Running in Circles Ch. 01

Everyone partaking in sexual activity in this story is over 18.

Author's note:

This was intended to be a longer first chapter, but I'm too excited to wait on the second half to be edited. So the next installment will be on its way shortly! I also needed the motivation to keep on writing. I have big plans for these characters, so hopefully you guys love them!

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I rolled over in my warm bed, reached and pushed the screaming alarm clock off the night stand. Unfortunately, that didn't make it shut up. I crawled onto the floor, grabbed the clock, mashed my thumbs on the buttons until the noise stopped. With a sigh, I contemplated skipping my last first day of school.

I was finally a senior. A smile spread over my face. That was enough to get me moving. I used the bed to pull myself up and shuffled across the hall to the bathroom. I was swinging the door shut just as my little sister appeared in the doorway. She pounder her tiny fists on the door.

I started the shower to let the water warm up while I brushed my teeth.

"Alton!" Lily called through the door. "Alton! I need to get weady for me first day of pwe school!"

I laughed. "Lily, go find Mom. She'll help you get ready in her bathroom," I talked to her around my tooth brush. Once I finished brushing, I looked at myself in the mirror. I was short, just over 5'6". My blond hair was messy. I tugged my fingers through it, snagging on some tangles. My blue eyes looked critical. I was slim and lifted weights a couple of times a week. My real muscles were in my legs. I was a runner. I had been since I joined the track team in 7th grade. I loved to run, it was so freeing. I felt light as I flew down the track.

This year, being a senior, I, along with Meera Parker, my best friend, would get to help pick the new additions to the track team. I hurried through my shower to get ready. As I was shrugging into my jeans, I shot a text to her.

Usually I drove us to school, but over the summer, her dad had bought her a car for her 18th birthday. I told her to come pick me up. That made her happy.

A few minutes later I heard Lily's laughter fill the house. "Meer! Meer! Meer is here!" I bounded down the stairs to find Meera spinning Lily in the air. I scooped up my sister up and covered her chubby cheeks with kisses.

"Meera is driving me to school today, Lil. You better say your goodbyes to now, because we might not make it!" We laughed as Meera punched me in the arm. Not gently. She was small, smaller than me, but she was strong.

"Alton Oliver Pery. You'd better not be messing up Lily's hair after I just spent fifteen minutes taming it!" Mom plucked the laughing Lily from my arms and kissed my cheek.

"Hi, Mama Pery." Meera hugged my mom and received a kiss as well.

"You keep an eye on my boy, Meera. He's getting more and more mischievous every day."

She gave me a pointed look and I rolled my eyes. I grabbed Meera by the arm and pulled her out the door, grabbing my backpack on the way. I hopped over the door of her new convertible Mustang and sank into the leather seat, sighing. Her dad was loaded. He tried to make up to her for not having a mother by showering her with gifts. He didn't know that she'd never really mourned not having a mom. We have been best friends since kindergarten. She found a mom in my Mom, and she was more than happy with it being just her dad and her.

My dad had died before I was born, but I never connected with her dad the way she did with my Mom. He had given me plenty of sound advice over the years and he did treat me well.

Meera navigated the familiar streets to school, her long brown, curly hair whipping in the wind. She looked at me. "What are you thinking about, boy?"

"Remember that time that your dad sat me down and gave me 'the talk'? He threatened my life if I ever got you pregnant."

"And you had to explain to him that you would never be getting anyone pregnant." We both burst out laughing. "He was so shocked, he didn't speak for a day. I love that old man." She wiped a tear from her eye and sighed. I sensed her getting serious, so I squeezed her knee. She patted my hand as she turned into the senior parking lot.

I whooped as we pulled into a spot, pumping my fists in the air. The senior parking lot was a goal you worked towards your entire high school career. It was better than the teacher's parking area, and it was a popular hangout before and after school. Meera let out her own victory cry as we both climbed out of the car and took in the crowd. My eyes stopped on a motorcycle, parked in the row across from ours, a few spaces down. I nudged Meer with my elbow. "You know who that belongs to? I've never seen it."

She looked over to the bike and started walking towards the school, passing the bike along the way. "I wonder if it's a new kid? Oh, I hope he's hot." She rubbed her hands together in excitement and we both laughed.

