Chapter the sixth! Took me long enough...

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Nathaniel sighed. The last period of the day; study hall, and he'd elected to take his homework outside and work in the sunshine. Much better than being inside the lobby, where quite a few of his classmates were stationed, hiding from the weather outside. But there was a large majority of students still outside; either actually studying or just messing around out where it was nice and warm. Nathaniel was one of the few actually working; his notebook was on his lap, chemistry book open, balancing on his knee. Luce was sprawled out over the bench half a foot away, books abandoned in favor of his music.

After lunch the day had gone by better; Tr--Demari--wasn't in his Spanish class, so he hadn't had to put up with anyone there. Saide had left him well enough alone and Luce took French, but Chris Lathan, who'd asked Saide about Nathaniel's favorite color at lunch, would occasionally grin at Nathaniel like he knew something. Nathaniel had no doubt Chris probably did; after all, he was Tricky's best friend. And they were really best friends--they'd known each other since preschool, finished each other's sentences, were practically telekinetic; hell, their strides even matched. It was almost weird.

"So, Nate," Luce said, making Nathaniel squint against the glare of the sun glancing off the butter-colored wood of Luce's bench as he looked up. "What exactly is going on? With you and Tricky, I mean?"

Shit. Now Luce suspected something? "Just what I told you two earlier---"

"You're bullshitting me, Nate." Luce regarded him keenly, his eyes fixed on Nathaniel.

Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.

Luce's eyes narrowed.

Nathaniel sighed. Maybe it was Luce's eyes that made him cave; the boy had a way of making his gestures count more than words; and on top of that his eyes were an odd teal, almost all iris and hardly any pupil that mattered, the color so intense that it jumped out of his face. Almost disturbing. And it wasn't like he couldn't trust Luce; hell, Luce was practically his Chris, with the exception of the matching strides.

"He stole my schedule this morning on the bus and then molested me in my sleep," Nathaniel confessed, biting his bottom lip and averting his eyes slightly. Luce nodded slowly, his eyes still on Nathaniel's face.

"...And then he wouldn't leave me alone today," Nathaniel burst out, frowning fiercely. "He kept calling me cute."

"Oh my jeez," Luce said, rolling his eyes. "You're so--"

"You won't tell Saide, will you?" Nathaniel asked, interrupting. Luce rolled his eyes again and nodded like it was obvious.

"Of course not, stupid. Now what are you gonna do about this?"

Nathaniel slumped slightly, closing his notebook and his textbook and putting them both off to the side. He was quick with homework anyway, it wouldn't take him long to finish later. "I don't know. That's the problem. I lied to Saide and she'll never forgive me if she finds out and if other people find out..."

"That should be the least of your problems," Luce said, raising an eyebrow. "I know for almost a fact that Chris knows, but the rest of the school is still oblivious, I'm guessing. The real problem is actually what you're gonna do with this situation."

"What...do you mean?" Nathaniel asked cautiously, not sure he really wanted to know the answer. Advice from Luce was either an ace or a crash and burn, and Nathaniel was generally iffy about letting Luce tell him much about anything.

"Well, think about it. You can either make something of this or you can let it die..and if you decide to make something from it, it could either be good or bad. Or both," Luce added, pursing his lips. "It all depends on how you feel."

"Oh, Jesus, Luce, you're not making any sense." Nathaniel pushed the heel of his palm against his forehead. "Maybe I'm just really confused. I think that's it."

"It's probably just the weather," Luce commented, flicking his gaze upwards. Nathaniel nodded, frowning.

"Yeah. I bet you that's it."

Luce sighed, letting his head fall back momentarily. "Well, if I know you--and I think I would, after all--you're going to blow this madly out of proportion and end up causing a bigger crash than was going to happen in the beginning. That's just the sort of thing you do," Luce added, when Nathaniel gave him a look. "Always. So I figure this whole shebang--" he pantomimed an explosion, nodding affirmatively "--you might as well take advantage of it. You know what I'm sayin'?"

"...ehh." Nathaniel squinted at Luce, trying to figure out what was running through his friend's head. "Almost."

Luce sighed again, jerking up into a sitting position so fast that Nathaniel actually recoiled. "Nate," he said, clasping his hands together. "Nathaniel Ethan Bluebell, you...you, my friend, are dense. Very much so."

