Rumor Has It... (Wren)

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Kodi was a sucker for rumors.  Whether about himself or other people, he followed them as far as he could, stalking around to see if he could use them to his advantage, whether by tormenting the person the rumor was about or getting his own pleasure from finding out if they were true.

This time was the latter.

Rumor had it some hot-bodied boy on the swimming team had been groping a particularly pathetic guy in the pool the other day, and Kodi was determined to see if he could snatch himself a nice meal if this Wren fellow turned out to be as good-looking (and gay) as he hoped.  As he sauntered his way to the locker rooms at the pool, he snickered, wondering if this guy had really had the nerve to grab Oriel's little toy right in front of him.  If so, he had some respect - after all, he was still recovering from bruises still sprinkled along his jaw and waist from his own experience with trying to mess with Oriel's 'things'.

He had heard the guy turned invisible in water, so as Kodi prowled around the locker room, he looked for any signs of someone with that ability.  He was pretty sure he had seen Wren around, too, so it shouldn't be too hard to identify him, right?  

Eventually, he came upon the showers, where a broad-shouldered boy with a slightly familiar face was drying off his rather transparent lower body.  Kodi stopped where he was, eyeing those delicious, defined muscles with a predatory gaze.  He waited until the boy noticed his staring before offering a wide, feral grin.  "You're Wren, aintcha?" he asked, though he was quite certain.  "I've been hearin' a lot 'boutchu."

[Wren O'Hara]

The shower had been an enjoyable one, and the swim that preceded it had been even better. For starters, nobody had called him a pervert, which made it at least 63% more enjoyable than his previous swim, during which he’d been trying to teach someone how to swim and had been consistently rudely interrupted.

If he was honest, he was still a little mad about it…

Nevertheless, he was determined to make the most of his elusive time alone in the natatorium. Lately, it had seemed like someone was always interrupting him, intentionally or not. He normally wouldn’t have minded – he wasn’t anti-social by any means – but after extended exposure to someone like Oriel, well, the silence was kind of nice.

He was pondering this thought as he picked up his towel and began to dry himself off systematically, starting with his shoulders and slowly working his way down. He inched toward his locker as he went, unaware of anything – or anyone – that might be wandering into the locker room.

And then he felt it…

The gaze boring into his back, that is. It was a very peculiar, universally-unsettling feeling, and Wren wasn’t a big fan of it at all. He looked behind himself slowly. He met the other boy’s eyes – or, rather, he would have, if the other boy’s eyes hadn’t been feasting themselves on Wren’s bare torso.

“Yeah,” he said warily, in response to the other boy’s question. Seriously, who smiled like that? “Why?”

The idea that this stranger had been hearing about him from other people made him furrow his brow. Did this guy need swimming lessons or something? What was there about him for people to even talk about? And why was this relevant in the locker room, of all places? He turned around again, dumping his water bottle into his gym bag and pulling out his t-shirt, which he was suddenly very eager to get onto his body.

As much as he tried to fight it, though, the curiosity burned a hole right through his better judgment.

“Hearing what?”

[Deleted]

The guy didn't really scream 'pervert' to Kodi, which he supposed shouldn't be a surprise, necessarily - not all of them were as obvious as he was. His kohl-lined eyes eventually darted up from where they were gazing hungrily on Wren's generous pecs, seeing the wariness in his features and the uncertainty in his stance.

He didn't answer the 'why' at first, instead taking another moment to try to get a feel for Wren. To be honest, it wasn't what he had expected - he seemed sort of soft, rather than the sharp, taunting boy he had been expecting. Ah well! He would still bite.

"Hearin' that you an' me might get along pretty well," he finally replied, taking a few slow steps forward. "If the rumors I've been hearin' are right." They stood at eye-to-eye level, which was just fine; if Kodi had been trying to intimidate him, he would have preferred to be able to look down at him. As it was, he was already practically drooling at his generously toned figure, imagining it pressed against his own...

Stop. He was getting a little ahead of himself.

