Fence, "You Forgot My Kiss, Part 2" Nicholas/Seiji, rated Teen

[paynesgrey]

Fandom: Fence comics
Title: You Forgot My Kiss, Part 2
Author: paynesgrey
Characters/Pairings: Nicholas Cox, Seiji Katayama, Nicholas/Seiji
Word Count: 2,276
Warnings: drug use, hazing, bullying
Spoilers: up to "Striking Distance" novel, since I'm in the middle of reading "Disarmed".
Notes: Written for the "flamingo" prompt for the Summer Mini Challenge. This was only supposed to be two parts but was longer than intended, so it should finish up with part three.

Summary: A cruel prank turns into a night of interesting revelations for Nicholas and Seiji.

Also @ AO3

Part Two

Seiji hated dances. He hated balls, galas, or anything that involved dancing, mingling, or dealing with groups of other people. He abhorred the social nature of it all and despised the expectations of having to engage in small talk or civility when he did not find it necessary.

He’d been to plenty of black-tie functions with his parents in his life, and he was able to fake his way through the niceties and social graces. However, after said functions, Seiji felt like he needed at least a week to himself to decompress and regain his calm. 

Functions like these, where the attendees were around his age, were harder for him to get through. Mainly, because he had nothing in common with most of the people here. That wasn’t the uncomfortable part. He loathed having to interact with other boys who talked of nothing important, like dating, eating terribly unhealthy food, popular movies, and whatever non-fencing-related topics that would spill out of their mouths. 

Seiji, as usual, would rather be alone than interacting with them, but lately, he welcomed the company of his “friend” Nicholas Cox, especially to functions such as these. Nicholas’s presence, oddly enough, would always keep his social anxieties in check, and he rather felt more comfortable when Nicholas was with him.

Perhaps because Nicholas understood him, and he never judged him or scorned him for what he lacked in social skills. He never figured that this brash, annoying boy would become a balm to his anxiety, but he had also helped Seiji open up more to the other boys on their fencing team. Stranger things were happening to him thanks to Nicholas and even to the influence of his other teammates. He saw them all as a team and was willing to even indulge Coach Williams on her insistence on team bonding. 

As his thoughts filled with Nicholas, Seiji swept his gaze across the ballroom dance floor to search for him. He caught sight of him laughing with Eugene and his weightlifting buddies, and Seiji felt compelled to join him, though, he erred with caution for the fear of being fist-bumped or picked up by one of the weightlifters. He shuddered as his gaze settled on Chad, who was the most physical of the weightlifters, and he preferred to avoid any encounter with him at all costs.

When Nicholas caught his eye, he immediately excused himself from Eugene’s group and came jogging over to him.

“Hey! I was looking for you,” Nicholas said with a cheerful smile. “Want something to drink? I was just going to get a refill.”

“No, thank you,” Seiji said, and he crossed his arms and sneered at the expanse of the room. “I am just waiting for the moment I don’t have to endure this abhorrent school dance any longer.”

Nicholas chuckled, and he patted Seiji on the shoulder and met his eyes. “You can’t leave yet. You have to save me a dance.” He winked at him, and Seiji couldn’t stop the heat from coloring his cheeks.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Seiji muttered, and Nicholas laughed again. 

“Alright, alright, be that way. I’m going to get something to drink. I’ll be back,” Nicholas said, and Seiji watched him as he headed to the tables full of food and drinks. People began crowding around the table where Nicholas was, and Seiji looked away, eyeing the dance floor with dread.

He swept his gaze back to Nicholas, who had disappeared into another mass of students around the concessions table. He was about to stride toward him until he heard another conversation that stopped him in his tracks.

“Sheesh, that stupid poor kid Cox is here acting like some kind of star,” said someone to his right in a group of boys he barely recognized. He knew that the lot of them were from the LaCrosse team, but Seiji didn’t really care much more for the sport. 

However, Seiji was interested in the conversation topic, more so since they were talking about Nicholas with malice and disgust. 

