Chapter 3
Wood and Shaffer carried a sort of unspoken communication with each other.
They had a strange relationship, to say the least.
Wood would answer his questions coldly, with little to no emotion, but Shaffer would cherish these answers and retort with excitement in his tone.
He did not seem to take offense easily.
Shaffer was very different from everyone else Wood had ever met before him.
Where most people would detach themselves, Shaffer took hold and wouldn't let go, being as persistent as he was energetic.
It was very unsettling.
Wood turned away and frowned.
I wouldn't have given you my number if you weren't a patient...
The black haired male bounced the ball again and walked over to position.
"This is all so nostalgic." Shaffer's voice was filled to the brim with excitement.
He took several steps back to prepare himself for the toss.
Mentally, he was more than ready to spike, but not so much physically.
Shaffer missed Wood's set twelve times.
"Shit-
shit
." His frustration was unmasked.
"Please toss to me again!" He threw the ball to Wood.
There's no stopping you, is there?
Taking the ball in his hands, Wood aimed for the approximate location as to where Shaffer would spike the ball.
He wanted for him to spike it at least
once
lest Shaffer threw a self hate-induced panic attack.
Watching as Shaffer ran forward, Wood set the ball perfectly.
It brought him back to his high school days.
Now if only the sickly one would hit it.
The sound of the palm of Shaffer's hand meeting the ball sounded much like an explosion.
Wood flinched.
It had been so long since he'd heard something so loud.
It was amazing.
"Ha!
Did you see that?
!" Shaffer was bursting with emotion.
He was ecstatic.
"I spiked it perfectly just now!
That
toss
was perfect!" Without hesitation, he ran across the court to retrieve the ball.
Wood knew that running probably wasn't the best thing that he should have been doing, but he said nothing about it.
The ball was tossed back to him, and again, he got back to tossing the ball for Shaffer.
After three sets, there was another hit, and another cheer from the former ace.
Wood raised his eyebrows.
"Impressive." He watched the ball roll further away from them, and expected to see Shaffer trailing it, but instead saw nothing.
He turned his attention back to the only other in the room.
Shaffer stared off in the distance from beyond the net, his face carrying a confused expression.
After a moment, quietly, he spoke.
"They...
Aren't really there, are they?" The words left his mouth reluctantly.
Wood glanced in the direction of where Shaffer was staring.
No one.
They were the only two in the gym.
He dug his thumb nail into the side of his index finger and returned his gaze to Shaffer.
"They aren't really there." He had to force himself to say the mere four words.
Shaffer mouthed an "Okay," before backing up several steps.
"Could you please toss to me some more?"
"Sure." Wood nodded once, and that was all that Shaffer needed to hear before he ran off to retrieve the ball.
* * *
At some point during their walk home from the gym, Wood had agreed for Shaffer to spend the night at his house.
"My parents are out for a month," he'd unconsciously said, causing Shaffer to go into a begging frenzy to stay over until Wood said yes.
Normally he would have been red with irritation from the sound of such irksome persistence, but the smile that would claim Shaffer's face whenever he agreed to something would make Wood forget all about how frustrated he was.
He entered his home with Shaffer in a matter of minutes, having walked faster than usual.
Out there, the sickly one trembled like a new born animal, even with the extra jacket that Wood had offered him.
"It's warm-" Shaffer exhaled and shuddered once he was inside, slipping off his shoes.
Wood stepped in and turned his head.
"I would hope so." He moved forward.
"My room is this way."
Shaffer followed briskly.
He observed his surroundings once again, having been fascinated by the inside of someone else's home.
Everything was neat and placed perfectly here and there, giving Wood's house a warm atmosphere to it.
It reminded him of his home...
Shaffer nearly bumped into Wood as he stopped to enter his room.
"You can sit anywhere." He climbed into bed and folded one leg, pulling over his laptop to start it up.
"Is your bed alright?" Shaffer pulled off Wood's jacket.
"I said anywhere."
