"And he just up and left?"
"Yes, I'm telling you, it was the weirdest thing ever," I said.
I was sitting by my usual seat at the coffee shop, a warm mug of mint tea in my hands as I relayed Tom, who sat facing me, the story of what happened happened the night before with Jake.
"Do you think he's in trouble?" Tom asked.
I'd thought about it before, right after he bolted out of my apartment door faster than any Olympics runner. But I was unsure of why Jake would suddenly act so strangely.
There I was, trying to take some advice from a friend, and it completely back fired.
I shook my head. "The weird thing is," I explained to Tom, "that for a few seconds there I thought he was going to...you know."
Tom frowned, "Going to what?"
I gave him a blank stare, which then must have triggered something in his head because he his eyes turned as big as the planet itself.
"No way," he said in disbelief . "Are you sure he...?"
I shrugged, "It looked like it."
"Shit."
"I know. Anyway, I think I might go over to his dorm, just to make sure he's okay. Maybe I'm just being delusional and he was just feeling down last night," I said, slowly getting up.
"Yeah, you do seem to make a big deal out of some stuff. Do you want me to come with? Just incase he tries anything?" Tom offered.
I gave him a weird look,"I think I can handle it."
He shrugged,"Okay."
"Plus, I wouldn't want to keep you away from your boyfriend ."
I watched as his cheeks turned pink.
Is that what I look like whenever anyone mentions Devin around me?
I shook the thought away, slipping on my jacket before waving Tom a quick goodbye as Jess began making his way to our table.
It was safe to say I was avoiding Tom's crush, not really in the mood for a confrontation and a judging look from him. I would apologize later if I felt like it.
I drove over to the college Jake studied at, calling him on the way.
"Nate?"
I would like to pretend that he sounded flustered, or shy. But all I could sense in his voice was irritation, like I just woke him up from a nap.
"I'm on my way to your dorm," I stated.
"What?" I heard movement in the background, like he was moving some material around. I assumed it was his bed sheet or maybe he was putting his clothes on. That would be helpful, I didn't think confronting Jake while he was half naked was a good idea.
"I thought it would be a good idea if we changed the scenery, you know, it's been a while since we studied at your dorm," I explain, half lying. It had been quite a while since I saw Jake's tiny dorm room.
"Okay," he grumbled, "I'll see you when you get here."
I hung up.
A few minutes later, I was sitting on Jake's bed, silently scanning his room. It looked just as I remembered it. Small and neat. He used to share it with some other student, but he graduated and Jake got to keep the room to himself.
It was slightly messier now, shirts stuffed in corners of his room as if he was too lazy to put them back in his drawers. His bed was made, but it was all crinkled as if he hadn't ironed it in a while, and his books were everywhere. His small desk, his bed, the floor, on his nightstand.
Jake himself didn't look so good either. His jaw was decorated with stubble, which actually looked quite good on him, and if his hair wasn't so short, I'm pretty sure it would've been a bundle of mess sprouting from his head.
"So..." he said. He was standing with his back against the door and his thumbs hooked through the belt hoops on his jeans, wearing only a simple black wife beater on top.
"Isn't it too cold to wear that?" I asked, gesturing at his wife beater.
He just gave me a droll stare before pointing at the heater in one corner of his room.
"Okay, then. What are you teaching me today?" I asked, changing the subject.
Jake stared at me calculatingly before pushing himself off the door and walking towards his desk.
"Calculus. Or would you prefer Psychology for a change?" He said.
I stared at his back for a while before answering, "Psychology."
I didn't care if he was teaching me Calculus or Psychology, or whatever other subject. I came to know why he acted so strangely last night, but I wanted to do it smoothly. Not wanting to make it obvious that I was bothered.
"Do you want to study at my desk?" He asked after collecting all he needed.
"The bed's fine," I said, wincing at how bad that sounded.
I hoped he didn't notice as he walked over, his body heat instantly making me feel hot (not in that way), and I was reminded to take off my jacket.
