“ dalton academy ? is that right ? ” it didn’t take an expert to see the hint of distaste in hunter’s tone. & coated with disrespect, the message is clear as day. i don’t approve. & for what reason ? there were many. only they were all too personal to share with some prep school down-grader. the way he sees it, it’s as if hunter & his brother had a long lost middle ground they’d never heard of. living in both worlds. sounded like a nightmare. “ mind if i ask why you’d leave a place like that ? other than the obvious. ” snobby rich kids, stricter rules, boring lifestyle, you could take your pick of what he meant.
Confusion crept across Blaine’s features. Lips formed around a few unspoken words as he swallowed his initial questions. First, why was he curious? Second, why did he not seem to care for the place? It was easy to tell Hunter had some sort of distaste for Dalton as soon as he said the word. Blaine was more than curious. He only had to figure out how to ask without sounding like he was judging the guy for it. Hunter, in the few short days that Blaine has known him, doesn’t seem like the type of person to handle being judged well. Or Blaine could be off. Hunter just screamed it in how he carried himself. That’s all. Another blink of surprise and he smiled warmly. “You can ask me anything you want. About Dalton. Or why I left. There’s someone here that makes my days better. I didn’t want to waste the time we have before he graduates in Westerville.” He didn’t notice that he broke eye contact to answer. Or how his voice quited. It was all right again a second later. “Can I ask what you mean by the obvious? Dalton’s amazing. I’d still be there if it weren’t–if things were different.”
pianokeysandbowties 