"Anyway, I heard you've been... Caught... Tryin' t' make moves one someone else's guy," he continued, subtly (or not-so-subtly) leaning a hand against the lockers, and thus half-trapping Wren against them. "I gotta lot of respect for someone with that much balls. 'Specially when it comes to that fucker Oriel." He rubbed vaguely at a dark patch of skin on his cheek.

"So, I was gonna ask if you'd be interested in havin' a bit of fun with me." He was being quite calm and collected, considering how he usually acted, but the fierce light in his eyes and the slightly sharpened ends of his teeth showed that he was ready to pounce at any given moment. "That way y'don't have t'resort to gropin' scrawny boys that don't fight back." He quirked an eyebrow, gaze darting down to a very obvious location.

[Wren O'Hara]

After Wren was decent and visible, he took another good, hard look at the boy who had come all the way to the locker room to, apparently, investigate schoolyard rumors. He wasn’t entirely sure what to make of what he saw. There was the eyeliner, obviously, and the bleached hair, and the bruises, and the sharp teeth…

Christ. He was in uncomfortably close quarters with some kind of… rabid human raccoon.

He reached for his pants, but was cut off quite pointedly by his new companion’s arm. Wren set his jaw. Hadn’t he had enough buttons pushed for one week? Was this some sort of conspiracy?

“Okay, look,” he said shortly, wrapping his hand gently but firmly around the other boy’s wrist so as to move his arm out of the way. “I don’t know what you heard, or from who, but I didn’t make moves on any guy.”

He kind of wished Oriel was present, so that he could punch really hard in the face.

“I just touched his back,” he said, exasperated. He reached down and finally managed to pull his jeans out of his gym bag. “I was teaching him to swim. I couldn’t just let him… drown in two feet of water.”

Wren was suddenly acutely aware that he was angry, which was a very unusual feeling for him. Anyway, it wasn’t as though raccoon boy had been at fault, not really. He’d come to investigate rumors that Oriel had started.

Fine. Wren just needed to put the rumors to rest, and everything would be fine.

“What I mean to say is that I’m not gay,” he said, his tone much calmer than it had been a minute ago. “Sorry. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I just… you know. I’m not.”

His hazel eyes flicked up to meet the other boy’s gaze for a split second before he broke the contact and started to wrestle with his pants.

[Deleted]

Should Kodi be listening to rumors that were probably started by Oriel? No. Was that going to stop him from messing with someone he could possibly have a good time with, or at least just annoy? Definitely not. Poor Wren was in for a rough time - Kodi was as stubborn as a bull, and explosive as one, too.

His gaze immediately darted to the point of contact, quirking his brow as his smirk grew. "Uh-huh," he replied without enthusiasm, letting his arm be pushed slightly out of the way, picking at his teeth with his other hand. "That's what everyone says 'bout rumors involvin' them."

Kodi leaned in closer, teeth bright and white and predatory as he gave a larger, feral grin. "But the question is, who'm I gonna believe?"

Yeah... He really shouldn't believe Oriel. But hell, he was having fun anyway!

He watched Wren pull out his jeans, making no effort to hide his bold staring. It was cold, calculating, hungry... Much like that of a wolf about to leap on an unsuspecting doe. Was that... An inkling of anger he noted in Wren's eyes? Oohh, that did nothing to make Kodi back off. If anything, it only made him all the bolder. He wasn't healed from his latest huge scuffle, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to take a hit from this guy if he swung.

I'm not gay. Ahh... Here we go. Kodi let out a disbelieving snort, leaning his back against the lockers as he wrinkled his nose disdainfully. "Y'know... I can help ya outta the closet yer obviously in," he growled lowly, but not aggressively. "Can fuck the uncertainty right outta ya."

He reached out and gripped the fabric of Wren's jeans in his hand, keeping the boy's eye contact for as long as he could. "Yer fuckin' hot, Muscles," he drawled. Kodi's head tilted to the side, almost like a puppy. "Don't tell me you'd turn down a good suck just 'cause I have a dick, too."

[Wren O'Hara]

Wren was pretty sure that the other boy was being sarcastic at best and shamelessly making fun of him at worst. He bit back a scowl, determined not to let the situation escalate. It was just a rumor. Oriel was just a weirdo. It wasn’t like anybody else was actually going to believe that crap.

He huffed out an impatient sigh.

