Kessex woke with a stiff neck, the overstuffed armchairs in the back half of the library not nearly as comfortable as they had looked from across the room. Still, he supposed it was better than being grilled by Dorrance again. Or worse, Dorrance not speaking at all. Would that really be worse? Kessex chewed his bottom lip as he gathered up his satchel and glanced at the clock on the wall. Seven-thirty. Dorrance would be at breakfast. If Kessex hurried, he could slip into their room for a change of clothes. He needed a shower before class.

Yes, he decided as he entered the dormitory, it would be worse if Dorrance wouldn't talk to him. That would mean he was angry. Kessex wouldn't have cared a bit if Dorrance had simply ignored him from day one, but the thought of having anyone angry at him made his stomach churn. Holding his breath, Kessex opened the door to their room and slipped inside, letting it all out in a rush when he found the room empty, his bed neatly made and Dorrance's comforter hanging half on the floor, as usual.

Dropping his satchel onto his bed, he quickly shoved the books he would need for that day's classes inside, hesitating as he picked up his language textbook. What was it that Dorrance had said to him? He remembered the words dilaman kh'isi and eh'nir, or something that sounded close. He flipped through the small Alau to Astaniko dictionary in the back of the book. He didn't find dilaman but he scanned the list, finding dh'lamar instead, only that couldn't have been what Dorrance said. Dh'lamar meant handsome. k'hisi meant mage, which was reasonable, but he must have misheard eh'nir, too. It meant to kiss. Shaking his head, Kessex shoved the book into his satchel and gathered up a clean pair of jeans, briefs, and a T-shirt. There were only a couple of guys in the bathroom, one that Kessex recognized from his Languages class, but neither paid him any attention as he undressed, placing his clothes on a shelf beside the long row of sinks. Hanging his towel on a hook outside a shower stall, Kessex closed the curtain behind him and turned on the water, groaning softly as the hot water cascaded over his body. He stood for a moment, one hand on the tile wall, his eyes closed as he let the spray beat against his shoulder and the back of his neck, easing the tightness from his muscles.

What the hell was he going to do? He couldn't spend the next year hiding in the library, avoiding his roommate. Request a room change? Not without a damn good reason. Drop out and go home? It was where he belonged, but his mother would be so disappointed. They had all worked so hard, sacrificed so much, so that he could go to the best university--It would kill her if he threw it all away over something so stupid. He was just going to have to figure something out, come up with something to get Dorrance off his back.

Grabbing a squirt of cheap shampoo out of the dispenser on the wall, he began to wash his hair, his eyes squeezed shut to keep the soap out of them. Something to get Dorrance off his back...He could feel the young mage leaning over him again, hands on the back of Kessex's chair, so close--Kessex pressed his lips together as the shower spray danced over his stiffening cock. He couldn't stop himself from imagining how good it would feel to have Dorrance standing behind him, strong arms wrapped around Kessex's waist, hands working up and down the length of Kessex's shaft. Kessex quickly rinsed the soap from his hair and wrapped his own hand around himself. Jerking off in a public bathroom made his face burn, even though no one could see him and no one would ever know, but he couldn't exactly leave the shower with a raging hard-on, could he?

His breath quickened as he stroked himself, touching all the places he liked, and it didn't take long for him to erupt onto the tile wall and dribble all down the back of his hand, a single low moan escaping him. He watched the shower spray wash the mess down the drain, and then shut off the water, rubbing his hands together as he listened for a snicker or some other sign that he'd been heard. Nothing except the everyday sound of someone brushing their teeth. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief and grabbed his towel from outside the stall, tousling his shaggy hair before rubbing himself dry and wrapping the towel around his waist. Shoving the curtain back, he stepped out into the room and froze, Dorrance standing before the sink, his toothbrush in his hand as his reflection stared at Kessex.

Dorrance leaned down and spat toothpaste foam into the sink.

"Hi, Kessex," he said, an unusual edge to his voice. Kessex couldn't breathe. Had he heard--"Have fun in there?" the metal mage asked and Kessex felt his face burn. He glanced at his reflection, his normally tan skin beet red from his brow to halfway down his chest. "Were you thinking about your girlfriend?" Dorrance asked, turning around. Girlfriend? "I bet you must miss her terribly. It must be awful to be stuck here at an all-male school. That's it, isn't it? You don't like guys, do you? C'mon, Kessex, you can tell me. I can handle it."

