Top and Tail [boyxboy] [slash]

Chapter 22: The Great Debate

"Nope," I responded, tongue in cheek. "What about you and your obsession with football and shit anyway? You get so worked up when Celtic are playing!"

"How is football unhealthy?" he challenged, folding his arms across his rumpled shirt – we still hadn't bothered to change out of our school uniform. Hey, it was a Thursday night, we were piled high with homework form all three sciences plus I had a history essay to write, and we were tired... Besides, the clothes only had to last us another day before we could discard them with relief into the washing basket.

Or, in my case, the floor and hope that they magically appeared washed, ironed and folded in time for school the next Monday. Nine out of ten times, this strategy worked.

I bounded into the room with all the excitement of a five year old. Jay followed closely behind, timidly balancing two slightly overflowing cups with excruciating caution.

"Eh, did you fill these up enough?" He laughed, then immediately stopped as a few dribbles of scorching hot tea spilled over onto his fingers. Pursing my lips, I surveyed the cups with a mock seriousness.

"I may have overdone it a little bit," I admitted frankly, sitting myself down on the empty sofa just to the right of the armchair my mum currently occupied and directly   opposite the flickering telly. Still laughing, he handed my mum a cup and she gave him a quiet thanks as he placed his own cup on the coffee table and relaxed into the sofa.

"I'm not a cushion, you know," I pointed out, slightly offended as he curled up on the couch, his head lolling onto my shoulder. I only got a silent, mischievous beam in response.

"I'm not!"

"I know."

I paused, trying to think of a witty putdown. "Shut up."

"Ok."

From my comfortable position on the couch, just through my lashes I could make out the image of my mum's face.

And a soft smile was proudly displayed on her features.

The next morning passed by in a blur; get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, finish last minute homework in the library and so on. It wasn't until third period –the dreaded RE– that the drama really started.

As usual, Jay shuffled quietly to the back of the classroom trying to keep off the radar so that his increasing atheism didn't become a public matter. And, as usual, I sauntered in with my nose in the air, openly regarding the class as a waste of time and energy.

Lee and Lewis came in together, giggling and blushing and occasionally stealing small wistful glances at each other. I wished Lee would just man up and plant one on Lewis already – I still had a tenner riding on her confidence. And currently, I was distinctly lacking such a tenner to bet with...

Amy and the other girl –who turned out to go by the name of Jessica– awkwardly slid into their seats with a polite nod. They'd been uneasy around the four of us ever since my little outburst. Lewis and I, ever the ones to hold a grudge, didn't even acknowledge their humble presence, while Lee managed a stiff nod and Jay a faint blush. A ridiculous urge to glomp him and never let go suddenly overcame me and I shook my head. It was getting pathetic how mushy I was becoming.

"Ok folks," the teacher piped up, spinning in her wheeled chair to face the class, an expectant grin on her face. "Continuing with our 'Relationships with God' block, we're going tostart looking at the sacraments."

I let out a muffled groan. A gentle nudge in the knee from Jay under the table confirmed that he felt exactly the same way.

"First up," the teacher droned. "Baptism. Everyone knows what baptism is, right?"