Adonis was here to pick him up, again. Lucas inwardly groaned when he saw him so casually chatting with his mother in the kitchen. Lucas knew he wouldn't be able to get rid of him so easily. He should of never invited him to his house, gave him his number. But, apparently, avoiding him wasn't an option.

His mother noticed him standing by the stairwell, "Morning, sleepyhead!"

Lucas averted Adonis's heated gaze as he waltzed into the kitchen, mumbling, "Morning."

His mother handed him a cup of coffee which he sipped as soon as he had it in his hands. He winced as it burned at his taste buds, but he continued to drink it. His mother handed Adonis a cup as well, and he shined her a bright smile and thanked her. Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Miles stopped by to give you a ride to school, isn't that nice?" His mother said.

Lucas hummed, still avoiding Adonis completely. "We should get to school or we'll be late." Lucas put his cup down in the sink and adjusted his backpack as he walked to the door.

"He's right. Have a good day, Mrs. Cooperman." Adonis followed after Lucas who was already out the door.

"Oh, please, call me Grace, sweetheart." She walked him to the door.

"Then, have a good day, Grace." He waved goodbye as Grace smiled warmly, shutting the door behind him. Adonis hurried to his truck, where Lucas was already seated. Adonis started the truck and reversed out of the driveway, starting the drive to school.

Lucas spoke up, "You don't have to drive me to school. I'm perfectly able to walk, or get a ride from my mom."

Adonis's smile brightened when he heard Lucas talking directly to him, "Why wouldn't I? I mean, we are dating."

Lucas gritted his teeth, glaring over at Adonis, "We're not dating."

Adonis's smile twitched, "What are you talking about? Of course we are. Especially when we've already made so many beautiful memories together."

Lucas felt uncomfortable. The air between them was tense. He was put off by his smile, his eerily calm behavior. Lucas pretended he wasn't bothered, and scoffed, "What are you talking about? Memories?"

He watched as Adonis pulled his phone out of his pocket, and handed it to Lucas. Lucas hesitantly took it as Adonis just continued to smile and focus on the road ahead. Lucas looked down at the screen, furrowing his brows. It took him a second to process what he was seeing, but when he did process it, he felt his heart drop. It was a video. The angle at which it was recording was hidden behind a few books, but he recognized Miles's living room immediately. It was pointing at the couch, where he and Adonis sat. He felt the bile rise in his throat as he watched himself climb onto Adonis and kiss him.

Adonis was recording this? This was more than a 'memory,' this was leverage. If this video got out Lucas would receive the same harsh treatment as Adonis. His popularity would drop in seconds and all the hard work he's put in up to this point would crumble before his very eyes. It was painfully ironic, considering Lucas had once tried to create leverage over Miles a time ago. How could he be so careless around Adonis? He should've known that it wasn't that easy. He should have known something was off by how easily Adonis had agreed to his plan. He only agreed because he had the power to drag Lucas down right along with him. Lucas felt stupid thinking even for a second he was winning, that it was going his way. He thought he was in control, but he underestimated the characters in this world, his rivals. Why did everything have to be so complicated? Why was there always something or someone to interfere with his plans?

Lucas hurriedly deleted the video only to receive an amused chuckle from Adonis, "You really think that's the only copy I have? You're smarter than that, Luke."

Lucas gritted his teeth. Of course it wasn't, but it was worth a shot. The video must have been shot with a different camera, but he had no idea where that camera or where the original footage was. By now Adonis could have made dozens of copies of the footage. Lucas hated to admit it, but Adonis had won. He no longer had a leash on Adonis, it was Adonis who had a leash on Lucas. Lucas felt his shoulders slump in defeat, "What do you want?"

Adonis's eyes flashed with excitement as he parked into the school parking lot. He turned off the ignition and turned to Lucas, who uncomfortably shifted in his seat. Lucas realized how dangerous this was. Remembering how Adonis had acted in the past, Lucas feared how this would play out, what Adonis would make him do.