Kessex didn't know what the hell was happening, why Dorrance suddenly thought he liked girls, and he didn't want to find out. Leaving his clothes on their shelf, he ran out of the bathroom, clutching at the towel wrapped around his waist.

"Kessex, wait!" Dorrance called after him, but he couldn't have stopped himself if he had wanted to. He almost barreled into several people as he dashed down the hall, their angry shouts and jeering laughter following him into his room. He slammed the door and dove at his dresser, grabbing another pair of jeans and jerking them on, careful not to catch his dick in the zipper. He pulled on a T-shirt, grabbing his shoes in one hand and his satchel in the other as he turned toward the door.

It opened before he reached it and he drew back as Dorrance walked in, Kessex's pile of clothes tucked under his arm.

"You forgot these," Dorrance said, tossing them onto Kessex's bed. "Look, I'm sorry about that, and I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable, but I don't know what to do. I like you and I want to be friends. I don't care if you only like girls--that's your choice and I'm okay with that. Just tell me what I can do so that you'll sleep in your own room again and I can stop feeling like an ogre for chasing you away."

Kessex swallowed hard.

"I- I- I don't...just like girls," Kessex muttered, looking down at Dorrance's shoes.

"Well, that's a relief," Dorrance said. Kessex didn't know how to respond to that, so he said nothing. After a moment, Dorrance cleared his throat. "So, I was thinking...Some of the graduate students are having a party up on the top floor tonight, and I know a few guys. Maybe you'd like to go hang out for a while?"

"I don't like parties," Kessex said, still speaking to Dorrance's sneakers. A long silence filled the room and Kessex shifted his weight from one foot to the other, worrying the strap of his satchel between his fingers as he tried to think of something else to say.

"Nobody doesn't like parties," Dorrance said at last, his voice quiet. "They just don't like going to parties with certain people. If you want me to leave you alone, Kessex, just say so." Kessex's eyes darted to the door. He wanted out of there. He wanted this to be over. He just didn't know how to make it end. When he didn't speak, Dorrance said, "I don't know if that means you don't want me to leave you alone, or if you just can't stand to talk to me. I'm trying really hard here to understand. It would be nice if you could try a little, too." He started toward the door.

"Fine," Kessex said, his own voice startling him. "I'll try. I mean, I'll go...to the party...with you." His heart was racing. Did he really just say that? Dorrance turned toward him and Kessex glanced up, his gaze lingering on the metal mage's bright eyes before dropping to his full lips. What would it be like to kiss him? Kessex blushed at the thought and looked away.

"Holy ****," Dorrance whispered and Kessex froze. Had he said something wrong? Had Dorrance correctly interpreted the look on his face? He forced his gaze back up to Dorrance's handsome face and found the young mage smiling. "You're shy, aren't you?" Kessex looked back at the floor as he felt his face heat up again. It only got worse when Dorrance laughed. "Great Maele, that's it; you're shy."

It was happening again. His fists clenched, Kessex stepped toward the door. Dorrance grabbed his arm and pulled him back, and it was all he could do not to take a swing at his roommate.

"Hang on, Kessex," Dorrance said. "I'm not laughing at you. I'm just relieved. I thought you hated me and I couldn't figure out why." He seemed to realize that he was holding on to Kessex's arm and let go. "You'll still come to the party, right? You can meet a few of my friends and we can get to know each other. I'll do all the talking, I promise." Kessex took a slow breath, trying to get his pounding heart under control, and licked his dry lips.

"Yeah, okay," he said with a slight nod. He could deal with a few guys, he could listen to Dorrance talk. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't expected to say anything. That was a horrible feeling--knowing the other person expected a response and not being able to think of anything to say. Maybe this would be okay.

"Great," Dorrance said. "I'll meet you here after your last class. There's going to be a ton of food so we can skip dinner...if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, okay," Kessex said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "I gotta go."

"Sure," Dorrance said. "Me too. But you might want to take a minute to put your shoes on before you go." Kessex looked down at his sneakers clutched in his hand, and then tossed his satchel onto his bed as he fetched a pair of socks out of his drawer. Maybe this would be okay.