The Ivory and the Shade

"I told you not to follow me to class anymore, Em," Shane sighed in irritation and turned to the older man who had not left him alone since the previous year.

Emilien Benet scowled at the boy with black hair and seemed particularly displeased. "But you're so lovely. Come on, Shai—"

"Don't call me that and I have to go to class so just leave me alone," turning, Shane walked into his classroom and sighed on his way up to his desk, shrinking into himself.

That day was a Monday and it was the first day of his required calculus course. Many of the graduating upperclassmen had to take it to graduate so many were in that class with Shane. He was a pre-med student and calculus was one of the required courses.

Shane Mondragon was nineteen years old and a second year in college. He was pretty small for someone his age and was barely able to say he was five feet tall with three inches, with haunting eyes the color of liquid topaz and jet black hair that fell to his shoulders and shaded his face. He swept his hair to the side to keep it out of his eyes but mostly he let it fall over them, using it as a shield to hide him from the world.

He sat hunched over his notebook writing something random down in its pretty blank pages with his favorite ink pen when He walked through the door.

Since high school, they had never once had a single class together. Shane leaned forward on his desk with his lazy, drooping eyes gazing down at Him. He rested his head on his arms—which he stretched out before him as if he was reaching for that person. He had a smile on His face and He was laughing.

Shane's heart ached and he looked away, pulling back and away from that beautiful man. With the soft blonde hair that was a blonde you could never buy in a bottle and those eyes the color of a stormy night, a beautiful grey, an intense, starving, and gorgeous grey.

He was Ivory Belltower.

Shane had started high school at the age of thirteen and on his very first school day he had met fifteen year old Bryan Sinclair, a boy with violet hair and matching eyes, the only person who ever talked to Shane at all. That same day Bryan had attracted the attention of Ivory Belltower, a junior at their school who was like all things beautiful embodied. From far away Shane had watched Ivory reel in Bryan and make him his own. He had quietly walked through each day of their relationship, watching Bryan and Ivory tease each other, play a game of cat and mouse. He had all the while fallen in love with Ivory.

Not Ivory as a person but rather for how he was. His laugh, the million dollar smile, the way his long lashes brushed his cheekbone and the way he was a charismatic should-be model.

Ivory with his stupid perfect self.

Not once had Ivory noticed Shane. But it really didn't matter to him; there was nothing special about his self anyway. He was a small, geeky boy who was content with just being able to watch the god that Ivory was. Plus he was mean and downright terrible some times. Terrible to the point where he made little kids cry.

At the beginning of their sophomore year, Ivory's senior year in high school, Bryan had dropped out and just simply vanished. Shane had watched Ivory closer then, seeing how lousy he became after Bryan was gone. He watched Ivory go through countless numbers of guys, some even at the same time. Ivory was an over sexed, physically driven, drop-dead gorgeous monster.

And yet for some reason he had always avoided Shane. Shane had never minded at all—he loved only watching, being afraid to really say anything to anyone. He watched Ivory graduate and missed him when he was gone. High school for Shane had been the most uninteresting when Ivory had gone. He had graduated at the top of his class at the age of seventeen anyway, being the boy with an odd detachment to life.

Shane had started college only a few days after summer ended and he'd thought he'd gotten over his infatuation with Ivory but unfortunately he had been wrong. His first day of college had been the first day of high school all over again. He had just turned seventeen that summer and had just arrived at his dorm and after unpacking all his things he had gone to the courtyard only to see none other than Ivory Belltower himself outside. He had heard the laughter and he had recognized the lovely sound of the silver bell voice. He had turned and almost cried at the sight of Ivory, twenty-one years of age then, almost twenty-two, just starting his third year of college and oh, how beautiful he still was.

It was really high school all over for Shane. He glimpsed Ivory here and there, silently watching his unknowing love only when given the chance that they were in the same place at the same time. He never wasted time following Ivory only gave time when the opportunity came up. He watched Ivory and all his endless amounts of lovers.

And not ever had they ever been put in the same class together before.

That was until now.

Ivory Belltower walked into his calculus class and laughed—his friend and ex-boy-toy Adrian, tall, spiky brown hair and hazel-green eyes, was being funny again. "Yes, yes, I'll be good now get to your own class."