“I dunno,” he replied dryly. “I guess that depends on if you want to be right or not.”

He could tell that the other boy was still staring, even without looking up. It might have bothered him, if he didn’t have absolute confidence in his ability to take the other boy on. Then again, Wren thought idly, it looked like someone already had. Maybe he did this sort of thing often.

Wren lifted his eyes again and squinted a bit.

Yeah, he thought. He looked sort of seedy. He probably did this sort of thing often.

“Locker rooms don’t have closets,” Wren informed him. He was very literal. At the next sentence, he managed a mirthless laugh and an eye-roll. His demeanor changed, though, as the situation intensified. He shied away and furrowed his eyebrows as the blond grabbed at his jeans.

‘Muscles’? That was a new one. He hoped it didn’t stick.

Hazel met brown for an unnervingly long time. Almost unwillingly, Wren let his gaze drift down to the other boy’s lips, which were slightly parted to reveal those teeth.

He was pretty sure that nobody could have paid him enough. He was a virgin, sure, but he didn’t want to lose his equipment on the first time out.

And anyway, he wasn’t gay.

“Whatever, dude,” he mumbled, unsettled by the encounter. He buttoned and zipped his jeans and reached down to grab his bag. “I mean, dinner and a movie first,” he added sarcastically. “You gotta work on your technique.”

He paused, already halfway to the exit.

“But seriously, I’m not gay,” he called over his shoulder by way of farewell.

[Deleted]

I guess that depends on if you want to be right or not. "Ahh, where's the fun in that?" Kodi snorted, rolling his eyes. That was the thing about rumors - you never really knew what was true unless you saw it for yourself. "I've already gone t'the trouble'a findin' ya. Ain't gonna get rid of me that easy."

A punch from those muscles would definitely leave a mark. Maybe even a concussion. But Kodi, the freak he was, or maybe just simple stupidity, wasn't intimidated in the least. He had been beaten half to death already. He could take a little more.

Probably did this sort of thing often? Ahhh, if only Wren knew...

He blinked for a moment at Wren's response, then burst into a loud, cackling laugh, almost reminiscent of a hyena. "No closets in the locker room, ahhh, that's a good one," he giggled, wiping at one of his eyes. "No reason to hide it, then." Because even if Wren really wasn't gay, Kodi was determined he could make him at least feel like he was. It would only take one night.

The other boy shied away, and then seemed to look pointedly at Kodi's lips, which the blonde, of course, took as just another sign. He sharply leaned in, bringing his mouth inches from Wren's. "Whatcher lookin' at, eh?" he drawled, darting his tongue over his teeth, which thankfully retreated back to their normal dullness. "Not gay, my ass."

He tilted his head as Wren spoke again, brow furrowing, considering. "I can work with that," Kodi replied dully, despite the sarcasm in the other boy's voice. "Can't leave campus at the moment, but I'd gladly watch a movie in the dorms with ya before the grand finale."

Ignorning the boy's 'farewell', he trotted after Wren, keeping in step with him as he went... Wherever. "That's more than I offer a lotta people, so y'best feel special," he announced. Ahh, he was having way too much fun tormenting this poor idiot.

[Wren O'Hara]

Wren rolled his eyes more noticeably this time.

“It can’t have been that hard,” he said dully. He was, after all, almost always at the pool; everyone who knew of him, even vaguely, could figure out that much.

The blond’s teeth seemed to change shape as Wren looked at them, and his squint narrowed. Yep, no, definitely not. Unh-uh. That was weird. Wren wasn’t a fan of that idea at all.

After it became apparent that he wasn’t going to get out of the awkward scenario by being polite, he began systematically weighing all of his other options. He was pretty confident that he could take the toothy guy on, but he really didn’t want to. That left him with two reasonable courses of action: he could either pick a verbal fight with the other boy, or he could ignore him.

Ignoring him seemed like the path of least resistance.

He made it out of the locker room and into the November chill with his unwanted companion in tow every step of the way. Okay, that was annoying; Wren had been hoping that he wouldn’t be so persistent. He’d always enjoyed the thought that nobody could be creepy and persistent in equal measure, and this dear misconception was being trampled on and subsequently gutted and eaten raw.

