Tal flinched when his phone vibrated and let it drop to the ground. Instead of falling onto the soft carpet as expected it landed on hardwood which made Tal go into panic mode instantly. “Shit no,” Tal gasped and knelt next to it. He lifted it carefully and checked the screen for cracks. He was relieved to find that his three year old smartphone seemed to have survived another unwanted crash and didn’t catch sight of someone entering the room. He was busy checking his notification when he felt a shiver running down his spine and finally noticed the odd presence of a fresh breeze brushing his damp skin.

“Did you come here to flash me?” Nik asked, his head slightly tilted to the side as he leaned against the doorframe. It took Tal everything to keep eye contact and not stare at his crush’ pose. He tried to remind himself what kind of situation he was in. With a quick swoop of his hand, Tal yanked the towel that covered his head down and tied it around his chest to cover up as much skin as possible. Even if that left him with messy and wet hair. He hoped he wouldn’t catch a cold. “Aw.” Nik let out an exasperated sigh. “I was enjoying the view, Taliesin.” It was almost unfair how low and rough his voice sounded. So unnecessarily seductive. He spoke slowly just to tease Tal and it worked. A blush crept on his cheeks and he averted his eyes completely.

He was thinking of the bloodshed he’d witnessed. It didn’t matter how sweet Nik’s words were, they were poison. They would draw him in and then slowly kill him. Nothing that Nik said could ever make up for what he’d done. Right? “I wanted to text you about the meeting.” Tal said, keeping his voice as composed as possible. He couldn’t hide that he was blushing but it at least warmed his face. “Then why didn’t you?” Nik pushed himself away from the door. Time seemed to slow down while he approached Tal. The closer he got the more panic rose in Tal. Finally, he woke from his trance and stumbled backwards. His body slumped into a defensive posture. His eyes were examining Nik’s hands to make sure he didn’t hold a weapon.

“Are you afraid of me?” His voice had changed from being a little teasing and seductive to a cold seriousness. The sudden dark tone scared Tal even though Nik had stopped approaching him. He was frozen in place just a few metres in front of him. “Why are you afraid?” He sounded irritated, practically hurt by Tal’s defensive behaviour. He lifted his hand to point out their surroundings with a weak gesture. Nik followed his hand in confusion. “I saw you kill people. Right here.” “Taliesin.” Nik’s body twitched as if he wanted to move forward but had to hold himself back. “I think I told you,” he continued in a calm manner, his voice shifting to a more patient tone, “what type of people I kill.”

Tal locked eyes with him and then looked away just as quickly. He couldn’t face him like that. His cheeks were still burning and in only one second he had almost gone soft after seeing Nik’s sparkling green eye. “How can I trust that?” His own voice was weak but at the same time filled with curious hope. He wanted Nik to give him a reason to trust him. He was the only person with answers for him. The only solution to his bizarre problem couldn’t be a cold-blooded killer. A part of himself refused to believe what he’d seen. A part of him was a fool with a crush. 

Nik raised his hand and Tal, uncertain of what would happen next, winced. “Fair enough.” He said, his hand rubbing his chin. Tal allowed himself a moment to study his opposite. Nik looked like a surreal statue. Marvellous and pretty but cold as stone. “It’s wise not to trust me. After all, we don’t know each other that well. I, for example, didn’t think such a nerd like you would look so… healthy.” He put emphasis on the last word and smirked slightly while winking at Tal. His face was about to be as red as the blood Nik had shed in this room before. His mouth ran dry and his whole body was flaming hot. Nik was toying with him.

“I… play ice hockey?” He justified himself while pressing his palms against the towels. He felt utterly exposed all of a sudden. After being a part of a sports team for years Tal had gotten used to showering with other guys but none of them had ever complimented him or started straight up flirting with him.

“You do?” Nik was obviously provoking him. For reasons he couldn’t explain, Tal found that his teasing calmed him down. His body relaxed and he straightened his back, facing Nik’s playful smile with a slight frown on his face. “I play for the Academy’s team! I am literally their best centre and I- I’m the reason we made it to the top of the league! How can you not know that?”

“Is that so?” Nik ignored his last question. “A nerd who is also a jock. You sure are interesting, Taliesin.” Tal bit back a comment. He wanted to say something like “Playing ice hockey doesn’t make me a jock! And not playing ice hockey doesn’t mean I’m a nerd!” but he knew that Nik would only find a way to turn that against him. Instead, he took a deep breath. Tal raised his hand to support his throbbing head. He was gradually figuring out that conversations with Nik could lead to severe headaches and if done frequently there was a risk of receiving brain damage as well. No study has been conducted to confirm this yet but Tal considered himself living proof for this theory.

When Tal faced Nik again he found the other had been patiently waiting for him to speak up. There was no sign of irritation or annoyance at the silence visible on his expression. “The meeting. We should discuss now how–“ Tal recoiled. In the middle of the sentence, he was being teleported into his dorm room again. “Damn it.” He cursed at himself and sat down at the edge of his bed.