Gym Class

"We can't date."

I didn't know him, he looked familiar but I just couldn't put my finger on from where.
He never has come to this class before, Did he switch? Maybe he's new, but no, I feel like I've met him before, he's talking to me but I can't hear him over the drowning out of my thoughts. Maybe we might grow close if I become friends with him, it may take a few months though . . . But I feel as if I already trust him, He looks so sweet.

Oh, we're going outside. He talks a lot, but in a good way? I like hearing what he has to say when I am listening to what he's saying. He has a good sense of style too. I hope he isn't looking at my legs. I wish I wasn't wearing a skirt today. But in all seriousness this might be good for me, usually I keep to myself in all of my classes but he feels like someone that I can open up to. I begin to actually talk to him now, Since all of my recent responses were very quiet, and shy.

"What's your name?" He asks me, but why didn't he ask me this before he even started to talk to me? About... Whatever he's talking to me about.

"It's Axel" I respond, he smiles at me and I half-smile back. "Sorry for being so quiet" I pause when he begins to rapidly say it's okay. He's hyper, I think it's really cute. "What's your name?" I exaggerate the "your" for some reason. Maybe I sound mean, But no, he doesn't react to the way I said it, he just pauses a minute, then smiles.

"Atlas!" He responds to my question in a very excited way, and smiles at me again. I think he's cute. I smile, but this time I actually smile.

We walk together on the track everyday this period now, ever since he came to class. I told him all of my secrets and everyday I have something new to tell him. I get excited to see him before and even after every class. We've only ever had one class together or so I think we have. Well, we've only had one class together this year. But shit if I knew it was going to be like this I would have tried to get in every class that he has from this point on.

About A Month Later...

We're on the track again, he's walking and listening to me talk and rant about things again. I stare at him the entire time I'm talking just in case he reacts to anything in different ways, or if he wants to respond to something while I'm talking, you know? When I stop, He questions why, but I get sad and reactive because I just watched a girl in front of us step on a tiny moth, I walk toward it and I pick it up. It's not dead, just severely injured. I named it. It's name was "Carl", I don't know exactly why we named him that, I thought it was funny though. I loved Carl, but we had to leave him because of the stupid gym teacher. We put him in his little tree by the shed, and we left him there to die, but we wished him farewell, and goodbye, like the good people we are. This was one of my favorite memories with Atlas.

Another few months passed, I had grown so close to Atlas that I even grew to start liking him a little more than a friend, I wanted to tell him but I was so awkward I didn't really know what or how to say it, but eventually I figured it out, It was kind of out of no where when I really just said fuck it, and did it.

"I have to tell you something" I said to him right after we got inside from the track again, in class. "What is it?" he looked back up at me and he even looked a little concerned. "I don't exactly know how to tell you, I'm kind of scared." I pulled out my phone and opened the notes app, Maybe it would be easier to type it out to him, since he doesn't have a phone. He looked at the phone and then back at me as I began typing, with a worried look on my face because most likely, he didn't like me back.

I handed him the phone with the notes app open that read "I really like you" But I called him a name after, I was super nervous and I guess that's how I express myself.

He smiled, I still looked concerned, he began typing, god he took so long to type.

He handed me the phone after he was finished and I slowly read out what said "I like you too"
I smiled a little, and I began typing "So what now?" and I handed the phone back.

He began typing again. Handed the phone back but what I read this time made me almost want to sob right in front of him, what I read hurt me.

"I can't date, you know this." I remembered that his mom wasn't the nicest person toward if he was in a relationship or not. I said whatever, and I told him to forget that this had even happened. This really hurt me though.

A few days later it was the last day of school, and I had come in late to school because I had something to do before I came in. This was the last time I was going to see him for a while, I hope we have classes together next year but I'm too scared to ask what he picked for next year.

I walked into class, and he got so excited to see me, He probably thought I wasn't coming in. But when I saw he had his phone in his hand, I also got excited, Maybe this means that we can actually start dating, I went up to him and he quickly began talking to me, I could tell he was very excited.

"I got my phone back, Axel! What's your number? We can text over summer!"
Over summer? My heart skipped a beat. He seemed so genuinely happy when he said it too.

I put my number in his phone. "Maybe we could even call sometime?" I said to him with a hopeful smile.

"Ah... No we can't, my phone is a hand me down, the microphone doesn't work, I'm sorry."

I raised my eyebrow in disbelief, "are you serious? Can we try right now?" I was standing in the middle of the classroom, with my phone out right in front of him.

He shrugged, knowing that it wouldn't work, but he began to call me anyway. I pick up.
He began to talk but I heard nothing on my end, and frown in disappointment.

"Welp." I sigh, "Maybe we can hang out then? Nobody's ever been to my house, if it's okay with your mom.  "Maybe" He responds in doubt, "My mom doesn't exactly trust me to go out anymore, not as much as I used to as you should know.", he continued on, "Oh, Okay" I respond a lot quieter than I was before, It's just a lot quieter between us now.

The teacher stops the silence
"All of your grade is going outside on the track since it's all of your last day."
This got me excited, I got to see everyone before we part ways for a while. "I want to do something before the day ends." Atlas said hesitantly. I got worried, what if he doesn't want to be friends with me anymore?

We walked outside, I said goodbye to everyone, and the day ended. Atlas never did what he wanted to do.