“We should really get him good, embarrass him or something so he gets kicked out of King’s Row,” said another boy with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes. They were all drinking similar red cups but Seiji assumed that they had added some extra ingredients to the drinks already at the dance.

“Even better if he gets kicked off the fencing team. Who cares about fencing anyway? What a sissy sport,” said another larger boy with big muscles and blonde hair. Seiji bristled at his comment about fencing. He was sure he could show him just how far from a “sissy sport” fencing really was.

“Hey Roger, you still have some of that stuff you gave to those girls one time? You know, at Morris’s party last weekend?” asked another boy, one with dark skin and piercing white teeth.

“Oh yeah,” said Roger, who had dusty brown hair and moles all over his cheeks. He grinned devilishly. “Those girls were out like lights, right Tad? We did whatever we wanted to them after that.”

“Haha, we should do that to Cox, then watch him act like an idiot and pass out,” responded Tad. “Then we can string him up on the goal post on the football field in his birthday suit.”

“Look at that asshole!” said Roger, pointing toward Nicholas. “He’s leaving his cup right there to go hang out with those beefy guys.”

“See? We could easily slip something in there,” returned Tad.

“Let me go get it, and I’ll come back,” Roger said, fist-bumping Tad as he nodded. (Seji loathed fist-bumping, but he didn’t need another reason to hate these guys.)

“Cool,” Tad winked at him. “Bro, this is going to be fun.”

The LaCrosse group started to disperse as Nicholas bounced over in their direction. They gave him devious looks, but he’d never noticed them when he caught Seiji’s attention and headed to meet him. A drink was back in his hand, and he came up to Seiji with a bright smile. 

Nicholas lightly pulled on his arm, pulling Seiji toward that frightful dance floor. 

“Come on, time to dance, partner!” Nicholas said jubilantly. Seiji groaned and he watched in dismay as Nicholas set his drink down at another random table, seeming to forget about it so he could dance with him. 

Impulsively, Nicholas took his hand, and when Seiji felt the boy’s body heat near his, his thoughts turned muddy and all he could focus on was Nicholas’s gentle touch. He inhaled a strangled breath, reminding himself to breathe as the music changed from upbeat to slow and melodic. The singer’s voice echoed in his ears, and he briefly caught the nature of her lyrics: a sad story about how a woman never had the courage to confess to her lover and he found someone else.

“I’m just going to let the champion lead this time,” Nicholas said to him with a large grin, and Seiji glowered at him, hating how much he enjoyed this boy’s smile - a smile he felt was only for him.

Nicholas waited for Seiji to come back to earth, and then they awkwardly shifted in a position where it seemed as though Seiji was leading, but more or less they just seemed to hold each other close, arms around each other and chest to chest. Nicholas began to sway to the music, and Seiji followed suit. Other couples swayed and circled around them, lost in their own moments. 

Seiji hoped that no one was watching them, that he wasn’t doing something embarrassing that Eugene or Aiden would tease them about later. Seiji felt a pang of relief when he saw that Aiden was too busy dancing with Harvard, the two of them so close they could have been one combined person. He turned away when Aiden leaned in to bite at Harvard’s lip teasingly, and he feared if he watched them any longer, he’d start to get crazy ideas.

“Sheesh, and you tell me I’m the one who is too tense,” Nicholas said in an almost whisper.

“Shut up. You know I hate dancing. Dancing is nothing like fencing,” he said with a scowl. Nicholas’s grin turned into a sly smirk, and he pulled Seiji even closer and then wrapped his arms around his neck. 

“Why did you agree to dance with me if you hate it so much?” Nicholas asked.

“I…” Seiji stammered. “You didn’t give me a choice!”

Nicholas laughed. “Yeah, right. Just admit it, you wanted to or you would have thrown a fit and then stormed back to the dorm.”

“Hrmm, the thought did cross my mind,” Seiji replied. When their eyes met, he felt like Nicholas was staring him down like a wolf does their smaller prey. They continued to sway, and the song was winding down, much to Seiji’s relief.

“So why did you agree, then?” Nicholas braved the question.

