*Georgie is they/them. Please don't use anything else.*
disoriented
part two
"Nate, Harley, hold up!"
I turned to see Dylan jogging up to the pair of us. Harley gave him a friendly smile. I mirrored it and raised a brow. "Hi. What's up?"
When he caught up, the three of us began walking briskly together. The mid-February air was chilling on my face. I wished I hadn't forgotten to grab my scarf from where Noel had tossed it while teasing me the day before.
"Seriously, Nat, you don't even need this," he'd said with a laugh. "It's not that cold out, valley boy."
His eyes shone and I scoffed at him as he threw my black scarf. It landed underneath the desk.
I'd just turned my eyes back to him with a raised brow. "That was pretty damn rude. And I'm not from the valley. We've been over this."
He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at me. He ignored the second half of what I said, like usual, but I didn't really mind. "I could warm you up if you wanted."
I rolled my eyes and made a joke to deflect his. "Out on the sidewalk? You're shameless, Noel."
"I know."
At that moment, I wanted what he'd suggested so badly. But Noel also made me so incredibly nervous lately when he said things like that. I'd been feeling it ever since we'd almost hooked up, just the two of us. We hadn't had a threesome since, but that hadn't stopped him from having his one on one sessions with women in our room at random hours of the day.
I had a list of one-sided messages from Noel sitting in our text chat.
Noel
Wait an hour before you come back
Bringing someone back while you're in history class.
About to fuck, wait for me to text you, unless you want to 🧐
The last was an obvious joke, which I had ignored at the time, but that didn't stop me from thinking about it every now and then. It seemed like he was insatiable lately. And I fucking wished more than anything that I had been a part of it, all banter aside.
But the logical part of me that I'd somehow become friends with in the last year knew I shouldn't do it. So I never initiated anything, letting him come to me if he really felt like it.
And so far, he hadn't besides that one quip of an emoji. Which could have meant anything.
"I was wondering," Dylan said, his breath coming out in visible puffs, "if you guys wanted to come with me to a lecture the Queer Club is having tonight? It's at five."
I looked over at Harley who made a face. "Not my speed," he said.
I saw Dylan's full bottom lip pout out in disappointment. My chest panged for him. I glared at Harley who didn't seem to notice.
"I'll go," I told Dylan, nudging his arm. His dark cheeks scrunched up in a bright smile. His big, doe eyes looked happier than I'd ever seen them. "But, I didn't know you went to that kind of thing."
"And do they really call it the Queer Club?" Harley interjected with his eyebrows spiking.
Dylan nodding, stuffing his hands into his pockets to avoid the blustery wind that carried sparse, fat raindrops down around us.
"They do, for short sometimes. Less of a mouthful than LGBTQIA+," Dylan garbled with a shrug. "And, I do go sometimes. I have some friends there. It can be really fun and informative and since I know how much you like to learn shit, Nate, I thought you might be interested."
I raised a brow at his reasoning, but simply shrugged in return.
Harley reached the front door to the dining hall first and pulled it open. Dylan bounced passed him, earning a scowl from Harley who had to step out of the way. I sidestepped him too and beat him into the warm entryway.
"That's what you get for denying that beautiful soul," I said with a laugh.
Dylan grinned and took his hat off. He ran his hands over his short, coarse curls that sat on the top of his head, bringing them back to life after being squished down. "Thanks, cutie."
Harley gagged and moved ahead of us, getting in line.
Dylan and I just exchanged an amused look and snickered behind his back.
With the way schedules had changed for the Spring semester, Harley and I usually ate lunch with Dylan since the three of us had the noon to two p.m. slot wide open. Sometimes Noel or Rex dropped by but they had a class at one and tended to eat after that.
Over the last few weeks, I'd been getting to know a lot more about Dylan and found that not only was he a huge sci-fi nerd, but he was probably the sweetest human I had ever met. He had the spirit of a puppy, and probably the innocence too.
We finished lunch a while later, making plans to meet up for the lecture.
At a quarter to five, I arrived and saw the tall guy standing in an empty space in the middle of the room. I noticed there was a long line forming in front of the small presentation theater's door.
"Hey, Dylan," I said cheerily as I approached.
He looked up from his phone and smiled. "Hey, glad you came." He dragged his eyes around slowly and then his dark brown gaze landed back on me. "I'm just waiting for a couple friends before we go in."
I jerked my head towards the line. "Shouldn't we...?"
Dylan chuckled and put his phone in his jacket pocket. "Nah, my friends are the hosts, so we'll just slide in with them if they ever come out here."
I could tell his irritation was light-hearted. "So...you got a crush on any of these friends?" I asked, getting the sense that it was the main reason we were there.
Dylan gave me a deadpan stare, pursing his lips. "None. Of your business," he said, emphasizing the gap in his statement.
I chuckled, enjoying how his lack of an expression said everything I needed to know. "Come on, I'm just surprised you're so into coming to this type of thing. It's not like it's an alien thing or a Star Wars convention."
Dylan sighed but I could see he was smiling a little. "Fine. Their name is Georgie. They're non-binary, and you'll be meeting them hopefully soon."
I nodded slowly, taking in his words. I'd never met someone who identified as non-binary before, but I was excited to meet them. Dylan was an absolute sweetheart, so anyone he was interested in, I was sure would be awesome.
A moment later, a group of three people walked up to us from the side. Someone with a lean body and short--barely a centimeter off their head--tight, curly bleached hair sidled up next to Dylan. They threw their hands up to clasp over his broad shoulder, pulling themselves up to stand on tip-toes. Something inside me assumed they were Georgie.
