Sam leaned against the cool brick wall as Happy stopped beside each boy and gave a brief summary of him.
“This is Kay”
With that Kay raised his hand and gave an unenthusiastic wave as his face riddled with a sour expression.
“Don’t worry about him, he’s always moody?” Happy said before he leaned in close to Sam’s eat, “Lies like a fox too.”
Kay snapped his head up, his dark hair sprawling in his eyes as his onyx eyes glared at Happy. “Do not!”
He suddenly tackled Happy into a headlock as Happy laughed and tackled him back. Happy shoved him away before pointing to the large, burly guy. Sam gulped slightly, he thought he had seen enough towering, bulky guys for one day but this one made the others look like twigs…
“This is Bear. Of course, not his real name either. It’s what we call him…yanno… pretty obvious why, innit?” Happy stated as the big guy nodded his head like a mute bear. Sam nodded back awkwardly with a timid wave. Happy moved on to the guy still sitting on the floor.
“This is Charlie. He’s not much of a talker”
The guy on the floor also had a shaved head but he had not produced any stubble and his head looked slightly greying as if he would have thick locks of grey hair had he let them grow out. Happy stood back with a pleased smile as he let Sam take them all in. They seemed like an odd bunch.
Kay was tall and stick thin with dark hair sprawled in a messy mop. His eyes were dark as well as constantly having a sour expression on his face. Bear was huge and bulky like a tree trunk and although his expression wasn’t cold, he didn’t seem to have much reaction to anything… it was as if he had no brain in there and was just an empty, hollow nothingness. Charlie was quiet, but unlike Bear he reminded Sam of a praying monk.
He was tiny and slim, and Sam was unsure how he managed to defend himself. Perhaps no one attacked him because he knew Happy? Happy clapped Sam on the back.
“We’re a bit of an odd group—but we do well.” Happy winked and Sam understood what he meant.
Key rolled his eyes as he sat back down and threw some cards into the middle.
“You playin’ or what?”
Happy rubbed together his palms as he sat down between Charlie and Kay, he glanced back at Sam. “Sam, you playin?”
Sam nodded awkwardly as he sat down tightly between Kay and Bear. Bear glanced over at Sam and so Sam nervously smiled but Bear turned his head back and reached out for some cards. As they started to play, each one inching Kay’s comments and remarks about how he was letting them win, Sam reluctantly bought up his dorm.
“Do you guys know the guy who lives in 46?” Sam asked as everyone suddenly fell silent. Even Kay stopped his loud mouth as he looked at Sam with large eyes. He turned to Happy as he opened his mouth, sucking in a big inhale of air ready to ramble on and on but Happy nudged him as if saying no. Happy ran his hand over his stubble as he smiled but this time it wasn’t his naturally gleaming smile it was slightly pursed.
Kay, however, ignored Happy’s glare and let his large mouth blurt out for him. “You’re in 46?! Oh, tough break newbie.”
Sam frowned as he thought back to the dark headed guy pinning him against the wall. “Wh—what… why? Who is he?”
Happy braced his hand against Sam’s shoulder again. “Why don’t we take a walk?”
Sam looked around in confusion but got up anyway as he and Happy walked down the field. Happy stopped at a railing nearby as he leaned against it, staring out into the void ahead. Sam rested his back against it as he tilted his head to watched Happy. “Who is he?”
Happy squinted as the sun began to shine brightly in his eyes and so he turned around, mimicking Sam’s actions and resting his back against the barrier.
“His names Hunter” Happy started as he rubbed his hand over his head again. Sam watched him with an unwavering gaze, he wanted to know exactly who he was sharing with. Though judging from everyone’s reactions he didn’t think that this guy was going to greet him like Happy and say ‘Hey, my names bubbly because I’m just so happy—oh I know! Let’s be friends.’
Happy licked his lip for a moment as his short brows drew in together.
“He’s… the whole school is full of guys that have done at least one thing wrong. Even I’ve done sommet to end up here. Sometimes, when we move here we learn our lesson and we stop our old behaviour. Or sometimes we get worse and we start brawls, we learn things from others that we didn’t know before… we slowly turn more toxic”
“And Hunter?” Sam asked leaning forward. Every time Happy dragged out what he was trying to say Sam’s heart would thump painfully, he just wished Happy would spit it out already.
“Hunter doesn’t go ’round purposely starting fights, but he doesn’t say no to em’ either. He prefers being alone and only idiots don’t respect that. He’s got a big reputation here and so people try to fight him all the time, they wanna take away his title and prove they’re better, but no one’s better than him. One look at him and he could smash you into a million tiny pieces.”