Ivory was twenty-two now, his twenty-third birthday was that fall. He was going to be a teacher for high school and calculus was required for his major. He sent his friend off and then he turned to observe the classroom; it was filled with upperclassmen but plenty of other students were attending as well. He spotted a few friends of his but he was much more intrigued by a face he hadn't seen before. The face was small, adorable, and incredibly flawless, almost like Ivory's own face. Raven-colored hair sweeping down over the strangest yellow eyes… Ivory smiled and walked up to that face and took a seat next to the boy it belonged to.

Ivory had always been the type of person who laughed his way through life; he was young, attractive, intelligent, charming, and he definitely didn't waste time not having fun with it. But sometimes something was missing. He ignored that final feeling, brushing it off as a ghost of what he'd felt after his parents had disowned him.

Letting his things fall on the desk, he sat down and glanced over at the boy he'd decided to sit next to. The younger man shrank away from Ivory, laying his head on an outstretched arm and looking at nothing in particular. He was younger than Ivory had thought, possibly not even in his twenties yet. And he was also much more beautiful up close so Ivory looked attentively at the boy's face.

Why do you shy away? Is it because you think I am beautiful?

The boy kept his eyes cast down as if he was afraid to look up. Ivory wanted to see the boy's eyes again because they were such an intriguing color. They were a strange topaz, pretty amber framed by very long and thick black eyelashes, and there was a blush on his face that made Ivory wonder why the boy seemed to draw back from him.

"Hey, Ivy," James, Adrian's current lover and also an ex-boy-toy of Ivory's, one of the friends Ivory had spotted before, leaned against the desk and grinned down at Ivory. Tucking his long dark hair behind his ear, he smirked and gazed lazily down at his friend. "Why are you sitting with Shai, gorgeous? If you're looking for an easy lay you're definitely not going to find it there."

Shane stiffened and sat up, grimacing down at his notebook. He had been surprised when Ivory had chosen to sit next to him and had been even more surprised when Ivory had looked at him. Now he just wished that Ivory would leave and that he would take his friend with him.

Not looking at either of them, he sat up straight and glared at his desk and murmured, "Shut the hell up, James."

Ivory wondered how James knew Shane and was envious that he hadn't met Shane first. His perfect lips lifted up in a slight smile at the sound of Shane's soft but beautiful voice. "No, actually I wasn't. I don't always have sex on the brain you know."

"Ha!" at this Shane scoffed, laughing quietly and rolling his eyes before he lay back down on his arm and looked at nothing again.

"Suuure you don't but even Shai, who isn't very social at all, knows what a Casanova you are!" James laughed loudly and also rolled his eyes. "Why don't you sit with us instead? Sandy, Quinn, and Dai all miss you."

Ivory shook his head. "No, I think I'll sit here. Go back to your sluts."

"They're your sluts too you know!"

Shane was surprised again. He'd thought that Ivory would have gone with James for sure. The two had had a thing before Ivory had screwed Adrian and before James had stolen Adrian away. They were no longer having sex with each other but they were close nonetheless. He glanced over at Ivory and blushed when he found that Ivory was watching him.

Ivory had pegged Shane as the shy and innocent type with that irresistibly cute face and soft voice but actually it looked like Shane had quite the attitude going on by the way he'd responded to James and his stupid comment. Again he wondered how the two knew each other and again he was envious. But Ivory liked Shane and he knew it would be easy to befriend and bed him.

"Why didn't you just go with James?" Shane muttered, keeping his eyes down at all times and looking very down.

"I don't know," Ivory answered with a lazy smile. "You looked like you needed the company."

"Well I don't."

Shane turned his head away and went back to his writing without another word. Despite his confused feelings for Ivory he was not stupid; he knew Ivory would never pay attention to someone as unattractive as him and Ivory really was a slut. If he let himself get too close Shane knew he'd end up hurt.

The professor walked in then and Ivory left Shane alone.

Halfway through the lesson Shane became distracted and laid his chin on his arm in his usual gesture to watch Ivory taking notes. When Ivory focused his perfect eyebrows knit together slightly and he bit the tip of his tongue in a very adorable way. Shane remembered how distraught Ivory had been after Bryan had left and wondered. He'd been confused and worried, as if he'd cared. Shane watched the mist of Ivory's beautiful grey eyes, the blonde of his hair falling over the storm that they were.

Shane wanted to say something to Ivory and to apologize for being rude or to ask if he remembered from him from high school or to say anything. But his words slipped away and he wanted to touch Ivory with his hands. Damn that tempting ... everything!

Ivory glanced over and found Shane looking at him, he smiled, and Shane blushed a very pretty scarlet before he turned his face away.

