Josh was trying to finish the rest of his classwork so he could leave on time but he was having a really hard time focusing. Most of his college classmates had already left, and his teacher was erasing down the whiteboard before leaving for the day. It was a beautiful summer afternoon outside the huge windows that were cracked open to let in the fresh air. On the other side of the glass was a green expanse of rolling hills and clear skies seen through the little garden. Not that he noticed. No, he was too busy staring at the two young men to the right of him that were not so quietly fighting.
His eyes sliding to the side again, Josh watched as Carter slowly walked a little plastic figurine of a blue horse across Skylar’s desk. By the glare Skylar was sending and the way his teeth were grit, he looked about ready to punch Carter in the face.
It was difficult not to stare at Skylar even when he wasn’t growling at his best friend. Skylar was just so… Wow. He was gorgeous, which probably should have been enough with those flashing, intense eyes of his and full, red lips. He had a great body too, fit, lithe, with shoulders that Josh had on more than a few occasions found himself staring at instead of whatever he was supposed to be doing. But on top of being totally sexy, Skylar was also ridiculously adorable. Crazily so.
For one, he wore rainbow nail polish. Josh had never seen anything like it before, but he had a feeling Carter must have gotten it. The paint changed colors meaning it had to be magic, and Carter was the only sorcerer Josh knew that attended the school. Which might have totally sucked; if Carter was getting Skylar gifts, they were totally dating. Except, if they were dating, Skylar wouldn’t always look like he was ready to throw Carter through a damn window.
No, Carter treated Skylar like a little brother he liked to annoy the sanity out of. He was both super protective while teasing him mercilessly. It was kind of weird.
Not that he cared or anything… Fine, he fucking cared. Skylar was just, well, awesome. Since the first day he had walked into class a month ago, Josh hadn’t been able to think of anyone else. With his handsome features and shoulder-length hair dyed blue and pink, Skylar had been impossible to look away from. He was just so confident, and gorgeous, and he didn’t take shit from anyone.
“Stop being a dick,” Skylar hissed. There was a sudden thud, and Josh jolted. When he looked up, Skylar had both his hands on his desk and Carter’s hand pinned down beneath them.
“Come on; it’s cute.” Carter smiled winningly but it did nothing to cool the angry heat to Skylar’s glare. “Just like you. Did you see the sparkles?”
“Fuck you and your damn sparkles.”
Snorting, Carter ducked down and whispered something in his ear. Josh watched as a blush reddened Skylar’s cheeks. Skylar opened his mouth, evidently ready to explode. When Carter pulled away to get out of reach, the toy trapped beneath his hand fell to the floor and skittered under Josh’s desk.
Blinking down at the blue vinyl horse, Josh stopped pretending to finish his classwork. He stooped and snagged the figurine. Up close, it was even cuter than first thought, and he had to bite his lip to keep from grinning. It was a unicorn with adorable little wings and a mane that sparkled with rainbow glitter. It suited Skylar perfectly, and Josh immediately loved it.
He glanced up and found both Skylar and Carter staring at him. Fighting a blush now that his crush was actually looking at him, Josh quickly reached over to hand the unicorn back. “Uh… here. Sorry.”
“I don’t want it,” Skylar said flatly while looking at his hand like he was holding something offensive.
When he realized he wasn’t actually going to take the toy, Josh stood and placed it on Skylar’s desk. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw the little unicorn was able to stand on its own. “Did you name it?”
“No.” Glaring down at his desk, Skylar added huffily, “Ponies are stupid.”
“No they’re not.” Josh was quick to pick up the blue pony and point out the wings and horn. “Besides, he’s a winged unicorn. They’re super cool.”
His blush grew, and Skylar shook his head fiercely without saying another word, his face hidden behind a curtain of brightly dyed hair. Josh couldn’t help but stare down at the top of his head, surprised with just how shy he was being.
Actually, the unicorn in his hand had the same hairdo as Skylar. “You know, if you had a tattoo of a stormcloud on your butt, you’d be just like this little guy,” Josh teased gently.
