Capítulo 20: Twenty

Lucas slumped down on the hardwood floor of the practice room, resting his head back against the mirror and trying to catch his breath. He had been dancing for two hours straight and was now completely drained. Gulping down a large sip of water, he looked around the room to see some students still practicing in front of the mirrors while others sat down, chatting comfortably. Elijah was one of the former, always being the perfectionist he was, practicing until he was satisfied with himself. When Lucas himself was not dancing, he liked to watch the younger. Elijah didn't look like his usual stoic self when he was dancing. He just looked free, like he was genuinely doing something he loved and enjoying himself. Lucas wanted to tell him that he didn't need to practice so much, that he was already perfect, but he was rather enjoying the view.

‘Yup, never put Elijah in sweat pants ever again.’

Lucas unconsciously licked his lips as he gawked at the blonde's behind, which looked even bigger than it already was in those godforsaken sweats. It didn't make sense to Lucas how a guy could have such a perky butt. He didn't peg Elijah for the I-squat-20-times-a-day type either. He could only guess he must have had some ridiculously good genes. Whispers and giggles from somewhere nearby snapped him out of his little daze and he looked to the side see a group of girls from the dance club pointing at Elijah and talking giddily amongst each other. Lucas immediately scowled at them.

‘Don't you girls have anything better to do than ogle my boyfriend?’

He knew he was being a huge hypocrite at that moment because he himself was doing the same but he didn't really care at this point. Elijah was his boyfriend, and that, in theory, gave him 100% rights to ogle him whenever he pleased. A little annoyed, he stood up and made his way over to the blonde and put a hand on his shoulder, making him halt his movements.

"Come on, take a break. You look like you might pass out."

Elijah rolled his eyes, panting slightly, "I'm fine."

"Fine my ass. Look at you, you're all sweaty and gross. Don't overwork yourself. Here," Lucas handed him a bottle of water. The panting blonde accepted the bottle and took a large gulp. Lucas watched how his prominent Adam's apple bobbed up and down through his sweaty neck as he drank and for some reason Lucas found it to be really sexy. To be honest, ever since they started being together, Lucas found everything that the blonde did to be appealing. Now even drinking water was added to the already God knows how long list. He couldn't even call himself bisexual because all other guys were gross to him. It was just Elijah.

Meanwhile, Elijah was looking at the elder rather disapprovingly, "You do realize you look very creepy when you stare at me like that, right?"

"Well it doesn't look like it bothers you very much since you agreed to be my boyfriend," Lucas winked, making sure to lower his voice so no one would hear them.

"Well technically I didn't physically agree to it."

"You didn't refuse either," Lucas said with a smirk and a smug lift of his eyebrow, "Come on, that's enough practice for today. Let's go shower and I'll treat you out for lunch."

The brunette threw and arm around the younger boy and led him out of the room, ignoring his complaints to stay back and practice some more.

Once Lucas was done showering and drying himself off, he tied a towel around his waist and went to step out into the locker room but immediately halted when he saw a huge patch of milky white skin. Retracting back into his shower cubicle as fast as he came out, he slowly peeked through the little gap in the door and watched Elijah who was drying his hair off. His back was to him and he was completely shirtless, only dressed in his school pants. It was his first time seeing Elijah shirtless as he was usually the one to finish first and leave the locker room. When the blonde turned around, Lucas almost whistled at the sight. Elijah had a lean body and broad shoulders. He didn't have that much muscle but not too less either, just the right amount to give him a perfectly toned body and a subtle outline of abs. Lucas’ throat was suddenly dry as he eyed the other male who, fortunately enough, didn't seem to notice him. ‘God, I’m such a pervert.’ He was almost disappointed when he saw the younger boy put his shirt on.

‘Okay, Lucas, you need to calm the fuck down.’

With a bright blush on his cheeks, he pried his eyes away from the sight and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

‘But this is a good sign, right?’ He thought. If he could feel some type of way when he saw Eli shirtless, it meant that he could also be physically (and sexually) attracted to him.

‘I wonder what he would think if he saw me shirtless...’

Before he could have any more stupid thoughts, Lucas dragged himself out of the shower cubicle and Elijah was, fortunately, already out of the locker room by then. With a relieved sigh, he started putting on his clothes.

"Why did I agree to this?" Elijah groaned as he leaned back in his seat, brows furrowed in pain. They were sat at Lucas’ favorite fried chicken place and said boy insisted they'd have a competition on who would be able to eat the largest possible amount of chicken. Lucas, being the fried chicken slut that he was, ended up winning, and now they were left with the aftermath of all the fats and grease they had devoured. People were giving them amused looks but that didn't stop the goofy smile Lucas had on his face.