After class was over it was lunch time and Shane was going to skip out again because he would rather not eat than eat by himself. He got up to leave but Ivory bumped into him accidentally when they were walking out of the classroom.

Shane stumbled forward slightly and Ivory effortlessly reached out and caught him. "Whoa, don't fall."

Breathing in sharply, Shane shrank into himself. He'd never before had Ivory that close and he had never even dreamt of even speaking to him at all. And now they were close enough to kiss!

He stuttered like an idiot he blushed and jerked forward as he rushed to pick up his things. "S-sorry. I'm really s-sorry." He startled—he hadn't stuttered since he'd been fifteen. He kept his head down as he gathered his things in his arms.

"No, I'm sorry," Ivory knelt down and picked up a yellow notebook and turned Shane to face him, handing it to him. "I wasn't watching where I was going. Shane was it?"

Shane's face fell and he looked down again. "You don't remember me," he mumbled. He wanted to be angry.

"Hm?" Ivory was startled. He was sure he would have remembered meeting someone that cute and he said so.

Shane laughed. "Me? Cute? Ha. Well we never actually met," he explained. "We went to the same high school."

"Er... we did?"

"You were a junior when I was a freshman, Ivory Belltower, you dated my only high school friend Bryan Sinclair until he ran away from home," Shane said softly.

Ivory's chest tightened and he frowned. He hadn't thought of that name since his senior year in high school. Bryan had been one of the only guys who had ever managed to crawl into Ivory's heart. "Oh, yes, Bryan. I haven't thought of him since senior year."

Shane regretted bringing up his old friend. Ivory looked troubled and Shane felt bad.

Things started coming back to him and Ivory recalled Bryan mentioning this small, yellow-eyed boy a couple dozen times. He remembered seeing them together in the hallway once or twice. But he'd never paid much attention and Shane had always looked really difficult to befriend so Ivory had been a coward in approaching him.

"Oh! I remember you now! You were always really quiet and hard to approach," Ivory rubbed the back of his head. "I never much paid attention and I regret it. You're really cute."

Shane awkwardly looked into Ivory's eyes for the first time. "Thanks."

Ivory laughed and smiled down at Shane. "You haven't changed at all have you? You're still cute, small, quiet... witty," when Shane said nothing Ivory sighed. "So do you want to go to lunch with me?"

"Hm?" Shane looked up at him. "Y-you what?"

"Would you like to go to lunch with me?" Ivory smiled.

Shane looked down again and nodded before letting Ivory lead him out of the door.

In the cafeteria, people waved at Ivory here and there. He seemed to know everyone and while Shane knew a little under ten people a lot of people seemed to know of him; the boy genius with an IQ over 160 who'd started school late skipped elementary and gone straight to high school. The boy with the bad attitude.

When Ivory's friends saw him with Shane they gave him quizzical looks but Ivory ignored them and got both him and Shane something to eat.

Sitting at a table away from his friends, Ivory smiled at Shane. "Don't mind them, they —"

"All think I'm an asshole," Shane said making a face of distaste at the food. "And they're right. I am an asshole."

"I don't see it," Ivory laughed, making Shane shiver.

Shane shrugged, not sure of what had come over him; this was the most he had ever said to anyone at school and whom else was the snide remark directed at than Ivory himself. Wrinkling his nose at the food, he decided to go all out and be an asshole anyway. "I can't eat this. I'm a vegan."

"Er, I'm sorry, I can get you something else," Ivory offered.

Damn him for being kind. "No, thank you, I'm not hungry today," Shane pushed the plate away.

"You should eat," Ivory protested. "My brother is a vegan and he says you're not supposed to miss meals especially if you're small like you are."

"Fine. I want pizza."

Ivory had been correct in thinking that Shane was difficult to interact with. "Okay, I'll be back. Coseks has the best vegan pizza ever and they have a stand right here at school."

Shane bit down on his lip when Ivory stood up and forced himself to relax, "I'm sorry I'm so difficult."

"That's okay, we just officially met today, I don't expect you to like me right away you know," Ivory shook his head and laughed softly. "It's understandable."

Shane actually laughed and Ivory liked the sound. "Ha! With that face really? Who wouldn't like you?"

"You for one," Ivory pointed out.

"... Shut up."

Ivory left the table with a promise of returning.

As soon as he was gone Shane slouched and dropped his head on the table. "Oh, god," he groaned pathetically.

"Is something else the matter in the world of Shai?" Adrian had been forced to go over to the table by his friends as soon as Ivory was gone to find out why they were sitting together.

