King's Gambit (LGBTQIA+)

Chapter 1

7:45 A.M, Ravencrown Highschool, Parking Lot
Friday, February 6, 2020
Third Person POV

Jake parked his black car outside the building. He had to drive David to school since they didn't have a license yet. "Thanks for driving me here," David said getting their backpack out of the car. "Anytime," Jake replied getting out after David. Jake locked his car and put his keys in his backpack. "What's your first class?" David asked opening the door for Jake. "I have algebra first," Jake replied, "I don't know why they always give me math first period."

David and Jake hugged each other goodbye and went their separate ways. Jake went to his locker to get his books and other supplies. "BOO!" a voice said sneaking up on Jake. Jake jumped out of shock and dropped everything on the floor. "Hello to you too Alyssa," Jake said picking up his things. "Hello, Jake," Alyssa replied helping him.

Alyssa was the first friend Jake made at Ravencrown. She always felt like a sister to him. If anything were to go wrong, Alyssa would be the person to help out. Alyssa and Jake walked to their algebra class together. Once they got to the room door, they saw that not many people were there. Jake's attention went to the center of the room, where he saw Kenji Allison, his high school crush.

Jake could feel butterflies forming in his stomach as he looked at the attractive boy. Everything from his smile to the way he styles his hair made Jake's heart race. "Jake!" Alyssa screamed trying to get his attention. "Woah, sorry," Jake replied scratching the back of his neck, "I got a little distracted."

Alyssa and Jake put their stuff beside the desks and sat down. "What were you staring at?" asked Alyssa. Jake pointed at Kenji. "Him," Jake replied. Alyssa showed a cheeky smile. "I should have known," Alyssa said, "you're always looking at Kenji." Jake wanted to be mad at Alyssa, but she was right. He was always looking at Kenji.

"Do you two even talk to each other?" Alyssa asked getting out her books. "Occasionally," Jake replied. "Oh really," Alyssa said in a joking way, "what do you two talk about?" Jake struggled to come up with an answer, probably because he didn't have one. "Ok fine!" Jake said loudly, "We haven't talked at all. But can you blame me? I don't know anything about him."

Alyssa put her hand on Jake's shoulder as he continued talking. "What if he turns out to be a jerk? What if he doesn't even like guys? What if he turns out to be, you know," Jake paused for a brief moment, "against queer people." Alyssa takes her hand off Jake's shoulder and placed it on his hand. "You mean homophobic?" Alyssa asked holding Jake's hand. Jake nodded his head yes.

Alyssa took a deep breath. "Jake," Alyssa said in a soft tone, "Kenji is probably the nicest person I've ever met. He doesn't judge others for what they wear, who they love, what they do, anything. No matter what happens, Kenji won't judge you for anything."

Jake looked Alyssa in the eyes. "Besides," Alyssa stated, "you'll never know if you never talk to him."

"That's my problem," Jake said biting his fingernail, "I don't have trouble having a conversation with Kenji, but starting a conversation with him," Alyssa smirked again. "Well, you have to push yourself out of your comfort zone if you want a chance with him," Alyssa said confidently.

Jake showed a slight smile. "You're right," Jake said softly, "I'll never know if I don't try." Jake got up out of his seat. "There's still ten minutes before class starts," Alyssa said pushing Jake towards Kenji, "Go! What are you waiting for?"

Jake walked towards Kenji. The same feeling of butterflies was in his stomach, but stronger. "Hey," Jake said sitting down at the desk next to Kenji. "Oh, hi there," Kenji said putting down his book. "You're Kenji Allison, right?" Jake said pretending not to know who Kenji is. "Yes I am," Kenji replied, "and you're Jake, correct?"

"That is correct," Jake said nodding his head. "I've heard great things about you," Kenji said smiling. Jake smiled as well, it calmed him down knowing Kenji had a positive image of him. "I heard great things about you too," Jake replied, "you're on the dance team right?"

"Yes I am," Kenji replied, "I've been dancing since I was little." Kenji showed Jake a picture on his phone of a three-year-old Kenji at dance practice. "Aren't you in the History Club," Kenji asked putting his phone back in his backpack. Jake nodded his head yes. "What's your favorite part of it?" Kenji asked. "Probably being able to go on field trips," Jake replied, "I love going to historical sites and seeing the artifacts."

Kenji let out a small giggle. "I can see why Alyssa calls you a nerd, but I'm a nerd too so I can't judge." Jake felt the nervous feeling in his stomach disappear. He finally got a chance to talk to his crush, and he was loving it. "Alyssa is in the History Club as well," Jake added, "along with my friend David."

"I've heard of David as well," Kenji replied, "He-,"

"They," Jake corrected Kenji. "Oh sorry," Kenji replied, "They were the one who scored the winning goal at the football championship last year." Jake noticed that Kenji wasn't weirded out by the fact David was nonbinary. This was a good thing, of course, it probably meant Kenji wasn't homophobic.

"So your friend David is non-binary," Kenji asked. "Yeah," Jake replied. "That's cool," Kenji said adjusting his tie, "I had a friend who was non-binary." Jake looked at his watch which read 7:55. "I should probably get back to my seat now," Jake said standing up, "it was nice talking to you."

"It was nice talking to you too," Kenji replied, "maybe we can talk again at lunch." Jake smiled. "Sounds like a plan," Jake said, "see you then." Jake waved Kenji goodbye and then went back to his seat next to Alyssa. "I told you it would be easy," Alyssa said confidently. Jake giggled, "I guess you were right," he replied.

The teacher walked in a few seconds later. He was a tall slim man with curly brown hair. He also had freckles like Kenji, though his freckles were more prominent while Kenji's were more subtle. "Hello everyone," the teacher said pushing his hair out his face. "Hey, Mr. Riz," Jake replied waving his hand. Class started shortly after Mr. Riz arrived. Normally algebra bored the hell out of Jake, but Mr. Riz taught it in a way that made it fun. Today seemed to be going well for Jake.

But something terrible was about to happen...