Chapter 5: Focus

Leo walked up to the bleachers while staring down below and scanned the waiting runners for Max.

"Ouch"

Leo tripped on someone's foot because of his own lack of attention to his surroundings in front of him.

"Sorry." He said politely and bowed, nodded quickly as an apology, then went back to scanning for Max.

Finally, his eyes locked on his target and he smiled. He knew he should find a seat, but he became an idiot the moment he saw him and kinda froze in place with excitement.

"Max!" he yelled out and waved vigorously.

✥✥✥

Max looked up at the stands shielding his eyes from the sun to see who it was that was calling to him so enthusiastically?

The moment he did, he gulped and waved back slowly, grinning painfully.

It was Leo.

All afternoon he had been thinking about the guy. He finally got him out of his head so he could do some running and there he was again.

Max was wondering if his luck for losing things had switched over to creating trouble for himself in general. Because if so. He wanted to trade it back in for the losing things, that one was a pain, but was much better than being plagued with someone who he had embarrassed himself with so thoroughly following him around all the time to make him atone for his mistake.

Max realized his heart was beating faster at the thought.

'No, he wasn't here for him, there was no way, right?'

But Max kinda liked the idea. He tried not to; he tried to think of how he shouldn't be thinking like that at all. But instead, he felt a heat stir inside him that made him blush. One that the slightly chilly air and the gentle breeze could do nothing to deter.

'Focus on your race, Max! Focus!'

Max leaned down to stretch out his legs, and he closed his eyes to do the meditation technique he always did before running. The moment he did, he regretted it, as his mind filled with the memory of Leo's soft lips beneath his own.

His eyes flew back open quickly. And he stood up straight and stared past the bleachers up at the sky. Trying to get his mind off his distractions, he tried counting clouds. Something he had done since he was a kid.

Max pouted. It was a relatively cloudless sky at the moment, despite it being almost dinner time.

He groaned in frustration.

A soft chuckle beside him made him lookup.

"What do you want, Sam?"

Sam was smiling up at him from the grass where he had plopped beside his friend and watched him fume and groan to himself.

He wasn't set to go on for another three races after Max's and Max was still two races away, but he hadn't been able to resist coming to watch Max instead of warm-up.

Max had been making such ridiculous faces... How could he miss that?

"It looks like your first kiss stealer came to see you?" Sam said, motioning at Leo with his chin, a large sideways grin on his face.

"Shut Up, Sam," Max said annoyed.

"What? Did I say anything wrong?" He chuckled.

Max glared at him. 'Technically, he hadn't, but still, he was annoying.' He was always annoying ever since they were kids and grew up next door to each other.

Sam has always been annoying.

Max thought it was great that they got into the same school, but was just happy that they would never have to share anything as they both had their own dorm rooms this year. Last year had been hell when they were sharing. But luckily the RM had asked them for their room as it was large and they had wanted to try to fit a third bed into it. So had offered the two smaller single rooms further away from the campus main as compensation.

They had both said yes and switched to solo rooms. Though that never stopped Sam from always being in his dorm room.

"Have you talked to him at all since it happened?..."

"An apology, maybe?"

"You know, for deflowering his lips and accusing him of thievery," Sam said dramatically, a smile playing at his lips as they both stared at the stands. Leo waved again and Sam waved back happily. Before standing up and waving even more.

Max flushed, but had the decency to look abashed at his actions.

"No, I have no idea what to say to him." What can I even say after I snapped at him like that?"

"Do the talking with your bodies," Sam suggested snickering. Then waved at Leo, but this time as an inviting motion. He pointed at Leo and motioned for him to come down to the field.

Max could see Leo nod his head in recognition and knew that Leo saw everything from the stands since where he was sitting. Because he was rather close to the tracks that Sam and Max were currently resting near.

Max watched as Leo picked up his worn bag and started to push his way back out of the stands. He watched Leo stop and bob his head in what seemed like he might be apologizing as he tried to escape.

Max and Sam watched it all in amusement.

He had never had the time to notice someone let alone a boy in his Faculty. Truthfully, he hadn't even cared to notice because Leo wasn't in his class and the chance that he would run into him on the vast campus wasn't even super high.

But in actuality, Leo was pretty cute.

He had long dark black curly hair, he was lean and thin. But average height and his large, golden brown doe-like eyes sat under large dark thick lashes.

He was wearing a soft baby blue button-up dress shirt with short sleeves that came down to his elbow. It hung nicely around his body, the front of the blue shirt tucked gently into his black ripped and frayed black pants and belt. His collar hung open as he bent forward a little, his chest peaked out through the gap between the top two unbuttoned buttons. His pinky peach skin looked mesmerizing as he bent forward.

And Max's mind wandered not only Leo's beautiful body, but his even more perfect face. The beautiful long lashes flushed high cheekbones, soft, plump light red lips looked like a freshly ripe apple skin.

Max found himself wanting to bite it, taste it. Feel the soft, moist flesh against his own again.

Max gulped. And licked his lips. Trying his best to change the direction his healthy twenty-year-old mind was going.

He looked down at the ground.

'He was starting to realize he was very attracted to Leo.'

He felt like it had started the moment he had backed him up and slammed him into the wall.

'He's pretty, prettier than most girls...'

Max turned to look at Sam.

"Find your own boy to harass," Max said annoyed.

"Why? Is that one yours?" Sam teased back before waving as Leo came around the corner of the stands and out into the field near them.

Sam looped his arm around Max's shoulders.

Leo stared at them curiously, but happy as he trotted up to them.

"Hey!" Leo said, slightly out of breath. He hoisted his bag higher on his shoulder. And stood there staring at them both.

Max flushed a little, his eyes kept getting drawn down towards his undone clothing buttons and the way his light, thin whipcord muscles moved as he kept moving the bag around on his shoulder and clavicle.

Max watched the muscles ripple and move with fascination, enthralled and only vaguely aware Sam and Leo had now introduced themselves to each other and were now chatting quietly about something.

'It must be heavy. From the way Leo's muscles were bulging it seemed it must be fairly heavy not just slightly.'

'Why did he bring the bag at all? It was after school at this point, no one really needed their stuff for classes...'

'The event was another full hour... Outdoors!'

'He couldn't let him walk around like that.' Max looked up at the bleachers where the people who were sitting closest were clearly staring, but Max got the feeling that people were always staring at Leo.

Girls and boys whispered and pointed at the various things going on in the field in front of them. But a majority of them, that we're not watching the warm-ups or mini races, were watching Leo with great interest.

Max stepped forward.

Leo blinked in surprise and took an involuntary step back.

'Ah! What are you doing Max? He is clearly startled! The last time you advanced on him you grabbed him by the dick... Can't you do anything normal around this guy?' He tried a smile and Leo smiled back relaxing a little.

Max's heart froze.

'Wow! What the hell kinda feeling was that?'