So he was surprised when Adonis simply said, "Say my name."

Lucas blinked, "What?"

"My name, say it. You haven't said my name yet. I want to hear you say it."

"That's it?"

"For now." Adonis stated blankly.

Lucas swallowed. This wasn't a trick? Lucas was suspicious that Adonis had some kind of hidden intent behind getting Lucas to say his name, but Lucas couldn't think of how Adonis could possibly do anything bad with just saying his name.

Lucas sighed, "Fine," He turned to face Adonis who was eagerly waiting with a bright smile. "Adonis."

Adonis closed his eyes and smiled even brighter, seeming to drown in pure ecstasy. He felt shivers run down his spine when he heard his name spoken from his beloved. Each syllable and rise in pitch sent him down a rollercoaster of emotions. Lucas grimaced and unbuckled his seatbelt. This was weird. Too weird. Adonis was such a weirdo. A perverted, manipulative weirdo.

"Okay, I'm leaving. You're still not going to talk to me at school, right?"

Adonis fluttered open his eyes. He took a moment to come back to earth before focusing on Lucas who hovered his hand over the door handle. Adonis simply sighed and nodded, "I won't. But I'll see you after school, I'm giving you a ride."

Lucas clenched his teeth but didn't openly oppose. He opened the door and rushed outside, hurrying towards the school. He didn't want anyone to see him come out of Adonis's truck.

-

The school day went exactly as Lucas had predicted. Charlie was as popular as ever, if not uncomfortable, and Adonis was the exact opposite. He was now an outcast. He was made fun of in the hallways, and pushed around. Lucas would of felt bad for him, but in more ways than one, he deserved this. Also, Adonis strangely didn't seem bothered in the slightest. He just kept a smile on his face. It was off putting.

At Lunch Lucas sat at his usual table only with Charlie by his side instead of Adonis. Charlie was once again the center of attention, but he clung to Lucas's side more than anyone. Lucas gave his thigh a reassuring squeeze, not noticing Charlie's face reddening at the motion.

Adonis sat by himself on the far end of the cafeteria. He continued to stab his meatloaf with his fork as he stared intensely as Charlie and Lucas. He didn't like them being so close. So friendly. He didn't like Charlie, period. He caught Lucas's eyes and didn't look away. Smirking, Adonis stuck his finger in his portion of ketchup and moved the tip of his finger to his lips. He slowly licked the base of his finger up the side, maintaining eye contact. He then swallowed it whole, licking it clean until there wasn't an ounce of ketchup left. He pulled his finger away, it glistened under the light. Adonis licked his lips hungrily as Lucas looked away, uncomfortably shifting in his seat. Adonis smirked, only for that smirk to twist into a tight frown when he noticed Charlie was also looking straight at him. As soon as he locked eyes with Charlie the boy looked away, visibly confused.

Adonis continued to glare at Charlie for the majority of Lunch, only looking away to relish the few times Lucas would grant him attention for a second or more.

The day soon ended and Lucas knew Adonis was waiting for him outside in his truck. These hours of school were precious to Lucas, precious because he didn't have to talk to Adonis and endure his suffocating presence. He was actually glad to be at school, for once in his life. But school has ended for the day, and he very much has to face Adonis all over again and prepare himself for whatever he's planning to make him do. God, I hope it's not anything dirty. Please don't be anything dirty.

Almost as if to remind him, Lucas gets a text, (Waiting for you bby) Lucas rolled his eyes and was tempted to comment on that nickname, but decided against it. He didn't want to do anything to provoke Adonis, considering he had the leverage to destroy Lucas in a matter of seconds.

Lucas shut off his phone and headed towards the exit. He jumped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He snapped his head around only to see Charlie. He visually relaxed, smiling. "Hey, Char. What's up?"