“I don’t!” Skylar jumped up, his hands covering the back of his jeans as he whirled and glared at both Josh and Carter, the latter snickering behind his hand.
Confused, Josh quickly tried to apologize. “I was just joking. I know you’re not a unicorn or anything. It’s not like people can turn into unicorns.” He gave a wistful smile.
“They can’t,” Skylar insisted, his glare focused over Josh’s shoulder where Carter was now outright laughing. “Fuck you,” he snarled, reaching over to shove Carter’s arm. With a final glare, Skylar whirled, his multicolored hair floating around his head as he stomped out the classroom door.
Josh stared after in dismay, the unicorn still clutched in his hand. Fuck, he had barely said anything to the guy, and it had been enough to send him out the door. Skylar had left all his books and everything.
Sighing, he looked down at the blue unicorn, his brows furrowed in thought. He had just wanted to talk to Skylar, maybe find something in common or whatever. How he had managed to get the kid pissed off at him, he wasn’t really sure, but it felt like a total defeat. He had been trying to get up the nerve to talk to Skylar since he had first met him—Damn, he just did something to him. Crazy things that made his heart race and his palms sweat, and made him think teasing Skylar when he was angry was a good idea.
His laughter finally under control, Carter combed his blond locks back into place as he stepped up beside Josh.
“He forgot his pony.” Josh held it up, part of him reluctant to relinquish the little unicorn.
“Don’t take it personally. He’s a fucking grump this time of day.” Rummaging through his pockets, Carter nodded at the toy. “You should go bring it to him. He loves the damn thing no matter how much he yells. But first, give him one of these.”
Blinking in confusion, Josh stared as Carter opened his palm to reveal two sugar cubes. When he didn’t immediately take them, Carter grabbed his hand and poured them into his grasp.
“Why would I…?” Josh asked hesitantly.
“Because he’s grumpy and this is the only way to cheer him up.” Carter flashed him a knowing smile.
Staring at his handful of sugar cubes and the way each individual crystal caught the light of the room, Josh again looked up in confusion. Carter was a weird guy. His father was supposedly some sorcerer bigshot, but Carter didn’t go to a magic school even though he was clearly capable of doing magic. It was weird. Carter was also popular even though he was a magic user. Josh wasn’t sure if that was because he was a nice guy or if he knew spells to make people like him. You never really knew with sorcerers, especially one that seemed to think pissing his friend off was a hobby.
“Do you really feed your best friend sugar cubes?” Josh finally asked, feeling like the question had to be voiced.
“When I want him to be nice and not yell at me? Yeah, all the fucking time,” Carter responded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Feeling like he might be about to piss Skylar off even more, Josh just nodded silently and closed his fingers around the sweet treats. He didn’t have to actually give them to Skylar. He could just find him and apologize for upsetting him. And if Skylar wanted to maybe go out for coffee or something after—totally as a way to make up for things—that would be really cool too.
***
Josh found Skylar outside the school exit. He was hunched over next to the water fountain, muttering to himself while he tugged fitfully at his blue tinted bangs. Skylar didn’t seem to notice him, not until he was right next to him. Even then, he only glanced his way, his eyes narrowing when he saw the pony in Josh’s hand.
Josh held up the blue unicorn and indicated the flowing tail of blue and pink. “You have to admit; the hair is just like yours.” He was hoping for a more reasonable conversation now that Carter wasn’t there to laugh. But Skylar immediately huffed and his shoulders tensed, once again looking like he was about to take a swing at someone.
Clearing his throat nervously, Josh hesitantly held up his other hand, wondering if this was about to get him punched in the face. Carter did everything he could to annoy Skylar, and he couldn’t help but assume that this was just another in a long line of stupid pranks. Still, he was willing to try anything if only to get Skylar to stop thinking he was an asshole. He slowly opened his hand and revealed the two sugar cubes.
