Unzip Me (boyxboy)

11 - Bon-Fires and Beer? I'm In!

It had been a couple days since Cj was officially let into our friend group, and now, it was Friday. There was literally only one more week of school left before summer break, and to be honest, I couldn’t fucking wait. This summer was going to be killer, not only because of the camping trip, but because I was getting closer and closer to becoming a senior, and then, graduating, and I’d be able to kiss goodbye to my shitty life here and go do whatever I wanted. Where I’d go to, I wasn’t quite sure. But anywhere was better than here while my ‘guardians’ still existed.

“Hi Kyler.”

“Hey kid,” I greeted back at Cj as he came over, meeting me at my locker.

I shoved a large textbook into the metal rectangle, glad that it was the end of the school day. My brain was fried, having dealt with this place for far too long.

He smiled a little, one hand held onto the strap of his messenger bag back pack, his light brown hair slightly messy, “Are we doing anything today?”

I stopped, thinking it through as I shrugged, “Hmm, I’m not sure. Did your brother mention anything?”

“I haven’t talked to him today,” he said casually, watching me.

His stare always brought a strange tingle to my spine, “Well, let’s go find him,” I suggested as I shut my locker, beginning to walk down the hall as he followed behind and I looked over my shoulder to see him, “Don’t you have track?”

He looked a little uneasy as he shrugged slightly, his eyes watching the ground, “I quit.”

That caused me to raise an eyebrow, “Did you get tired of those ridiculous shorts?”

He laughed a little, shaking his head, “No. I just wanted to quit. It’s all I really got to do after school, but now that I hang with you guys, I have something else to do.”

“And you hated the shorts too, right?” I joked, slowing down a little so he could catch up and walk beside me.

He made a small, quirky smile, his cheeks rising in a slight blush. Cj and I had really grown to become better friends over the course of a few days, and although there was still that strange connection between us that brought me to second guess myself, it wasn’t as needy and strong as I thought it’d be. But as we continued down the hall, a group of about 4 approached, heading in the opposite direction we were in their track uniforms, that Zane kid at the forefront of the posse.

“Where you headed short-stack?” He asked, his gaze directed at Cj, “Practice is that way.”

They stopped in front of him, their faces in a false expression of friendliness, a risky smirk on Zane’s lips. I squinted an eyebrow at him, watching carefully. I knew he had given Cj trouble in the past, and I was confident he’d hold up to that right here, right now.

Cj stared up at them all, his voice timid as it usually was, “I’m not going to practice.”

“Oh,” Zane said, looking slightly confused, “Why not? Weren’t fast enough?”

“No,” Cj defended, explaining, “I quit.”

Zane raised an eyebrow, looking interested, “Really? Without my permission?”

“Permission?” Cj asked, not understanding, and neither did I.

“You can’t just leave the team. Where are we supposed to get our entertainment from now? It won’t be as fun without someone to pick on,” Zane claimed, roughly poking Cj in the shoulder.

“Hey,” I intervened as Cj rubbed his shoulder, and I stepped closer, blocking Zane’s access to him, “Keep your hands to yourself, alright?”