n o x i o u s

Fucking Aristide. Belle always begged her eldest to play nice with the boy, but rivalry was practically in their blood. Their petty arguments never ended well for either of them, but Samuel usually took the worse hits. They’d been arguing in the hallways after class – typical my father is better than your father banter. 

Next thing Samuel knows, he’s being shoved into a locker.

They’re the long, green kind leading up to the gym locker room. You could fit all your hockey gear inside if you’d wanted to, so a skinny kid like Sam was no problem. The thin metal slams shut like prison gates. It’s dark inside, except for those three horizontal slits at the top to give him a peak at the light. 

He’s too stunned to even speak. 

He’s back in the fifth grade, being dragged by his wrists and ankles to an auditorium under construction. He remembers how they’d laughed at him as they shoved him under the floorboards on stage, then nailed it down. He’d been small for his age – an easy target, an easy person to pick on, a kid that wouldn’t fight back. And they’d stomped atop of the wood until he howled so loud, a janitor thought the kids had been torturing some stray dog. That was embarrassing all on its own.

Nobody likes talking about bullying.

Especially if they’re a royal. But, the other children never really saw him as their prince. Not with his appearance, not with his funny little walk, and not with odd habits that got him called mongrel. He didn’t – he couldn’t – bring himself to go back to school after that. But here he was, almost a senior in high school, and it’s happening all over again.

He’s terrified of small spaces.

His breath comes in short, fleeting gasps. It feels like his lungs are being squashed – like the locker walls are closing up, getting tighter and tighter. His heartbeat speeds up, demanding more oxygen he can’t force into himself. He wants to stretch his legs. He wants more room for his chest to heave.  His body goes numb, but he feels pins and needles pricking the tips of his fingers. He tells himself that he’s going to die; his heart is going to give out any second, and he feels his very life slipping through his fingertips.

loudly at that.

but at this point in time he had gotten to the stage where he didn't want to go to lessons so he skipped. he had way too much on his mind to concentrate on anyway and the thoughts are racing through his mind at a million miles per second as he’s walking the halls of the school. and he almost, almost walks straight past the lone ling of lockers until- 

a loud bang. 

at first he’s not so sure that he had heard it properly but once the sound comes again louder this time his attention was drawn to the banging sounds now coming from one of the lockers. he squints at the lockers for a while, ears listening to which of the lockers the source could be coming from. once he locates the one the noise is coming from he assumes that maybe a student had gotten trapped, or it was something else entirely. 

so being the cruel child Jafar had raised him to be, he waits a while before opening it up.

his feet walk over towards the lockers. stopping a few feet away from it. tilting his head to the side he tells himself that enough time had gone past and he was probably being meaner then he intended to be. his fingers traced the lock and linger for a while before he tugs on it and bangs himself once against the metal. no luck. 

@fbxrufious

as with most things he’s had to deal with since starting school, cam’s overthinking. it’s the usual subject, where to camp out for brainstorming in peace, but he hasn’t had this internal battle inside his dorm room before. sure, it’s crossed his mind to just do his thing in the privacy of his room, but the room isn’t just his. before now, cam’s been fine with finding other places to do his work, places that he could visibly make his own private space for a couple of hours, but he wonders if he’s making too much of an effort. after all, he’s never actually learned what his roommate does outside of class. what if he doesn’t stay in their room at all?

this point has cam turning to sit on his bed, which he’s done maybe half a dozen times since he triggered this debate in his head this afternoon. he can do this. even if he doesn’t end up alone, rufious isn’t an unpleasant guy. it wouldn’t be that painful to end up sharing the space when they’re not trying to sleep, right? he can look for more places to hide out in the library after he’s certain he’ll be more comfortable there than in his own room.

but wait, wasn’t he supposed to meet one of the librarians today? or was that tomorrow? or next week? cam sighs, rubbing a temple. it’d be a good idea to go to at least tell her he’d rather do it another day… but if he goes to the library to do that, he might as well let the woman show him the one section of the library he could never locate on his own. it won’t take long, if it is today.

that decided, cam tugs his satchel back over his shoulder as he gets to his feet. he doesn’t have to fix his lack of social skills overnight. he’s got time. with a self-assuring nod to himself, he heads for the door.

maybe that would change eventually he had kept telling himself. maybe.

school had been long, and the student council meeting that morning had been even longer. all he wanted to do was lie down on his bed and maybe take a nap, or read or do something that would help to relax him. maybe he would even go do some basketball practise by himself, or ask Jaye if he wanted to shoot some hoops. the thoughts buzz around in his head as he makes his way back to the room. 

once he reaches the room, he tugs out his key, turning it the lock join the door and opening it quite quickly he doesn't expect to be met by another male body that was standing in the door way. it takes a while before Ru can register it but when he does he offers a small smile in response to the others greeting.“Yo cam, where you off to?” after all he was still curious where he had seemed to be heading off to in a hurry. all before a small smirk grows on his lips and he tilts his head to the side. 

just like that, the room falls silent again, and kaspian wants to bang his head on the table. repeatedly. there go his attempts at conversation making, he thinks to himself, and fidgets a little awkwardly in his chair. the minutes tick by almost painfully, too slowly to the point that it’s pretty agonizing. briefly, he wonders why they never properly made conversation. it was probably because of how intimidated kaspian was.

once the silence falls on the two boys, Ru’s line of eye sight on the other doesn't waver and he keeps it up. even if it made Kas feel uncomfortable, thats what Ru did best anyway made people feel uncomfortable at his own pleasure. a trait he had picked up from his father, while at the same time learning that you had to get people on your side. and being a part of the student council was no different. so the silence almost becomes nice to Ru after all it was early in the morning and this gave an excuse to study the other.