Identity Disorder

Fake It

Austin's POV

"Oh so you think you can get a girl quicker than me?" Oli slurred, spilling half his beer in the process.
"Well duh. Look at you then look at me" Jack laughed.
"Yeah but you're gay so you won't be looking for girls" Vic reminded jack.
"Yeah but that's not the point" Jack argued.
"Anyway, I'd beat you all. I'm the best looking one here" Josh smirked.
"Oh fuck off. No you're not" Kellin protested.

It was a Saturday night and as usual, we were all getting drunk in my basement. My friends were dicks but they were pretty fun to hang around with.
"Let's settle this. Well have competition. We all have to get a partner or our preferred gender and stay with them for as long as possible. The last person to get a partner or first to break up has to pose naked whilst we take as many pictures as we want and we can spread those pictures around school. C'mon guys, I dare you" Oli gave us all a devilish smile.
"I'm in. I'll show you all" jack smirked. Everyone else agreed.
"Austin?" Vic prompted.
"Fine" I sighed. I knew that not taking part would only result in a worse forfeit than loosing.

We agreed on some rules:

Whoever didn't have a partner by Friday was out.

No dating within the group.

No bribing allowed.

Proof of relationship.

Winner is the person who stays with their partner for the longest.

This was ridiculous. Relationships were meant to be something you built up over a long time not something that happens because of a dare. I couldn't loose though, I couldn't face the humiliation. I didn't even want a relationship at the moment, I needed to focus on my school work. I hoped I could find someone who would understand my situation and be my fake boyfriend.

Oh, maybe I should mention, I'm gay. Openly gay. Everyone at school knows and so do my family. I don't get much shit for it because I'm 6f 5" and quite muscular. Even though I'm pretty wimpy and pathetic, I look like I could hurt people and that's enough to scare them away.

I met up with the guys on Monday morning and walked to school with them.
"You guys all ready for the dare then?" Oli asked excitedly.
"Hell yeah. I was born ready" said Jack as he took the stance of a boxer about to fight.
"You're mean. Think of all the hearts your gonna break. Leading people on for no reason" I shoved my hands into my pockets and sighed.
"Oh shut up. It will be fun. Who knows, something good might come of it" Kellin smiled at me then ran off to his lesson.

I checked my timetable. English. Alone, I walked up the three flights of stairs to my English classroom. I took my usual seat just as Mr Armstrong walked in.
"Right class. Today were starting a new projects. I'll be putting you into pairs and I expect you to work on this out of school as well" he informed us. I threw my head back and closed my eyes. I always tried to go unnoticed and hated working with people I didn't know.

Mr Armstrong shouted out random names and instructed them where to sit. I felt the chair next to me move as my new partner sat down. I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was short and ginger. I'd seen him around school a few times, he was always pretty quiet. Aaron, I think his name was.
"Hey Aaron" I said as positively as I could.
"Alan. My names Alan" he stuttered. He was clearly nervous around me so I changed my body language so I came across nicer.
"Sorry Alan. I'm Austin"
He smiled slightly then turned his gaze to the paper.

The project was on the book 'Of mice and men'. A pile of crap if you ask me. We didn't talk much as we worked.
"Ok class. Pack up" Mr armstrong instructed us.
"You free tonight?" I asked Alan as I folded the sheets of paper and put them into my bag.
"Yeah"
"Wanna come over. Y'know, to work on the project" I suggested casually.
"Sure" he smiled softly. I wrote my number onto the corner of one of the sheets and handed it to him.
"Text me" I said before leaving the classroom.

I sat with the guys at lunch, they were discussing the various people they had been chatting up. My phone buzzed with a text from an unknown number. I assumed it was Alan.

Hey, Meet me at the gates after 5th period- Alan

Ok. See you there- Austin.

"Who's that you're texting?" Josh asked with a smirk.
"Just my project partner"
"Suure it is" Vic laughed. I just rolled my eyes at them and sighed.

"I don't want to be a part of this stupid game anymore" I said after a while.
"Too late. You're in now. If you quit, there will be consequences" Jack shrugged.
"You're all assholes"

Alan was already waiting for me when I reached the gates.
"Hey" he smiled as I approached him.
"Hey" I replied. We made small talk as we walked to my house.
"Are your parents aware that I'm coming?" Alan asked me as we approached the front door.
"Nah but they're pretty chilled out about that kind of thing" I unlocked the door and walked in.

"Hi Mum" I smiled as she hugged me.
"Who's this?" She asked, nodding at Alan.
"This is Alan. He's my partner on an English project. Do you mind if we do some work in my room?"
"Nice to meet you. That's fine with me" she smiled then walked back into the kitchen.

I took Alan to my room and layed out our work on the floor. We laid on our stomachs and chatted.
"So, you got a girlfriend?" Alan asked.
"Not really my area" I said awkwardly.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm gay" I said bluntly.
"Oh..... Me too" Alan blushed slightly and hid his face.
"Single?"
"Yeah. I didn't realise there were other gay guys at our school"

I stood up and walked over to my bed. I sat down and put my head in my hands, sighing heavily.
"You ok?" Alan abandoned the work and sat with me on the bed.
"Yeah.... It's nothing"
"You sure? You can talk to me if you want to"
"Honestly, it's nothing" I laid back onto the bed and rubbed my temple.
"It doesn't seem like nothing" he shuffled closer to me.
"I can't tell you. Sorry"
"Ok" Alan stroked my hair gently. He seemed more confident now it was just the two of us.
"I don't even know why I invited you over. Let's just do this project in class and nothing else. It's not fair for you to come over then me just be in a mood the whole time" I sighed.
"Don't worry about it. I want to help you" Alan paused for a moment, he looked like he was thinking.
"Why don't you hate me? Everyone else does"
"You've never done anything to offend me. You seem like a nice person" he smiled.
"That's a first" I returned the smile, feeling a bit more comfortable.

Before I knew what was going on, Alan's lips collided with mine. I lingered for a moment then pulled away.
"I'm s-sorry I-" Alan blushed.
"It's ok" I didn't understand why he kissed me but I didn't want to offend him. Maybe I could pretend to like him back then I wouldn't loose the stupid dare thing. That was mean to him but I didn't really have a choice. I'd just have to fake it.