Chapter sept -The Monday after-
Song: Perfect by Simple Plan
Dedicated to CuppedCake because she's a sugary ball of happniess and her writing is superub. Chip is like, the most adorable thing in her story Baked Love. I can't get enough >.< Oh and don't look at the gif yet, you'll spoil this chapter for yourself... you'll know when to look. Someone asked for pictures of the cast, they'll be up next chapter. I'll stop talking now and let you read...
"Oh stop it you!" My mother gushed from the stove. Sebastian grinned from his place on the other side of the table. I rolled my eyes at his expression.
"She's eating it up. She likes it when people tell her she looks young." I whispered to him.
He shrugged, "It's true though. She looks like she can't be any older than thirty." My mother smiled as she sat a plate a food in front of Sebastian than one in front of me. I wrinkled my nose at the hairy things on the plate. Sebastian started to dig into his food right away. I picked at the skin of peach with my fingernail. I peeled two long strips of peach skin off before taking a bite.
"What are you doing?" Sebastian said, watching me with my little pick and pull routine.
I made a face. "I don't like the peach skin. It's fuzzy and it makes me feel weird." He smiled and shook his head as if to say I'm still not used to you and your strangeness. I was mildly surprised that my mother hadn't remembered I didn't like peach skin but should I really have been? As much as she liked to act like we were all buddy-buddy sometimes, that wasn't really the truth. The distance that had been between us for a while was slowly lengthening as time went on. I didn't know if I wanted to stop it or not.
Speak of the devil, my mother sat down at the table. "Get your elbow off the table, Cameron." I did as she instructed. "I'm a bit curious, where are you from, Sebastian? You've got an accent."
He explained that he was from France, what part, a bit about his family, blah blah blah. They chatted for a bit while I munched on my sandwich and picked at the peach. "Do you like music? Play any instruments, things like that?" I stiffened a little when I heard her mention that. I thought of what was sitting in the back of my closet and why it was there. What was she trying to do?
"I play the piano."
She clapped her hands happily. "Cameron here can't really stick with anything. I tried to get him to play a few different things, but it's just not his strong suit." I lowered my eyes and dug my nail into the soft flesh of the peach, twisting it viciously. She didn't need to remind me that I wasn't good at anything. I already knew that without her saying it. "It's good to know you're disciplined. Maybe some of that'll rub off on Cameron." Another underhanded comment.
I felt heat raising to my face in embarrassment. "Yeah, maybe." I mumbled, still stabbing my peach. They continued talking for a good fifteen minutes before Sebastian said he had to go.
"Oh, maybe you'd like to go to church with us. It's a bit late but there's still the five o'clock service later." I sighed, remembering I still had to suffer through a long service because it was Sunday. At least if he went it'd be more bearable.
"No thank you," He politely declined. "I don't have time, my aunt's expecting me home soon." Lucky. He had an excuse to not go. He thanked my mother for allowing him to come over then he left. For some reason I felt sad to see him go. Almost like I wanted him to st--
"Cameron, clean this up." My mother gestured to the table. I mumbled a "yes ma'am" and began picking up the plates. "He seems like a nice kid. You should have him over more." Yeah, so you can point out what's wrong with me? I think not.
I didn't blame her though, Sebastian was the epitome of perfect. He was tall, smart, good-looking, and he was interesting. Everything I wasn't. I shouldn't have felt so wounded over the way she discreetly compared the two of us earlier, but I was. I was could never be her image of perfect. Never. No matter what I did, how I changed the way I looked, and no matter what grades I got, I would always be the opposite of what she wanted. Two little teardrops joined the droplet of soap in my hand. I blinked a few times so no more would appear, then I started washing the dishes.
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The following Monday was pretty uneventful. I sat through my morning classes then during my free period I went into the library to study with Dannie. Or well, I studied and Dannie gossiped. "...so apparently, she's gone out with three other guys since him but she says it's not the same." I nodded. I was half-listening to her and trying to cram for a test I had after lunch. "So what did you do on Sunday?"
"Sebastian." I said without thinking. She was silent for a second. "What?" I said without looking up.
"You just said you did Sebastian..." I looked up and saw her face was red because she was trying to hold in laughter. I felt my face flush in embarrassment.
"That's not what I meant..." It took her a full minute to regain control over herself. "What I meant to say, was he came over and we had lunch and stuff." Dannie took most things sexually and it usually annoyed me but today I had kind of walked into that one so I let it slide.
She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. "'And stuff'?"
My eyes widened and I turned and even darker red. "T-that, that's not--" I gave up. She was clutching her stomach silently shaking with laughter. "Maybe I should just..." I picked up my books and left her laughing in the library.
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I went to sit at my usual table for lunch, and I saw Diontrey, Shyla, and Avia sitting along with Sebastian, Luke, Peter and Dannie. I sat down beside Avia because that was the only spot that was open. I noticed Sebastian wasn't in his usual place, he was seated on the far side of the table with Peter. When I pulled up a chair he gave me an unreadable look. I shot him back a questioning one, but I didn't want to interrupt the flow of conversation, so I unpacked my food and began to listen.
"Can you believe Shyla didn't drink anything?" Diontrey exclaimed. "I mean, I didn't get wasted enough to pass out or anything, but I was pretty lit." I cringed internally, wondering if they had seen me doing anything weird that night. I hadn't brought it up to anyone, but I barely remembered the party.