"So... What will my prize be?"

"It's taking everything in me not to punch you in the face right now so just don't talk to me," Elijah glared at the brunette, making him chuckle in return. It took a good half hour after that for the huge stump in Elijah's chest to tone down a little.

"So, should we get going?" Lucas suggested.

"Yeah, okay. I don't think I'll be eating chicken again for a good few weeks."

Lucas chuckled and the two of them left the restaurant after paying for their food. Only to realize that it was raining heavily outside.

"When did it even start raining?" Elijah groaned.

"Why? Don't you like the rain?"

"I don't particularly fancy the idea of being drenched from head to toe and then getting sick the next morning."

"Hm... Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Lucas asked with a smirk on his face.

"Judging from the look on your face right now, I'm most definitely not." Elijah replied, a little cautious now. Lucas’ smirk widened as he stepped closer, "Lucas...?" Elijah took a step back but before he knew it, the elder male grabbed his hand and took off running into the rain, dragging him along. It was only a matter of seconds before they were both completely soaked.

"You asshole!" Elijah yelled, trying to pull his hand away from the elder boy. Lucas paid no heed to him and kept running.

"Just let go! Trust me, you'll feel amazing." Lucas shouted back over the loud sound of the rain, smiling back at his boyfriend. He tightened his hand around Elijah's and sped up, running through the streets like some sort of madman, dragging the poor boy behind him. Before he knew it, Elijah's scowl slowly turned into a smile as he ran to meet Lucas’ long-legged pace. The two ran through the semi-empty streets together, the rain crashing down on them relentlessly. Lucas was right, it did feel amazing. He couldn't describe the feeling, but the fact that the brunette was also there, holding his hand, made it all feel even more exhilarating. His heart was pounding against his chest and as he ran, he stared at Lucas, seeing the huge, happy smile on his face when he turned to look him. Eventually, the two stopped by an empty alleyway to catch their breaths, hands on their knees. They were both still smiling and when Elijah stood up straight after a few minutes of trying to get his breathing under control, he saw Lucas gazing at him softly. He couldn’t help but return the gaze, still panting slightly.

“Okay, That was admittedly kind of fun…” He admitted sheepishly. Lucas didn’t reply, only continuing to stare at him as if in a daze. His heart picked up speed again when Lucas stepped closer until he was right in front of him, not breaking eye contact even once.

"Lucas?" He breathed, feeling a little cautious now with how close he was. The rain was still pouring down on them like nobody's business. Lucas lifted an icy hand, gently placing it on the nape of Elijah's neck.

"I want to see you smile like this all the time," Lucas whispered.

Elijah's breath hitched in his throat. Lucas’ eyes were gentle yet serious and pouring with sincerity, and it made a certain warmth spread in his chest.

"But most importantly I want to be the reason for it," He finished, leaning his forehead against Elijah's. Elijah could feel his similarly erratic heartbeat since they were standing so close and his stomach was making weird back flips. Goose bumps ran all over his body and he didn't think it was because of the rain.

"Stop."

"What?" Lucas frowned.

"Stop making me like you so much."

Lucas’ eyes widened slightly at Elijah's confession before he smiled softly and moved his hand to cup his cheek instead.

"I don't want to," He whispered as he gently caressed Elijah's cheek with his thumb.

"I just can't help but worry sometimes, you know?" The blonde sighed, "What will your friends think about us? And your mother? We... are both guys. Society will always be against us. How long before all this breaks us?"

"I don't know, Eli." Lucas sighed in frustration, "And I don't care. I don't want to think about it. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. All I know is that being with you now just feels so... amazing. I don't want to let go of this feeling, not after I've finally accepted it."

Elijah breathed out slowly and closed his eyes, "Okay," he whispered, slightly nodding head. That was all Lucas needed to hear and he smiled at his boyfriend, fixing a loose strand of his wet blonde hair back. Slowly, his eyes traveled down to Elijah's pink lips that were flushed and wet from the rain. His breath hitched in his throat. There was only one thing on his mind now. Elijah noticed where he was looking and he nervously licked his lips without really thinking about it. Wrong move.

"Eli..." Lucas’ voice came out slightly husky, and it made the said boy's heart beat even faster than it already was, "I think I know what I want for my prize."

The blonde didn't have to think much to know what the older boy meant. And honestly, he didn't think he was going to deny him his prize either.

Because he secretly wanted it, too.

"Can I kiss you?"

