He'd spotted Julius walk past his classroom with some girl on his arm. He frowned slightly, feeling a pang of jealousy shoot through him, only makig him more confused. Shaking his head, he turned back to his books, trying to focus on his schoolwork.

Keepig an eye out between classes for Julius and his goons, he didn't spot them again until the end of the day, as he was heading for his truck.

When the other boys saw Julius arrive, they all cheered. He joined the others on the floor and one of the boys powered up his laptop and streamed a movie for them all. It was a boring movie and it wasn't long before the girls started flirting with the boys and making out. Rina was becoming overly friendly with Julius but he wasn't in the mood for this. He tried to divert his attention to the film but she kept persisting by touching his leg and flirting. He finally had enough and got up, pushing her away.

He left the room and ran down the stairs to Jakob's classroom but nobody was there. He panicked, his eyes darting left and right as he tried to think where he might be. He saw a few students heading to their dorms and he asked them for the time. Shit, he cursed. It was already the end of the day. Jakob must be heading home. He ran out of the school, past the fields and into the parking area where he spotted Jakob getting into a truck. He sprinted towards him, 'Jakob, stop!' he yelled, panting as he reached he truck. He stared into the other boy's eyes as he tried to catch his breath, 'it's not what you think' he said, coughing a little.

Jakob turned around when he heard his name. Seeing Julius running towards him, hefrowned. "What's not what I think, Julius?" He asked, somewhat confused . He had no idea hat the boy was talking about.

'Rina, the girl you saw me with earlier' he said quickly, 'we're not...together' he mumbled quickly, his face turning red. He fidgeted a little, slightly embarrassed. Jakob looked confused, he wasn't sure if he was pretending or not. He had seen them, hadn't he?

"Why should it matter to me whether you're with some chick or not?" He asked, secretly enjoying Julius' obvious discomfort. He honestly wanted an answe to his question. It had bugged him, seeing that blonde wrapped around Julius, and he had no idea why. Sure the redhead was attractive... But he knew he had no claim to him. So why did he get that pang of jealousy just thinking about Julius with somebody else?

Julius was alarmed upon hearing Jakob's question, 'I...' he started but couldn't find the right words to say. He scanned the other boy's face for any sign of discomfort or jealousy but he found none. Like always, he was totally unpredictable. Julius could never understand what was going through his mind. 'How're your injuries? Are you feeling any better?' he asked, trying to change the subject. He felt foolish standing there, unsure of what to say. Why did he feel so nervous?

Jakob couldn't help but laugh a bit at Julius. The boy was standing there like a deer caught in the headlights. It was amusing to see him so flustered.

Shrugging a bit when asked about his injuries, he lifted his shirt a bit to show off a lovely patchwork of bruises forming across his stomach and side. "I'm sure your friends could have done far worse had they been trying..." He said. "As it is, I think it's just bruising. Still a bit tender, but that's what they make painkillers for."

Julius suddenly wrapped his arms around Jakob in a tight embrace, not letting go. 'I...I'm sorry' he whispered softly. He felt different, he could feel a fluttery sensation in his stomach but he was too scared to even think about what it meant. For once he felt helpless.

Jakob winced as he was hugged tight. "Julius... Too tight..." He said, the pain from the bruises clouding his thiughts. Had he been thinking clearly, he probably would have been embarrassed, and tried to pull away.

Julius pulled away, feeling guilty. He let his arms fall to his sides, still feeling anxious. He took a step back. Maybe he was being too forward. Maybe he should leave. He'd made a fool out of himself. He stared at the floor, sheepishly, angry at himself.

Jakob frowned at how quickly Julius pulled back, and how he avoided looking at him. "Hey. What's the matter?"

'I should go' he simply said and turned away from him. It was better if he left. He shouldn't have bothered telling him anyway. He walked slowly to his dorm and collapsed on his bed. Why did he feel so tired? He had barely done anything today. He felt guilty for missing two lessons, he was sure they'd report to his parents and he'd have to deal with them over the weekend. He sighed, burying his face in his pillow.

Jakob lifted a hand to stop Julius as he turned away, but stopped himself, letting his hand drop as he watched him walk back towards the school. What would he have said, anyways? With a sigh he shook his head, opening the door to his truck and getting in, heading home.

He didn't eat much for dinner. He just didn't feel hungry. He saw Rina at dinner time and she glared at him when she caught his eye. He simply ignored her. The other boys cracked jokes with each other but Julius refused to join in. When he was done eating, he got up and left his plate on the pile of dirty plates and went back to his dorm where he spent the remainder of his evening in bed, thinking. Why did he feel so sad? He just felt like something was wrong but he didn't know what. He rummaged through his bedside drawer and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it swiftly. He stood near his open window and took a drag, allowing the smoke to consume him, temporarily clouding his thoughts.