Shyla rolled her eyes. "I'll have you know, that you don't need alcohol to have fun at a party." True. I would have to remember that next time.
Diontrey grinned. "No, you just need to stand on your head and do back flips." Shyla gave him a look and we all laughed.
"Alcohol does make things more fun though." Luke put in. "Beer goggles make everything and everyone look better."
Dannie nudged him playfully. "I hope you aren't insinuating something."
"Maybe I am. What then?" She leaned over and whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened. "You wouldn't!" She gave him a try me kind of look. They got lost in there own little argument so I turned away from them. Dannie and Luke had had this type of relationship since... pretty much forever. Half the time they hated each other, the other half they couldn't stand to be away from the other. It was ridiculous.
Peter and Sebastian were having their own conversation about something I wasn't listening to so I ended up talking to Shyla, Diontrey, and Avia. "If I remember correctly, you had a lot to drink, right?" The question was directed at me. Avia absently twirled a strand of her red-tipped hair around her finger, she pursed her lips thoughtfully. "You went home with Sebastian?"
I nodded. "Yeah, why?"
"I'm just trying to make sure I remember everything. I kind of want to write a song about it later... parties and all that. A nice cliché. I'm basing it of last Friday. So, what did you do when you got to Sebastian's house?" Good question. I couldn't even remember myself. It was weird that I couldn't remember what happened that night, but hey, that's why you shouldn't drink.
I blushed. "Actually, I'm not sure..."
She shrugged. "I don't blame you, you had a lot to drink." My blush ripened. "But if you happen to remember, just let me know." I nodded, and for the majority of my lunch period I chatted with Avia, Shyla, and Diontrey. I was happy that I had met all of them that night, as much as Dannie would say that I could be confident when I put my mind to it, I don't think I ever could have mustered up the courage to join their group on a normal day.
There was about ten minutes left of lunch, so I got up and went to throw my tray away. When I went back to sit down, Sebastian gestured for me to come over to his side of the table. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He asked. His left hand was tapping against the table. I was starting to recognize that as his nervous habit.
"Well, we're talking right now..." I quipped.
He smiled tightly, his hand still tapping. "Outside, I mean."
I felt my stomach knot up. What could this be about? "Uh, yeah, sure."
He stood up and we started off towards the cafeteria doors. Dannie shot me a curious look as we were leaving. I shrugged. The hallways were empty aside from the occasional janitor. Everyone was either in the middle of class or lunch.
He lead me down one of the empty hallways lined with lockers. "Well." He blinked at me and I looked back at him, feeling my stomach flip flop.
"What is it?" I said with a little more anxiety than I had intended.
"What do you remember from Friday?"
Was this what he wanted to talk about? "I already told you, I don't remember much." His eyebrows raised slightly. "Why are you asking?" They we're minute movements, but I was pretty sure he was also anxious.
"You don't remember anything specific?" The look on his face was pure desperation.
My eyebrows drew together at his expression. "Not really. I remember going to the party and that's about it...Sebastian, what's wrong?" His left hand was twitching.
He pressed his lips together and stepped closer. He was close enough that I could see his eyes, a deep blue speckled with green and slivers of silver. "I need to tell you something." For some reason the intensity of his gaze made me look away. "It has to do with you." My eyes found his again, and I felt my hands getting clammy.
Whatever it was, it must have been pretty bad.
"Okay. Tell me."
"Merde..." He muttered. He squeezed his eyes shut then looked away. I was starting to realize he wasn't going to get it out unless we came up with a compromise or I pushed him a little.
"Is it something you can show me? Did I do something graphic?" I wasn't sure what I could have done, exactly, but I was willing to bet Dannie was involved somehow. Maybe she had roped me into pouring liquor down her shirt and it made him uncomfortable.
"I don't know if 'graphic' is the right word for it. It's probably better if I don't." He said quietly.
I looked at him, puzzled. "Um, well, we've got class in like, five minutes. Do you want to tell me later?"
He sighed and shook his head. "No. I just hope this doesn't make things weird." His gaze moved to the tiles. His voice was a barely there whisper. "We kissed that night."
I felt the blood rushing out of my ears. I must have misheard him. "What?"
"I...you said you could not go home drunk, so I took you to my house. And you kissed me." His voice was still faint.
I tried to swallow and made a choked noise. "Wh— why would I do that?" I stumbled backward, suddenly aware that we were way too close. I was faintly aware of my hands shaking.
His gaze snapped up from the floor and he stared at me. "I'm not sure. I just thought you'd want to know." Then in my head it all clicked. They way Noel had been throwing out his sly remarks, the little touches, how angry he got about Peter, and then the thing with my mother...
"Sebastian..." I croaked out. My voice sounded far away. "Are you... ?"
His face was grim. "What do you think?"
Before I could formulate a response, the bell rang and people came pouring out. "I'll see you later I guess..." I mumbled. Try in all of my classes. He nodded and started of in the direction of our next class. I waited until he had disappeared into the crowd before starting off that way.
I felt stupid and confused. He was gay, how had I not known? I made it to the class without even consciously thinking about it. I got into my seat and tried to focus on class, which was pretty much impossible because I only had one thought in my mind.
He was gay, but I was the one who had kissed him. What did that make me?
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