+You've Got A Friend In Me+ [Kida&Ernest]

[marriedinthesunx]

Since when did being fifteen get to be this hard? Nakita had thought the public school back at home had been difficult, but this whole new environment, hours away from New York, was worse. Ten times worse. Because back at home, kids didn't pay attention him unless they were teasing and shoving him a bit too roughly. Here, at Eddingborough, boys were paying attention to him simply because he was a boy. Sure, he was still fresh meat, something to be picked on, but at the same time it was quite clear that a bunch of questionable pretty boys were trying to work their ways into the fifteen year old's pants.

He had just escaped the Dark room minutes before, and now the broken, and quite simply terrified youth had dropped himself onto a rather comfortable, green couch in the library. Nobody, or at least he assumed nobody, would try to take advantage of him here. Nobody was going to kiss him, or touch him, or make him feel as if he could melt into the ground. This was safety and as soon as those ocean blue eyes started wandering over the quiet inhibitor of the library, his breathing began to even out. This was peaceful, it was soothing and the slow, steady pace of each student trailing through each row of books proved to do wonders on his wild heart.

This was people watching with an entirely new twist. Nerd watching. Blond tresses sprung into his eyes, the first year fixing the locks anxiously with his large fingers and shifted back reaching over when he saw a magazine on a coffee table and bringing it to his lap.

No intention of reading it, but the flushed face boy had to appear somewhat busy if he expected to be allowed to stay in the library. After all, if you were just lounging about for the hell of it, people tended to get suspicious. "Goodness, you're fine.." he insisted softly, under his breath before clumsily flipping through the thin papered chronicle. What was he reading? Popular Mechanics? That, actually, was slightly interesting and shoes, which were still warm against the heel, were kicked off, Nakita sitting cross legged and seeming perfectly peaceful, but, still completely anxious inside when suddenly all those moments replayed in his mind for the third time.

Fingers gripped tightly at the ends of his magazine, exhaling deeply and barely even noticing the goosebumps that had lined his arms.

It had been a very difficult day, and it had really only just begun.

(It did end up quite a bit shorter than expected. Hopefully you still la-la-love me.)

[Anna]

He was caught in a bad horror movie, he was sure of it. Where else could you be assaulted by two guys in one day, and also have to witness two guys...molesting each other? God must be testing him. That must be it.

Ernest stumbled weak kneed away from his dorm room, where only a moment ago Haley and some random boy had crashed into in the middle of ripping off each others clothes. He thought a walk might ease the strange stirring that was now pooling in the pit of his stomach, or help him see straight, but he still felt sick.

He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. But he knew that he had to stick through it. After all, what would his father say if he gave up so easily? He was at Eddingborough for a reason, and he wasn't going to be scared off by something so small.

(But he knew this was a lie. It wasn't something small. Already, Ernest felt like he had witnessed something awful, something he'd have to pray and beg for forgiveness just for seeing.)

Without realizing that his wobbling legs had taken him there, Ernest found himself in the library. Well, that was fine. He could find a book to take his mind off of things. Pick up his textbooks for the following day's classes. Maybe just bring out his old battered copy of Edith Hamilton's mythology that he would never admit to reading so much.

But first... God, he needed to sit down. The image of Haley and that boy was still burned into the back of his eyelids, and he still felt like he would be sick all over the carpet at any moment. His whole face was flushed pink, his hands wouldn't stop wringing themselves in to knots.

Who knew what they were doing back in his room? He didn't want to think about it. But he couldn't help it. He imagined them coming together, imagined them completely naked, doing things that would have him cowering in the confession booth for a week if he even thought about.

He nearly fell into the green armchair, shivering now and covering his face in his hands. It was just too much; his whole day just seemed to collapse over his head and he wanted to cry.

God, Ernest, you're such a baby, he thought miserably, tugging at his hair and wishing he was someone else. Someone who wouldn't pass out at the sight of skin and the feeling of lips.

