The Dorien Academy for Young Men

Kole wasn't completely okay with the idea of crawling up the stairs. He thought it would make him look even more of a fool.
"I rather not crawl..." Kole said as he stood. He couldn't see Jem but knew he was already at the front of the stairs.
"You go ahead, I'll follow behind." Kole told him. "Wait! Where's my flask?" He just realized it was no longer in his pocket. It was in his hand when he fell..
 
Jem was about to try to crawl up the stairs when Kole asked him where his flask had gone. "I don't know...i-it spilled all over me, though, and I think I felt it hit me when we fell, but...I'm not sure where it could've landed..." He glanced in the direction he heard Kole's voice, and shakily got to his feet. He got on his knees, deciding that since his pants were already soaked through that it didn't matter if they got wet some more. Carefully crawling around without using his bad arm, he felt on the ground with his other, squinting in the darkness.

"Do...do you absolutely need it...?" Jem asked, biting his bottom lip. "C-can't we come back when we've got light or something? I feel ridiculous crawling on the ground like this in the dark..." He bit his bottom lip before his hand came upon one of the walls of the shaft. Licking his lips, he felt along it, and soon found a circular hallway that went off of the shaft they were in now. "Kole, there's another hallway here. Let's...let's go to the infirmary and come back tomorrow to get your flask and look at this other hallway...please? At this rate, we'll never find it..."
 
Kole sighed. The flask was special to him, not just because of what was inside.
"Yeah, we can come back later," he said quietly, slightly losing his cool.
The flask came from his uncle, who is no longer around. Kole's uncle was the only man who didn't think low of Kole in his family.
When he held the flask he felt close to his uncle.
"Come on Jem..." Kole said before walking up to the steps.
 
Jem understood that the flask probably was sentimental to Kole in some way, but he didn't want his shoulder or Kole's injuries to get worse. Hearing Kole beginning to go up the stairs, he found his way in the water to the staircase, and began going up them. He went as slowly as he possibly could, afraid that he might slip and fall again. "I'm sorry, Kole," he said softly, his voice echoing off the walls.

Somehow, they made it to the top of the stairs without falling again, and were left standing in the sculpting room once more. "Can you help me shut the door again?" he asked, putting the hand of his good arm against it.
 
Kole nodded and helped him shut the door. He looked at the door as though thinking about what he lost.
Kole turned around and grabbed his art supplies he left on the table.
"You should head to the nurse. Come to my dorm afterwards if you want."Kole said without turning to look at Jem. He knew he should go too but he thought the nurse probably wouldn't make much of a difference.
 
"Okay," Jem answered softly. "Umm...i-if you hit your head or something, don't fall asleep, okay? Also, what dorm room is yours? I'll come up after I'm done at the nurse's." Once he had his answer, he nodded and left before heading to the nurse's office.

He told the nurse that he had fallen down a flight of stairs while leaving his dorm room--which didn't account for his soaked clothing-- and she soon diagnosed him with a few mild bruises and a dislocated shoulder. She popped his shoulder back in and put it in a sling, telling him to keep it in the sling until classes started again next week.

He nodded and left, and soon was going to the dormitory wing, hoping that Kole would forgive him. He made a quick stop at his own room to change into dry clothes and grab his phone, but soon he was knocking at Kole's door, hoping that he didn't have some nosy roommate that also was stuck at school over the holidays.
 
Kole managed to get a single dorm room, which was good for him since he hid his drugs and weed in the room.
After Jem went to the nurse, Kole went to his dorm.
He put his art supplies away before laying down, not even bothering to change out of his wet clothing. By the time Jem knocked on his door, Kole was half asleep. He had an aching headache and just wanted sleep, regardless what Jem said.
Kole went to the door and opened it for Jem. "You can come in."
 
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When the door swung open, Jem smiled at Kole, but it faded quickly. Kole's eyes were funny. Frowning a bit in confusion, he asked, "Are you alright? You...there's something wrong with your eyes. Here, sit down, Kole..." He bit his lip, worried for Kole's health. When he was able to get a good look, he frowned, his dark eyebrows pressing together in confusion.

"Kole, your pupils are two different shapes...I-I think that means you've got a concussion...come on, we'd better get you to the nurse. You probably hit your head bad on the stairs...come on, Kole...I'm worried about you, this isn't good..."
 
"Don't worry about it," Kole said. He knew what it felt like to get concussions, it wasn't his first time. Kole already knew he had one, he just didn't care.
Kole sat on the bed and listened to Jem worry. He began to rub his hands through his hair, a nervous habit of his.
"Can we skip the nurse and go get my flask." Kole was never calm without it, he didn't even care if it was empty, as long as it was with me.
 
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Jem bit his bottom lip as Kole said that they should just go get his flask. Letting out a sigh, he said, "Fine...but afterwards, we're going to the nurse, alright? I don't want you to get hurt even worse...and...if you start feeling really bad, then I want you to tell me..."