I slipped the thing off, laying it beside me before focusing my attention on Jake. He began explaining a chapter, in great detail actually, he was one of the best teachers I've ever head if not the best.
Halfway through, when he finished explaining a major concept, he drew out a piece of paper from his folder, handing it to me.
"This is your homework, alright? I want you to go over it, answer all the questions. If you don't understand something th-"
"I'll call you, as always," I finished off. "Thanks, for the lesson."
He smiled weakly, probably due to the fact that I rarely thank him after a lesson. "You're welcome."
I stood up, picking up the piece of paper he gave me and pulling my jacket on as I headed towards the door.
"Do you...do you want to stay? We can play video games," he said.
I smiled, gotcha.
I had my back to him, so he didn't see the victorious smirk on my face.
Changing my expression back to normal, I turned around and shrugged. "Why not?"
I pulled off my jacket again and set the assignment paper on top. We sat facing Jake's mini TV that he kept in one corner of his room and had too wheel towards his bed so it could face us as we played.
Deciding that there was only one way to get the truth out of Jake, and mind you I was seriously getting impatient, I lay on his bed comfortably, in a way so my shirt was nudged upwards a little and a small area of my skin was exposed.
He didn't seem to notice, or just pretended not to, as he turned on his x-box and started the game.
Still curious and mildly frustrated that I couldn't just have a straightforward answer, I shifted closer towards Jake, who sat at the edge of his bed. He visibly tensed, but I pretended not to notice, not moving my attention from the screen in which our characters began to fight.
Throughout the first round, I took note of how he fidgeted every few minutes, and how he kept glancing at me from the corner of his eyes.
It was awkwardly silent most of the time, we would talk every now and then, but nothing more than usual small talk.
A bit later, he paused the game.
I anticipation course through every fiber of my body, much more curious than I should have felt in normal circumstances. I thought I'd finally get an answer.
"I have a class in a few minutes," he said.
My face must have shown some sort of disappointment because Jake managed to crack a smile. "If you want to keep playing, I can just leave the keys so you can lock the door after I leave?"
I shook my head, "That's fine. I should get some work done, anyway."
I didn't bother mentioning that I would go back to the apartment and dwell on his weird behavior. And when I got bored of that, I'd probably pick up a pen and paper and begin listing ways of breaking Ian and Devin's relationship.
But I had a feeling that I shouldn't mention Devin or Ian, and the fact that he offered help. Because that's what seemed to have led Jake in acting so strangely towards me.
Instead, we both left with brief goodbyes, not mentioning anything about the whole ordeal.
I stopped by the café before heading towards the apartment. I stepped in, the door whooshing shut behind me. I ordered tea to go, tapping my fingers against the counter as I waited for my order to be handed to me.
While I waited, I noticed a familiar figure sitting at a nearby table and almost groaned out loud when I saw who it was.
No other than my dear friend Ian.
Joy.
I quickly paid for my drink, hoping to avoid Ian at all costs.
But nothing in my life seemed to go my way these days, because just as I was about to turn for the door, I felt a hand clasp around my wrist.
I turned, knowing it was no other than Ian, but acted surprised to see him anyway.
"Ian, hi."
"Hey, Nate," he smiled a little. "How's it been?"
I almost narrowed my eyes at him, "Well, we've seen each other just yesterday. Not much has changed since then."
Lies. A lot has changed since then.
He smiled again, "I guess not. Come, sit with me. It would be nice to get to know you better, without Devin forcing us."
I knew I was stuck. I could easily makeup so excuse, like I had some work to do, but I knew by the expression on his face, that Ian would still come up with something to keep me there.
My shoulders slumped in defeat as I just nodded in response, "Okay."
We sat in silence for what seemed like an hour, but was probably just a few seconds. I drank a little bit of my tea as I waited for Ian to say something.
"Devin told me you came out to him the same day he came out to you, how did that happen?" He finally asked.
I shrugged, when I was actually kind of annoyed Devin would tell him that. "Dev was scared that I wouldn't accept him, so to prove to him I was okay with it, I told him I was gay too. It just felt like the right moment. It was kind of stupid though, we are best friends, and even if I didn't swing that way I would still accept him."
