7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Blaine

D on't breathe in his scent.

Don't do it, Blaine told himself over and over, but fuck, it was the hardest thing he'd ever had to do.

Professor Douche smelled so good. Blaine brought Wayden's pillow close to his nose. He held it there, fighting the desire to bury his face in it.

What was wrong with him? He couldn't want this.

No. He didn't.

Blaine shoved the pillow away, but that didn't help. Wayden's scent was everywhere. It was in the sheets, on the pillows. Everything smelled like him. He should get up. But the bed was warm and toasty. Wayden's heat still lingered in the bed. If it were not icy cold in the other room, Blaine would get out of the damn bed and go sleep in his own.

I would, Blaine told himself.

Professor Douche was probably out there, trying to figure out why the other room was so cold. He'd come back any second and bark at him to leave. Blaine wrapped the covers tightly around his body, not ready to go anywhere.

No. He did want to go, but it was so warm. He just… Blaine closed his eyes. He fell asleep instantly and when he woke up, he was surprised that Wayden wasn't there.

Had he slept in the freezing cold? Blaine's eyes fell on the empty side on the bed and he felt a little guilty for kicking him out. He could have… he could have what?

Did he want to share the bed with Professor Douche?

No! Blaine silently screamed and got out of the bed, flinging the covers everywhere. He ran out of the room to his own. He hissed as his bare feet turned cold in seconds. Fuck. It was still freezing. And Wayden wasn't in the tiny bed either. It was as Blaine had left it last night – piled up with blankets that were no help.

Where had he slept? Blaine went in search of Wayden. He stalled when Wayden turned to stare at him from the operator's chair.

Had he drifted all night long?

"You don't look so good," Blaine said, the words popping out of his mouth before he could stop them. Fuck. He should think first before he opened his mouth.

"Thank you," Wayden said. "Do you know how to drift? I couldn't ask you before we set off because…" Wayden sighed, looking frustrated. "I need to sleep before we arrive at the pack."

"Yes… yes, I know how to drift," Blaine said, guilt tightening his insides. "Let me go and…"

"Yeah," Wayden said. His voice was hard and dark in a way Blaine had never heard before.

Had he pushed the alpha too far last night?

Probably.

Gone was the tolerant stare, and in its place was something Blaine had never seen before.

Blaine rushed away. He went to his room and slammed the door behind him, not caring that it was cold in there. He pulled off his night clothes as he ran to the tiny washroom. He quickly got cleaned up and dressed.

"That was fast," Wayden said when he walked back. He got out of the chair for Blaine to sit down. Blaine tried not to touch him as Wayden walked past him, but there wasn't enough space to manoeuvre. Wayden hissed as they brushed together. And Blaine felt it too: the electric energy that sizzled along his skin, causing goosebumps to break out.

Fuck.

Blaine quickly sat down in the chair, resisting the urge to rub his arms.

"You're going to need warmer clothes than that," Wayden said from above him. Blaine looked up to find Wayden pointing at his arms. "It's going to get colder the further we go."

Blaine stared at his arms and nodded, even though it wasn't the cold that was causing the goosebumps. It was Wayden.

"I've programmed our destination into the navigation system. It should be easy to follow the directions. I would leave it on auto-drift, but we are further south and the airways in these parts are not regularly maintained."

"I understand. You can go rest. I'll take care of everything."

Wayden gave him a long look before he turned and walked away.

I know what I'm doing, Blaine wanted to shout at him. But he bit the inside of his mouth to keep silent.

"Fucking hell, Blaine! You could have made the bed," Wayden growled. Blaine grimaced. He would have, but he'd started thinking of sharing the bed with Professor Douche and… making the bed was the last thing on his mind.

Fuck. He was in trouble.

Blaine heard Wayden move around the room for a bit and then settle. Blaine wondered if Wayden could smell his scent on the sheets too, like he'd smelled him.

Don't think about that, Blaine told himself as he pulled out his connector with his free hand and pressed Holi's code. He needed a fucking distraction. He placed the connector on the dashboard and waited for it to connect.

"You jinxed me!" Blaine shouted as soon as Holi completed the connection.

Laughter filled the shuttle, echoing around him. "You couldn't last a few days without whining?"

"Shit. Not so loud." Blaine looked over his shoulder at Wayden's room at the end of the hallway. "Wayden is sleeping."

"Wayden?"

"Professor Douche Mephis. You know who I mean."

"Are you on a first name basis now? That was quick," Holi said. Blaine heard the mischievous tone in his voice and grimaced. How the fuck had he let that slip? Blaine opened his mouth to take it back, but Holi beat him to it.

"Does that mean that you two are…?"

"No!" Blaine shouted, then winced as his voice echoed in the small space. He looked over his shoulder at the door again. Professor Douche was going to kill him if he woke him up. "No. I would never fuck him."

"That's not what I was going to ask."

What? That wasn't… shit.

"This means you want to fuck him."

"No. I don't."

"You're thinking about it, at least," Holi said. "You wouldn't have said it if you weren't thinking about it and you're not sure you should do it. Want to talk about it?"

"No," Blaine snapped. He didn't want to fuck Professor Douche. That was weird.

"What are you afraid of, Blaine?"

"I'm not afraid of anything," Blaine said, his fingers tightening around the controller. "I… just don't like him like that. He's not my type, remember?"