We had Homeroom together as always. We were both fighting to get into the door at the same time when I noticed Mr. Preach talking to someone I didn't recognize. He had jet black hair and dark, deeply tanned skin. He wore a black t-shirt, black jeans and had a motorcycle helmet hanging from his hand. I watched him speak with the teacher, his hip propped againstthe desk, one ankle crossed over the other.

I nudged Meer with my elbow, a little harder than I meant to.

"Ouch, Alt! What the fuck?" She rubbed her arm and followed my gaze. He must have sensed us staring, because he shot a glance in our direction. His deep green eyes shocked me. I quickly retreated to the back of the classroom. Meera and I always sat in back when we had a class together.

I pulled my phone out and furiously mashed my thumbs into the keyboard.

Alt: Holy shit. He's so hot! Is he Mexican?

Meera: I think so! Damn, I gotta get me some of that.

Alt: You think he's straight?

Meera: Don't know. Not that you'd ever go after him, virgin boy.

We both laughed. The class was starting to fill up, so I put my phone away. I couldn't stop staring at the new guy. He was buff. He had big muscles that stretched the fabric of his shirt in a very enticing way.

"Alright, everyone! This is Alex, he's new. Please make him feel welcome." Mr. Preach motioned for Alex to sit. The only open seat was right in front of me. I watched him approach. He caught me watching. His eyebrows furrowed and I ducked my head and quickly looked away.

I spent the rest of Homeroom trying not to burn holes into the back of his head. When the bell rang, Meera and I hung back as usual to let the hoard pass. When I was about through the door, Mr. Preach called my name. I waved at Meera to go ahead. When I turned around, Alex was standing by the teacher's desk again, staring at me. Mr. Preach waved a piece of paper at me. "Please show Alex to his locker. These halls are hard to navigate."

I took the paper and cleared my throat. His locker was just down the hall from mine. I headed out the door without speaking. I had to look back to make sure he was following. I stopped in front of his locker and turned the paper around. "This is your combination," I explained, showing him the cluster of numbers. I held the paper out to him. He didn't take it, just looked at me. I frowned and entered the combination for him. He stuffed his things inside. This time he took the paper when I offered it.

"Do you, hmm, need help finding your class? What is it?"

He looked me over, nodding. "American History, room 107. Gracias, lead the way." His voice was deep. It made me shiver.

"It's on the 1st floor." I hurried down the stairs and stopped in front of his classroom. "Well, this is you. Good luck!" I ran down the hall before he could say anything. Once I got into my classroom, I texted Meera.

Alt: I had to show Alex to his locker. He is so intense!

I managed to forget about him for a while. At lunch, Meera and I headed to the track field to set up the course for try outs. We were setting up the folding table and chairs when I looked across the field and saw Alex smoking with 'the bad kids'. He was looking right as me as he took a drag from his cigarette. I averted my eyes and finished setting up. I tried to ignore him.

The end of the day finally came. I was stoked. Meera and I were on the track field first. We greeted our team from last year, and the newbies trying out. Only seniors age in, so the rest of the team had to officially remake the squad. We had them go first to show the new people what to do. We passed all old timers quickly. A couple of newbies were tripping over each other on the hurdles course when the football team came running out, making all kinds of noise. I rolled my eyes. Did they have to do try outs at the same time as us? The ruckus was enough to make my newbies completely lose concentration and fall all over the place.

I glared at the dumb jocks, and there was Alex, all sexy in a football uniform. Fuck. He made eye contact with me. This guy had Spidey senses or something. I watched him talk to the guy next to him and indicate his head towards me. The jock glanced over, threw his hand out as if waving me off. I grunted and went back to work.

We ended up passing 3 girls and 1 guy. Meera and I stayed late, cleaning up. We made plans to meet at her car after we'd showered. I made my way into the locker room. It was still empty. I showered quickly, not wanting to be in there when the football players came in. I was just getting my pants on when they arrived. I kept my eyes down and ignored them. As I pulled my t-shirt over my head, my fist slammed into something. I freaked out a little and got tangled up. I felt a pair of strong arms tug my shirt down. Once I was freed, I looked up. It was Alex and he was smiling down at me.

"Watch out there, short stuff. Don't wanna hurt yourself." He was wearing only a towel. My eyes were level with his big, shiny muscles. It was hard to keep them looking at that level.

I grumbled out something of a thanks, grabbed my duffel bag and was out of there in seconds.

