“I passed another test in math! Well call me butter because I’m on a roll!” Gav cheered, sitting down at our lunch table holding a math test with “66” written in red pen at the top.
“Gav, you only passed with a 66. Shut the fuck up,” Gage said, rolling his eyes.
“Well someone’s wearing a little too much bitch today,” Gav said with a pout.
Gav turned to me and basically thrust the test into my face. He gave me a goofy grin and began to bounce a little, waiting for my approval.
“Very good Gav,” I said, patting his head.
“I AM A FUCKING MATH GENIUS!” he cheered, fist pumping.
“Get another 66?” Rose guessed, coming over to us.
Gav grinned and held the test up proudly. “Rose, I don’t mean to brag, but I’m kind of a genius,” he said smugly.
“Well, that’s wonderful Gav. I’ll keep that in mind. But that’s not why I came over here,” Rose said, sitting down across from us.
“Then why are you here?” Gage asked in annoyance, biting into a Dorito and glaring at Rose.
“Because I have some news I thought you would be interested in hearing,” Rose said, shrugging. “Gage, if I were you, I would avoid Collin and Josh today at all costs. Someone was trying to beat up Alex, and it pissed them the hell off. Collin’s furious. He’s looking to start a fight with anyone right now.”
I shot a nervous glance at Gage, expecting to see at least a little concern on his face. But all I saw was amusement as a smug grin spread on his face.
“Collin Radke can’t do shit to me. I’d like to see him try,” he said, laughing a little. “But yea, I’d be pissed too if I saw someone trying to ruin Alex’s attractive face.”
“Gage! Ugh, you have the thickest head ever,” Rose said, shaking her head at him. “Don’t go looking for fights!”
Gage rolled his eyes and waved his hand at Rose dismissively. “Calm down Rose. Fine, I’ll try to avoid Collin and Josh. But they’re pathetic.”
“Thank you Gage. Just stay out of trouble,” Rose said, waving to the three of us before she got up and went off to find her friends.
Gav got up to go buy himself a slushie and Gage turned to me, grinning. I dropped my gaze down to my food, not wanting to talk about this right now. I already knew what he was going to say to me.
“Trav, you can’t hide forever. Look, what’s the worst that will happen? So Gav cracks a few jokes at you. So Collin and Josh shove you around a little bit. It’d be bad for a little and then everything would snap back to normal within a week or two,” he said, shrugging.
“Gage, I just don’t want to,” I mumbled, still not meeting his gaze.
Gage barked a laugh. “That’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one. Look Trav, Gav is straight. Accept it and move the hell on already. Come out and find yourself a boyfriend. Be happy god dammit!” He narrowed his eyes at me.
“Gage!” I whined. “I’m perfectly fine with the way things are now!”
Okay, now that was a huge lie. I hated being so secretive. I hated the fact that Gav was straight. I hated pretending to be straight. But I wasn’t going to jeopardize the close friendship I had with Gav.
Gage shrugged and leaned back. “Sure Trav. But doesn’t it drive you crazy to know that you’re limiting yourself just because you’re scared your best friend is going to judge you? Because clearly Gav judged me so much,” he said casually.
“Gage, stop,” I said miserably. “I know he wouldn’t judge me. But I know it would change things. We wouldn’t be the same. We wouldn’t be as close anymore.”
Gage laughed and shook his head. “You’re a fucking moron Trav. I’m not even his main best friend and I’ve slept in a bed with him multiple times. I’m gay. He doesn’t care Trav. You know he doesn’t.”
Gage sighed and looked at me thoughtfully. “Come over to my house afterschool. Just you and me. I’ll come up with an excuse to ditch Gav today.”
“We can’t ditch Gav!” I cried.
“Shut up Trav. It’s for a day, and this is important,” Gage grumbled. “Just let me handle everything.”
I fell silent as Gav came back and sat down, sipping on his slushie. I felt terrible not inviting Gav to hang out with us. The three of us always hung out together, especially after school.
“Hey Gav, Trav and I have to work on something together afterschool. So, we’re not all hanging out because you’d be bored out of your mind. He’s helping me write an essay. We’ll hangout tomorrow,” Gage said, and even I couldn’t detect that he was lying. Shit, he was good.
“Okay!” Gav said before returning to his slushie. I rolled my eyes at him.
At the end of the day, I met up with Gage and followed him onto his bus. We sat down together and I awkwardly put one of my earphones in, letting Scene Two: Roger Rabbit by Sleeping With Sirens play.
We got off at Gage’s house and I followed him inside. He led me to his bedroom and shut the door.
I sat down on Gage’s bed, watching him lock the door. He winked at me before coming over and sitting next to me.
“Now, you’re not sure, right?” he asked.
I sighed helplessly. “Gage, I’m pretty sure,” I said quietly.
“Pretty, but not positive?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I know I am,” I said, still quiet but more confident. I was gay, and I knew that for a fact. The thought of being with girls disgusted me. Even just the thought of kissing one made me grossed out a bit. But the thought of boys…
Well, you know.
I let out another sigh and ran a hand through my hair, shaking my head slowly. “Gage, I really don’t see what you’re trying to do he-”
Before I got the chance to finish my question, Gage’s soft lips were pressed against my own gently. I was surprised for a second before I kissed him back.
