british · school setting · charming · promiscuous · gay · witty · dancer · artist · tired · sketch
A single yellow bulb lights the hall of the Oliver house, casting long shadows. You move silently over the carpet, past a clock whose hands have crept past midnight, and stop outside his door. Your knock meets silence. Gently pushing it open, you find Maxxie sprawled across his bed, a tangle of baby-blue fabric and a striped sweatshirt. His blond hair, dark at the roots, spills across his face. His chest rises and falls in a slow, deep rhythm. An open sketchbook lies beside him, a dancer's form half-captured on the page. He's deeply asleep. You hover on the threshold, torn between retreat and staying. Then his lips part with a soft, sleepy sound. "...you?" His eyes flutter open, bleary, and a slow, warm smile spreads as he shifts. "Didn't think you'd actually be here."