Erosion of Shadows (closed for Jenn1982)

[Jenn1982]

"Did you forget we have Bio together? Its out first class, Mr. Henrickson couldn't care less where we sit... so you can just tell me then."

Mia felt heat rise in her cheeks at his words, she had clearly come across as an idiot. She had actually forgotten they had Bio together but only because up until yesterday afternoon she hadn’t been paying attention to who was in what classes with her.

"Can I take your picture?”

He had already pulled out his phone and started taking pictures before he finished speaking. She wasn’t sure how she felt about him taking the pictures before she even said okay. It wasn’t worth making a big deal about though since she would’ve said yes anyway. After he’d taken a few pictures he began looking them over and Mia couldn’t help but worry about if she looked okay in the photos.

"C'mon, its upstairs. I'll show you."

Cane was staring at his phone as he started walking towards the stairs. Mia didn’t bother reminding him that she’d been going to this class for the last week and already knew where it was. She didn’t want him to think she was making fun of him or anything.

“So, how was your night,” she asked as they walked into class.

 

[HisPureLust]

“So, how was your night?" She asked, the two of them climbing the several flights of stairs to the second floor where the science wing was.

"It was ok..." He wanted to gush about how he had tossed and turned all night... thinking about her. He wanted to tell her how proud he was that he managed to pull a usable image of her off the school's shitty security camera's. He wanted to say how he stared at her number last night and memorized it....

But he didn't say any of that.

"How was yours? Anything... weird happen?"

It was a dumb question, he panicked and didn't know what to say. As they reached the second floor, Cane stood looking out of the long row of windows that faced the center of the school, where a courtyard and colorful garden sat.

He turned around and waited for her to be directly next to him, not a little behind, not a little ahead, exactly next to him... before continuing down the hall together. He wouldn't be able to stare at her ass this way, but he could keep her between him and the wall as they walked...

He could keep her safe.

 

[Jenn1982]

"It was ok..."

He trailed off and she waited for him to continue but he just kept walking up the stairs. He probably had just had a normal night like she had, dinner and then homework. It wasn’t as if her school nights…or weekend nights for that matter…were overflowing with excitement.

"How was yours? Anything... weird happen?"

He had stopped at the top of the stairs and she caught him gazing out the windows. She realized he must be admiring the garden they faced and she found that utterly adorable. Once she was next to him he started walking again.

“Oh it was fine. My dad hadn’t heard about the attacks, so I guess that’s why he hadn’t been worried about me walking home or anything. I told him that you had said you’d walk home with me and he said to tell you thank you, that it was really nice.”

They’d reached the classroom and Mia walked in first and waited for Cane to go to the table he normally sat at so she could sit next to him.

 

[HisPureLust]

“Oh it was fine. My dad hadn’t heard about the attacks, so I guess that’s why he hadn’t been worried about me walking home or anything. I told him that you had said you’d walk home with me and he said to tell you thank you, that it was really nice.”

"That's good," Cane began "Not good that he doesn't know what's happening in town but good that he appreciates what I'm doing for you." He said it with mild disinterest despite the fact that he was actually rather invested in her going-ons.

It was just Cane's way.

Inside the Biology room, one could find cabinets lining the entire top half of it all the way around save for the blackboard where Mr. Henrickson, taught from. The massive black tables which served as the students desks where kept in 3 lanes and rows of 7. Cane enjoyed counting them whenever he entered. He did not however count them today.

He sat down in the back, as always, in the farthest table from the door and nearest to the window. It was as shadowed a corner as one could get in this brightly lit room with uncovered windows.

Also lining the room where sinks and lab stations. The student's own large black desks also had built in sinks off to one side for when doing labs. Cane washed his hands in one of them and then dried them on a nearby paper towel he pulled from its place under a cabinet, and above a perimeter sink. Next he pulled out a chair for Mia and looked at her expectantly, like a hungry dog waiting for its bowl to be filled.

"I've never had a lab partner before..." He brushed his spikey blonde hair as he often did and lay his pack against one of the long black table legs, the large muscles in his arm tensing from nerves as most of his body clenched at the idea of now having to socialize while in class.

 

[Jenn1982]

"That's good. Not good that he doesn't know what's happening in town but good that appreciates what I'm doing for you."

Mia couldn’t help but smile at the priorities Cane seemed to hold. Before she met him if someone was just focused on making sure everyone else recognized their good deeds she would’ve found them insufferable. She was getting used to his eccentricities and found them less strange the more they talked. She liked that he said what he thought instead of censoring himself so others would accept him.