He was still stuck on the raccoon thing.

He sighed.

“Are you gonna follow me all the way back to my room?” he asked edgily. “I have homework to do. I’ve been feeling kinda ill, too. I think I might be coming down with something.”

Sure, it sounded a little desperate, but Wren was willing to try anything to keep Shark Mouth from following him to his bedroom and presumably waiting for him to turn gay.

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"Coulda spent the time an' energy doin' somethin' else," Kodi retorted, rolling a kink out of his neck. "You should be flattered. I don't do that for everyone." He could have been reading his new book series that he had gotten the other night. But Kodi would leave Wren to think of dirtier, more obvious things, if he so chose.

He caught the look Wren was giving his lipsteeth and bared them even more, letting just the canines elongate until they extended past his bottom lip. "Ever played with a dentokinetic before, Muscles?" As far as Kodi knew, he was the only one at Hammel.

But then the guy seemed to try to give him the silent treatment. Nevertheless, Kodi continued to follow him, if only to continue harassing him. If he finally gave in, great. If not, Kodi was still amused.

He almost wished the boy would at least throw a punch.

Kodi tilted his head, considering. "Maybe. Would you like that?" he smirked, teeth still elongated, eyes sparkling darkly. "Don't worry, I have an excellent immunity system. But I appreciate the concern."

His gaze trailed down to that soft, smooth skin above the hem of Wren's shirt. "Promise it won't hurt... Too much." Lies. Lies lies lies. "Unless..." His head tilted the other way. "You got somethin' t'bribe me with t'keep me away?" His smirk widened.

[Wren O'Hara]

Or someone else, Wren thought dryly. He wasn’t inclined to feel guilty that the other boy had sought him out – from the way he was talking, it seemed that he had more than enough experience.

He offered a slightly-amused snort by way of reply.

Dentokinetic? Dento… like dentist, right? Which meant teeth. Wren’s tough act came to a momentary halt while he gave the blond a sideways glance. What appeared to be fangs were now growing past the boy’s bottom lip; Wren quickly looked away, perturbed.

“That is not helping your cause, dude,” he muttered. “And no, I wouldn’t like that.” His tone had reverted to his usual slow and steady monotone, but it was only a matter of time…

Even Wren O’Hara had limits.

He kept walking, mostly because he was creeped out but also because it was incredibly cold outside. He kept his eyes to the front as he walked, glowering grumpily at the sidewalk.

Finally, the pair reached the residential building. Wren opened the heavy door and let it fall behind him as a last resort; maybe his companion would be so focused on his biceps that the slab of reinforced steel would get him in the face.

The word bribe worked itself into the conversation somehow. Wren stopped just inside the door and glared pointedly.

“Like what?” he asked tiredly.

[Deleted]

Or someone else indeed. Like that hot fucker Erik that Kodi was fortunate enough to snag into his bed more than once... But Wren would be a much different experience, if only Kodi could convince him that he wanted it. Erik was gorgeous, all thin and freckled and pale; Wren's toned, strong build would be a fun change of pace.

Kodi's grin widened at Wren's response to his teeth. "Do I scare ya?" he couldn't help but ask. "Don't worry... My bite is worse than my bark." He snickered. "Could do the same t'yours too."

He shrugged at Wren's words, letting the tips of white slowly disappear behind his lips again. "You say that now," he replied snarkily. "Dunno 'til ya try it." He offered a wide (but dull-toothed) grin.

And he kept to Wren's figure like a shadow, practically breathing down the back of the other boy's neck as he was apt to do when he was really trying to creep someone out. He got a feeling it was working.

Unfortunately for the swimmer, Kodiak's quick reflexes kicked in and he stopped the door before it hit him, shoving it open and following his prey inside. Though, yes.... Wren's biceps were very, very distracting.

He perked up as Wren responded to the bribe, tilting his head in thought. "Money's easy," he drawled slowly. "Or... You could run an errand or two for me while I'm stuck t'campus. Your choice." Kodi gave a falsely peppy smile, like this was a kind gesture. His face was close enough to Wren's that the other boy would probably feel the need to arch away.