He deepened the kissed and licked my bottom lip. I opened my mouth and let his tongue in. Our tongues pressed together and Gage pushed me back against his bed, crawling on top of me.
He tangled his hands in my hair and I wrapped my arms around him. He grinded his body on mine lightly.
He pulled away and rolled off of me. I scrambled and sat up, blushing deeply. I can’t believe I just fucking did that with Gage! Jesus Christ!
“Yep, you’re gay. Welcome to the club,” he said, sitting back on his bed and folding his hands behind his head, a casual expression on his face.
He glanced at me and grinned. “Hey, don’t worry. Things aren’t weird between us. I enjoyed that, but I also know we would never work as a couple. We’ve been friends for too long. I was just giving you a little test, I guess. You pass. And if you’re ever feeling dirty, hit me up.” He winked.
“Gage!” I said, rolling my eyes at him.
“What? I locked the door so that my mother dearest wouldn’t interrupt us,” he said, jerking his thumb at the door. “I’m just saying. You’re attractive Trav.” He shrugged.
I chewed on my lip nervously before dropping my head in defeat. “Fine, you win Gage. I hate living in secrecy like this. I don’t want to be in the closet anymore,” I mumbled.
“Well duh I’m right. I’m Gage Allen. When have I ever been wrong?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “But, yes, I’ll help you out. Specifically with the Radke brothers and Josh.”
“Thanks Gage,” I said gratefully.
“Don’t mention it Trav. Anyways, I think we’re eating at Rose’s house tonight, so you should probably head out. We can figure things out later,” Gage said, jumping off his bed and unlocking his bedroom door.
I got off his bed and moved towards his door. Gage grabbed my arm and searched my face before sighing.
“It’s a damn shame we could never work out. But like I said, that offer is always open for you Trav,” he said, smirking.
He kissed me again before pulling open his bedroom door and shoving me out of his room. He followed me out to his kitchen, where I pulled on my shoes.
“Bye Gage. Thanks,” I said, giving a small wave before leaving the house.
Well, okay. I had never really thought of kissing Gage before, but now he was the first, and so far, only, guy I had ever kissed.
I made my way home and went to my bedroom. I began to work on my homework, trying to push the thought of kissing Gage out of my mind.
Gage was right, though. We could never work out as a couple. Plus, Gage wasn’t the most loyal in a relationship. He wasn’t a cheater or anything; he just never stayed in relationships long. He was too free spirited for his own good. He didn’t like to be tied down by one person.
My cell phone buzzed and I grabbed it and flipped it open, forgetting to check the caller ID. That was a bad habit of mine.
“Hello?” I asked.
“Trav!” Gav cried, nearly making me deaf. That was why I had to learn to check the caller ID before I answered the phone. Gav typically started off a conversation with me by screaming my name very, very loudly.
“Hi Gav. Thanks for making me deaf. What’s up?” I asked, holding the phone away from my ear a little.
“Yea, yea! You’re welcome!” he said cheerfully. “Are you home?”
“Yea, I left Gage’s a little while ago. Why?” I asked.
“Well, I have a question for you,” he said.
“Okay, shoot.”
“Senior ball is in a few weeks, right?”
“Right.”
“And I don’t have a date yet.”
“Yea, I know.” My heart started to beat a little faster.
“Well, I was wondering if maybe you…”
“If maybe I…” Would go with him? Would he ask me to go with him?!
“…would help me ask Rose to go with me!”
I felt my heart drop and I winced a little. “Sure Gav. I would love to help you go with Rose,” I mumbled, feeling defeated.
“Thanks Trav! I flirt with her so much that she doesn’t take me seriously. But I want to go with her, and make her my girlfriend. That girl is damn fine. She loves you as a friend though, so I need you to talk to her for me,” he babbled on.
“Okay. Sounds good. Look Gav, I’m tired. I’ll see you in school tomorrow and we can talk about it then,” I said.
“Okay! Thanks Trav! This is why we’re best friends!” he said in excitement before hanging up the phone.
I buried my face in my hands and sighed miserably. “Trav, you’re an idiot. He’s straight. Of course he wouldn’t want to go to the senior ball with you,” I whispered to myself.
I sighed and leaned back in my chair, pulling my hands away from my face. “I will never be with Gav,” I said quietly. “And I’m just going to have to learn to deal with that.”
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A.N.- Okay, so this really has nothing to do with the story, but I want to share it with you guys because I think most of you are younger than me ;3 So you don't have to read this next part. I just felt like writing it.
Anywhore, it feels like just yesterday I was 11 years old and sitting in my best friend's basement, playing games on his computer, listening to All American Rejects, and sipping on soda. And then suddenly it's like, holy shit, we're 17, smoking and watching AAR live together, dancing and singing and having the best damn night ever.
Point is, things change, people grow up, but true friends stay together through anything and everything.
YAY GOOD STORY MORALS. Haha, yea. I just kind of wanted to write that, because I love my friend, and he's one of my inspirations when I write. So...yea.
Wow, I need to learn not to be serious .__. Sorry for pointless author note. I'll go back to being your bitch now :c *types away new chapters on her computer*