The Prince and the Pauper

Attis was glued to the spot, staring at the headmaster. Her voice was all too familiar, but he couldn’t remember where he’d heard it; where he’d met her.

“Uh, are you okay?”

Lyle waved his hand in front of his face, worry written all over it. He feared the woman was someone Attis already knew, and had already given a bad impression.

Attis snapped out of his trance and nodded at Lyle.

“Well, Attis. If you’re ready, we should get going. I’m excited for you to meet the other orphans,” the woman went on.

She smiled politely and gave him a nod, raising her brow to imply she wanted some kind of reaction. The side of his mouth twitched, though it was meant to be a smile.

The woman waved her hand, expecting Attis to pick up his suitcase and follow her. He did quickly, hesitating only when he reached the door.

Attis looked at Lyle, glancing at him and other parts of the room. He’d miss the daily visits he was blessed with and he hoped they would continue, even though he was going to be somewhere else.

“Oh, okay, okay," Donnie spoke up, shuffling his feet towards Attis. “You want us to come. We get it. We were going to come anyway.”

Donnie tried to navigate around Attis, but his suitcase tripped him. He face planted a wall on the other side of the hall. Laughter erupted from Attis’ former room as Lyle ran to the door to look at Donnie. Attis giggled silently and hid his mouth behind his right hand. He didn’t want Donnie to know he found it amusing.

Donnie groaned and held his face, wobbling on his feet. Removing his hands, he wiggled his nose and felt it to make sure it wasn’t bleeding.

“Oh yeah, thanks asshole.”

Lyle and Attis exchanged looks, wondering who the insult was directed to. After a moment, Lyle shrugged and let it go.

Footsteps came from down the hall; the headmaster was back. The boys walked over to meet her.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were following.”

She flashed a smile and turned back around to walk down the hall. The woman glanced over her shoulder. Attis still couldn’t remember where he’d seen her before. It was hard to remember; he recognized her voice, not her face.

“Let me carry that for you,” Lyle offered.

He slipped his hand through the handle of Attis’ suitcase, brushing their hands together. Attis flushed and focused elsewhere, not wanting Lyle to see him so red.

As Attis released the bag, he heard Lyle chuckle.

“Really. Your blush is so cute,” Lyle whispered, moving himself closer to Attis to avoid Donnie hearing.

His face only got redder, burning fiercely. He looked at Lyle sideways and gave him a thankful look.

They walked along the tile floor until they reached the entrance door, where a white van was waiting for him. A sudden stir in his gut made him nauseous. He didn’t like the feeling. His body responded by sweating and fiddling with his fingers.

Lyle slowly crept his arm around Attis’ waist after noticing how nervous he was. Attis flinched and searched for anybody who noticed. When his eyes landed on Donnie, his heart shot up his throat.

Donnie’s eyes demanded him to get away from Lyle. Anyone else who saw Donnie would think his expression was neutral, but Attis knew he was upset. It showed in his eyes; and he didn’t know why. Was Donnie jealous?

Attis pushed from Lyle's grip and stared at his covered feet.

“S-Sorry. I was just… You looked nervous…”

Attis bit his lip and made his way over to the van, where the headmaster was already waiting. The same beaming expression she wore all day was still present on her face. It appeared to be harboring a genuine feeling of benevolence. All the vibrations Attis was getting from her were good.

Then again, he didn’t think he was good at spotting evilness. He’d thought Leslie was pretty benign, but he turned out to be ominous and abusive. He didn’t feel like he could trust anyone besides Donnie and Lyle. They’d proven themselves to him already. They were sincerely kind to him.

Attis took one last stare at Lyle and wondered when he’d see him again. Tomorrow… He hoped.

“Bye, Attis,” Lyle waved at him. Donnie did the same before his distressed countenance faded into a kind look.

Every step took Attis further away from who he desired to be with. It was creating a painful ache in his heart. One that would only vanish if he were in Lyle's arms. The aching feeling swelled inside him until his feet refused to move.

He turned around and ran back to Lyle and tossed his arms around his neck. Lyle promptly wrapped his arms around Attis and stroked his back. The gesture sent sensations of ecstasy through him and he almost lost control.

“Geez, really?” Donnie said, half joking.

He switched positions, now standing akimbo style to emphasize the message he was trying to send Attis. It didn’t work, but only because Attis was too busy rubbing his face in Lyle's shoulder. It chafed Donnie, quickly.

“You like hugs, don’t you?” Lyle gently pushed himself from Attis to see his response.

Attis nodded, throwing himself back on Lyle. He repeated his last act and pushed himself from Attis’ grip again. It filled him with embarrassment and hurt.

Lyle sensed Attis was getting the wrong idea and hastily explained himself.

“The headmaster is waiting. I just feel a little rude taking my time to say goodbye…” he trailed off a little, hoping Attis believed his truthful excuse.

Knowing this, Attis looked back at the headmaster who was focused on them and blushed. As he turned back to Lyle, a smile formed on his face to let him know he understood. Even so, he forced himself onto Lyle again. He knew he was being defiant- and he liked it.

Lyle giggled and held Attis again. He could never get enough hugs from him.

Attis lifted his head and rested his forehead against Lyle's. Swiftly, he brushed his lips against Lyle's and kissed him on the cheek, like Lyle had done to him before. He closed his eyes and exhaled, knowing his face was probably the color of his tongue at the moment.

Lyle was shocked. Could Attis possibly feel the same way about him?