He gestured for Kole to get up, before realizing that he might have trouble with that, so he held out his hand. Regardless of whether or not Kole took it, he soon was leading him back to the west wing and into the sculpting room. Jem found the catch in the wall once more and pushed the hidden door in.

Once they were gazing in at the abyss once more, Jem took his phone out and turned the flashlight on, glancing back at Kole nervously before he stepped onto the first step, wincing as it creaked beneath his weight. Then, he went onto the next step, and tried to calm himself down, though the way the stairs were creaking weren't helping him at all.
 
Kole didn't take Jem's hand, and instead ran his hand through his hair.
He only nodded when Jem told him to say when he wasn't feeling too good.
Kole followed close behind Jem when they were going back down the stairs. He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed his head, as though to bring the headache down. By now his hair was probably messed up.
 
This time, they were able to get to the ground of the shaft without falling, even with Jem's arm in a sling and Kole's concussion. As they stood in the inch of water, Jem swung the light of his phone around, trying to find Kole's flask.

Finally, his foot hit something metal, and it clattered a couple feet in front of him. "I think I found it," he told Kole, and was soon trying to find it. It wasn't long before he was holding it aloft, smiling.

"Found it!" he exclaimed, walking over to Kole. Handing it to him, he said, "Anything else? "
 
"Oh my god, thank you," Kole said happily. He kissed the flask and smiled back at Jem. "Gotta keep this thing close to me at all times." Kole said, back to his old self.
"Nah, I don't believe there is anything else," Kole answered Jem's question.
 
Jem grinned as he watched Kole get so happy about having his flask back. Still, he felt a flare of jealousy fill him as he kissed the flask, immediately wishing that his lips were on his own, and not that flask. Look at me, getting jealous of a flask, he thought, rolling his eyes in the dark.

"Alright...we'd better get back upstairs, then...tomorrow, if you're feeling better, I want to explore down here some more...but I'm taking you to the nurse, right now, okay? You've got your flask back, I want to make sure that you're not going to die." He made his way back to the staircase, his shoes sloshing a bit in the water. Sighing softly, he said, "Come on, Kole...concussions aren't anything to play with, alright?"
 
Kole rolled his eyes, "yes mom, I'm coming." He said jokingly.
Kole didn't think it really mattered since he only had a major headache from the concussion, but if it made Jem quit worrying then he would go.
Kole followed Jem up the stairs and to the nurse. He didn't know where the nurse was so he stayed behind Jem as they walked.
 
Jem led Kole up to the nurse, and she diagnosed him with a mild concussion. She told him to stay in the infirmary overnight, so she could make sure he wasn't going to get worse, and had him lie down. Jem sat down beside Kole's bed in the infirmary, deciding that he didn't want to leave him.

"So, uh..." he began once they were left alone, "why's the flask so important to you...?"
 
Kole was a bit annoyed he had to stay overnight in the infirmary. He wasn't expecting Jem to stay with him. Kole was a bit thankful for that, he rather not have stayed in the place by himself and have to sleep in a place he wasn't comfortable with.
Kole Immediately looked towards Jem when he heard his question.
"The flask..?" Kole looked at Jem then felt the flask in his pocket. "It used to belong to my uncle. He was the only man who respected me. He didn't judge the way I got my inspiration, in fact he was also an artist. My parents hated him, and they hated me. But now he's gone and this flask is all I have left." Kole explained.
 
Jem nodded as Kole explained the significance of the flask. He understood, at least a little bit, the meaning behind it. Sighing softly, he said, "I...I get it...I'm glad we went back to get it for you, Kole..." He gave a small smile, and sat back in his seat, running his fingers through his hair. "Sorry I got you into this," he said, biting his bottom lip. "It's my fault you fell down those stairs..."

With a sigh, he glanced down at Kole's hand and almost reached over to take it into his own. He hoped that Kole was into guys, but if he wasn't, and Jem started acting like he was into him, it might ruin what little friendship they had. Biting his bottom lip, he tried to be casual as he finally spoke up.

"So, uh...you don't have many friends, do you?"

However, immediately after Jem spoke the words, he realized how horrible they sounded, and slapped a hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry...that sounded really mean...my bad..."
 
Kole didn't really look at Jem after he told him about the flask. He looked back at the boy after he began apologizing about everything being his fault.
"Hey man, I said don't worry about it." Kole said to Jem.
Kole closed his eyes for a moment but ended up opening them once he heard Jem's question.
"....No. I don't have many friends."
 
Jem was so happy that Kole didn't take his question the wrong way. Nodding at his answer, he said softly, "Me neither...I'm kinda shy, and...well, I'm gay, so a lot of the guys here avoid me like the plague...i-it's not something you can catch, but...they don't like me much..." He shrugged, hoping that Kole didn't just decide that he didn't like him anymore.
 
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