The rest of the week passed uneventfully. I didn't see much of Alex, other than briefly in Homeroom. He seemed to be ignoring me. I wondered what that footballer had said about me. Probably told him I was gay, which freaked him out, even though he had been nice to me in the locker room. I let it go.

Friday night finally rolled around. I had a load of homework I wanted to get done, but Meera insisted we go to her friend Amanda's party. I grudgingly agreed. We pulled up to Amanda's house around 8. I followed Meera inside and frowned. The place was packed. I wasn't a complete social retard, I could interacted with people just fine when I wanted to. Large crowds made me anxious, though. I managed not to get separated from Meera for the first hour. But when she went to use the bathroom, she never came back.

I wandered around, apologizing repeatedly for bumping into people. Most were bigger than me, so I was jostled aroumd quite a bit. I made my way to the kitchen to grab a beer. I didn't usually drink, only at the occasional party. I nursed the long neck beer and stepped out to the back porch for some fresh air. It was dark, really dark. I looked up at the stars and sighed, my thoughts returning to Alex. Why was I thinking about someone so unavailable to me?

Someone cleared their throat and I jumped about a mile, spilling beer all down my shirt. "Shit," I grumbled. "Fucking hell." Deep laughter erupted from the person that had startled me. I looked over sheepishly. Alex was reclined against the far porch railing. He put his cigarette out and stepped closer.

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to scare you." He flashed a bright smile at me and I forgot all about the spilled beer.

"It's okay. I'm a jumpy guy." I smiled my own awkward smile.

After a moment of his staring at me in silence, I fished for something to say. "So, how are you liking our school?" Stupid.

He shot me another smile and shrugged. "Eh, it's school."

"Umm.. so did you make the football team?" I was mentally kicking myself. I normally didn't have so much trouble making conversation.

He nodded. "I saw you guys. You and that girl. With the hair."

He obviously meant Meera. She had so much beautiful hair. He continued to speak, "You two an item?"

I was taken aback for a second. Was he interested in Meera? Kill me now. "Umm, no. We're just friends, best friends."

His head bobbed in another nod.

I cleared my throat again. "I'm gonna head in. Nice talking to you." I ducked inside before he could say anything else. I made my way to the bathroom to try and soak up some of the beer. It was starting to make my skin clammy.

I was in the bathroom dabbing a towel at my shirt when someone barged in. He was a big kid, much bigger than I, maybe on the wrestling team. He was trashed. He grinned at me as he whipped out his dick and started peeing in the toilet. I tried to leave, but he was blocking the door. I stared up at the ceiling awkwardly, not knowing what to do. I realized he was done, but just standing there with his dick still out, leering at me.

"You can look," he slurred. "I know you want to."

I kept my eyes firmly glued to the spot above me. "No, thanks." I said firmly.

He grabbed my hand and pulled it to his dick.

"Hey! Let me go!" I tried to jerk my hand away, but his thick fingers were crushing my wrist.

"Come on. Everyone knows you're gay. You love dick." He crushed my wrist tighter and I groaned in pain.

I yelled again, starting to panic. "Let me go!"

"Get me off first, fag." I flinched at the crude term. He forced my fingers to close around his dick. It was hard and clammy and I felt like throwing up. I was frozen with fear.

"Come on!" he said louder. There was a banging on the door. "Piss off!" He shouted.

"Shit." I tried again. "Just stop it!" I gave my hand the hardest tug I could, yanking his dick sideways. His free hand shot up and smacked the side of my head. I gasped, my mouth hung open in shock, my ears ringing. I think he realized then it might be easier to force himself into my mouth.

The banging on the door intensified as the asshole shoved me down on my knees. I heard them crack on the floor and groaned. Then there was a crash. I covered my face with my arms as the jock tumbled on top of me. Someone had kicked the door open.

The jerk jock was ripped off me and tossed out into the hall. "What the fuck," I heard him protest. Alex was looming over him. He looked fierce. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" he demanded. The drunk looked ridiculous. He was sprawled out on the floor, dick still hanging out.

Alex crouched down in front of him and stuck a finger in his face. "Count yourself lucky that I caught you in time. Otherwise, you would be dead, pendejo ." His voice was menacing. He looked as if he were snarling. Alex punched him hard in the gut, once. The jock sank back against the wall, completely passed out.