His breath hitching, Skylar’s gaze fixed on his hand. Josh braced himself, certain he was going to be yelled at, if not shoved. The moment stretched on, Skylar’s eyes eventually raising to meet his. There was a wariness in his gaze even as he edged closer to where Josh was standing. “Are those for me?”
“Y-Yeah. Uh, if you want them.” Josh was pretty sure he had lost his mind. Skylar was looking at his hand like he was holding treasure instead of a couple of crumpled sugar cubes. It got even more strange when Skylar dipped his head down, his breath hot as it moved over Josh’s open palm. Holding himself impossibly still, he could only stare when Skylar’s lips parted and his tongue teased out to steal one of the treats.
Skylar made a soft noise of satisfaction and Josh jolted, the sound going straight to his dick. When he dared to look at him, he found Skylar had straightened and was gazing up at him, his hair hiding one of his eyes, red lips parted to reveal the sugar cube he had caught and was slowly sucking on.
Finding everything about Skylar impossibly sexy, Josh did his best to keep his voice from cracking. “You uh… you really like these things, huh?”
Damn, he wanted to kiss him. Holding himself back, Josh instead raised his palm and gave a hesitant lick to the other white cube. The shock of flavor surprised him but not as much as the noise Skylar made when he saw. Looking his way, he found Skylar staring at his hand hungrily as if afraid he was going to eat the sugar on him.
“Did you want it?”
Nodding quickly, Skylar stepped right in front of him, his mouth immediately going for Josh’s palm. It brought his face inches from his and Josh held his breath, his eyes wide as Skylar pressed his lips against his fingers and his tongue lapped out. Skylar moaned into his palm from the intense sweetness hitting his tongue, and the world went hazy. Before he could pull away, Josh crossed the space and pressed his lips to the corner of his mouth.
Gasping, Skylar turned his head, his tongue darting out to lick his lips. He peered through his lashes up at Josh while he let the sugar melt in his mouth.
Not sure just what the hell had come over him, Josh couldn’t help but notice that Skylar hadn’t actually stepped away from him. “Didn’t that bother you?”
Glancing his way again, Skylar shrugged. “Tastes like sugar. I like sugar. A lot.” His gaze drifted to Josh’s lips a moment, only to glance away.
Josh really wasn’t sure what to make of Skylar. No straight guy would pretend he hadn’t kissed him. Actually, it seemed like a passive opening to let him do it again. His eyes catching on Skylar’s hand, he grabbed it in his own and lifted it up to study his rainbow-colored nails. “I like your nail polish.” He met Skylar’s dark eyes, his mouth going dry. “You’re really cute, Skylar.”
“Err…” His cheeks turned red and Skylar quickly looked away. “I don’t, uh, like guys,” he mumbled.
“Really?” It was hard to believe him when he was blushing so cutely. Not to mention how his breath had sped up and he hadn’t tried to pull away even now. Josh looked down, his breath hitching when he found Skylar’s jeans bulging. “I haven’t seen you with a girlfriend.” He dared to lean in closer, his lips brushing Skylar’s cheek. “Are you sure you don’t like guys?”
His blush moving down his neck, Skylar took a step back but didn’t pull his hand away. “You don’t understand… If you really knew what I was, you wouldn’t be interested.”
How he could manage to look even cuter was beyond him. “I really like you.” Josh stepped forward, pulling Skylar closer, breathing in the scent of his skin as he spoke into his ear. “There’s nothing you can say that would make me not like you. Promise.” He used his other hand to tilt Skylar’s chin his way, his eyes glued on his parted, red lips.
His breath coming out in quick gasps, Skylar coughed awkwardly and stumbled back. His hair fell forward across his forehead as he ducked his face, but it did nothing to hide the horn that had suddenly sprouted.
Wide-eyed, Josh froze. It was a silver horn. Right in the center of Skylar’s forehead. Spiraled, sharp pointed, and wicked looking.
Josh was vaguely aware of a pain in his hand. When he looked down he found he had a death grip on the little blue unicorn toy. For the first time, he truly studied the silver horn on the pony. It was a perfect, much smaller replica of Skylar’s.
Holy fuck.
