Chapter Fifteen | Eros King

                "Is this shit supposed to be this confusing and difficult or am I just a dumbass?" I sincerely ask the seemingly rhetoric question to the smaller boy who adjusts his glasses and refuses to make any eye contact with me.

Instead, he opted to keep his eyes casted down on the laptop where an assignment that was due over one week ago sat open on the illuminated screen to remind me once again that I was a stupid, incapable of doing anything science related and uncaring son of a bitch. I originally did not anticipate that the science course was going to be as difficult and time consuming as it wounded up being, especially due to the slow ass start in the beginning of the semester but as soon as mid October struck, it felt like a switch was activated.

The Professor chose to magically bombard all of us with assignments that would have us contemplating if we should just off ourselves. Maybe that was the sadistic fuckers goal all this time. To see his students suffer and jump off buildings that would end the nightmare that is her science class which — to be fucking honest — is not that important.

If we're being honest here, the only people who actually actively payed attention in that damn class and were doing exceptionally well is Easton and the five foot six dork beside me. I train my eyes on him and watch as he absentmindedly scrolls down the Google page of my sleek silver Apple laptop with those slim fingers of his resting gingerly on the rectangular mouse pad.

He wears black circular glasses that are a bit too big for his small face and take up too much space but it became his thing at this point, it'd be hard to imagine seeing him without those staple glasses of his. Behind those thick lenses are blue...or are they green? Whichever color it was, his eyes are a shade of blue and green that pop and stand out on his pale skin.

With a well structured jawline, angular face, perfect nose, faded brown freckles dusted along the bridge of his nose and creeping onto his cheeks on either side, neatly styled brown hair that was always styled in a quiff that was fluffier and longer that the usual, and surprisingly plump and feminine looking lips, Eros King is so unlike his brother but he mirrors the appearance of his father Finnick King except Eros was more... beautiful.

For a guy he could sure as hell pass for a girl if he really wanted to. Another thing that one couldn't help but notice about Eros are his mannerisms. Every movement of his was delicate and gentle, he was clearly overly cautious about everything and the way he spoke was soft and quiet like he wanted to speak but didn't actually want to be heard. Confusing as hell but that's him.

Now that I thought about it, maybe I should've asked Easton to tutor me. Not because Eros is a shit tutor. I just didn't think that he really wanted to be helping me right now or spending any time with me even if it was to merely assist me with my work. He gave me the I-am-very-uncomfortable-being-with-you-right-now vibes so just sitting next to him at his studying desk inside his place of retreat, his room, I felt like I was invading his personal space. Of course he agreed to help me when I asked but the kid is so meek that I began to fear that he simply obliged because he was too anxious and afraid of what my reaction would be to say no.

"Hey, Eros. I hope that I'm not making you feel hella uncomfortable right now. You know, you don't have to help me out." I laughed lightly as I reached for my laptop and began to slide it over to my side, getting ready to leave the boy to himself. To put him out of his miser, but those timid hands of his grab the corner of my laptop to stop me from pulling it any closer to my persons.

I look down at him and watch as he quickly releases his hold of my laptop like it burned him and opts to place both of his hands into the safety of his lap. His gaze remains fixated on his lap like it was the most interesting thing in the world, but I knew that he just didn't want to make any kind of eye contact with me.

"No, that's...we...I..." he was struggling to find his words. I didn't know what to make of his inability to form a coherent sentence.

If he kept going at the rate that he was now, I'd be here all day waiting to finally hear what he had to say and I didn't have the time for that. It was painfully hard to watch the boy struggle so much as his nerves and anxiety overtook him due to the unfamiliarity of having to interact with me so I chose to make things easier for him. That or make him even more anxiety stricken — hopefully it would be the first one and not the latter.

I hook my foot around the leg of his chair which promptly allowed me to use the strength in my legs to swiftly turn his chair around to face me. I'm turned in my seat while Eros's seat is now facing me, and the doe eyed boy is gazing up at me with the most puzzled expression right now like he was mildly confused and caught off guard. With him finally looking me in my eyes, I noted that his eyes are indeed a clear mix of green and blue. In certain lights and angles you saw blue and in others you saw green.

He blinks rapidly with his mouth opening and closing like a fish. It was funny, but I tried to not laugh. Can't have him embarrassed, I'd save that for when he didn't choke just trying to utter a sentence. Instead, I grip either side of his chair and lean closer to him until I'm all up in his space and he's leaning back until his back hits the back of the chair. He looks even more anxious and startled. Hopefully this doesn't go to shit.

"Am I a monster, Eros?" I ask him.

His brows furrow immediately. "W-what?"

"Am I a monster?" I repeat the question.

"No?" He replied. His tone gave away that he was both confused and uncertain on how to answer the ridiculous question that I just posed to him.

He himself knew that the question was stupid but he was still hesitant and it made the corner of my lips dance as I tried to suppress a laugh.