She followed him to the back of the classroom where he sat down at the table by the window. Mia usually picked seats in the middle, feeling like they made it easier to be unnoticeable but sitting all the way in the back wasn’t too bad, better than sitting in front. Cane had quickly washed his hands as soon as he sat down and she wondered if he was a germaphobe. He pulled out the chair next to him and looked at her, clearly waiting on her to sit down.

“Thanks,” she said as she sat down and put her bag on the floor next to her.

"I've never had a lab partner before..."

“Really? Aren’t there some stuff you have to have a lab partner for?”

She watched as he set his bag down and couldn’t help but notice the way his muscles strained against his shirt sleeve as he moved. She quickly looked away, not wanting him to see her ogling him like some kind of thirsty creep. The lack of a boyfriend for so long was clearly getting to her.

 

[HisPureLust]

“Thanks." She said in manner Cane found endearing and adorable.

“Really? Aren’t there some stuff you have to have a lab partner for?”

"Yes... there are... that's true." He stopped as if he would not say any more, but then he did... "But Mr. Henrickson and myself have a sort of... arrangement. Some of the faculty have let me go on certain things... for certain... reasons."

Now it was more than clear he was done elaborating.

He turned to her, unable to help a smile. She was so beautiful and having her this close was exciting.

"So?..." He said as if they were mid conversation. When he could see there was no recognition in her eyes and only confusion, he followed it up... "You said you were gonna tell me about the conversation you had with your dad about the murders."

As he finished asking a tall, thin man wearing a pair of pants and dress shirt that looked like it belonged in a previous decade entered one of the two entrances to the room. He shut the door behind him as a student shut the other. He nodded towards the student thanking him and walked to the head of the class to begin. The man, no doubt Mr. Henrickson, had large bottle cap glasses and shiny dress shoes. His back was hunched and he spoke with a somewhat nasal voice.

"Ok kids, turn to page..."

Cane was completely invested in his conversation with Mia and not paying any attention.

 

[Jenn1982]

"Yes... there are... that's true."

He didn’t elaborate and she thought this was going to be another one of those things where he just…didn’t fully answer but then he continued.

"But Mr. Henrickson and myself have a sort of... arrangement. Some of the faculty have let me go on certain things... for certain... reasons."

She found herself disappointed as he stopped there. She had waited a few moments but he didn’t elaborate on what these reasons were.

"So?..."

He must have noticed the puzzled look on her face after a few seconds and he continued.

"You said you were gonna tell me about the conversation you had with your dad about the murders."

The teacher chose that moment to walk in and Mia pulled out her book.

“Oh, I pretty much told you already, I guess I made it sound like it was going to be some exciting story. He just thought it was weird no one had mentioned it and he said he was going to ask around the base today to see if he could get more information,” she said quietly.

"Ok kids, turn to page..."

She dutifully followed the teacher’s instruction. Cane hadn’t pulled his book out so she slid her own a little ways towards him so they could look at it together if he wanted.

 

[HisPureLust]

Being this close to her he could smell her better, Cane wasn't sure if Mia was wearing perfume but she smelled pleasant, like something that would come out of the oven when you baked it, or warm laundry fresh out of the dryer. Pleasant. He liked it and inched a bit closer to her.

Mr. Henrikson was rambling about the Ecological branch of Biology at the moment, going through the relationships between different organisms, which Cane may have found interesting normally but he was distracted looking at the girl next to him and what she wore. Mia had come to school in a very long and dark sweater. It was dark purple and came up to her mid thighs, but since they were sitting down it rode up a bit higher. He was pretty sure she didn't have any stockings or leggings on. Her bare legs were nearly on full display, her feet encased in black calf-high boots that he thought looked really cool on her. She was so stylish...

And sexy.

He wanted to tell her how nice her thighs looked. The pale flesh had just a small amount of shine to them, like they were glossy. He had never been this close to a girl before, not for this long anyway and he found himself feeling all kinds of ways about it.

He didn't like being distracted, he didn't know how to act with these feelings. It annoyed him but he knew it wasn't her fault and he knew ultimately this is what he wanted... someone to share his life with, even in a small way. So why be angry about it? But it was hard... the differences in his day to day bothered him even if he enjoyed them.

It was maddening.

"Oh, I pretty much told you already, I guess I made it sound like it was going to be some excited story. He just thought it was weird no one had mentioned it and he said he was going to ask around the base today to see if he could get more information."

"Oh... ok."

