N I N E T E E N

"Why are you so damn sensitive?" Locks of rich brown sat in a unruly way sat atop his head and his hazel eyes were swirling with irritation. "God, you are such a fucking girl."

Ryleigh bit the inside of his cheek, as he flashed Bodhi his middle finger. "Go to hell, asshole," he hissed, his jade green orbs narrowed into slits.

Bodhi stepped forward menacingly. He glared down at the dark haired boy who was almost a foot shorter than him. Bodhi knew he didn't stand a chance, though, for he couldn't throw a punch to save his life. He appeared tough, but he was all bite.

"What did you just say to me?"

Ryleigh's angry expression didn't falter. "Are you so full of bullshit that you couldn't hear me? I told you to go to hell. You know, the place where you told me to go last year? They didn't accept me, but trust me, they'll accept a bitch like you."

"You sure know how to use your mouth, don't you?" Bodhi growled. Harshly, he shoved Ryleigh against the lockers, but his piercing eyes sparkled with amusement.

"Of course I do, asshole. That's why more people will sleep with me."

Bodhi raised his fist to strike Ryleigh, but a caramel haired boy caught his hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he spat. His midnight blue eyes looked like the eerie darkness, devoid of their usual mischief.

"And why the hell is that?" Bodhi questioned. He crossed his arms over his chest. "He couldn't do anything."

"Let me make this clear," Casper leaned his head down to reach Bodhi's height. "You lay a hand on him and I'll make sure I paint you in fucking scarlet, understand?"

"Why are you even protecting him? Since when did you start caring about anyone other than yourself?" He bit at the boy who could rip him to shreds with ease.

"I'm not protecting him, love. Unless you want to be a fucking corpse by everyone with a shred of human decency, myself included, then I suggest you follow the orders he gave you and go to hell." Although he was speaking in a low voice, he radiated a dangerous aura that sent anyone cowering away.

Bodhi recoiled in shock. Fear clouds his hazel orbs. With his nails digging into the palm of his hands, he stalks away.

"That fucking piece of shit," Casper drawls, his tone laced with anger.

"Why did you help me? You didn't have to do that." Ryleigh lifts his head to meet a pair of dangerous, dark blue eyes.

"No, I didn't have to help you. I could have been an asshole and decided it wasn't my problem. But you know what? I decided that in order to be a decent human being, I have to help those in need. Besides," he pauses, "my little brother went through shit for a while from some asshole at his middle school and I wasn't going to let someone else endure that hell. Even if it meant putting Bodhi, whose dick is apart of his personality rather than his body, in his place."

"Is your little brother okay now?" Ryleigh says curiously.

"Yeah, he's alright. The kid who did it was expelled for discrimination. And my parents are really supportive of it. My dad even took him to the pride parade awhile ago and bought him a shit ton of rainbow attire. Now, he has a boyfriend and they're the cheesiest, fucking couple I've ever seen. God, he has more of a life than I do. It's quite pathetic."

"Having a relationship doesn't mean you have a life. My brother, Zion, is an aromatic asexual and he has a life," he bites back.

"That's not what I meant. I mean, he's more social and active in the terms of having a hobby. I know it's perfectly normal to be happy without having a relationship," he corrected himself.

Pelting against the small window was the choreographed musical of snow flurries, embraced in the arms of the shivering cold. Zeus stared, a pool of white sheets draped loosely around his waist, in mesmerization at the breathtaking view. From a sterophone cup he drank his hot chocolate, the heat warming his freezing hands.

Less than ten minutes ago, he trudged through the thin blanket of snow. He'd caught flurries on his tongue, acting as if he was in a hallmark movie. Expect there wasn't a seemingly cute guy with the cheesiest pickup lines and considers himself a hopeless romantic waiting for him under the mistletoe.

Instead, there was a panicked Nika who assumed he died when he wasn't waiting for him by the door. Last time he checked, he wasn't a puppy. At the moment, however, Nika was in the shower and Zeus was trying like hell not to picture how he'd look. Because he wasn't some kind of sick pervert.

Contrary to the popular belief of every white politician across the United States.

Zeus tugged his woolen, sweater sleeves over his trembling hands to soothe them. He didn't know why the hell he assumed he could walk out in the icy weather without freezing his ass off. But he was regretting that split second decision now.

"Oh fuck, you know what we should do?" Nika's eyes are filled with pure excitement. Zeus forces himself not to let his eyes venture into an unwanted territory, but it was difficult when Nika was wearing black, ripped jeans that showed off every curve on his body.

"What?"

Onto Nika's lips formed a smile. "We should watch The Grinch."

"The Grinch?"

"Yeah. It's the second week of November and it's a tradition in my house to watch at least one Christmas movie in November. Please?" The pleading look written across Nika's face made it hard for Zeus to refuse.

So he let a groan slip past his lips and reached for the remote. Nika sat in an Indian style position on the floor in front of Zeus's bed. "I can't believe we are watching a Dr. Seuss movie."

"Shut the fuck up and watch the movie," Nika says through gritted teeth.