Learn How to Love (Boy x Boy)

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

"Luke?" I whispered. I poked my head up out of the trapdoor and looked around the darkened treehouse. Sweat dripped down my forehead after my long drag up the wobbly rope ladder with a plate of food for Luke, the box of books, and a bundle of clothes I had grabbed from my closet. All shit for this bum, and I doubted he'd thank me.

I slid the box a few feet away, the set the plate of steaming food and clothes right in front of the door. I hoisted myself up, and that's when I saw Luke. He was rummaging behind my beanbag chair, his lower half just visible around the edge. He must've stolen a pair of my shorts, because he was wearing tight black shorts and his ass was hard not to notice. His tail flicked back and forth as he continued to look for something.

"Luke?" I whisper-shouted.

Luke jumped, whirling around. When he saw me, his terrified expression changed. "Jesus, Kylar don't scare me like that." Luke held up my phone, waving it back and forth. "Sadie's called you like, a billion times. The ringtone was really loud so I was trying to figure out how to muffle it." Luke tossed the cell at me. "Can you turn it down? Please?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. I brought you some crap," I said. I kicked the box to the side, right in front of my air mattress, before Luke saw it. Luke knelt on the ground, his tail arched behind him as it swayed lazily back and forth. His ears were pricked up intently, and his pale eyes gleamed in the dim light. I flipped the switch, and the LEDs lit up the small space. Luke winced, covering his eyes against the bright light.

I made spaghetti once I got home. There was some hamburger meat in the fridge that I cooked up and then boiled some pasta. I found a jar of spiced alfredo sauce in the cupboard, so I put it on top. I remembered Luke talking about pasta one day in Home EC. Apparently his favorite was ravioli, but he was pretty passionate about other kinds too. I watched his face lit up eagerly when he saw the meal.

"Fuck yeah!" he exclaimed, grabbing the fork and sliding the plate towards him.

I picked up the sweatshirt I had brought. It was an unnaturally thick sweatshirt, one that would probably dwarf Luke, but it'd be helpful for when he went to school. The sweatshirt had to be heavy enough to hide the tail. He could wear the same beanie he'd been wearing when he got here. 

"Do I get a thanks?" I asked, leaning against the wall. I didn't want to go through the books with Luke here. I didn't want him to get any ideas

Luke licked a glob of alfredo sauce off of his finger. "What do you want?" 

A couple ideas raced through my head, but I quickly shot them down. "Verbal. A verbal thank you would be nice."

Luke shrugged. "Bor-ing."

I flushed slightly, but sat down across from him. Luke spun the spaghetti on the fork until there was a huge mess of noodles on his silverware. He shoved it into his mouth hungrily, his eyes gleaming with anticipation as he aggressively chewed and swallowed the massive amount of saucy pasta. I watched him, startled at how quickly he was devouring the meal. I'd already finished the rest of the pasta myself, and now I worried that I'd have to make him some more. It had to be even more proof that the curse wasn't just affecting his appearance, but his actions as well. I'd only had one cat before. His name was Smokey. He'd spent his final years asleep in pools of sunlight, scarfing down bowls of cat food, and yowling at the top of his lungs whenever a car drove by. But all cats were different, right? Some were quiet, some were shy, some weren't as annoying as Smokey had been. Which meant there was a chance Luke wouldn't try my nerves too much.

Luke picked the plate up and used the fork to scoop the remaining food into his mouth. A soft growl sounded from his throat, but he didn't seem to realize it as he gulped down each shred of noodle. Luke ran his tongue over the edge of the plate, and once more my mind was plagued by dirty thoughts. His tongue lapped up the sauce dripping over the edge of the plate. He licked his lips, and wiped his mouth on his arm.

Silence lapsed between us. Luke looked at me akwardly, embarrassed. I glanced away, at the clothes I had brought. I had a pair of gray sweatpants, and the heavy gray hoodie. "I brought you these," I said. My gaze traveled downwards. "Where did you get my shorts from?" 

Luke turned bright red. "I-I found them behind the mattress. They're really comfortable," he added, tugging at the waistband of the shorts. They were nowhere near as tight as that on me, and I couldn't help but notice the way the hem tightened around his thighs and hips. 

"This sweatshirt is thick enough to hide your tail," I said, changing the subject. "And the beanie will disguise your ears pretty well."

Luke blinked. "No way am I going to school like this. What if someone finds out? I'd be the laughing stock of the entire school, not to mention once my dad catches wind of it he'll send me somewhere. Either to some sort of conformist school to fix... me? I guess? Or to a labratory to be tested on and pricked with needles." Luke brought his knees up to his chest, his bushy tail wrapping protectively around him. "I don't want to be experimented on. I don't want a bunch of scientists stabbing me and prodding me with sharp tools and giving me a bunch of pills."

"I think you've seen too many horror movies-"

"I don't care! Something is going to happen. What if they hand me over to the government and make me into some sort of war criminal?" His eyes widened. "What if they cut off my ears and my tail, like they used to do with dogs and horses?"

I wanted to tell him that they do still dock some animals, but I wasn't sure that would help him. Luke genuinely looked scared, and I couldn't blame him. I had no idea what Luke felt right then, so I supposed I couldn't judge him. But he needed to go to school because I couldn't leave him unaccompanied in my treehouse for the rest of eternity. "You still need to go to school. If we're going to figure out how to fix this, you'll need to go back to normal once we get... this figured out. Besides, if you skip school people are going to get suspicious. You can't just cut off contact with everybody."

Luke pouted. "But-"

"No buts," I said. "School will be fine. They'll let you wear the beanie in class, so there's no reason for you to take it off. You'll just have to stay out of PE for a little bit. Might have to drop out of football. You could fake an injury or something," I suggested.

Luke nodded absently. "Yeah... but what if someone finds out?"

"No witnesses," I said. To my surprise, Luke actually laughed at that. I smiled, too. "You can make up a lie about having to do a dare or something. As long as no one starts grilling you, you should be fine. I'll be at school, too." I rolled my eyes. "I guess you can text me if anything happens."

Luke relaxed. "Really?"

Why is he acting like I'm some sort of savior? He shouldn't depend on me to help him. It's his fault Grandma got into that crash... I reminded myself. I ought to kick him out right now and let him fend for himself. But I had already promised to help him try to fix this. If I figured out how, maybe I'd be able to learn more about my grandma in the process. What if I found a spell to bring her back? That was wishful thinking, but now I couldn't quite let it go. "Either way, you have to go to school."

Luke crossed his arms. "Okay, mom."

"Good. Now go to bed," I scolded. 

Luke held up his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright... uhh, where do I sleep?"

I shrugged. "You're a cat, aren't you? They sleep on the floor."

Luke glared at me. "The fuck did you just say?"

I rolled my eyes. "Alright, fine. You can sleep in the beanbag chair, I'm sleeping on my air mattress. Don't make a bunch of noise or I swear to god I'll make sure you sleep outside on the cold hard ground. Do you hear me?"

Luke saluted me. "Aye-aye, captain!"