Air.
He needed air, a walk beneath the golden September trees, the crisp scent of descending autumn on the night.
In a restless movement, he catapulted himself off the window seat and slipped through the dark-shadowed living room, pausing only to lock the door before pocketing his keys and slipping down the chilly, slightly drafty hall to the stairwell. Every stair in Albin Academy creaked, it seemed, but from his very first day Rian had made something of a game of seeing if he could walk light enough, will himself feather-drift enough, to flit down the spiraling corner staircases without making a sound.
He didn’t quite make it this time, soft groans and whines rising under his steps until he felt like a ghost haunting the dark and rattling his bones to frighten the students. The whimsical thought made him smile, lifted the heaviness pushing down on his brow, and he already felt better by the time he spilled out into the empty first-floor hallway.
He’d meant to cut out through the adjacent door and into the main entry hall; the front doors would be locked at this time of night, but being faculty did have its perks—and one of those perks was the security code to unlock the main door and the front gates.
But before Rian could make that detour, he paused as motion down the hall caught his attention. Several doors down, Summer Iseya was just stepping out of the office adjacent to his husband’s, his short, wild black hair a mess, his button-down and slacks a bit limp with the droop that came from a long day not even starch could hold up against.
“Summer,” Rian called, and raised his hand.
Summer lifted his head and broke into a warm smile. “Rian. Hi,” he said, slipping his hands into his pockets and stepping closer. “I was just closing up.”
Rian settled to lean against the wall next to the stairs. “Stayed late?”
“A little. One of the seniors is trying to figure out how to tell his parents he doesn’t want to go to college, and he’s more interested in trade schools.” Summer stopped a few feet away from him, studying him with bright, cheerful blue eyes. “Mechanics, electricians, that sort of thing.”
“That’s unusual, for this school.”
“Everyone’s got to have a dream.” Summer cocked his head. “Were you looking for me?”
“Oh! No, I—I was going to head out for a walk, but I just saw you and...” Rian shrugged. “Thought I’d say hello.”
“Really?” Summer was entirely disarming, practically like a puppy—but that was what made it so easy for him to catch people off guard. Just as he caught Rian off guard as, after barely a moment of looking Rian over, he said carefully, “Seems like you could use someone to talk to, though.”
Rian winced, folding his arms over his stomach. “Am I that obvious?”
“Sneaking out for walks after curfew?”
“Please. I’m a moon baby. An indigo child,” Rian lilted with mock hauteur, tossing his hair. “I wilt if I don’t walk beneath the autumn sky at least once a month.”
“Mmhm. And you sing to crystals and summon the devil to dance with you beneath the pale moonlight, the usual.” With a sweet smile, Summer settled to lean against the wall next to Rian, his shoulder almost touching. “I’m still getting settled into this whole thing, and technically I’m a student counselor, not a peer counselor, but...” He nudged Rian with his arm. “If you need a little friendly advice, I can try.”
Rian hesitated, then exhaled deeply. “I mean...it’s about a student anyway...”
“What’s going on?”
“Mm. One of my students has been lying to the football coach and skipping practice. He told the coach he was staying to work on a project in my class...but he runs out of my class every day to keep from being late for practice.”
“And you think he might be getting up to some trouble, is that it?”
“Yeah. But we don’t have any proof.” Rian grimaced. “So you can imagine what Assistant Principal Walden said to that.”
“I don’t have to imagine. He’d just give you one of those looks,” Summer said with a dryness that spoke of hard experience.
“If I’m lucky. Try living with him. Every time he talks to me, it’s with the sharp side of his tongue.” Rian sighed heavily, slumping down the wall. “I mean...am I really supposed to say nothing? Do nothing? What if we don’t find out what’s going on until it’s too late and he’s already in too much trouble?”
“It’s almost impossible to keep teenagers out of trouble,” Summer pointed out gently. “Sometimes you have to just let them get it out of their systems, as long as it’s not trouble that could hurt them or people around them.”
“So...look the other way?”
“Not exactly.” Summer smiled, thoughtful and sweet. “Because it could be that student does need you, and need intervention. That’s what we’re here for. We can’t quite be their parents, but we do still have a responsibility to them, no matter how stuffy Walden gets about the technicalities.” He tapped his fingertip against his lower lip. “What I’m saying is look until you know what you’re seeing.”
That hit Rian somewhere low down in the pit of his stomach.
And for a moment he thought not of Chris...
But of Damon.
Looking at him like he expected Rian to tell him Damon—with that quiet, calm suite of his that looked like such a perfect, private space where Damon could hold back the noise of the world; with that soft whispered anguish; with that loneliness he’d given Rian like he expected him to crush it—just wasn’t good enough for...for...
For what?
“And then...?” he prompted softly.
“Do what you think is right,” Summer said, with a light shrug. “I can’t tell you what that is until you know what you’re dealing with.”
If only it was that easy.
But Rian forced himself to stop thinking about it, and shook his head. “Hopefully nothing.”
“That would be best, yeah.” Summer watch Rian curiously through the mess of hair that tumbled across his eyes. “Do you want to tell me who the student is...?”
“Not yet,” Rian said. “I’ll let you know if there’s something to worry about.”
“Just remember,” Summer said. “You’re not bothering me. It’s my job. And if he doesn’t want to talk to you, you can encourage him to talk to me.”
“Maybe. You’re practically a kid yourself; they seem to open up a bit more around you.”
“Hey!” Summer protested with a laugh. “I’m only a few years younger than you.”