Bondmates

AN: I noticed that when I cut and paste text, it doesn't register italics...so I'm going to try uploading each chapter individually. Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day everyone! ...And here's the next chapter...Not very romantic I'm afraid... (And to Nathaniel...Thanks for being my first reviewer! =D Sadly, I won't be including sex scenes in every chapter-takes too much space, and I don't think I have it in me... :( As for the uke/seme thing...Hm...I do tend to be one of those people that stick to top/bottomers...but I'll try to change :)) Happy reading all! Chapter 3 It had been a relatively normal day at first. Max was eighteen years old and went to school at the nearby public high school. He was a senior, but he didn't act like it. Unlike the rest of his classmates, who were rowdy and ready to graduate, Max remained a timid and easily influenced person. Naturally, this made him a target for all the bullies at the school...even the freshman ones. Yet with chestnut brown hair, ocean blue eyes, and unmarred creamy white skin, he should have been one of the popular ones. Especially given his tall height. But no, as it would turn out, his height combined with his weak character made him even more a target of ridicule. It was okay though, he was used to it. But it didn't mean he was happy when a group of the usual bullies dragged him into the bathroom, stripped him of his money, tossed his books and papers all over the place, and then proceeded to give him a swirlie...didn't most bullies grow tired of that by high school? Apparently not. Or he just was such a good target for bullying that they felt they had to relive the old times...every single day. Even if they weren't tired of doing it, he sure was tired of it being done. As he put up his usual amount resistance-essentially none (he had long since realized that bullies became bored sooner when he didn't try to fight back, and he had been a pretty pathetic fighter in the first place anyway)-he wondered where his life was going. It wasn't that he liked being bullied. Really. But for some reason, whenever he was faced with a conflict, his instincts screamed at him to back down. No matter how light or dangerous the situation, he found that he couldn't bring himself to go on the offensive. He was completely and utterly useless. His self-disgust was cut off when the hands holding him down were suddenly removed. As he pulled his head from the gushing water of the toilet, he heard the cries of pains and pleas of forgiveness that he hadn't been able to hear over the roar of the water. Shocked, he stared at the scene before him. The three bullies were sprawled across the dirty bathroom form, with bloodied faces and bruises already beginning to form. Looking down on them in disgust was none other than Reese Ferralan, the school's resident "cool guy." His African American descent had given him a lean, tall figure, skin the color of dark chocolate, curly dark hair that had added yellow highlights, and eyes of mahogany. In short, both males and females of the school lusted after him, secretly and not-so-secretly. But his cold, aloof personality kept people from being too close. Max had always been somehow aware of Reese. But after being forced to work together for a science project, he began to feel an undeniable attraction to the taller boy. As much as it embarrassed him, Max found that every time he thought of or was near Reese, even if he didn't consciously know it, he wanted to touch him. While the feeling often turned sexual-he thought of how that rich dark skin would taste-it always began chaste, with him merely wanting to lean against him, brush arms with him, rest his head upon Reese's shoulder. He didn't understand it at all. It wasn't a normal crush. Up until that project, he had prided himself on the one fact that while everyone else around him was enthralled with Reese Ferralan, at least that was one thing that he was above them in. He hadn't simply gone with the flow. Yet... Now... Reese was watching him. Coolly, watching him, who was looking undoubtedly like a dimwit, what with his mouth fallen open in shock. Max flushed, his gaping mouth quickly snapped shut. "Um...err...uh...thanks...?" Smooth, real smooth. He mentally smacked his forehead. Why did that come out sounding like a question?! Why was he such a completely useless, stuttering idiot?! Why was he even alive?! Why... Max nearly fell over backwards as Reese pressed the index and middle finger of one hand against his head and pushed. "Are you really that clueless?" Max nodded fervently. "Yes-yesIamactuallyreallyreallydumbsoI'llbegoingnow..." Upon attempting to march as suavely as possible past the other-meaning really quite jittery and stilted-two things happened. The first...was that he tripped. Big surprise that. His clumsiness certainly hadn't gotten him any popularity points. Naturally, it would show itself in front of the one person that consumed his attention. The second...was that Reese caught him. Once again, he was gaping into the