Sam gulped as he lowered his voice. His heart was now falling to a resting stop as he felt his body couldn’t handle it anymore. “Title?”
Happy turned to Sam with a worried and dampened expression.
“They didn’t throw you in with a wolf.. they threw you in with a lion… and he’s the king.”
***
As Sam dragged his exhausted body back to his dorm, Happy stopped beside him, hands dug into his pockets again. Happy offered him a smile that only lightened up Sam’s spirits a little. “Don’t worry. As long as you don’t provoke him, he won’t bite.” Happy whispered, his eyes flicking to the closed door. Sam nodded, his heart dropping as he waved Happy goodbye and cautiously opened his door. He felt like it was exactly his luck to end up with the nutter of the madhouse. As he stepped in he saw the bareback displaying towards him. Sam’s eyes searched the room instead, worried that if he even so much as glanced at this lion then the lion would eat him.
Hearing the sound of the door clicking open and then shutting, Hunter craned his head, twisting his back as he looked over his broad shoulder. His black locks dipped into his forest eyes as he glanced at Sam before turning back around and tinkling with whatever it was in his hands. Sam risked a glance back but quickly shook his head and climbed up to his bunk. He didn’t even change into his pyjamas, to nervous to remove his clothing in front of the lion. Hunter stood up, his back muscles flexing as he reached over and placed the object he was messing with, on the desk nearby.
Sam’s curious eyes fed over to it before he looked away when Hunter turned around. Hunter was only wearing black sweatpants, no shirt and no socks but the necklace was resting against his toned chest and so he climbed into bed, peeling back the covers before pulling them over and turning his back.
Sam laid flat on his back as he rested his hands across his stomach, occasionally tapping his finger every now and then.
The lights were off, and Sam didn’t even hear the sound of Hunter’s breath. It unnerved him how Hunter could be right beside him, ready to rip a razor through his throat and Sam couldn’t hear him.
Sam turned again in his bed as the old, rusty bed creaked. He turned again and then again as the restlessness tugged at him. Next thing Sam knew the lights were being slammed on with a sharp slapping sound of someone’s palm hitting the lights. When the room flickered to life he saw Hunter standing by the light, his arm outstretched with his hand on the light. His sharp jaded eyes were back into their narrowed slit as he glared at Sam.
His black locks were sprawled messily about, and the ends dipped into his haunting eyes. His black brows were arched thickly as his slick jawline was flexing. Sam gulped as he shuffled to the top of his bed, his chest rising and falling. His fingers curled in the sheets as he swallowed thickly.
By standing under the light he could see Hunter and every single edge and curve of him. He was ridiculously tall, though not taller than Bear, still, he would only be a few inches under him.
His skin was a golden bronze that only darkened when matched with his jet-black locks. His hair was only slightly wavy, and the underneath was shaven which made the top appear thicker, the ends almost always dipped into his eyes.
He had muscles on him, but his body was lean and muscular rather than broad and muscular. In fact, the only part that was broad about him was his shoulders and his taunt collarbones. His lips were dark and more towards the plumper side than the thinner. His brow bones were high with thick black hairs and his nose was perfectly straight as well as his jawline that was slick and angular. His eyes were the scariest for Sam because they seemed to be frozen in a narrowed state. They were almond shaped, so they were already sharp, hostile glare.
“Quit moving, newbie.”
Sam nodded mutely, like Hunter’s glare sent a wave of ice over him that froze him and rendered him unable to move. Hunter locked his jaw but in a more stressed way than an angered way. He raised his hand as he ran it over his forehead and sighed. He went to flicker the lights off, but Sam’s soft voice cut through the silent tension.
“Are you okay?” Sam cringed as he heard his tender voice float out. He hadn’t meant to have literally asked, he was only wondering silently whether the lion was okay, but he had actually stated that and now it was too late to retrieve. He was waiting for Hunter to growl about what a ‘homo’ Sam is before beating him up. To Sam’s surprise, Hunter only flinched before he peaked at Sam through the splays of his fingers. Hunter gave no answer, but his brows were still furrowed with the crease between them and his eyes were still narrowed. ‘Maybe it’s just his face…’
“Go to sleep.” Hunter’s husky voice sounded as the lights flickered back off and Sam listened to the sound of the bed beneath creaking as Hunter pulled the covers back over himself, hitting them once to get them to straighten out. Sam struggled to fall asleep on his first night. Not only was he still shaking due to sleeping above a lion, he was also scared he would move in his sleep and awake Hunter who might just resort to smothering him.
He also hated the feel of the lumpy mattress beneath him as well as the thin covers that offered no warmth—he hated thinking about what it would feel like in the winter. Finally, his eyelids drooped closed and he was pulled towards the sanctuary of slumber.
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