She slid over her text book and rather than fish his out so they wouldn't have to share he said nothing, instead standing up so he could shift his stool closer to her and sit back down.

He rested his elbows on the desk and turned to read next to her.

It was nice having someone to share things with, even if it was the experience of a dumb biology class.

He remembered what his dad had always told him. That life was too short to not take risks, that some risks were ok and that Cane might regret it later if he always played it safe, always did the same thing day in and day out...

As he read out of the textbook, topics he knew by heart and had already studied on his own, he couldn't help but look at her legs beneath the table and directly in his line of sight.

Fuck it.

"You have nice legs Mia."

 

[Jenn1982]

"Oh... ok."

He got up and moved his chair closer to her. Once he sat back down he rested his elbows on the table and read from her book. She noticed how close he was to her now and she snuck a glance at him. Their legs were nearly touching under the table and she thought about brushing her knee against his.

She pushed the thought out of her mind and tried to concentrate on what Mr. Henrikson was talking about but it wasn’t easy. Not only was she distracted by Cane she hated Biology and had struggled with it the last two years and based on how it was going so far she would struggle with it again. As long as she could keep from failing she didn’t care, she just wanted to get through it.

She wondered if any of Cane’s friends had classes with him or if he sat with them at lunch. She figured he probably wouldn’t have awful friends and he probably would invite her to hang out with them if they had classes together or whatever. But what if he doesn’t, she thought to herself. It had been a while since she’d actually wanted to be friends with someone and now that she finally had again, what if he just hung out with her when his friends were busy or was too embarrassed to let his friends see him hanging out with her.

She realized she had totally zoned out and was now even more lost as to what the teacher was talking about than she had been before. She was definitely going to have to re-read these pages and take notes on them tonight.

"You have nice legs Mia."

Mia felt heat rise in her cheeks as she blushed. She liked that he had been thinking about or looking at her legs, it made her feel less silly about thinking trying to get their legs touching.

“Yeah? I’m glad you think so…I mean thank you, that’s very sweet.”

 

[HisPureLust]

He felt foolish for commenting on her legs, he didn't exactly get the response he was hoping for, but then again Cane was horrible with members of the opposite sex... so it wasn't exactly shocking. She hadn't gotten mad at him so he took it as a win.

Biology dragged on as usual. It was a hell of a way to start the day, but sometimes the schedule gods don't bless you they curse you.

Once the bell rang Cane rose form his seat and started putting his things away, his hair falling in front of his face as he thought about how he wouldn't see Mia till period after next, when they had English Literature. It was probably for the best... he'd rather not have her see him where he was headed... his Global Studies class. There were some assholes in that class that usually gave him a hard time. He felt as if he was doing well, with impressing her, and he wanted to keep it that way.

"I guess I'll see you 3rd period..." He said hoisting his pack over one shoulder, carrying the heavy load of textbooks with ease on his thin but athletic frame. "... we won't get to sit together but I'll be there... look for me."

He looked at her, kind of blankly. Blinking once and giving her his best smile before he started to walk around her and head for the door. Most of the 1rst period class pouring out and into the hall.

 

[Jenn1982]

Cane was silent the rest of the class and Mia couldn’t help but be a little disappointed. Of course it was better for her, at least her academics, if she gave the class her full attention. She dutifully took notes as the teacher spoke, especially on the stuff she wasn’t totally clear on so she could review it later. As class was nearing its end Mr. Henrikson reminded them to study over the weekend since they would have a test on Monday. Mia grimaced, she really was not prepared for a test and she knew what she was going to be doing all weekend.

The bell finally rung and she tucked her book and notes back into her backpack.

"I guess I'll see you 3rd period... we won't get to sit together but I'll be there... look for me."

“Okay, that’ll be nice, have fun in your next class,” she said with a smile and wave before walking out of class.

Her next class was algebra which was a class she actually liked. She had always excelled at Math and English in part because she genuinely enjoyed the subjects. She listened to Mr. Sanderson and took notes even though she probably didn’t really need to. The 55 minute class went by quickly and before she knew it the bell was ringing.

Mia stopped by the water fountain on her way to her next class to refill her water bottle. By the time she got to English most of the class was already there and seated. She looked around until she spotted Cane and gave him a wave before taking her own seat. Most of her attention stayed focused on the teacher but every once in a while she would catch herself glancing over at Cane. She hoped it hadn’t been too obvious. After the bell rung Mia headed over to Cane as he gathered his things.

“What class do you have next?”