Charlie smiled back and walked by his side, "Nothing, you headed home?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I just wondering if you wanted to come over. I wanted to thank you properly for what you've done for me, so I thought I'd cook you dinner!" Charlie then awkwardly scratched his neck, "Well... by me, I mean Ben. I can't cook. Baking is more my specialty..."

"That's cool, I didn't know you could bake. But, I can't today, got a... thing."

Charlie waved it off, "That's fine! I can bake you something for tomorrow. Which would you prefer: Brownies or cookies?"

Lucas pursed his lips, "Hmm... brownies, definitely."

Charlie nodded in acknowledgement, already imagining the proper ingredients he would have to pull together. He was excited to start on the brownies, more excited on what Lucas would think of them, so he was in a hurry to leave, "Okay! I'll get them to you tomorrow. See you!"

"Wait, Charlie!" Lucas called after him.

Charlie slowed, turning and tilting his head. Lucas clenched his fists at his side, finding it harder to say the words at the sight of Charlie's innocent smile. He wanted to warn Charlie about Adonis. He wanted to tell Charlie to stay away from him, that he was dangerous. Lucas hadn't seen a glimpse of Miles for days, he was starting to believe Miles was gone. Lucas didn't want to give Charlie false hope that Miles would come around.

Lucas just bite his tongue and shook his head, "I'm looking forward to those brownies."

Charlie smiled even brighter and turned on his heel to run down the hall. Lucas sighed, running a hand through his hair. His phone buzzed, (Do you want me to come looking for you?)

Lucas gritted his teeth, tapping the screen aggressively, (I'm coming, chill) Lucas hit send and hurried down the hall towards the exit. He walked down the steps, eyeing the front of the school. He spotted Adonis's truck in an instant. He saw Adonis sitting in the front, wearing sunglasses. He was already watching Lucas. He raised a hand and waved with two of his fingers, smiling. Lucas walked with his head down. There weren't many people around, but he hoped no one would pay too much attention to him to notice him getting into Adonis's car. Luckily, most cars have left already so there weren't that many students roaming around. Lucas still put his hood up, and hurried to the passenger's door to open it and hop inside. He sunk in his seat, staring straight ahead as Adonis simply pulled out of the parking spot and out of the parking lot. He only relaxed when they were away from the school property, sitting back up in his seat.

The drive was silent, much to Lucas's pleasant surprise. He kept his eyes out the window. He was glad they were heading to his home, not Adonis's house. The only thing that bothered him were the eyes that burned holes into the side of his head. Adonis was always looking at him, but strangely this time, it felt more intense. It reminded him of what happened at Lunch, which he almost forgot about. He was immediately uncomfortable. He wanted to scold Adonis for what he did with his... finger. He knew Adonis meant something else by doing that. Something dirty. But Lucas decided not to say anything. As long as Adonis wasn't actively touching him, he was fine. If he had to endure his perverted gestures, then so be it.

They soon pulled into Lucas's driveway. Lucas muttered a thanks before opening the door to leave. He got out of the car and walked along the side. He slowed when he saw Adonis too, getting out of the car. Lucas furrowed his brows as he watched Adonis open the back seat and pull out a metal suitcase.

"What are you doing?" Lucas asked, as Adonis walked up to him, his suitcase trailing behind.

"What does it look like? I'm moving in."

Lucas blinked. What? Moving in? No, he was not okay with this. Adonis in his home, where he was perfectly able to do whatever he wanted. Home was the only place he felt safe, and he was going to sacrifice that safety if Adonis were to move in. How was he supposed to be okay with this?

"What? No, you're not."

"Aren't I?" Adonis pulled out his phone, gripping it in his hand as he watched Lucas with a knowing smirk. Lucas gritted his teeth. He didn't want to do this, but he had to. There was nothing he could do about it. Lucas sighed, before turning towards the front door. Adonis chuckled as he followed along.

This was going to be fun.

-

(Almost 600 reads at the moment. I have nothing to give other than my eternal gratitude and a gay meme:

Have a nice day y'all. See you in the next chapter ✌)