Lucas was looking up into his eyes almost imploringly and the look on his face made Elijah's heart skip a beat. This was another new territory for both of them, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. Now seemed as good a time as any, if not better. Elijah thought of all the new, exhilarating feelings he experienced all because of Lucas. All the different, exciting things he did that he would have never even so much as considered just a few months ago, and how amazing it all felt. To the old Elijah, running through the streets on a rainy night would have sounded absolutely absurd to him but here he was, feeling as if he could jump off a skyscraper and just fly. He realized how much he gained in those past few months, how much he didn't want to go back to his old life. How much he loved and treasured his time with a certain tall brunette.

That was why he decided to give Lucas his first kiss, not as a prize for some stupid chicken eating contest he won, but as a "thank you" for everything he did for him. For the new world he showed him.

Instead of answering verbally, Elijah leaned in and pressed their lips together. Just a soft, simple touch of lips, almost as if dipping a toe in water. The fact that Elijah made the first move took Lucas aback and he felt his heart skip a beat. Eyes fluttering closed, every little nerve fiber in both their bodies seemed to instantaneously go on overdrive.

Lucas was kissing Elijah, and it didn't feel gross or repulsive at all.

He felt the way Elijah's hands nervously, almost timidly, went to settle on his waist. The brunette gently caressed his cheek before pulling him closer, wanting to get more of his soft, supple lips. When he felt that they were both used to the sensation, he began to slowly his move his lips against Elijah's. Chills ran down his body as Elijah pulled him even closer by the waist, holding on so tight as if he was his only anchor. Lucas could feel his inexperience from the small, unconfident movements of his lips, but he didn't mind it all. If anything, it made it all the more special

Lucas had kissed many, many girls before, but none of them ever felt like this. It made him realize just how much he liked Elijah all over again, and how his feelings intensified through this simple lock of lips. A few seconds later, he pulled away almost reluctantly so they could catch their breaths. Both were panting softly, their hearts beating hard and fast against their chests. Lucas slowly opened his eyes to look into Elijah's half-lidded, slightly dazed ones.

‘Kiss in the rain. Could it get any more cliche than this?’

"Wow..." Lucas breathed, unable to hold in his awe. It was like everything re-confirmed his feelings for Elijah. Kissing him didn't feel weird or awkward at all, no, it felt absolutely amazing. Actually, he wanted to do it again.

"First kiss?" Lucas whispered after a minute or two, somehow already knowing the answer. The younger was way too dazed to retort at the embarrassing question, so he just nodded instead. But Lucas didn't laugh, rather, the warmth in his eyes grew and he leaned in to softly kiss him again. Elijah was quick to respond, loving the feel of Lucas’ plump lips against his own. The rain just kept pouring down on them but it didn't really matter to either them, because all they could think about was this moment.

"Thank you," Lucas said and Elijah could feel his soft smile against his lips, "I'm honored." He leaned in to place one last peck on his slightly flushed lips and stepped out of his private space. The two stood under the rain or a bit after that, feeling a strange sort of peace.

"We left your car back at the restaurant," Elijah said, his voice so calm it almost surprised him.

"Are you kidding? I don't wanna ruin my seats. We're walking, babe."

"Please don't call me that ever again."

"Sure, babe."

Elijah shot him a dangerous glare but the other just grinned and ushered him along to walk with him, "My house isn't that far from here anyway. You can stay over and we can watch movies and cuddle all night."

Elijah scrunched his face up even though the idea didn't sound all that bad to him, "I don't trust you. You think I didn't notice you staring at me in the locker room earlier you creep?"

Lucas blushed profusely, "Y-You saw that?"

"Ever heard of peripheral vision?"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I'm saying it now."

"You could have just let me live on with the fact that you didn't notice..." The brunette covered his face, feeling extremely embarrassed and Elijah chuckled at him.

After walking for a few more minutes, the rain toned down a little but they were still drenched.

"Mom knows, by the way."

"Huh?"

"About us. She was the first to know."

Elijah's eyes widened, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. So for now we already have one supporter in the LuLijah club, and that just happens to be the most important person in my life. How bad could the rest be?"

"That's uh... Wow, I'm really glad to hear that," Elijah said in awe, genuinely relieved to know that there was someone who was supporting them. He himself dreaded the day he would tell his own parents. "Wait, should I be worried about the fact that you already gave us a ship name?"

"Yup. Only took me all of five seconds to come up with it. No big deal." Lucas said confidently. Elijah simply huffed and shook his head in amusement. Despite the fact that the fried chicken was still heavy in his gut, it had been a pleasant night. He smiled.

Maybe he didn't hate the rain all that much after all.

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