Because I need to protect you from those bullies, Seiji thought immediately, and he was scared that he might have said it aloud. 

“Because I guess… we’re friends, and I’m sure this helps me to be more comfortable in these social situations,” he answered, and even as he said it, it sounded like a half-assed excuse.

Nicholas nodded, and Seiji was glad he didn’t try to argue with him or point out how silly his answer was.

When their eyes met again, Seiji swore that he could feel Nicholas’s face getting closer to his. His smile dropped to a frown, and the boy licked his lips. When the song ended, and Seiji realized Nicholas’s intention, he jumped away from him like he’d been scalded. 

Nicholas blinked at him, wondering what he had done. Seiji caught his breath, not realizing he was starting to panic, and he headed toward an empty table so he could sit down.

That was entirely too close, he thought to himself. But too close for what? His brain felt like short-circuiting. Why was he feeling this way toward Nicholas? Was it something about the dance?

Nicholas followed him back to the table, and Seiji was still dog-paddling in his thoughts to notice that the boy had found his drink again. Seiji spaced out, staring at the throngs of people that joined the dance floor when a Bruno Mars song came on.

He heard Nicholas drinking noisily next to him, and as he watched him, it dawned on him that while they were on the dance floor, someone could have tampered with his drink. Someone being the Lacrosse team as he had heard them planning before.

“Wait!” Seiji said, reaching a hand out to take the drink from Nicholas’s hand. Before he could bat it away, Nicholas had downed the whole thing.

“What is it?” He saw Seiji’s horrified expression and looked down at his cup.

“Oh, well, I can go get you a drink too if you’re thirsty,” Nicholas said.

“No, I am fine, I’m just… that drink has been sitting unattended for so long…” he began.

Nicholas waved a hand. “It’s fine. It’ll still stay fizzy even after sitting for a few minutes.”

No, you fool, Seiji thought mournfully. He sighed, his eyes watching Nicholas’s reactions. Nicholas seemed fine, and he was bouncing with unbridled energy as per usual.

The upbeat Bruno Mars song ended and another slow song came on. This one sounded like a sad country song, and Seiji could tell Nicholas was itching to dance again. More accurately, Nicholas wanted to dance with him.

Nicholas shot up from his seat, but before he could grab Seiji’s hand again, he froze, looking pale and sweaty. He rubbed his hand on his forehead.

“Damn, I’m getting a headache,” Nicholas said, and Seiji grabbed his arm and pulled him back into his seat.

“You don’t look well, Nicholas. Sit down and rest,” Seiji told him, realizing his voice had turned softer.

Nicholas groaned, still rubbing his head and he couldn’t keep his eyes open. He was fighting whatever was wrong with him, but he was failing. He leaned into Seiji, who watched him with concern.

Seiji was already feeling his anger rise as he knew that something was wrong with Nicholas, and he knew just who was responsible. He swept his gaze around the ballroom, searching out the Lacrosse team. He found them grouped together near the back, watching Nicholas with interest. Seiji made a point to meet their eyes, and when they stared back at him, he shot them the most threatening glare.

Two of them seemed shocked that he was even glaring at them, and the others in on the prank didn’t notice him and were too busy laughing and celebrating their victory. Seiji wanted to march over to them and reprimand them for what they had done, even drag all their asses to the principal so they could get rightfully punished.

But he didn’t want to leave Nicholas in this state. 

He jumped when he felt Nicholas’s head slump against his shoulder. His soft hair lightly ghosted against his cheek. The poor boy moaned in pain from the headache, but he seemed intent on going back to the dance floor with Seiji and ignoring his plight. But Seiji pulled him back, scolding him to stay seated.

Nicholas protested, but Seiji was firm. He looked back over to the Lacross boys, who were watching their handiwork with extreme interest. Seiji sneered at them like a warning.

He pulled Nicholas against him, hoping he would relent soon. Now, more than anything, under the watchful eyes of his bullies, Seiji knew he had to get his friend out of here.

(Continued in Part Three)

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