[marriedinthesunx]

No word of a lie, Kida almost jumped out of his skin the moment that extra weight flopped down on the couch. His magazine, which was once propped in his lap had landed on the floor, spine bent and pages weakly turned over. Before he had been sitting cross legged, mildly collected, but within an instant his legs were brought up to his chest and his eyes were wide. There was no way for the Greek boy to know it yet, but this would be the beginning of a rather therapeutic relationship for the both of them.

Then again, it was clear to see that the body who was sitting next to him, hands over his eyes, was in no better shape than he was. In fact, it appeared that the shaking, nervous mess of a body was completely ready to give out. The panic that had once struck the fifteen year old's heart had settled now, and instead, Nakita just felt sorry for the poor thing positioned beside him. Thin, pink lips parted, about to ask the hidden face if he was alright but noting that he was not quite ready to speak up just yet. Something told him that if he wasn't careful with his words this entire thing would slip down the drain.

Thinking before he spoke.

(His mother would be oh-so pleased.)

A gentle, warm hand landed cautiously on a stiff shoulder, the scrawny first year finally making a firm effort to connect with the boy that everybody else in the library had seemed to ignore. After all-- who could miss such a boy? No doubt he had come in here as worked up as this. "Can I help you, guy?" He asked softly, licking his lips and tilting his head as if to catch a look at that clutched face.

Oh, he just had a need to fix people, and this boy didn't stumble onto his couch without a reason.

[Anna]

If anyone had been watching the two boys on the couch, there was no doubt that they would be now doubling up in laughter. For as soon as Ernest registered that there was another body next to him, he nearly fell sideways off the couch.

The effect of the boy's hand on his shoulder was no better. Already a jumbled, nervous wreck, this just set him over the edge. Literally. At the sudden contact, he jumped back onto the arm of the chair, looking at the boy with wide eyes. Why was everyone touching him today? Here, it seemed like groping was as common as breathing, and -- God, Ernest just couldn't handle it.

He needed people to stop touching him.
He needed his father to tell him what to do.
He needed to pray, hard.

(He needed to get some courage before this whole shock thing killed him.)

Now perched on the edge of the couch, it took him a moment to realize how ridiculous he must look. He cheeks burned, and he cautiously settled back down on the cushion when he heard the boy's voice.

He sounded...nice. Ernest gave a quivering smile that didn't quite meet his dark blue eyes.

"No," he said truthfully. He wasn't sure what he could ask for. "Just -- one of those days, I guess." He didn't mention that the 'one of those days' included a near nervous breakdown that happened all too frequently.

He noticed then that the boy didn't look so swell himself. The genuine worry that swelled up momentarily blocked his creeping anxiety attack. "Oh, wow. Are -- Are you okay? I mean, if you don't mind me... mind me asking."

[marriedinthesunx]

It had all happened so quickly. One moment the boy was sitting beside him and the next moment the brunet was teetering over the edge of the arm of the couch. "Oh my God, I'm SO sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" Kida exclaimed, his voice choked up and appearing absolutely mortified that his hand could produce such a result. For heaven's sake, the boy recoiled as if instead of a comforting gesture, his palm was a hot burner. A flush had turned up,fire hydrant red, on his cheeks and his hands were drawn back swiftly, as if frightened he'd do more harm to this character. The last thing he wanted to do, really.

The fact that the other boy had drifted down onto the couch after a moment of wide eyed staring, calmed his own overworked nerves. Gosh, and the smile that followed, that looked as if it was more queazy than anything else, was even more soothing. "Oh," was the careful retort, sincerely wondering how many days the boy beside him had that were like this. Perhaps the blond wasn't the only one with this condition.

Except, medication was probably something that the both of them should've looked into. His eyes had dropped to his hands again, curious to know if he'd collect the same results if he touched anyone else in this library. Would they recoil as if they were scalded? Hopefully not. He couldn't afford to be any more strange. Attention snapped, whip lashed even, back up to the other boy, laughing nervously and nodding quite sharply.

"Fine, right as rain! I just..I just..I'm not...I don't generally get...um...a lot of attention, and I'm..I'm not coping so well," he explained, absolutely feeling no hesitance when he had the other to look at. "I'm not used to being..groped at." A swallow, inching closer to his companion and rising a brow. "How about you? You look ill. Can I get you some water? Or help you back to your dorm? Or maybe the nurses office?"