"If I'm not a monster or some kind of spooky ass creature that's out to gobble you up, relax. I'm just like Kaylee or Hazel except I have a dick and I'm a bit of a dick sometimes too —" the tiny shadow of a smile appearing on his face fueled me to continue spluttering bullshit and so I did. " — but enough talk about dick. I won't bite or attack you, unless you like steal my food or some shit. Aside from that, you're good. I know you probably have a bit of social anxiety and I get that, I just...don't want you to be overly in your head around me. I won't be an ass to you, I'll make an exception this once."

At this point, there is a full smile on his face. One that I wholeheartedly welcome with a smile of my own as I look at the boy who was, just moments ago, unable to make eye contact with me. It didn't last too long as he averted his eyes again and began to twiddle with his fingers. I noticed that there was still a faint smile on his face so I still felt accomplished. Progress.

"Sorry." He said. "I don't mind um...helping you. I want to h-help you. I just have to...get u-used to you."

His remaining words melted into a soft whisper that I managed to hear thanks to my wolf hearing. If I were human, I would've missed what he said entirely. Growing to understand him much more just from the simple statement that I essentially need to grow on him like mold that grows on bread — that's how it registered in my brain — I nod in acceptance.

This is the first time I really had a conversation with the smaller boy, I didn't realize it until now. He was never on my radar and I hung around a different crowd that didn't have him in it. Eros is also the kind that doesn't really want to be seen so I never really saw him even though I am best friends with his brother. Strange.

Catching him off guard, I press my first finger on the bridge of his glasses and slide it back up as I watched it slowly slide down the bridge of his nose. I knew that he'd notice it and adjust it for himself but I wanted to do it for him. It was a mix of me wanting to be annoying and helpful at the same time. He doesn't know how to react so he just stares at me.

Shooting a smirk his way, I finally lean back in my seat and slide my laptop back to his side. "I know I'm attractive but if I don't get this shit done, I will probably fail this class."

A bashful blush spreads across his face and reaches the tips of his elf ears — they were pointy like an elves. He nervously grabs my laptop and stares at the screen to avoid looking at me. The assignment prompt reappears on the screen and I watch his eyes scan the electronic sheet of paper.

"I-I wasn't looking at you because you're attractive." He mumbled, I laughed. "Y-you have something on y-your face."

Alert, I begin to touch my face to discover what the hell he was talking about but I didn't physically feel anything on my face. I glance at Eros who begins to giggle quietly to himself and I playfully glare at him.

"You're bullshitting me, aren't you?" I arch an eyebrow.

Eros doesn't get the chance to respond. His door is suddenly thrown open and in walks Xander with that handsome face of his, tight fitting white sweater that hugs every inch of his body and clearly outlines every muscle on him, black pants that emphasize his long legs, and a pleased look on his face as his eyes catch my own.

"What are you doing here, Xander?" Eros asked before I could ask the same question.

I look away from Xander to look at his polar opposite brother who managed to spit out the question without stuttering and without his voice dropping even a little. His tone was leveled, clear, crisp, and confident. The Eros who spoke to Xander is a different Eros that I have never seen before. And yes it blew the shit out of me. Then again, interacting with siblings is much different than interacting with someone you didn't know very well. Still surprised the hell out of me.

My attention is taken away from Eros by the sound of Xanders footsteps as they grow closer. Whipping my head around to look at Xander, I watch gratefully as he approaches the black entertainment center that was beneath a large hanging television. He crouches down and looks at his brother.

"I came to fix the broken drawer on your entertainment center. Remember?" Xander replied like it was obvious.

Eros looks down at his brother incredulously. "I asked you to help me with that seven months ago."

I snorted. Xander shot me a look, and I raised my hands up in mock surrender.

"And now I have the free time to do it. You're welcome." Xander shot Eros a smile.

Eros groaned to himself and rolled his eyes as he turned back around to face the laptop screen. Before I could follow suit, Xander catches my eyes and winks at me. Thoroughly embarrassed, I mask the feelings the spread through me by pretending to gag. Xander laughed to himself as I quickly turned back around and tried my hardest to focus on what Eros was saying.

He was stuttering a bit more now as he tried to explain something to me about  molecular biology and some shit about mechanisms of gene replication, mutation, and other things that I was unable to catch onto because I was fucking distracted. I felt bad knowing that Eros was beside me trying to explain the foreign concept of molecular biology that was almost impossible for me to grasp. But here I am, unable to focus and a weak mess and I could thank Xander King for it.

My right leg bounces against the hard wood floors, my left thumb in my mouth as my teeth gnawed on my short fingernails that were — thankfully — dirt free. I was suddenly grateful that Hazel was bored yesterday and absentmindedly decided to clip my fingernails and use some kind of tool to clean out whatever dirt was in my nails. It was like she knew I'd be in a predicament that would make me unnerved enough to rediscover the annoying habit that I stopped, or thought I stopped, years ago.

I could feel his eyes on the back of my head and just on me. It made me shift in my seat repeatedly; it's like I hoped that me moving a lot would somehow shake his eyes off of me. Wishful thinking. They remained on me and I knew it. I felt it.

Note: not edited.