Take Me to Church (boyxboyxboy)✅

Chapter 5

Liam

Jeremy and his friends strutted down the hall as if they owned the place. It was a common site everyday. I did my best to mind my own business. Most of the time, they left me alone, a lot of boys afraid to mess with the judge's son. Other boys, namely JT, just didn't care; I think mostly because his dad owned half the town.

Catching a whiff of Jeremy's cologne or body wash, I lost control of my books, causing them to fall, splattering all over the school hallway. Jeremy didn't pay any attention, but his other friends did. They turned their heads, laughing at my clumsiness.

"What a loser," JT muttered.

I just wanted to shove my pencil up that kid's nose. What a dick.

With my face burning red, I gathered up my books and stuffed them back in my locker.

There he went. Jeremy...hot and beautiful Jeremy, trailing behind his friends. He'd never notice me. Why would he? Nick and I were the only gay boys in the school and I didn't count because no one knew about me. Everyone knew about Nick.

"Pick up this shit," obnoxious Nick said on his way to wherever he was going, probably to spray paint another row of lockers or to cause a scene somewhere else. He was such a punk with a big mouth and he didn't seem to care what he looked like. Today he wore a pair of khaki shorts with his shirt untucked and black Adidas sneakers. His tie hung loose around his neck. He was an embarrassment to the school.

As I picked up my books, I watched Nick enter Father Connelly's classroom. Father Connelly, the newest and youngest priest at the school. He taught Christian Social Ethics, my first class of the day. I didn't think he taught any classes this period. What period were we in? Fifth...yeah, I just had lunch...

Nick probably got in trouble with him, too. I felt bad for his stepdad because I really liked him. He was a great teacher and seemed like a nice guy. I wasn't so sure about Nick.

Fifth period was my worst class of the day: Calculus and I often did whatever I could to get out of it. Because of who my parents were, I got away with a lot so if I had to go to the bathroom during class, teachers usually let me go unlike other boys who had to wait and go in between classes.

Today was no different. I raised my hand and requested to go to the bathroom the first chance I got. On my way down the hall, I spotted Nick standing in the doorway of Father Connelly's classroom, facing the priest who was a good five inches taller than Nick. Father Connelly combed his fingers through the side of his hair. It was kind of weird.

"When can I see you again?" Father Connelly said to Nick.

"You see me everyday," Nick said. Everybody had to take Christian Social Ethics.

"You know what I mean," he said. "Class doesn't count. Once a week is not enough."

"I can't keep skipping Gym," he said. "I don't want to flunk my easiest class."

"I'll talk to Mr. Olsen," he said. Mr. Olsen was our gym teacher.

"I gotta go. Maybe I'll have time to pee before my next class," Nick said and walked away as Father Connelly closed the classroom door.

I didn't mean to stare or eavesdrop, but I couldn't help it. As Nick turned to leave, I resumed walking down the hallway, pretending I didn't see or hear anything. Nick sped past me, carrying his backpack, holding the straps tightly over his shoulders.

"Working on some extra credit," he said to me on his way down the hall as if he knew I had seen him with Father Connelly. What kind of extra credit? I wondered.

I didn't see Nick again until English class where he sat behind me again. Although he was on time, he still wasn't prepared.

"Hey, beautiful, you got a pen I can borrow?" he asked.

Oh no. Not this again.

"No," I said through clenched teeth. Even though I was sure I had a pen, I didn't want to give him one again. I wanted him to leave me alone because I didn't want to associate myself with him, especially not with Jeremy in the classroom. Nick then asked the boy behind him and then the boy beside him. Nobody was willing to give up a pen. He needed to be responsible for himself for a change. Or maybe other boys felt the same way about him: nobody wanted to associate themselves with him, the only openly gay boy in the school.

Suddenly, Jeremy got up and my heart stopped for a second. I couldn't breathe as my eyes followed him. He walked toward me, but soon I realized he wasn't walking toward me. He didn't even acknowledge me as he placed a pen on top of Nick's desk. Expecting some kind of wise ass remark, I was surprised when Nick quietly and politely thanked him. Jeremy smiled and returned to his seat just as Mr. McGuiness entered the classroom. I was suddenly very, very jealous of Nick. Jeremy never noticed me like he noticed Nick. I guess Nick was hard not to notice.

After class, I watched Nick run up to Jeremy as he left the classroom to return his pen. They exchanged smiles again.

Since I had nothing better to do after school, I went to the track where the football field was also located. I didn't play any sports, but I liked to run. I especially liked to run on the track, knowing Jeremy was on the field, too, number 90. So maybe I was a bit of a stalker.

After running several laps, I sat on the bleachers and watched the rest of football practice. It wasn't like I was the only one sitting in the bleachers. There were a few girls, maybe from the nearby high school, looking for dates or something.

Number 23, JT, caught sight of me, though, and nudged his other teammates to look at me as if I were some kind of freak or unwelcome guest. They all looked at me except for number 90. Why did they care if I was there or not? They didn't own the football field or track. After a few seconds, though, they quickly lost interest and refocused on practice.

As the boys headed back to the locker room, I decided to leave and take a shower at home as much as I wanted to watch Jeremy in the shower.

"You're late," Ericka said to me as I entered the family room. She sat on the couch watching Curious George, one of her favorite shows. Her nanny, Janine, was in the kitchen making dinner. It looked like it was just going to be me and Ericka again for dinner. Our parents had been busy lately with their careers. Sometimes our father, as a judge, was home more than our mother, the state senator.

"Yeah, sorry," I said. "I went for a run after school." Ericka didn't like it when I didn't come home right after school. She was lucky I didn't have much of a life. "I'm going to take a shower, then maybe we can play a game or something. Just stay down here, okay? I'll be down soon."

"Yeah, okay," she said.

"I mean it." Ericka had a habit of interrupting me in the shower, banging and banging on the door until I opened it. She did the same to my bedroom door so it could be difficult for me to get some alone time. I planned on taking a shower, then going to my room to have some alone time in front of the computer. I could always pretend the guys in the videos were Jeremy. My hand was very busy these days. I really needed to get a life.