Ian nodded thoughtfully, "You know, he's told me a lot about you."
"I figured."
"But has he told you about me?" He asked.
I shook my head, "Not much."
Suddenly curious, I asked, "How'd the two of you meet anyway?"
I was actually surprised the question never came up before.
Ian smiled faintly, like a happy memory just came up in his head and all he wanted to do was go back to that single moment and relive it for the rest of his life.
"I was at one of his friend's house, we were working on a school project when Devin walked in. Back then I knew that I liked boys, and I've dated several before Devin. So when I saw him in only his swimming trunks after coming in from practice, it was no surprise to anyone that I felt attracted to him. Well, except for Devin himself," he laughed a little.
I didn't say anything because I didn't know what to say. So I just gestured for him to continue with a nod of my head.
He glance at me and said, "I'm surprised Devin hasn't told you about this already. I would've thought he'd want you to know the story coming from him."
"Why? Is your version different than his?"
He shook his head, "No. But he is your best friend after all. I mean, you're supposed to tell each other everything, right?"
I narrowed my eyes slightly, "I don't understand."
I understood perfectly well, though. He was accusing me of something, but I wasn't sure what it was.
He watched me with his analytical foam green eyes, "Just that he should have told you about us, and not me. Especially knowing that we're not the best of buddies."
I shrugged, "Maybe he just doesn't want me to know yet, or he's waiting for the right time."
Ian didn't look convinced,"We met a couple of times after that, and I asked him out several times but he always came up with an excuse, until he finally just told me he was straight. I didn't care, because during that time I began liking him a lot. I mean who wouldn't? So, a while later I cornered him and just confessed that I wanted to be with him. He refused in the beginning, typically. And to be honest, I was expecting it. But I wouldn't stop until he finally agreed to go on a date with me."
"Just like that?" I asked, a little surprised.
Ian grinned, "Well, I did bribe him with Chinese food and a DVD of Captain America. But eventually it worked out. The rest, I think you should ask him about."
I leaned against my chair in thought, thinking that while I was here having fantasies of a life with Devin, he was in a city a few hours away trying to discover who he was.
"All right," I said, finishing the rest of my tea.
I was about to get up and just leave when Ian said, "So tell me about you and Tom. What's your story?"
If I was bad at hiding my emotions, I would've just sat frozen in my spot. But years of experience led me to just panic in the inside as I shrugged nonchalantly.
"It's pretty basic. I've been coming to this place ever since I moved in two years ago, and I guess it was just a matter of time before I started dating Tom, seeing as he's been working here as long as I've lived across the street."
Ian leaned in with interest, "Well, how'd you ask him out?"
I raised an eyebrow, "Like anyone would. I just asked him to go to the movies one day and he agreed. I told you, it was pretty basic considering I knew about my sexuality a long time ago."
"How did you know you were gay?" He asked.
"How did you?" I redirected the question.
He smirked, something I haven't seen him do very often, "My older brother's porn magazines."
I wrinkled my nose in distaste.
He laughed, "I'm kidding. I found out after watching high school musical for the first time and realizing that I was more attracted to Troy than Gabriella."
I rolled my eyes.
"So?"
I sighed, knowing he still wanted to know how I found out that I didn't like girls. "I used to have a crush on a friend of mine."
Pfft, more like still do.
"I'm guessing things didn't work out so well," he said.
You have no idea.
"He was straight."
"That sucks."
"Yeah."
He stood up, picking up the cardboard cup he was holding in his hand, "I better head over to class, now."
I followed him to the garbage where we disposed our cups before stepping out into the cold.
I was about to walk away to get to my car when Ian spoke again.
"One question," he said.
I turned around to look at him expectedly, already feeling my cheeks turn pink from the cold. "Shoot away."
"Why are you fake dating Tom?"
Crap.
Hiii!
How do you guys think Ian found out? I really want to read all your speculations, haha :D