Shane hissed. "Go fuck yourself, Adri, if you're going to do the same shit your boyfriend pulls I suggest you back away and do it quickly." There was that snarky attitude everyone loved so much.

Adrian raised an eyebrow and he glanced back at James. Then, turning back to Shane, he said, "No, I am sorry for whatever James has done this time. He doesn't mean it."

"Like hell he doesn't!" Shane snapped his head in Adrian's direction and glared. "You know what's wrong with my world? Your boyfriend is what's wrong with it, you wanna help? Keep him the hell away from me!"

"Fine, I'll tell him to back off or whatever, I just wanted to help," Adrian backed off. "But he was right; I don't know why Ivy would choose to sit with you."

The words hurt and Shane put his head back on the table. "Yeah, neither do I."

"Shai," Adrian felt bad for what he'd said. "Just be careful with him will you? You don't want to be just another toy."

"Don't plan on it, thanks anyway," Shane muttered. "Just go away, you know I'm not a pleasant person."

"Yes, I do know," Adrian murmured.

"God I hate people," Shane scowled as Adrian laughed, shook his head, and walked off.

When Ivory returned Shane raised his head and he actually wanted the food. Ivory set the plate down and sat down in his chair again, "What was Adri doing here? You don't look too happy. Was he bothering you?"

"No. He was apologizing for his asshole boyfriend because James is too much of a dick to come say sorry to me himself," Shane grumbled picking at a slice of pizza with his finger before smiling and taking it in his hand. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Ivory said. "What's the deal with you and James anyway?"

"What's your deal with them?" Shane retorted, scowling.

Ivory backed off. "Alright, alright. Then what's your full name?"

"Shane," Shane said purposefully being difficult.

"You know mine, so it is only fair I know yours," ivory insisted.

Shane sighed and peered at Ivory through his hair. Sweeping it to the side in a swift and graceful movement he said, "Shane Mondragon, I am almost nineteen, five foot three, and I don't tend to get along with people. I hate people."

"You look younger than nineteen," Ivory covered his mouth with his hand to keep from giggling.

"Ivory Belltower," Shane scowled, determined to put him in his place. "You're almost twenty-three, five foot nine, English major with a PHD in dramatizing. You've fucked around with more people than I have ever even spoken to at this school."

Ivory stopped laughing and a blush tinted his face. "You were quick to size me up."

"I've heard things," was all Shane said as he took another slice of pizza. He couldn't be completely honest with Ivory, he was nervous and agitated now that he was suddenly so near him. He wanted to see Ivory smiling again.

"Oh? And what have you heard?" Ivory asked curiously.

Shane shook his head. "Nothing of importance."

"I see. Well then what are you here for then?" Ivory asked even more curious now.

"Uhm, pre-med," Shane said simply.

"Medical school in your future then?"

"Yes."

"Impressive, I'm going to be an English teacher," Ivory smiled; his education was one of the things he was actually proud of.

Shane had known the major but not the job of choice. It was his turn to be curious, "Really?"

"Yep, I'm already a student teacher at our old high school," he continued. "I am a fan of teaching not learning."

It was then that Ivory realized he had never really talked to his friends this way before. He didn't even know Adrian's last name and he and James were Ivory's best friends since their first year of college. They'd always been too busy sucking face to talk.

Well Ivory liked talking.

"That's really nice, Ivory, I think you'll make a good teacher," Shane said sincerely.

Ivory smiled and began to eat, determined to get Shane to talk about his self no matter how long it took.

"I know. So now will you tell me your deal with James?"

Shane threw a slice of pizza at Ivory. "No, so shut up."

"That wasn't very nice," Ivory laughed and shook his hair out of his face.

"I don't remember telling you I was," was all Shane said.

Ivory pouted and tilted his head to the side, "You know you're very cute when you're grumpy, there is nothing mean about you at all," he said sarcastically.

"I did say I was an asshole," Shane snapped, irritated by Ivory's persistence.

"I don't see it," Ivory teased.

"You will eventually. James and Adri realized it soon enough and backed off."

Ivory bit down on his bottom lip. "Did they try to, what, seduce you?"

"I think I'm full," Shane stood up quickly and grabbed his things.

"Aw, come on, Shai."

Shane shook his head, "No, they tried to be my friends, and they obviously failed. So will you eventually, because everyone else has."

Ivory watched Shane walk away from the table and scowled then slowly grinned, "Not me, Shane. You might be stubborn but I am much, much worse."

Even if he had to give Shane the stars, Ivory was determined to make Shane a friend.