Shaffer plopped onto the mattress right after those words, bumping his head against Wood's shoulder.
He recoiled with a grunt.
"Watch it." Wood shifted to the side to give his visitor more room.
Despite this, Shaffer was still close enough for their arms to touch.
Wood sighed and lazily dragged his finger along the d-pad.
"Do you want to watch a movie?"
Shaffer curled in on himself and pushed his hands into his hood pocket.
"Yeah.
Anything is fine." His yellow eyes stared at the screen intently.
"Okay." Wood opened the first movie that he had in his computer's memory.
He pushed the laptop away and pressed play.
"What's it called?" Confused, Shaffer glanced over at him.
"Cloud Atlas."
"How long is it?"
"About three hours." He kicked his legs out of bed and walked across his room to retrieve a thick blanket that sat bundled up in a rolling chair.
He then tossed it to Shaffer once he was close enough.
"You've been shivering.
Use it."
Shaffer gathered the navy blue blanket in his arms, and cautiously threw it around his shoulders.
It was soft.
"Thank you." He kept his eyes on the screen.
"I used to handle the cold better than this." An embarrassed chuckle escaped him.
Exhaling through his nostrils, Wood reclaimed his seat in bed, crossing his legs.
"Things happen."
"Yeah..."
Outside, the sky above grew dark as clouds rolled in. Shaffer quieted himself, curled up, and watched on as the movie started.
* * *
The sound of rain pelting hard against the window snapped Wood back into reality.
He looked around in weary haste, but calmed quickly once his memory had returned to him.
He'd nodded off for a brief moment, with his arms crossed and his head resting on a thick bundle of pillows.
With much effort, he sat up to look at Shaffer.
The movie was well over two hours in, nearing its end, and Shaffer lay on his side, curled up and clutching the blanket with what little strength he had left.
His eyes were half-lidded and glued to the screen, his face void of emotion.
It almost looked as if he were asleep.
"Shaffer?" Wood's voice was groggy.
Slowly, his yellow eyes scrolled to the side to catch Wood's gaze.
He turned his head weakly, and his body along with it.
"I'm sorry.
I've watched this movie so many times, I actually fell asleep." Wood dragged a hand down his face.
"Don't be sorry." Shaffer found himself smiling.
"It's your house.
You sleep if you want to."
"Not if I have a visitor over."
"It's fine.
I'm not just some visitor, after all.
We're friends." Shaffer's head lolled to the side, directing his attention back to the movie.
"You were out for about an hour."
Wood heaved a sigh.
He rubbed the back of his neck.
"I envy you.
I wish I could sleep like that again."
Guilt bubbled up within Wood's chest.
He'd realized just how rude that was, falling asleep so easily in front of a person who's biggest struggle was just that.
"How... insensitive of me..." He furrowed his brow, mentally scolding himself.
"Don't cry over it." Shaffer shifted as he lay down, sticking a leg out to kick Wood.
"The movie kept me company.
It's very good.
Kind of confusing, but good.
I'll have to watch it again."
Strange.
Shaffer was such a strange one.
He seemed to be unfazed by many things, and blatant about others, blurting sentences out that didn't seem to have much thought behind them.
Wood doubted that he'd ever have Shaffer over again, so hearing him say 'I'll have to watch it again,' didn't sit too well with him.
Wood twisted his lips to the side and decided to bring up something else.
"Are you tired?"
"Exhausted." Shaffer answered honestly.
"Close your eyes for the time being." Wood kicked his legs out of bed with much effort and stood on his feet.
"I'll get us some water." He left the room quickly, leaving Shaffer by his lonesome.
After several seconds, he'd returned to see that Shaffer had changed his position in bed entirely.
He lay on his back, with his head on some of Wood's pillows.
His hands rested on his stomach, the dark blanket surrounding him from behind, but slipping off just enough for his torso to be exposed.
His head rested against the bed, slumped to the side, facing away from Wood.
Again, if he hadn't known any better, Wood would have figured that Shaffer was already fast asleep.