Teenage Dream (BoyxBoy)

Chapter Two

Teenage Dream

Chapter Two

We didn't see each other again for the rest of the morning, not until lunch. I would usually eat by myself while trying to mentally avoid everyone else in the room, but Tanner just happened to cross my path that morning. It turns out we have the same lunch period, but he usually eats outside in the courtyard. So he invited me to come join him, and I snapped up to my feet with a heartfelt acceptance. Then we actually ate lunch together! We talked, we laughed, and our 'small talk' went a bit further beyond what we skittered through on the bus. I hung on his every word, and still had time to appreciate the little details that made him so magnetic for me. The way the wind would blow a few wisps of hair up into his eyes, and the way he'd lightly flick his head to the side to have them all fall back into place. The way his mouth would move, his lips, over his teeth, hiding his tongue. His soft hand gestures that accentuated every syllable with a movement all its own. As we sat in that courtyard, almost alone except for the small group of kids in an opposite corner, I felt like I was actually...making progress.

How weird is that.

He felt like an actual friend all of the sudden, and it became easier to tune into one another as we connected. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't accept it. Was this... like a date or something? It was for me. I just sat their gazing into his eyes most of the time, and feeling that shiver go through the pit of my stomach when I didn't look away fast enough. It was almost like a playful little game for me, seeing how long I could stare before my body reacted to him involuntarily. I even loved the cute way he ate his peanut butter and jelly sandwich, from the outside in so he wouldn't get any crumbs on his flawless face. Probably a rich kid thing. But out of all the rich snobs in this whole school, Tanner was the only one that appealed to me. Sure, there were plenty of cuties there, more than most schools I'm willing to bet, but they weren't as beautiful on the inside as Tanner was. They didn't have that down to earth radiant 'glow' about them like Tanner did. That invisible 'something' that made you want to just share some of that light with him, even if only for a little while. That, to me, made all the difference.

"I think you should do it. If the coaches are asking you to join the team, why not?" I asked in the middle of our first 'legit' conversation.

"What? Join Soccer or Lacrosse?"

"Whatever, do both if you want."

"Nah..." He said. "Really, I'm not into sports all that much. I don't know, I think the whole athletic mentality is kind of wasted on me. You know?"

He was just too cute for words.

"I guess I can see your point. It's kind of wasted on me too. But I try to fake it from time to time." I said.

"Oh really now? Well one of these days you'll have to show me how to do that without totally embarrassing myself." He chuckled.

"Maybe I will." I smiled.

I told him that I would be playing basketball in a park by my house after school if he wanted to join me. He thought I was just fooling around at first, but I was dead serious. I made sure he knew that he was more than welcome, and he looked like he was ready to say yes. But when a group of our 'classmates' entered the courtyard, our 'Eden' was invaded. They were the kind of rich kids that need to make noise and bang around in order to make their presence felt. Something Tanner could do just by being in the same room with you. It was more than a disruption in my mind; it was more like a violation. And they made sure to acknowledge that a lesser life form was in the area. In case you weren't taking notes...that life form is me.

When they came over, mischievous grins already appearing on their faces, Tanner's whole tone changed. I could tell, and we both got quiet. But it's never that easy to escape a 'situation' in high school. They didn't bother with too much of the pleasantries before coming out to ask me where I lived, probably knowing the answer to that already.