Eager little thing, wasn't he?

[Anna]

Ernest smiled slightly to himself at how unthreatening this young boy seemed. He judged him to be a second or first year, definitely not his own age, and for some reason, that made his chest unknot a great deal. His smile widened further at the boy's explanation.

"Yeah, uh, me too. Kind of. About the attention. I-I don't get much either." He looked down with a nervous giggle, even though he didn't find much about it funny. He was sure that their definitions of 'attention' were vastly different. In fact, Ernest used to get a lot of good attention back home -- all the adults loved him, and the kids treated him pleasantly enough, even if they didn't always invite him to hang out.

However, at Eddingborough, 'attention' seemed to hold a whole new meaning.

He glanced nervously up at the boy. "Unless... do you mean -- I mean, you probably don't, but --" Could the boy have endured the same sort of torture? It seemed unlikely. "Nevermind." He shook his head, hair flopping in front of his eyes.

"And, no, thank you. Really. I-I'm fine. I probably look worse than I feel." He paused, realizing this wasn't exactly true. He gaved a resigned smile that looked thin on his face. "Well. At least, it's not serious enough for medical help, anyway."

[marriedinthesunx]

A nervous laugh escaped him, a small titter of laughter before his hands firmly clubbed over his mouth. Honestly, he was in a library, he shouldn't be making much more than a peep. But here he was, engaging in his first comforting conversation since he had arrived at Eddingborough and he wasn't all too eager to leave now that he could, quite possibly, make a friend. His mother had told him to make friends and right now that is what he intended to do.

They were in the same boat, were they? A bit on the geeky side, without a whole lot of friends and then suddenly, coming here, the entire campus wanted a piece of them? Wild. These things just weren't supposed to happen this way. Besides, Kida wasn't gay. He was, he was...he was just experimenting. Like he was supposed to do at this age-- decide what felt right.

Eyes batted once, twice, three times when Ernest began again, his words getting cut off, but the fifteen year old seeming to get a good idea of what the other was saying. After all, that look in his companion's eyes were mighty similar to his own. The dismissal went ignored for a fraction longer, color blooming into his cheeks before giving into another one of those rough nods. "A boy was in the dark room and I...I don't really know what happened." Big, blue eyes just seemed on the devastated side.

Oh, he could read the other within the first two minutes. He could smell his own.

"Oh, and..um. Alright, as long as you're feeling alright." An awkward, silent moment and then all at once the blond's hand jutted it out forward, right in front of Ernest's chest for him to take. "I'm Kida," he announced, quite desperate to call someone by name. Although, his words didn't sound quite like words after that. They sounded mangled, absolutely destroyed and left for dead. This introduction would be the best he'd have to offer. "I'm a first year."

[Anna]

Hearing that this boy had gone through something similiar to himself somehow made it seem less scary and humiliating. He found himself nodding vigorously as the boy spoke, leaning in with interest, trying to show the boy he understood through the way his eyebrows crinkled and his lips turned down.

He almost asked the boy to tell him about had happened, but he decided that hearing about such an experience again, even if it wasn't his own, would likely send him into another fit. He needed to clear his mind. Any mention of the subject would surely bring images swimming to his mind. That would set him over the edge.

"Oh, goodness. Me too. I mean, not exactly. It's -- well, my roommate -- and -- well, I don't know what happened either," he said. There were a few choice words that came to mind that could potentially describe exactly what happened, but he didn't want to utter them. Not in his lifetime. And it was true -- he wasn't exactly sure what all had happened today, or why it had happened.

If he tried hard enough, he could probably convince himself that it hadn't happened at all. The leftover feelings would go away with time, wouldn't they?

"I'm sorry," he said genuinely. "That it happened to you too, I mean. I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

He scratched at the back of his head. Was he sure he was alright? He was certainly feeling better, at least. The nurse wouldn't be able to help him, and he definitely didn't want to go back to his room.

Finally, he decided he could stand to stay in the library. It seemed the safest place he'd encountered yet. "Yeah. I'm feeling better now." He looked down at the outstretched hand, a little apprehensively, before taking it softly in his own.