Suddenly everyone was cheering. A crowd had formed to watch the new guy kick some ass. A couple of guys came to collect their friend from the floor and everyone quickly disappeared.

I was shaking on the bathroom floor. I didn't know what to do. Alex stepped into the bathroom and bent down to lift me up. I was unstable on my feet. My hands came up to his chest to steady myself. He held onto my sides as he looked down at me. "Are you alright, Alton?"

My head was fuzzy as I nodded. "I think I hit my head."

He cupped his big hand on the back of my head, tilting it down and ran his fingers through my hair, causing my to shiver. I winced when his fingers found a bump. He sighed. "I don't think you'll be able to ride on my bike. Wait here." He sat me down on the toilet seat and squeezed my shoulders. "Stay here," he said firmly. I nodded my head and instantly regretted it.

A few minutes later he returned with a concerned looking Meera. "Oh, babe!" She tripped a little as she came in to hug me. She was drunk. "Poor thing," she cooed. "Here." She shoved her keys at Alex. "I can't drive anyway. I'll crash here with Amanda."

Alex took the keys and stuck them in his pocket so he could use both hands to lift me. I stumbled into him and closed my eyes. God, I felt awful. He held me still for a moment, watching me.

He muttered as curse word under his breath, then I was in the air. My eyes snapped open to find him carrying my bridal style to the front door. Oh, God. I was so embarrassed. I shut my eyes again and clung to his neck. He smelled amazing, like cologne and smoke and engine oil.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was sitting in the car. He squished himself into the driver's seat, grumbling about short people as he adjusted the seat. I was so tired, I dozed off as soon as we were moving. When I woke up, I realized we were at my house. Meera must have told him where I lived. I blinked and moved around. I snapped my head up, disregarding the pain. I had fallen asleep on his shoulder. He was looking at me with serious amusement.

"Umm, thanks," I said. "I can probably get in on my own." I stumbled out of the car and almost went down. He was by my side in an instant. He put my arm over his shoulder and his around my waist.

I sighed. He was warm and I couldn't help leaning into him. He helped me quietly into the house and up the stairs to my room. I didn't want to wake my mother or my sister. I slumped down onto my bed and watched him dig through my dresser. He pulled out a pair of sweat pants.

"Arms up," he said, expecting me to obey. I did. He pulled my shirt off over my head and tossed it into the hamper by my door. I unfastened my jeans and he helped me wiggle out of them. I felt really exposed so I snatched the sweat pants and quickly tugged them on. I thought I heard him growl again.

He looked around my room as I crawled under the covers. I frowned. What did he expect to see? I cleared my throat. "Thank you, Alex." I said it so quietly I wasn't sure he heard me.

"Alejandro." He corrected me.

"Oh," I said. "I thought everyone called you Alex."

"They do." His eyes were staring into mine. I just blinked. I was so sleepy.

"Well, thank you, Alejandro. For everything." He nodded and moved to the door. I was asleep before I could say goodbye.

*****

I woke the next day still feeling groggy. My head was killing me. I checked the time. It was after noon. There was aspirin and a bottle of water on my night stand. Must have been left by Alex. I guzzled the pills down and made my slow way to the bathroom to relieve my full bladder.

When I returned to my room after my shower, I heard my phone buzz. I picked it up, assuming it was a text from Meera. It wasn't.

Alejandro: You up yet?

I stared at the contact name for a moment. How did I get his number? I looked a moment longer and then checked the last message sent by me. It just said my name. He must have put himself in my phone and texted himself to get my number. I grinned.

Alton: Just got up. Thank you for the pills. And the rescue.

Alejandro: No problem. You can make it up to me, if you're feeling better.

What did he mean by that? I got comfortable on my bed, still only wearing my towel.

Alton: Sure, I owe you. What are you thinking?

His reply was almost immediate, like he already knew my answer, and knew what he wanted.

Alejandro: Let me buy you some food, then come watch me play football this afternoon.

My heart fluttered. He wanted to take me out and go to his first game? Granted, it was just a practice game, but even practice games had full attendance at my school.

Alton: Deal.

Alejandro: I'll be at your house at 3.

I couldn't stop smiling. I was giddy. I texted Meera and made her come over. She was super hung over, but excited for me. Grudgingly. She helped me pick out an outfit with little complaint.