smooth, classic features that were imprinted into his brain. Only this time, he was much closer, and was viewing at a different angle. In the back of his mind, he wondered at how Reese had moved fast enough to catch him. The rest of his mind was completely blank. Blue eyes met brown and locked. Somehow...somehow...this feeling...it was familiar... And then the bell rang. Max spiraled back into reality. They were standing in the middle of one of their high school's bathrooms, surrounded by several groaning figures, and they were officially late to class. It could have only been his imagination, but when the hands holding him upright released him, they seemed almost hesitant to do so. As if Reese had to force the action of uncurling his fingers from their place around Max's arms. It had to have been his imagination. Definitely. But then Reese gave him a searing look. "Meet me behind the gym after the last period." Then he was gone. Only the bodies still broken on the floor was proof that he had been there. And Max couldn't have done that. He was too weak... It wasn't his imagination...was it? Come the end of the last period, Max found himself coiled like a spring, ready to jump out and sprint to the gym the moment the bell toned. When he did just that, admittedly with a few almost spills in the process, he was pretty sure that he received more than a few curious looks. He didn't care. When he got to the designated meeting spot, he waited. And waited. And waited. An hour passed. He began rolling the stone that he kept in his pocket around with his fingers. He had found it several years before, had just happened to see it as he walked with his eyes on the ground, as usual. Somehow, it's pure white color and perfect spherical form caught his eye. He wouldn't be able to explain it if asked, but he picked up the stone and had kept it with him ever since. It was probably just a marble that some kid dropped... Two hours. The shadows lengthened as the sun began to go down. His chest hurting, and tears welling up in his eyes, Max dejectedly began his trek home. In hindsight, he supposed that it was only his stupidity that he had to blame. How could he have even thought that someone like Reese Ferralan would want to talk to him privately. He was probably having a good laugh about it with the other popular kids. Tears finally spilled over and streaked down his face. He trekked on. Suddenly a piercing pain hit him. Max doubled over, hands clutched to his heart. It burned. He panted as he tried to regain control over his quaking limbs. Impossible since the fiery agony was spreading throughout his body. Tears of pain quickly replaced those of heartbreak. What is this? Am I having a heart attack? No, it couldn't be. It wasn't right. There was something else to it.... Reese! Without another thought, he was running. In what direction, he had no clue. He only knew that he had to go. Somehow...Reese... Little did he know that the stone in his pocket was beginning to glow. As he turned a corner into a random alley, an indefinite time after he found himself compelled to run, he found himself facing a sight that he never expected to see. Crumpled on the ground, was a bloodied, beaten figure. Max knew without a doubt that that figure was Reese. And looming over him, was something. Exactly what it was, Max couldn't describe. Perhaps the only word for it was monster. It was a giant black thing, at least ten feet tall. It had no eyes, ears, or mouth on a hairless human-shaped head. Two vertical red slits, that Max assumed was its nose, was the only appendage on its head. But, as if to make up for it's featureless face, it had three pairs of unnaturally long arms. Upon closer look, Max realized that in the palm of each terrifyingly long clawed hand was actually a gaping, slavering mouth. Jagged teeth lined the opening and a freakishly long tongue slithered from each mouth-hole. Ragged bat-like wings that were surely too small for flight adorned the things back, and a thick serpentine tail protruded from the juncture of stout reptilian legs. At the tip of the tail was a wicked-looking spindle. Max swallowed, his body shaking with terror. What was that thing?! And what had it done to Reese...? He stared at the unmoving form of his schoolmate. He had to get him out of danger. ... But what can I do against that thing? If even Reese, who's so much stronger than me, was brought to this...what could I possibly do? As he debated what to do, apparently the creature became aware of his presence. It turned to him, red nose-slits flaring and hand-mouths gnashing their teeth. Yet he couldn't flee. Whatever happened to him, he couldn't abandon Reese. For the first time in his life, Max was resolved to fight. Not against bullies or the cruelty of society, nor his lowly position. No, he was going to fight a monster that made psychopathic murderers look like harmless kittens. He never claimed to be sane. Brandishing a pipe that he quickly picked up from a nearby dumpster, he prepared himself to rush at the thing... ...only to find the thing