as long as you care

xvii. EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON

chapter seventeen,

everything happens for a reason.

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[unedited] 17.

dipped in passion and desire, i furiously moved my lips onto zak's, my hands resting at the bottom of his back. he was sat atop of me—in the drivers seat of my car, kissing me desperately.

although i wanted the opposite, i pulled myself away from him, taking in the fresh air, "zak—.. we have to go."

"but i don't want to go to school." he whispered, planting small kisses on my lips, "i want to stay here with you."

"me too, muffin." i replied, gripping his hips and kissing him once more. he was a puzzle, and i was the missing piece. what we were doing felt natural, and knowing that i could do this with him everyday, created butterflies in my stomach.

"we can be late." zak suggested, placing his hand on my chest and smiling softly, "pleaseee.."

"okay. but only for today. you've made me skip so many of my classes already." i said, "and only five minutes. we'll leave soon."

"yeah, yeah, yeah." zak mumbled, kissing me again. i liked this. i loved this. he relaxed his hands onto my hair, brushing it out of our faces.

right now, anybody could see us. all they had to do was look into my car window and squint their eyes.

and i didn't mind.

it made me feel proud. proud that through everything, through society's useless standards and the students' words, that we're together and stronger than ever. their words built me up, make me more confident to let them all know that their words didn't mean anything.

i hugged zak tightly, pushing us closer together until i was laid flat against my seat; our heartbeats mixed as one.

yeah. we were dating. and totally making out in my car.

this first wasn't as bad as i thought it would be.

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

holding zak's hand tightly, i walked into the school with a newfound mindset. everyone knew i was gay. everyone knew me and zak were together. they knew because of clay's video, and honestly, he just made it easy for me.

their opinion is their opinion, and i can't change that. the only thing i can change is how i react.

why should i be insecure about something that made me unique? something that made me different from other people? since when did different mean bad?

zak looked over at me with a smirk, "your lips are a little red, babe."

"and who's to blame for that?" i asked, and zak pointed to his chest, "me!"

"yeah." i contently replied, "when are the classes gonna end?"

"ten minutes maybe. lunch is starting for some classes in ten as well." zak said. i nodded, "okay. i'm gonna go wait in the cafeteria. i'll see you soon, muffin."

zak frowned, "aw. fine." and pressed a kiss to my mouth, "i love you."

"i love you too."

after hearing zak tell me everything clay went through back then, it hurt me. i didn't know how much pain i had truly put him through until then, and i needed to make it up to him.

i missed my best friend, and although he had done wrong, he apologized for it; and i was willing to accept his apology.

to my surprise, clay was already sitting at one of the cafeteria tables alone, typing something into his laptop. i sadly smiled at him from afar, just processing him and our mistakes. how i went wrong and how he did too.

we could restart. we could leave everything behind us, and become new people. together. clay, zak and i. we could be a trio.

the cafeteria was empty, leaving us two alone.

"hey." i announced loud enough so he could hear it. clay looked up from his screen, eyes widening out of confusion and gratitude. i don't think he was expecting me. "darryl.."

i walked over to him with a spring to my step—he stood up, too, and i threw my arms around him, engulfing him in a soft hug.

this hug was different than zak's. it held friendly intentions, brought a smile to my face, and reminded me of our friendship. of how i truly enjoyed his company, and how he went through so much just to be mine.

"i'm sorry." i apologized, "i wish i had known sooner about all of this. i didn't know you were feeling so left out."

he pulled away from the hug, "i'm sorry, too. i went psycho mode on you and zak, and you two didn't deserve that. i would've told you sooner but.. your parents insisted on pretending nothing happened."

"it's okay. don't feel bad anymore. we'll move on from this. i swear, i'll never make you feel like that ever again. you're my best friend, clay, no matter what." i told him, "seriously."

"you want to be friends, still?" clay asked, "really? zak hates me though, right? i thought he was-"

"it wasn't his fault that i lost my ten and my memories. at all." i explained to him, and clay's mouth dropped, "but- but what i saw-"

"that was his dad, not him."

clay shook his head in disbelief, "i'm an idiot. oh god.. i need to talk to him."

"after class you two can chat together." i said, "right now, we have somethings we need to catch up on."

"like what?" clay asked. i snorted, "like how you've been getting to school without me driving you everyday!"

"i've got my license now!"

"no you didn't!" i gasped, and he nodded, "okay, fine, i didn't! it's not a long walk."

i started fully laughing now, "long walk? that's like an hour on foot!"

"stop exaggerating! it's almost forty."

"forty!" i exclaimed, covering my mouth as an attempt to hold in my giggle. he was laughing, too.

and for a second—a split moment in the world full of craziness, it was like we were back in that place when we were younger, laughing happily and living a life without a worry.

if it wasn't for me connecting eyes with that brown headed boy on the first day of school, none of this would've happened. i would've lived in confusion and wonder, and never knew who i truly was.

that couldn't have been coincidental, because everything happens for a reason.

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