Nathaniel glared--he wasn't the one who couldn't grasp the concept of a math proof still--but Luce waved his hand dismissively. "What I'm saying is that obviously this is just a play for your attention. You know? Cause I bet you ten Tricky doesn't go around calling just anyone cute."

"He wouldn't want my attention, Luce. I mean, really! Who does?" Nathaniel folded his arms, raising an eyebrow. "I'm bad-tempered, sarcastic, rude, I'm bad with people--why?"

"Do you ever pay attention to yourself?" Luce asked skeptically. "Really, Nate. You have the wrong impression of yourself. You're nice enough, you're polite when it's merited, you--okay, you are bad tempered, but people like you anyway. When you talk, it's like..." His eyes drifted to the side. "Like you're the only person who needs to be talking, you're so self-assured. A lot of people like that sort of thing."

"Uh..." Nathaniel bit his lip, furrowing his brows. Luce, talking like that? He sounded like he had a crush...oh, God.

"I take psychology, Nate," Luce said, rolling his eyes. "I study behaviors and attitudes for fun."

"I knew that," Nathaniel said defensively, though he was definitely relieved. The whole Tr--Demari, dammit--thing was already making his brain want to explode; he didn't need anyone else to deal with on top of that. "I knew that."

"Mhmm. Sure."

"...Shut up, Luce. Just shut up." Nathaniel stacked his books together, swiveling to pull his legs underneath himself. "So...wait, so you think this is all because he--wants my attention, or something?"

"Uh, maybe," Luce replied, shrugging. His eyes flickered back over Nathaniel's head and he smiled briefly, almost darkly, at something Nathaniel couldn't see and didn't care enough to look for. "Most likely? Like, most people do extreme things to get attention. Like that day when Saide made her beaker explode just so Brendon would help her out?"

"Oh yeah!" Nathaniel nodded, recalling the brief obsession Saide had had with Brendon Lassiter about four months ago. Nathaniel never understood quite why; Brendon had always come off as the kind of guy whose garden gate swung the other way, but maybe he'd been wrong. Although he was pretty sure he was right. He usually was. Nathaniel prided himself on being a good judge of character, and therefore tended to assume he was right about most things. It made him a little headstrong, but definitely confident. That was always a good thing...right?

"But..." Nathaniel pursed his lips. "I really doubt he's like...that he likes me. I don't think so. I would have noticed."

"You can't read everyone, Nate," Luce said vaguely, standing up and stretching. Nathaniel just watched; Luce, while generally confusing, usually wasn't cryptic and mysterious--which he definitely just was.

"Here's the breakdown," Luce said, turning suddenly back to Nathaniel, making a chopping motion with his hands. "Do not, under any circumstances, tell Saide what's going on. Don't tell her you lied, because you will die. Not good. Second: Try not to lie to her anymore...but do what you have to do, mmkay?"

"Yeah," Nathaniel affirmed, frowning. He wasn't fond of lying to his friends at all, really; but he was less fond of his friends finding out he'd lied to them. Like, really not fond. At all.

"Third..." Luce scrunched his face up thoughtfully. "Try to stay cool around Tricky. Don't make a fool of yourself, don't let him know he's getting to you...play hard to get, almost." When Nathaniel opened his mouth to protest, Luce waved his hands so emphatically Nathaniel had to duck. "No no no, you listen to me, Nathaniel. I am trying to help you."

"Oh...kay?" Nathaniel raised his eyebrows, a little offset by Luce. Then again, who wasn't? "Go on."

"This way, you'll be able to tell if he's actually trying to get your attention or not. If he thinks you're not paying any mind to him or you're just not impressed, he'll go to greater lengths to try and get you to notice him. If he's just being a dick, well...he'll do the same thing. But there'll be a difference, trust me."

"I can do that." Nathaniel gathered his books and stood. "Anything else?"

"Uh..." Luce shrugged. "Don't get in over your head." Again, cryptic. Damn. "Let's go back inside; we have to leave in a little bit anyway."

"Fine," Nathaniel said, wondering exactly where the switch was that made Luce flip so easily from rational and analyzing to edgy and dizzy and tipsy. He figured that was why the psychology kids were weird.

Why Tricky was weird, though...

Nathaniel had no idea.

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I actually updated! Wow, I think it's the Christmas Spirit getting to me. In which I should be working on Not Exactly What I Wished For, which I started like a year ago today I think...and probably some christmas drabbles too.

Reviews are like grass to cows.