- one

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Liam wasn't some extraordinary guy; in fact, he was quite the opposite. He wasn't a sports 'prodigy', the star mathlete, or anything of that sort. He didn't spend his free time with friends, doing good deeds, or making memories. Instead, he passed through school with little friends and decent grades, and on the weekends played video games and read.

Looking in his bathroom mirror on Monday morning, there was nothing to marvel at. He had straight brown hair that stuck up in the back but lay neatly on his forehead. He had blueish greenish grayish eyes that, when looking closely, were lovely, but at a normal view looked murky and dull. His stubble refused to be shaven, it just stuck out everywhere, much to Liam's distaste. His cheeks were always rosy, and his chin had a very obvious dimple. Nope, nothing extremely great in the looks category.

In the mornings before heading to school Liam's house was very quiet. He was an only child and his parents both left for work before he even got up. So, standing in the kitchen preparing his cereal, the clinks of his spoon and the constant whir of the microwave seemed very loud. This time of the day was Liam's favorite. He had no homework to worry about, no parents to pester him to "get out more", and he hadn't yet been put through the grilling hours of school. He could just sit there and think. Until, of course, he realized the bus was coming in a minute and he still hadn't even put shoes on.

Liam was in his junior year, that lovely year when the teachers force students through hours of character testing and frighten them with whole assemblies telling them about the large amounts of responsibilities coming their way. It was only November, and already Liam's teachers were stressing them all out over end-of-year exams.

When Liam rushed down his driveway, shoe laces untied, and scrambled onto the bus, muttering a "Sorry, sorry. Thank you." to the bus driver, no one greeted him. Again, he had almost no friends, and the ones he had had better friends who they'd rather talk to than Liam. The only one who paid any attention to Liam was Zach, and he didn't know if Zach could even be considered a friend. He supposed not.

Zach was popular, rebellious, and way out of Liam's league. He was so well-liked that him being gay and poor didn't hurt his reputation, and was so confident he did whatever he liked and no one dared to disagree. Everyday he came to school with his hair perfectly polished into a quiff, and wearing the same dirty white converse, ripped skinny jeans, and leather jacket. Liam had noticed in his endless moments of studying Zach that the jacket was too short and too wide for Zach's tall lanky figure.

Zach's favorite hobbies were dozing off in class and teasing Liam. In freshman year, Liam was invited to an end-of-year party. That was the first (and last) time he'd ever gotten drunk. While he was intoxicated, he and Zach had had a little confrontation, which Liam could still remember clearly.

- flashback

"Liam, where are you... going?" Zach slurred, swaying side to side a bit. He had a drink in his hand and was spilling it a bit.

"I-I'm trying to, uh, find the, b-bathroom." Liam stuttered, his eyes trained on Zach's converse.

"I'll show you!" Zach lit up, and grabbed Liam's hand with his free one. He dragged Liam through the crowds of people, which didn't help with his already dizzy vision. Suddenly they were both standing close together in the small bathroom, and the room was spinning wildly.

Liam guessed he must've been doing that thing when he bit his lip and blushed, which he caught himself doing when he was looking at an attractive person, because Zach looked confused. He did look attractive, with his forehead sweaty, his hair disheveled, and his cheeks flushed from drinking.

"Li.... am?" He said slowly, and he furrowed his eyebrows. Finally Liam snapped out of it, and then of course his stupid drunk self started giggling.

Then it appeared a light bulb went off in Zach's head. He smiled lopsided, and leaned in towards Liam so their heated breaths mingled, only making the scent of alcohol that much stronger. "Are you gay, Liam?" Zach slurred, putting his free hand on Liam's waist.

Liam was silent and caught up in the fact Zach was touching him, which only confirmed Zach's question. At this point Liam knew Zach was gay, which only made the situation even more so thrilling and tense. Zach chuckled a bit, and leaned closer to Liam.

- end

No, they hadn't kissed, though it was close. Zach had actually thrown up on Liam's front, which both ruined the rest of his night and imbedded the memory into his head even deeper. But ever since that night, Zach had took to stroking Liam's thigh, giving him pet names, holding his hand, really anything to make him feel both extremely nervous and sexually frustrated. Also ever since that night, Liam had kept a secret crush on Zach. After all, no one knew he was even gay, except of course for that insufferable yet endearing brunette.

When Liam got to school, he went straight to homeroom. His friend Mike was already there. If Liam was to pick his best friend, it would probably be Mike. Not because they had a special bond or spent a lot of time together, but because Mike got it. They were both equally as alone and below average. Mike was overweight, suffered with anxiety, and his last girlfriend and him had a nasty break up, but he was a good laugh and was great at telling stories.

"Hey, Liam, I need your opinion here." Mike said as Liam got to his seat next to his. "Dean here, thinks that it's bad when girls ask you out. Says it makes them look desperate." As he said this he jerked his thumb over to Dean, a guy Liam had spoken to a few times who was pretty cute, in his opinion, but a bit of a douche.

"It does!" Dean argued, adjusting his baseball cap with one hand.

Liam shrugged. "I guess it's okay. Never had a girl ask me out, I wouldn't really know."

"Oh yeah, you've never had a girlfriend." Mike said, turning away.

"I have!" Liam bartered, although he hadn't. It's not like he wanted one, obviously, but it'd be nice to not be 'that guy'.

The rest of his day was dull, really the same as always. Mrs. Hull, his English teacher, had assigned that they all complete a vocabulary worksheet, and in Mr. Wright's Science class they'd written notes on female chromosomes. He went to his locker to pick up his binder for Trig., and he heard someone lean against the locker next to his. When he closed the door, he saw Zach. It was no surprise, really.

"Hey Li-Li, where're you headed?" He asked, using a long finger to stroke Liam's jawline, making him tense up and the air catch in his throat.

"M-m-math." Liam forced out. "I'm just going to math."

Zach nodded absentmindedly, studying Liam's face. After a long pause he straightened up, smiled widely, and said brightly "Well, I have a date in a broom closet with Gabriel Brooks, so I'm off. Catch ya later Li!" And he sauntered off, tugging his jacket straight.

Liam sighed loudly once he was out of earshot. Zach did this a lot. Hooked up with people, he meant. Last week, if Liam remembered correctly, it was Kyle White, and the week before that Tyler Rogers. Wait, but wasn't Tyler dating Emma Flint? Anyway, he just wished, that maybe, just maybe, he could be with Zach, or at least snag a date with him in that broom closet. But in that world, when Liam Hanauge could be in that scenario, he'd be cooler, more popular, he'd have come out, and he'd call Zach "Z" and get to walk around without a care. If only.

He hugged his thick binder against his chest and walked to math class, thinking about that other guy. The Liam he wished he could be.

-

well, there ya go

ya, so the title is referring to "that other guy" Liam wishes he could be :)

idk if that really sucked or not

its just the beginning, so it's very much just getting to know the characters

hope you enjoyed, please leave feedback!

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