Holi went silent for a few seconds. Blaine's eyes dropped on the connector. "Holi, are you still there?"

"Yes. I'm just wondering how much bullshit you're going to hide behind before you admit to yourself that you like Professor Mephis. You liked him from the second you laid eyes on him. Knowing you, it might take ten years."

"Fuck you," Blaine said.

Holi laughed.

"I didn't connect with you so you can berate me."

Holi sighed loudly. "Why did you connect with me?"

Why? Blaine didn't know. He just needed someone to talk to. The atmosphere in the shuttle was getting a little hard to handle. He'd tried keeping his mouth shut, but that had been painful as hell. Every day had felt like torture. Then Blaine opened his mouth, and he was talking to Wayden again. And Blaine felt… happy?

Was that normal?

He'd thought talking to Holi would take away the weird feelings inside him. But Holi only managed to make him feel worse.

"Never mind. I'll disconnect now," Blaine said, reaching for his connector.

"Blaine, wait…" Holi called. Blaine's fingers hovered over the end button. "Do you remember what you told me when I was scared to be with Xaine?"

Where was Holi going with this?

Holi and Xaine were not the same as him and Wayden. Xaine and Holi loved each other. They had the kind of love Blaine had never seen before. The kind that came once in a lifetime. And he and Wayden were definitely not that. They could barely spend five minutes together without fighting. And Blaine kind of hated the alpha, anyway.

"What?"

"Do you remember, Blaine?"

"No. I said a lot of things to you."

"Blaine!" Holi's screamed. "You can be difficult sometimes."

Blaine rolled his eyes.

"Sometimes you have to let go."

"What?"

"That's what you told me," Holi said.

"Yeah. I must have been crazy," Blaine mumbled, pressing the disconnect button.

That was such a waste, Blaine thought as he focused on the airway, heading further south.

Wayden's bedroom door opened and closed just as night fell. The hairs on Blaine's arms stood up. Wayden moved around, preparing food in the cooking station. The smell of what he was making filled the space, causing Blaine's stomach to growl. Blaine had been focused on drifting and not allowing his mind to wonder that he'd forgotten to eat.

"Go and eat," Wayden said a few minutes later. "I'll take over from here."

"And you?" Blaine asked, glancing at the alpha, then quickly looking away. Fuck. He couldn't even hold his gaze anymore. He shouldn't have gone to Wayden's room.

"I ate," Wayden said. "You should get some sleep while you're at it. We'll arrive at the pack by morning."

Blaine nodded and got out of the chair. He tried his best not to touch Wayden but failed. Fuck this small shuttle, Blaine thought, as desire sizzled from the point of contact to the rest of his body. Blaine clenched his jaw as he made his way to the cooking station.

"You can sleep in my room for now. I'll try to find someone to fix the heating system in your room."

"Okay, thank you," Blaine said. He sat at the counter and ate the food Wayden had made for him. When he was done, he cleaned up, making sure nothing was out of place. He went to his room to get his sleeping clothes. He stared at the small bed, wishing he could sleep there. But he didn't want to freeze.

Wayden had offered his bed this time, anyway. It wasn't like he was making him do it.

Blaine walked out of his room. He glanced over at Wayden. The alpha's broad shoulders were stiff. Blaine could see it from where he stood. Did Wayden hate that he was sleeping in his bed? Probably.

Blaine bit into his bottom lip as a weird feeling settled in his stomach. Why did he even care how Wayden felt? He was getting what he wanted. Blaine turned away and marched to the room. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of the bed.

Was Wayden a neat freak? Blaine stared at the bed, not liking it one bit. The bed was neatly made, without a trace of Blaine ever being there.

This was another reason not to like him. Blaine liked his life messy and chaotic. Professor Douche was proper and uptight. And Holi thought they could be together… huh… not likely.

Blaine walked to the washroom and quickly got cleaned up. Anticipation buzzed through him at the thought of sleeping in Wayden's bed again. Blaine tried to push the feeling away, but he couldn't. In all honesty, as far as beds went, Wayden's bed was a good bed. And Blaine was a sucker for a good bed. That was the reason why he was so excited; nothing more.

It's a good bed, Blaine told himself as he got dressed. When he was done, he walked back into the bedroom and was in the bed in seconds. Professor Douche's scent enveloped him. Just like last night, the bed was warm and soft. Blaine burrowed into the mattress, holding the covers tight around him. He moaned in pleasure.

Blaine froze when he realised what he was doing. He stared at the shuttle wall, so baffled he couldn't even sleep. He tossed and turned all night long, unable to relax because the reason he'd come up with earlier didn't hold water.

In the morning, Blaine stumbled out of bed and made his way to the front of the shuttle. He found Wayden in the cooking station already eating breakfast.

"Good morning?" Wayden said, all cheerful.

"Is it?" Blaine snapped.

"We're here," Wayden said, ignoring him.

Blaine walked to the window and stared outside. He gasped at the sight that met him. They were in the most beautiful place he'd ever seen. It was surreal. Blaine walked closer to the window to see better.

Large trees bordered the land, sunlight glinted off the glossy surface of a lake and there were mountains in the distance. It was gorgeous. Even the huts dotting the landscape didn't take away from it.

Blaine never thought he would be glad to have come on this trip. But right then… he was glad. He breathed in the fresh air drifting into the shuttle. Excitement rushed through him. Blaine ran to his room to go change. He couldn't wait to get out there.