Who Knew?

Chapter 7:

POV- Wyatt

I sit in the back of the English classroom, brooding. Ruben was acting like an idiot. And a jackass, but mostly an idiot. He was clearly in pain and needed a hospital. He can brush it off all he wants, but something happened after he dropped me off at home. Suddenly, the thought of Ruben being in my room makes me blush hard. 

I sigh, my thoughts sweeping back to Ruben's battered face. I've heard rumors about Ruben's home life. None of them are good. I never imagined anything like this though. The thought that Ruben has been putting up with abuse for a long period of time, was dumbfounding, and it hurt my heart to think about. No wonder he's such a douchebag half of the time. 

I stare across the room at his profile. His hair hangs in his face, but not long enough that it covers up the massive black eye he sports. No one says anything, just assuming that he got into another fight. Now I understand why he gets into those fights, a cover up for all the existing injuries. I keep in mind that I'm just inferring all of this from what I've seen and what I've heard from him and around school. I could be totally wrong. It's just a hunch. 

The bell rings and I watch as he collects his stuff. He's been ignoring me since lunch, and it's the last period of the day. He scowls at me as I pass by. Oh yeah? I send a nasty look in his direction, and walk confidently away from him, making my way to the art room. Half way down the hall he catches up to me. I stop, expecting him to keep going, but he stops as well. 

"What the hell do you want?" He says nothing, and I roll my eyes before I continue walking. He keeps pace. "Oh, okay, I see. You decide to ignore me this whole time, and now choose to follow me around like a lost puppy? You know what? Two can play. I will ignore you so hard that you'll start to doubt your own existence."

His lips twitch slightly, but he continues to stay quiet. 

I shake my head, "You are so fucking annoying you know that? You're the real reason God created the middle finger." 

This gets a real grin out of him, almost making me smile. Almost. "You know your ass must be pretty jealous of all the shit that comes out of your mouth,” he says.

I raise my eyebrows in surprise. "Oh, you're talking to me now? What a revelation. Is this your way of saying sorry? Because you could just say, 'Wyatt, I'm sorry for acting like a fucking asshole when you were just trying to help'. See? Not so hard."

"Oh so now you know how it feels?" 

I turn towards him, my mouth hanging open? "What?" 

He nods. "Yesterday. You acted like a jerk when I was just trying to help." 

I clench my jaw. "Okay, there are a lot of very wrong things in that statement that I will be happy to tell you about. Starting with, one: I said sorry for that, then thank you. Two: THIS WAS  FUCKING PAYBACK?!" 

The tardy bell rings and, me being my true dramatic self, I twirl around and stomp away. The hallways empty out quickly. Ruben's legs are longer than mine, and he steps in front of me, blocking my way. 

"Wyatt, I'm sorry of acting like a fucking asshole when you were just trying to help." His eyes bore into mine, emotion and truth bleeding through them. The look on his face sends shivers up my spine, and blood rushing to my face. "You're not the only one who's life is kind of all over the place, Wyatt. And that's not an excuse, just a fact. I'm sorry that I took my crappy life out on you. It was out of line. I'm sorry." 

His apology warms me, and I feel myself begin to smile, but it leaves as fast as it came. "Ruben, what happened last night?" 

He rubs the back of his neck. "If you don't remember then I'm not sure I should say anything."

I shake my head. "I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about after you dropped me off. What happened last night that made your face look like you came out of a warzone?" 

He swallows, and his face constrics in pain. "I can't," he whispers, looking anywhere but at me. 

Feeling a sudden boost of confidence, I reach up to cup his uninjured cheek. I turn his face so that he has no choice but to look at me. The hurt and torture in his eyes almost stops my heart with it’s intensity. "Ruben, you can talk to me. I promise I won't spill your secrets to the gossips." I smirk. He smiles and leans into my touch and takes a deep breath. "I know I'm a jackass, but I'm a trustworthy jackass." 

He chuckles. "I don't doubt it. But not here, and not yet. I think you've already made your assumptions, and they're probably not far off. But I can't, Wyatt. Not yet anyway. This is something that I've never admitted to anyone in my entire life, and I don't know if I'm ready for that." 

I smile, not ignoring the fact that he was honest with me. "Okay. I can wait as long as you need." I sigh and take my hand away from his cheek. The cool air hits my palm and I already miss his warmth. "I never thanked you, by the way. For taking care of me last night. I was really drunk."

His face falls, and I know I said the wrong thing. "Yeah. Yeah you were really drunk. Um, I didn't mean to take advantage of you like that, if that's what you're thinking. I . . . 

He drones on, rambling away. I want to tell him that I don't regret it. That I'm glad that it  happened. But in truth, I kind of do regret it. I stare at his face. God, he's gorgeous. Even with all of the blemishes that were inflicted upon him. His deep green eyes mesmerize me. The way his lips move when he speaks. 

"I know you weren't in your right mind and I would totally understand if you wanted to forget all about it and go on ignoring each other like before. I-" 

Without thinking, I cup his face as gently as I can, and bring his mouth to mine. His lips are soft, and warm against my own, and I can feel his surprise. I start to move my lips against his, and he physically melts against me. His lips begin to move in time with mine and I part my lips, welcoming him in. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, sweeping and probing, and his hands move to my hips. I push back against him, tongues battling for control once more. I suck his lower lip into my mouth, making him moan. The sound sends shivers down my spine, heading straight below my belt. 

With some hesitation, he pulls away, hands still at my waist. He rests his forehead against mine, our breathing labored. "Well, that's certainly not what I was expecting."

I smirk. "I do regret what happened last night Ruben," his face falls again and I hurry to reassure him, "but only because I didn't want our first kiss to be with me, barley conscience and smelling like crappy beer."

His smile lights up the whole room. "Yeah, that was so much better than last night." We chuckle together and he sighs heavily. "Gonna be totally honest, and say that before a few days ago, I thought you were a very straight, jocky jackass."

I laugh. "I'm gonna be totally honest, and say that before a few days ago I had myself convinced I was very straight. Not so sure about the jockey jackass part but . . . . I think I've been lying to myself for a while now, It just took meeting you for me to realize that. I also understand that that was incredibly cheesy and am now going to hide in a hole." 

I feel my cheeks inflame, but Ruben just smiles wider. "It was very cheesy, but it was also very sweet."

I smile, then my eyes widen at a new revelation. "Wait, you're not straight right? I didn't totally misread that?" 

He laughs, "I am gay, Wyatt. I have been gay for as long as I can remember. That's not changing any time soon." He looks around. "Oh shit, we’re like super fucking late." 

I shrug. "It's only art," I say as I head toward the art room. I'm not totally expecting it when I feel Ruben grab my hand. I look over into that dazzling smile, and grin, gripping his hand softly. My face flushes with embarrassment, and he chuckles, pulling me down the hallway. Happiness floods through me, and for some reason, I can't stop smiling for the rest of the period. 

A/N 

Hehehehe. Alright, I would like to start off by saying thank you to those who have stuck with the story so far, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I love writing it. Ruben and Wyatt have grown so much already, and I can't wait to see how their story progresses. Please comment your thoughts on the story so far, and what you think of Ruben and Wyatt.