"I'm Ernest. Er, third year. Nice to meet you."

[marriedinthesunx]

Him too? Really? A wave of relief absolutely washed over his entire being after being told he wasn't alone. Because for the longest time that was the way things had to be. Togetherness had never been an option in high school back at home and knowing that someone was going through the same shit he was-- it made this whole living thing a little more easier.

Jaw unhinged slightly when it was revealed that it was the boy's room mate who had supposedly attacked him, a certain look of fear gaining in those eyes. Oh, well, come to think of it-- he had it way better off than the boy sitting across from him. At least the boy Kida was rooming with didn't acknowledge his existence. Ernest, the poor thing, would mostly have his offender repeat his actions on a daily basis. After all, the brunet was quite a good looking fellow and, he supposed, that if he were a courageous, saucy young gentleman he might try wooing the other as well.

But certainly not. This was little Nakita Banana, nothing more.

"No, I'm so sorry, " the first year began, "I can't even imagine being in your shoes right now. Are you thinking about switching up rooms then?" Logic already set in. After all, if that boy sent Ernest into these sort of fits on the first day, it was certain that they would just keep on rolling in. "I just..I just had to endure it one day, but I don't know so much about you." Really, it wasn't his intention to scare the boy beside him but...he liked to think there would be a trend.

Thus, logical. Thus, the boy could understand.

A blazing smile seemed to light up that impish face when Ernest took hold of his hand. (Not to mention, he was quite pleased the other didn't burst into fucking flames due to the contact.) "Ernest," he repeated, rolling his name off his tongue and smiling broadly. "You're a third year? You don't look it.."

Well, in all fairness, Kida didn't look old enough to be going here at all.

"And...can I please just get you some water? I'll be really quick. There's a vending machine right out at the front. It'll be, like, one second and then I'll feel better."

[Anna]

Only a little bit ago, Ernest had been a nervous wreck. Shaking, red-faced, hardly able to speak. Now, it was like he'd crossed over into a different world, from a world where he was everyone's prey to a world where someone actually took a genuine interest in his well-being.

Maybe that was stretching it (Ernest hoped not), but at least Kida seemed to care that he not pass out from dehydration.

He felt so much more at ease here, surrounded by the quiet air and sitting next to someone who neither scared him nor tried to make him uncomfortable. He could breathe easy.

He blush crept over his cheeks that the boy would take such an interest in his roommate situation. "No, p-please, it'll be all right. Eventually." He gave a tiny smile, nodded as though to reassure himself.

"I mean, yeah. It will. It has to. I'll pray on it, and I know that the Lord will protect me. And if He wants me to change rooms, there will be .. signs. I'll know it in my heart."

Although he felt much better now, he could hardly say no to the boy's offer. His entire face broke into a smile, one of his characteristic tell-all grins that he hadn't once cracked since he arrived here. "Water would be great. Thank you so much. Really."

[marriedinthesunx]

The blush that lined Ernest's cheeks was one that might as well have mirrored his own. Honestly, it was as if the both of them were curiously searching one another, as if deciding if they weren't going to be a threat to one another. To anyone else this would be like watching a pair of kittens curiously sniffing one another. Except, well, Kida wasn't about to sniff the brunet in such a manner. Silly, silly.

"Eventually?" He parroted back, brows furrowing down low as if trying to decide if that was a wise idea or not. Well, in the end, it wasn't up to him, and all he could do with the boy beside him, who appeared to be speaking quite a great deal clearer now, was stay quiet until he had enough reason to speak up against it. Maybe, just maybe, the boy who had spooked Ernest was just teasing, wasn't really any threat of all. It was entirely possible that his new found friend just over read something and just sent himself into an anxiety attack. It was entirely possible.

A misunderstanding.

Lower lip was pressed in between two rows of flawless teeth, nodding slowly at the mention of God and finding him go a bit astray. God? This boy believed in God? Bright blue eyes searched over his friend discretely enough, deciding whether or not that boy looked the type or not. Well, now that the third year mentioned God, it was so clear that he was a boy devoted to his faith. Kida, after all, was devoted to science. This would be a hidden topic between the two of them, he decided. No battle would be worth it.