"Hey, Dyl," they said in a flirty tone. He just grinned. The other person turned their gaze on me and I smiled back. "Who's this handsome devil?"
I laughed and Dylan wrapped an arm around the other person's waist. "Georgie, this is Nate. Nate, Geor--"
It was then that Georgie let out a short, excited squeal, letting go of Dylan to step closer to me. I was instantly intimidated by their intense gaze. They had a sparkling septum piercing and smooth skin a couple shades lighter than Dylan's. They were easily one of the most flawless, beautiful people I had ever seen.
"Nate, as in Nat?" Georgie questioned, looking me up and down.
I heard snickers and looked over to the other two people who had come over with Georgie. One of them was curvy and petite and had very long hair that was a pastel pink. The other person had thick rimmed clear glasses that threatened to overpower their small face that was framed by wavy black hair with blunt bangs.
I glanced back at Dylan with a questioning look. He chuckled and stepped forward, putting his hands on Georgie's shoulders, pulling them back to rest against his chest. "Yes, that Nate."
"That Nate?" I asked, not sure if I should laugh or be weirded out that someone I'd never met knew the name only my roommate called me.
Georgie smiled mischievously at me, flashing perfectly straight teeth. "That Nate," they said with fingers making air quotes, "would be Noel's Nat."
Noel's?
My eyes bugged a little and I tried to keep my composure as I flicked my gaze between the four people in front of me.
"Jeez, Georgie," the girl with the pink hair said, slapping her friend on the arm. "You made him go mute."
"Yeah, she's right," said the one with jet-black hair. She also had tanned, olive-toned skin and she eyed me with her sparkling hazel eyes. "Look how pink his cheeks are, Sav. That's so cute."
I made a face. This was not the way I wanted my night to go. Dylan laughed and kissed Georgie on the cheek, whispering something in their ear to make them pout.
Georgie shrugged him off and held out their hand. I took it, shaking hesitantly, unsure of what they would say next. "My bad. I'm a little blunt sometimes. But Noel talks about you, so of course I was curious. Happy to meet you. I prefer they/them, by the way. And that's Savana with the pink hair, and Kezzie with the black. They're both female."
I nodded, absorbing the influx of information that they threw at me, and Georgie dropped my hand and turned on their heel. The rest of us went to follow and I fell into step between Kezzie and Sav.
"Georgie can be a bit much," Kezzie said at my side. I saw Sav nodding. "Don't let them rile you up, because that's usually their goal."
We pushed into the theater through a back door and took seats far to the right side of the room at the very front. I was sitting between the two women and saw Dylan helping Georgie with a mess of cords on the stage.
"Are they dating?" I asked, watching Dylan try to attach a mic to the stand.
"Nope," Sav said, popping the p.
Kezzie snickered and I looked at her with a curious smile. "He fucking wishes, though. Dylan's had a hard-on for Georgie since the moment they met last semester."
"How did they meet?"
Sav leaned into her hand, looking bored. I could already tell that was her usual demeanor, but it seemed to suit her. "At Halloween. Georgie and I went back to Kezzie's hometown across the sound for a party and Noel brought his friends. Hence, Dylan dropping his heart at their feet like Georgie's an alter."
"He's gonna get his heart broken," Kezzie said with a wistful sigh. I frowned and she gave me a wry smile. "It's just how it is. Georgie doesn't do romance. Dylan knows this."
The doors opened at the back of the theatre and I saw people start to pour in, finding seats.
I swallowed at Kezzie's words, feeling my heart ache a little bit on Dylan's behalf. Georgie's relationship style reminded me of Noel's. I couldn't blame either of them for it, though. You were who you were.
Thinking of Noel again, I looked between the two women at my sides. "How do you know Noel anyway? High school?"
Kezzie snorted. Sav popped a bubble with the gum I didn't even know she was chewing.
"What?" I pressed, feeling like I was missing something obvious.
"Noel's my younger cousin," Kezzie said, leaning back in her chair.
I blinked at her in surprise and looked at Sav who popped her gum again and nodded like I was being dumb.
"Oh," I said. "I didn't know he had family that went here. He said most of them live in California."
"Noel's not a big family talker. Don't blame him. His parents are chill, but my side of the family can sometimes be a bit much for him. The Mexican side, specifically--which totally lives up to stereotypes sometimes. He hates their religious shit, which I totally get. And they're vocal about their distaste for how queer I am. They like to blame my dad because he's a white atheist."
My face fell into a deep frown. I furrowed my brows, thinking that Noel really wasn't kidding when he said his sister becoming pregnant was going to cause trouble. "That's fucking shitty."
Kezzie nodded. "It is. Noel always has my back, though. I like to joke that he's lucky his family isn't Mexican. With his behavior he'd never make it in my house."
Sav snapped her gum again. "She's playing it up, by the way. Her life is so not that tragic."
Kezzie grinned and I knew Sav was right. "Anyway, Noel's a good one, so hold onto him if you can."
Sav started laughing then and I thought she might choke on her gum. My ears felt hot and I was thankful that the lights started to dim above us. Before the lecturer could be introduced, though, I had to say something.
I leaned closer to Kezzie, watching Dylan make his way towards us. I whispered, "Noel and I are just roommates."
That had Kezzie laughing lightly. Dylan slid into the empty seat at her side. His eyes were fixed on Georgie standing in the spotlight in front of the mic stand like they belonged there. The sight of him--so damn smitten--was adorably sad to see.
Kezzie didn't say anything more to me about Noel.
I spent the whole lecture biting my cheek to pay attention instead of letting my thoughts get lost in him.
a/n: *as an fyi, there's a bonus scene from noel's perspective that takes place immediately after chapter 21 on my patreon for those in the highest tier only*