What's Your Deal? BxB

Lunch Time (Brant)

A rush of warmth colored Brant's cheeks as he turned away from the cafeteria and spotted a blond-haired shadow sitting down and leaning against the wall. There he is, I was right! I was hoping he would be here again. He moved from where he used to sit last week, and the week before that. It almost feels like he's trying to keep out of sight. Brant nervously squeezed his hands into tight fists. He noticed the sweat on his hands and quickly wiped them on his light blue jeans. A part of Brant told him to leave the shadow alone and go eat his lunch somewhere else like he was supposed to. He looked over his shoulder and saw the line of hungry students was still extremely long. The tables were going to fill up in no time. No, I still have about ten minutes before that line will start to thin out. That's plenty of time. I need to go talk to him while I have the chance. He might move again, then I'll have to spend the next week trying to find out where he'll be hiding. Pulling at the edge of his dark blue v-neck to try and look more casual than he felt, Brant curled his fingers and then relaxed them again. He quickly ran his fingers through his brown mop of hair to try and make it look a bit nicer, then started into the mostly empty hallway where the unhappy-looking figure sat alone with his lunch. "H—Hey Jeff," Brant called with a nervous grin.

The boy's dark blue eyes shot up from his lunchbox that was sitting in his lap for the briefest of moments before refocusing on his meal.

Brant paused a few feet away from Jeff, his fear of rejection splintering what little confidence he had. "How were your classes today?" Brant asked, receiving the same empty silence. He didn't want to get too close and risk annoying Jeff. His stomach began to churn as he waited for an answer.

"They were fine," Jeff replied curtly, barely acknowledging Brant's presence before reaching towards his lunchbox and unlocking it in silence. Determined to keep the conversation going, Brant took a step closer and spoke again.

"I—I like your shirt. The blue really matches well with those dark pants you're wearing." Jeff sighed audibly and grabbed a small half of a sandwich before casually taking a bite. Brant wasn't sure what to do. He wasn't getting a positive reaction, but he didn't want to give up quite yet. Using what little confidence he had left, he tried once more to strike up a conversation. "So, I noticed you always seem to try and sit by yourself at lunch. Do you not like sitting in the cafeteria with everybody else?"

There was no answer, and the silence began to feel like knots were being tied in Brant's stomach. Jeff sat on the grey-white tiles that were darkened by shadows from the flickering lights above. Brant watched him take a bite of his lunch and noticed Jeff wince in what looked like pain. Brant began to wonder if his questions were annoying the boy in front of him. There was a soft hum of voices behind Brant as the other students all seemed to be enjoying their break from their studies. In front of him was deafening silence and the boy he'd had a crush on since they were in middle school. Brant didn't want to leave, but he didn't know what else to do. Jeff obviously wasn't in a chatting mood. There was an audible sigh, and Brant watched Jeff put the sandwich half down before he glared up at Brant with the deep blue eyes that had captivated Brant all those years ago. "Look, I don't like sitting around with people who pretend to be something they aren't."

"I see," Brant mumbled, surprised by such a negative opinion of the school around them. "I, guess that makes sense." The two fell silent again as Brant looked at the slender grey locker Jeff was leaning against. There were hundreds of these combination-locked storage containers around the school. They lined every wall on the upper floor, just like the middle school he'd come from before. The crippling silence resumed once more and only seemed to be amplified by the empty space around them. Forcing a wider smile, Brant tried once again to jumpstart the entirely one-sided conversation. "So uh, what do you have for lunch today? Anything—"