Jakob had gone home, going straight to his room when he got there. No one else was home yet, but not being hungry, decided to not start dinner. He pulled his homework out, laying on his bed with his music playing, trying to focus on his textbooks. Unfortunately, images of Julius kept flickering through his mind, making him more and more frustrated, until finally he gave up on his homework, throwing the book across his room. He threw all the books off his bed, getting some small satisfaction from the violent act, before laying back down and losing himself to his thoughts, eventually falling asleep to thoughts of Julius.

Julius was awoken to the sound of distant laughter from outside his door. He had somehow fallen asleep and his window was wide open. His room was freezing. He had probably forgotten to close it after smoking. Groaning, he got up, yanking it shut before collapsing back into bed. He checked the time on his phone: 8am. He was getting late, first period would commence at 8:30 sharp. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He didn't feel like going in, he felt like shit. Besides, he was already missing a lot of his classes, what difference would it make if he missed one more? He knew he would be in deep trouble but strangely, he no longer cared. 'Screw it' he muttered, his voice quivering slightly. He drew his blanket over his head and tried to go back to sleep.

Jakob got to school just barely on time, making it into his first period class just as the bell rang. He took a seat, and pulled out his books, doing his work like a good student should.

He woke up a few hours later due to hunger. He pulled a sweatshirt over his head and slumped outside to the vending machine where he purchased some chips, a chocolate bar and a can of soda. He lay in bed munching his snacks and playing on his video game console. His phone rang more than a dozen times but he ignored it. It was probably his parents. He didn't leave his room at all, not even for lunch. Later, he was interrupted by Ross and his friends knocking on his door. He yelled at them to go away and they did, confused. He didn't have time for them.

It had been a strange day. Jakob had seen Ross and the others several times, though they never did more than maybe shove him once or twice. One certain redhead was always missing though, and Jakob was beginning to wonder if Julius was avoiding him. He shook his head, clearing that thought from it, and headed home again at the end of the day, still not having seen Julius even once.

He kept thinking about Jakob and wanted nothing more than to hold and kiss him again. He felt frustrated and angry at his inability to function normally. It was just a stupid crush on a stupid boy. Why did he feel so worked up over it? He tried to spend the rest of the night catching up on homework and felt pleased when he managed to complete them all, even if it meant skipping a lot of the questions or guessing a few. He closed his textbooks and decided to take a warm shower to relax before bed. Tomorrow he would be fine. Besides, it was a Friday so he could leave this place and spend the weekend at his parent's.

Jakob was surprised to find his father home already when he got there, even more surprised to find him in the kitchen, actually cooking. He smiled and took a seat, catching up with the man as he cooked, then through them eating as well.

After dinner, Jakob headed for his room, planning to get some homework done, but he ended up falling asleep before getting too far into it.

The following day, Julius felt much better. He got up early and got dressed for school, picking up his bag and heading to his first class. He attended all his lessons and hung out with his friends during break and lunch. They asked him about the day before but he just told them he was in a bad mood all day and didn't feel like hanging out. When the day was over, he ran up the stairs to his dorm, packed his suitcase and exited the school building. He walked out of the gates and spotted his driver waiting for him. He opened the door for him and he got inside and waited until the driver placed his suitcase in the boot. Then, they drove home.

Julius spent the entire weekend playing his video games in his bedroom. To his astonishment, his parents never once commented on his lack of attendance the past week. They were too busy discussing work to be bothered about their son. They occasionally asked him about his work and he just smiled saying it was going well. He was never close with his parents. He had spent his entire life being cared for by countless nannies and barely ever saw his parents. He sometimes felt jealous of his friends who went on fun family outings because he knew he'd never be able to have that himself. The weekend went by faster than he expected and soon enough, he was back at the boarding school.

The next few weeks went pretty much the same, after the weekend. Jakob went to classes, did his homework, and stayed out of trouble with Julius and his little group. His bruises faded, though he was still a bit sore.

Julius avoided Jakob as much as possible for the next few weeks. They only had a few classes together and he barely saw him anyway. Jakob seemed to have no desire to approach him either. He saw him in the hallway occasionally but merely glanced at him before making his way to his next class. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

Friday rolled around, and Jakob had just gotten home. He was surprised to see his mother's vehicle in the driveway. Entering the house, he was called into the kitchen. His heart dropped- he knew that tone. It was the 'we're moving' tone.

He headed into the kitchen, sitting down across from his parents, only paying partial attention until he was given a choice this time... Either move, again... Or move into the dorms at the academy. He jumped at the chance to stay at East Mount.

The rest of his weekend was then spent packing the few things he'd need at the school. His parents were keeping the house, and he'd be able to come home kn weekends if he wanted.