"Great!" Body perked up, scrambling out of his seat and going through his pockets and pulling out a handful of loose change, counting it swiftly before meeting those eyes once more. "You have a really pretty smile," he complimented before starting off in the direction of the doors and, sure enough, a moment or two later, returning with a bottled water and offering it to the older boy. "I'm not going to stop staring at you until you take a drink. I'm serious."

Right about now the librarian was giving the both of them dirty looks.

[Anna]

As he watched the boy scuttle away, Ernest was left with a pleased smile and an even deeper blush at the compliment. He'd never recieved one from someone remotely close to his own age. At least not so blatantly. He'd often heard that he had a nice smile, but mostly from adults at the church fawning over him and occasionally pinching his cheeks.

In the moments after Kida commented on it, a warm, content feeling spread throughout his chest. For once, he wasn't feeling immense relief upon watching someone walk away from him. Usually, the energy of holding himself together around another boy left him exhausted, ready to collapse from relief at the sight of a retreating back. Now, he simply smiled softly to himself and waited for the boy to return.

"Thanks a lot," he said, a little too enthusiastically when the water was handed to him. The librarian once again shot them a withering look, and Ernest slouched slighty in response.

Under Kida's careful watch, he unscrewed the bottle, placed it to his lips and took a small sip. Small beads collected at the corner of his wide mouth, due to the partly nervous and partly touched smile that still occupied his lips.

The librarian was still watching them, eyes narrowed even further. They weren't being that loud, were they? Maybe it was the water. Was water allowed in the library? Ernest hated the idea that they might be breaking rules without even knowing it.

"The librarian doesn't look too happy with us," he said as quietly as he could. His voice always seemed to carry more than it should because of it's high pitch. "I think I should -- maybe, you know, go back to my dorm. So -- So it was nice meeting you."

He screwed the bottlecap back on, fiddled around with his tie and smoothed he clothes unnecessarily. He didn't want to say goodbye to his new friend already. He raised his eyes apprehensively to Kida, dragging the back of his hand across his lips to wipe off the excess moisture.

"Unless you -- you might want to -- you can, if you want." He looked helplessly at the boy, trying to will his question into him with his stare. Ernest was never very good at invitations. "I mean, would you?"

[marriedinthesunx]

It was only a dollar for the bottled water, and as far as he concerned, it was a dollar well spent. When he had returned to Ernest, the boy was absolutely beaming at him. The sort of smile that would normally make his legs go weak, but instead it seemed to empower him in some way. As if he could take care of the other, as if he were important and useful when around the older boy. As if his age didn't limit him from doing something really special for someone else.

"Don't worry about it," was the pleased reply, fixing some of his blond hair behind his ear and seeming to grin when he felt the eyes of a rather passive aggressive woman behind the desk. If he didn't know any better, he was quite certain that she was death glaring the both of them. "No, you're right," he agreed softly, fighting back a growing smile."She doesn't look pleased with us at all." Truly, this was the last place he had expected to find a friend, or anyone to talk to for that matter. After al, libraries weren't meant for chit chatting; they were for reading.

Kida couldn't help but mask his disappointment when Ernest vocalized his plans of leaving. His heart sunk in his chest and that once rather bubbly aura he had deflated. "Oh, yeah. Nice meeting you," the Greek boy rushed, forcing a smile on his lips as not to give the other the wrong idea about him. "I guess I'll see you around," he added, giving a little bounce with his knees, glancing back in the direction of the exit and already debating what else he could be doing. Exploring, which he had been enjoying greatly, was becoming dangerous and, to be honest, he wasn't in the mood to be mauled.

Ears perked, body twisting back to meet his new friend as soon as that choked, nervous voice started up again. Eyebrows rose and a subconscious step was taken forward, as if it would help the other speak a little better if he weren't so distant. A few attempts to ask him, a few terribly endearing attempts which caused Kida to light up. "Oh, absolutely!" He assured sounding a bit too eager. "Definitely." The third floor, right? Duh.