[Old Version] Playing for the Other Team [Old Version]

Chapter 4

Nathan wasn't sure how much time passed. Maybe a few minutes, maybe an hour. All he knew was that he should have been studying, but didn't. He found himself staring at the boy sitting on the other side of the table.

Jonathan looked so concentrated, and deeply emerged in his work. Once in a while he'd frown, and pout childishly. He looked like a puppy doing that, Nathan thought. Nathan sank his teeth into his bottom lip, not to point that out to Jonathan.

He held back a stupid grin when Jonathan all of a sudden looked up, catching him staring. "W-Why are you staring at me?" Jonathan asked.

Nathan looked away, cheeks flushing red. "Oh. Um... sorry." He blurted out. "I spaced out, I guess..." He said, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing like crazy.

Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows, but went back to reading without saying anything else. Nathan kept looking away until he was sure that he wasn't looking like a tomato, then he kept his eyes on his books.

Deciding that it was time to leave, even though he didn't want to, Nathan closed his books and put them back into his bag. Jonathan didn't look up once, to Nathan's disappointment. "I'm leaving." Nathan said. Jonathan didn't seem to notice. "Um..." Nathan lingered, and opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again when he couldn't come up with anything to say. "Bye." he blurted out before heading out of the library.

He stopped by his locker to get his jacket that he'd forgotten. He took the time to swing by the bathrooms before heading out to the parking lot, stopping when he spotted Jonathan slumping over by the school's bus stop. He wondered how on earth Jonathan had managed to get down there before he had. Did he run? Or travel through time?

"Hey." Nathan walked over to him. "Are you okay?" He asked.

Jonathan twirled around, looking up at Nathan with his big, odd eyes, and a frown in his lips. "Geez, will you stop sneaking up on me like that?" He snapped.

Now it was Nathan's turn to frown. "I'm sorry." He said. "I just..." He stopped himself again. "Did you miss the bus?" He asked.

"No, I just really like hanging out here." Jonathan sighed, voice laced with sarcasm. He let out another heavy sigh and gazed down the road as if the bus would magically appear if he stared hard enough.

Nathan too looked down the road. "When does the next bus come?" he asked and leaned against the sign that said 'bus stop'. Jonathan shrugged and kept his gaze on the end of the road.

"In an hour or so." He mumbled. Then he glanced up at Nathan before starting to walk away. Nathan hurried after him.

"H-Hey, where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm going home." Jonathan said.

"I-... I can drive you. You shouldn't have to walk home!" Nathan said, without thinking. He hesitated, and thought over what he'd just offered. Had he really just offered that?

Jonathan stopped in his tracks and turned back around. "Why would I catch a ride with you?" he asked coldly and crossed his arms over his chest.

Nathan shrugged. "B-because... I don't know..." He mumbled and looked down at the ground. Jonathan sighed again, and shook his head before starting to talk again. "Jonathan, wait." Nathan called after him, following. "Please, it's fine, really. I want to drive you home."

Jonathan stopped and looked at him again. Then he sighed, "Fine."

Smiling, Nathan jutted his thumb towards the parking lot. "Great! My car's over there." he said, walking towards his car with Jonathan trailing behind him. However the blond came to a complete stop when they were standing by the silver Porsche.

"Wait, this is you car?" He asked, staring at the car with big eyes. Nathan sank his teeth into his lips and looked the car over. It was a pretty nice car. A very nice car in fact. He just didn't make such a big deal about it, since he hated to brag.

"Um... Yeah." He said and rubbed the back of his neck. "A birthday present from my dad." he explained.

"Your dad got you a car?!" Jonathan exclaimed.

Nathan blushed, embarrassed over how spoiled he was. "Y-Yeah..." He chuckled stiffly. "I asked for a pair of shoes for basketball practice, and he got me a car." He said. "I don't know about you, but I think that's kind of ridiculous."

"Are you crazy?" Jonathan wheezed, tearing his eyes from the car to look at Nathan.

"Maybe." Nathan replied with a shrug. "Get in." He suggested, and jumped into the driver's seat. Jonathan slid into the passenger seat, and looked around in the car.

"Wow..." He breathed.

Nathan tried not to point out how sweet that looked, and gave a soft smile. "Put your seat belt on." he said. Jonathan nodded excitedly and put his seat belt on. Nathan started up the car by turning the key, and he could swear that he heard Jonathan squeak in the seat next to him. He glanced over at the boy, who was eagerly waiting for Nathan's next move.

He couldn't help but smile at that, and put the gear in drive and pulled out on the road – just a tiny bit faster than he usually did. He drove downtown, and added some gas just to hear that excited squeak again. It was just too cute to exist.

"Where do you live?" Nathan asked and glanced over at Jonathan while he was driving. Jonathan turned to him with a big smile. The smile quickly faded, and his face went blank.

"Oh. Right. Home." He mumbled, giving Nathan an address to drive to, and Nathan made sure to drive the long way there since he wanted to spend just a little more time with the squeaking boy.

He pulled over outside a small, ramshackle house, and Jonathan grabbed his backpack. "You live here?" Nathan asked, glancing at the house. It wasn't too bad, but the embarrassed look Jonathan wore made it quite clear that he was at least slightly ashamed of his home. Nathan was quick to decide that Jonathan's face didn't look well with a frown. He looked his best when he smiled.

"Y-Yeah." Jonathan mumbled. "Thanks for the ride." He continued and quickly got out of the car, and closed the door before Nathan had the time to say anything.

Nathan looked after Jonathan as he hurried to the door and disappeared into the house before driving home. When he got back, dinner was already ready, and on the table. Jennie asked where he'd been, and he mumbled something about meeting a friend after school.

His parents believed him, and they had no reason to think he was lying, because he wasn't really lying. Well, whether Jonathan was his friend or not could be questioned, but everything else he told them was true.