Catch 22

We'll see about that

Ashton took a deep breath as he walked down the hallway towards Luke's locker. He slipped a note inside before hurrying to Mrs. Everette's room. He showed up early just so he could swing by her room for a minute.

"Morning Ashton." Mrs. Everette smiled as Ashton walked in.

"Morning." Ashton smiled nervously.

"You seem more calm than you normally do when you come in here. Is everything alright?" Mrs. Everette asked.

"Yes and no." Ashton answered pacing a bit.

"I was hoping I could talk to you for a minute." Ashton said looking at the brunette hopefully.

"Of course, what's wrong?" Mrs. Everette asked setting down her pen and giving Ashton one hundred percent of her attention. That was one thing Ashton could always count on.

"My mom met a friend of mine Saturday. She invited him over for dinner last night." Ashton stated simply.

"Oh, that's a good sign. You don't normally let her meet your friends." Mrs. Everette pointed out.

"Yeah, It wasn't planned but it went well, so did dinner." Ashton nodded.

"Good. So what's the problem?" Mrs. Everette asked with a confused look on her face.

"My mom doesn't know I'm now dating this guy." Ashton sighed.

"Oh, you're dating someone now? I didn't realize." Mrs. Everette seemed surprised.

"It happened yesterday before dinner. He and I have liked each other for a while but things got complicated between us and well the point is we're now together but he has agreed to keep it hush hush. No one except our two closest friends know." Ashton explained.

"Can I know who this guy is?" Mrs. Everette asked.

"Luke Hemmings." Ashton mumbled as if he were embarrassed to say it out loud.

"Oh, really? I thought he was with Zayn Malik." Mrs. Everette said with a surprised look.

"Zayn likes him and asked Luke out, Luke agreed to go out with him of Friday to get him off his back but they aren't together. Anyway, he's being pretty understanding about this but I've never done anything like this. I don't even know how to date a guy. I know what girls like and want but not guys." Ashton started pacing again.

"Ashton, sweetheart, you are a guy. You know better than anyone what a guy likes and wants. Just pretend you're dating yourself. Talk to him the way you would want to be talked to in a relationship."

"Is that enough though?" Ashton asked stopping for a brief moment.

"I'm used to women wanting so much more. They want flowers and back rubs and a cute text every ten minutes." Ashton groaned.

"Luke is not a woman. Guys are a lot simpler. Honestly you've lucked out being gay. Guys are easier to please than us women." Mrs. Everette winked at Ashton giving him a large smile.

Ashton smiled back.

"Okay, but what if I go too far. Like a cute 'Good morning' text or 'Sleep well' at night, is that too much?" Ashton asked.

"No, of course not. It reminds him you're thinking of him during those times. It's thoughtful but it's not over the top. He'd appreciate that." Mrs. Everette assured him.

"Well since we can't really be together openly I slipped a note in his locker just a cute little note. Is that too much? How would I get it out? Maybe Michael could help me." Ashton rambled biting at his lip.