gone. It disappeared?! A rancid smelling drop of wetness landed on his cheek. Knowing what he would find even before he looked up, he forced his gaze to look up anyway. As expected, the monster, greedy mouths and all, was standing over him, tail poised to stab him. He yelled and threw his hands over his head...as if that would somehow protect him. And then the thing shrieked in pain. Uncovering his face, Max watched in disbelief as the creature reared back, tendrils of steam rising from its body. It was too late when he noticed it swing its tail around. The force of the blow threw him into the brick makeup of a nearby building. He felt more than a few things snap inside of him. The crumbling brick told him he wasn't the only thing that suffered from that blow. Shit. Absently, he wondered if he had ever sworn before in his life. Then he wondered if the fact he was scanning his memories for the answer counted as his life flashing before his eyes. As he wondered, the monster, still enraged at whatever had hurt it before, advanced. Too numb with pain to feel fear, Max's eyes fell upon the slowly rising form of Reese. Given the way various limbs were bent in ways they naturally didn't, along with the similarly unnatural amount of blood pooling about him, Max deduced that there really was no way that Reese should've been alive, much less moving. But he was. Pain-clouded, yet burning dark eyes met his. Let go... Max blinked. Where had that thought come from? He was pretty sure it wasn't his.... Do it... Reese's broken hand seemed to beckon him. So it was Reese's thought he heard...Oddly, that didn't strike him as being so strange...but... Do what? What was he supposed to...? And he knew. ...But could he do it? Such a useless person like him... You can...Do it now... He had no clue what he was doing, but he just knew that it was what he was supposed to do. He let go. Brilliant light filled his vision. As if watching from a distance, he saw Reese get to his feet. His battered form began to glow, at first with golden light, and then with red light. He raised a hand, palm towards the creature still focused on Max's limp body. Red light exploded from him. Max blacked out. When he came to, a smoldering mass was what he presumed to be the remains of the horrible thing. Reese had once again collapsed, completely unconscious. Fear once again filled Max. Reese...he had to get him help. There was no way he'd survive much longer... Helpless tears once more filled his eyes. If only he wasn't such a crybaby and could actually do something... Try as he might, he couldn't get his body to move. He could feel the bones give under the pressure of his efforts to stand. Please, he begged whatever power might help him. Please, even if my life isn't worth a thing, his is at least. Please help me help him. Please... A strange warmth began to fill him. His body gained a strength that he sensed was only momentary. Even as he quickly went to Reese's body, and threw an limp arm over his shoulder, supporting the broken body on his back as best as he could, he had no clue where to take the other boy. The closest hospital was too far away. And even if he could get Reese there, Max knew that even with the advanced technology that they had, the doctors weren't good enough to fix him. Where could he possibly go? With that thought, a beam of light burst from his pocket. Eyes wide, hands fumbled and pulled out the seemingly ordinary white stone. Only, it certainly wasn't so ordinary as it was glowing brightly with a golden hue. More amazingly, it was radiating a beam of light before him. He just had to follow the light. Trustingly, he staggered forward. His brain took the time to be amazed when he came to the first corner and found that the light bent. No, this was no simple stone. Finally, after following the light for some unknown time, Max faced an unassuming white apartment door, still supporting the deadweight of Reese. His hazy mind managed to register that he had not seen a single other person until then...and wasn't that just an interesting thing? Focus. Gathering courage he pressed the doorbell. The few moments that passed with him standing before an unfamiliar door, his untested strength beginning to fade, were perhaps the longest in his life. What if he was merely hallucinating? Having already encountered an inhuman monster, thinking up glowing stones and bending lights really wasn't that absurd. Maybe his brain was just following the eerie flow of the crazy day, and he and Reese were actually still in the alleyway, breathing their last breaths... When the door was finally thrown open, revealing a beautifully exotic face, filled with worry, Max felt a strange sense of relief. An angel? It was an irrational thought, but somehow...it just fit. He held up the odd stone, as if it explained everything...and maybe it did. "Please...please...help us..." Just looking at the stranger's face, Max knew they were safe. Everything was going to be okay... Then he felt the strength-inducing warmth give out, and darkness rushed in.