Tentacle University pt. 21

Devon was in the middle of packing when Peter finally arrived back at the dorm. 

“I was starting to get worried,” Devon said as his roommate passed by the door. 

“I just needed to clear my head.” Peter didn’t even stop to look at him as he passed. 

Devon put down the shirt he was folding and headed out into the hallway, following Peter to his room.  There was something in the tone of his voice, and in the way he refused to make eye contact, that made Devon uncomfortable. 

When Peter went into his room, Devon hung back, staying in the doorway. 

“You hear the Dean’s press conference?” He watched his roommate.  “Hartford is getting shut down in three days.  They want this place to be a complete ghost town.”

The mention of the school closing got Peter’s attention.  He stopped, turning to Devon.  “Shutting down?  Why the fuck is the school closing?”

“There was another murder.” Devon didn’t feel like elaborating on how the details.  He had been going over them again and again in his head ever since Marco had dropped him off.  “A guy was killed over at Retro.”

That explanation seemed to be enough for Peter, and he went back to fishing through his desk. 

“Guess that makes sense.”  He opened the top left drawer of his desk, but turned in a way that kept Devon from seeing what he was retrieving.  “Listen, I can’t stay and chat.  I’ve got to go help Mickey with a new number she’s working on.” 

Devon shook his head.  Suddenly Peter’s behavior made perfect sense.  The top left drawer was where Peter left his stash of condoms, and the mention of Mickey’s name made it perfectly clear what Peter had planned that night. He was going to cheat on Cherry, again.  This time it was going to be with his girlfriend’s best friend. 

Even for Peter, that was pretty fucking low. 

Still, no matter how much of an asshole fuckboy Peter was being, he was still his friend.  The idea of him going out at night made Devon uneasy. 

“Listen,” Devon cleared his throat, “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.  I mean, this campus really isn’t the safest place right now.”

“I’ll be fine.” Peter just waived him off.

Peter had his mind on pussy, and Devon knew that trying to talk him out of going was useless. He had to think of a different way to approach it.

“Well, Marco…”

Peter gave him a look. “Marco?”

“Detective Cruz.” Devon cursed inside his head for the slip up.  Not that he had any shame in whatever was going on between him and Marco.  It was just that he wasn’t really in the mood to take any friendly fire from Peter that night. “He said I could stay with him while the school is closed.  He’s actually going to be here in a little bit to pick me up.  Maybe we could give you a ride over to the dance building?”

Peter stood up straight, a smirk on his face. “You never struck me as a badge bunny.” 

“Badge bunny?”

“Cop chaser,” said Peter.  “You know, the boys in blue give you a raging boner.”

“It’s not like that.” Devon tried to get his roommate back on topic. “Listen, if you’re going to let your dick put you in danger, at least let me make sure that the only person that will try to kill you is Cherry when she figures out you fucked her best friend.”

“I don’t know…”

Devon cut Peter off, walking over to him, and plucking the condoms out of Peter’s hands.  “You forgot that you already told me what you used this drawer for.”

“First, I’ll be fine.  I’ll stick to the main streets, and all that. Okay?  Second, not a word of this to Cherry.  Got it?  She’s already got a bug up her butt about something, and the last thing any of us needs is her pulling a Three Mile Island on us if she ever finds out.”

Devon handed Peter back the condoms. “Then don’t fuck around on her.” 

“This coming from the guy who was playing Brokeback Mountain with Tim,” sneered Peter. He didn’t even wait for Devon to respond.  “Don’t think I didn’t know what was going on. These walls are thing, buddy.  I could hear every moan and whimper. So, save the high and mighty act, okay?” 

Peter pushed past Devon and headed out of the room. 

-*-

About an hour later Marco arrived. 

“You ready?” He gave Devon a quick kiss. 

The casual nature of the kiss threw Devon off balance.  It had felt nice, for sure.  It had also felt… right.  It wasn’t some big, romantic gesture, but it was enough to make his heart leap in his chest. 

“Yeah,” he said, smiling. “Let me just grab my bag.”

As Devon made his way to his room he could feel Marco following behind him.  In the doorway he felt Marco’s arms wrap around his waist, stopping him, pulling him close.  The position Devon currently found himself in reminded him of the dance floor the night before.  It instantly got his blood pumping. 

“You’re being affectionate,” said Devon.

Marco backed off slightly.  “Too much?”

Devon shook his head, turning to him. “I don’t mind.  I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Good.” Marco kissed him again, just another quick peck, and then let Devon go. “So, where’s your roommate tonight?” 

“Dance building.” Devon picked up his bag, slinging the straining strap over his shoulder. “The official excuse is to help someone practice a number.  The unofficial reason is that he’s planning to hook up with someone.”

That casual sweetness on Marco’s face began to fade. “He sure that’s such a bright idea? I mean, with everything going on around here?”

“I told him I thought he was an idiot, but you can’t keep Peter’s libido down,” said Devon. Seeing the look on Marco’s face, he suddenly felt himself getting worried.  “Think we could swing by the dance building and check on him before we go to your place?”

“Sure.”

Then, without another word spoken, they both headed out.  Devon suddenly felt uneasy, and he could feel his pace picking up. He didn’t know why, but his gut was telling him that he needed to get to the dance building quickly. It was probably just paranoia, but with the recent body count climbing up around campus, Devon didn’t want to risk it.