in his eyes, that gleeful, mischievous gleam, that promised him Oriel wasn’t the least bit sorry for his misconduct. Erik could feel himself bristling. There was always someone out there lookin’ to get a rise out of him, for no reason at all, he guessed.

Erik just wanted to take that pink tongue stickin’ out his lips and pull it right the fuck out, but he didn’t, of course. He kept on staring at Oriel like he smelled something awful.

“I don’t have t’take anythin’ from you,” he began, slowly. “And what makes you think anyone else has to either? What’ve you got t’offer ‘em for all that shit you throw at ‘em? It sure as hell ain’t your personality.” He knew Oriel had friends; he’d seen him hanging around one or two. “Bet y’just suck their dick.”

Which were pretty strong words, coming from him; Erik had been here all of three years and the only person with which he’d a tentative relationship stuck around for precisely that reason. But Oriel had no way of knowing it. All that shit talk ‘bout his personality? Oriel wouldn’t know how closely it mirrored Erik himself, either. Except Oriel had gotten away with it all, somehow; he pulled the whole asshole thing and he looked good doing it.

He still hadn’t apologized. And there was no way in hell he would, either. It wasn’t like they could tell he was lying…well – Mr. Sean could, what with his telepathy and all.

Fuck it. What the fuck is he gonna do about it?

“If y’really want an apology I could arrange t’get it shoved up your ass, I suppose,” he said, and shrugged.

Come to think of it, Erik didn’t think he even needed to try and embarrass Oriel, ‘cause the kid did enough of that on his own. It was easy for him to just shut up and hear him toot his own horn and talk ‘bout dicks, and Erik was sure he could go on for quite a while without any reciprocation on his part. Did he even know what he was saying? He peered, watching Oriel’s face as he spoke. Maybe there was some sort of disconnect between his mouth and his brain, like maybe he had a wire cut between them.

Erik flinched when Oriel held his fingers up. His eyes refocused, only to find them both pointing at him.

Before he’d been angry, but now he was just confused; Oriel had to hold him back from pummeling his face just a few seconds ago, and now he was telling him weird personal details of his life and telling him to stick it up to ‘the Man’. Did he mean himself? Erik’s eyes shifted to the left and then to the right. He was no longer sure if Oriel was making fun of him or not. Probably was.

“I think I’d better go,” was all he said.