I WAS GOD ONCE

SEPTEMBER 26, 10:49 AM , WEDNESDAY

[[A/N: ACT V will include some heavy moments of child abuse and alcoholism, as well as violent homophobia. Please keep this in mind for mainly this act as well as future references to it in future acts. Thank you for reading this far!]]
ACT V

The second time Edward Ruiz saw Adam Yuán was in his AP English class on the first day of school. It was the only AP class Edward had, and this fact filled him with pride. Adam sat two desks away from him, and was always, always smiling. His hair was coffee brown, and so were his eyes, a warm, swirling color that shone when he grinned or laughed.

Edward sat nearer the windows, and sometimes, Adam would sit beside him if the girl who usually took the seat between them (Edward thought her name was Diane) was not there.

"Is it the first or the second?" Was usually how their conversations went, or, "Oh, wait, that was due today?"

Edward did not stammer often, but he did when Adam spoke to him, or when the teacher did, but that was not because Mrs. Kelly was pretty, but rather because she knew his mother and father personally, and somehow, that terrified him.

This morning, the white board said in Mrs. Kelly's wild, arcing handwriting, 'ACT IV SCENES 1-4 DUE TODAY', then, beneath that, 'What is the thematic significance of the three witches? What do they symbolize to Banquo, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth? What significance does blood play in Macbeth?'

Today, the girl likely named Diane was sitting with Stephanie, behind Edward. Adam leaned over, looking horrified.

"Oh my God," He whispered, "We were supposed to have finished act four?"

Edward had almost tensed, stealing a quick glance at the boy beside him.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Edward stammered, "I think it's, uh, fine though, I mean, I didn't even read it all the way through." That was a lie, and Adam did not look very relieved, putting his forehead in his hands. Today, he was wearing a brown sweater, a button up, wrinkled, peeking from beneath it. His jeans were acid-washed and torn on the left knee. His socks were mismatched.

"Oh my God, it's so boring," He groaned, rubbing his face. "How can I read this? I can't. I can't do it."

"Aren't you in drama?" Edward asked him. "Isn't like, loving Shakespeare a requirement?"

"I hate Shakespeare!" He cried into his hands. Edward did his best, good-humored chuckle.

"That must be rough," He said, and Adam nodded fiercely.

Adam Yuán was best friends with the president of the Drama club, a boy named Keaton whose last name Edward did not know. Adam lived on the other side of town, opposite to the Coquille National Forest, in the rural part of town where the houses looked almost the same and the yards were small. Edward had seen it, once, during a party, because Adam lived on the same street as the Keaton boy, and Keaton was seventeen and loved to throw parties. His brother was twenty-two, and still lived at home, and therefore allowed him access to alcohol. Keaton was best friends with Kayla, a senior, who Edward knew of because she was Mary Walker's current crush.

It felt strange, knowing this much about Yuán given he probably didn't know Edward's last name. And it wasn't as if Edward had gone out of his way to learn all of this information, it had just come to him, accidentally, in various attempts to get to know the boy.

He'd first met him at that party. He'd had his first taste of alcohol, and felt relatively buzzed. Mary had disappeared in the small crowd, and Edward had been awkwardly hovering by a wall, trying to appear as cool and relaxed as possible. Adam had run into him- literally- from around a corner during those moments.