Your Secret's Safe With Me: A HSMTMTS AU

Chapter 4: They Fell Asleep In Chemistry Class

E.J's POV:

My dad is going to murder me when he finds out that I skipped my AP Politics and Gov. class to spy on, I mean check on my new friend Ricky. I want to make sure that he's adjusting to his schedule okay and is making friends. Miss Jenn told me to give him a tour of the school and we kind of bonded at lunch. I feel like his mentor and I really like having that role.

Ricky asked the group at the lunch table what chemistry class was and he asked me what the musical is, of course I have to check on him.

I care about the boy.

He doesn't have his parents to talk to and he's at a new school with new classes and new friends.

He acts like a lost puppy around me and it's cute but it worries me that he didn't know what pottery was and that he's afraid of drowning.

I'll have to save him if he ever drowns in the pool.

"Hey, E.J, right? Do you know where Mr. Mazarra's chemistry class is? I was walking with Nini to her class and got lost on my way to my class. Do you have chemistry class too?" I look down the hall and see the new girl, Gina wearing a pair of blue glasses without lenses and laugh at her lightly.

I wonder where she found those.

"Yup my name is E.J, correct. I was just checking on Ricky. Mr. Mazarra's class is that one. I'm supposed to be in my AP Politics and Gov. class, Don't tell anyone though. That's Mr. Mazarra's class right there." I crouch down beside the classroom door and take a peep through the lab room window and see Big Red and Jet fast asleep in the back of the classroom while Ricky is writing in the spare notebook I gave him to take notes for class.

He looks so cute and focused on whatever he's writing and sticking his tongue out to focus.

"Can I ask you a question before I head into class, E.J?" I stop peeping through the classroom window and look back and see Gina standing next to me.

I didn't know that she was watching me watch Ricky.

"Do you like Ricky more than a friend, like how I like Nini but am afraid to tell her?" I hear her whisper Gina whisper and watch her stand a bit closer than necessary to me.

I'm not used to girls getting close to me anymore because I got shamed for being bisexual and proud.

People haven't been as interested in popular E.J Caswell because he's bi.

It's bullshit.

At least Val and my theater friends understand my sexuality.

I don't know if I like Ricky more than a friend yet, I just met him a few hours ago.

The Valentine's day dance is still something I am thinking about.

It's my last semester here, maybe I should go?

"You like Nini more than a friend? You guys just got here." I look over at Gina and step back because things are getting a bit intimate.

"Yeah, I've been scared to tell her for years. We've known each other since we were babies. Do you like Ricky more than a friend? I saw the way you talked to him in the cafeteria and held his hand and comforted him." I watch Gina realize that she stepped too close to me and step back from me while talking.

Shit.

People saw Ricky and I in the cafeteria together.

I'm bisexual and proud but I've never dated a boy before.

"Yeah, I think I like him more than a friend. We met a few hours ago. I think he's taking a liking to me and I can help him navigate around East High." I whisper to her in case there's anyone else in the hall listening.

I really shouldn't be spying on Ricky.

"I just want to warn you about falling in love with him. He's been through a lot in the last few years in our pod, I mean in our family. I worry about his mental health more than he does himself. He's not the best at communicating to Nini and I about when he's feeling depressed. Take care of him since Nini and I can't watch him all the time. And if you ask him to that dance Carlos told us about, make it serious because I don't want to see him get hurt while he's here in Utah. Santa Monica wasn't exactly the best place for him until we saw fireworks and he smiled for the first time since his parents split. I've said too much already. I need to head to Chemistry class before I get in trouble." I listen to Gina whisper to me than watch her walk into Mr. Mazarra's class late and introduce herself to him while I'm kneeling down against the wall to stay hidden.

I can't believe that I met Gina, Nini, and Ricky today and already know more about Ricky than I know about AP Calculus.

Wow.

Ricky must be having a hard time adjusting to a new school.

No wonder why he asked me about the pottery class on his schedule and the musical.

He's really like a sad lost puppy.

I want to help him get better and fall in love.

No, I need to help him get better and I think I love him, even though I just met him.

"Mr. Caswell, what are you doing outside of my classroom on this fine day?" I look up from my spot on the floor and see Mr. Mazarra standing in front of me holding a pair of lab googles.

Oh no.

My parents better not find out about me skipping class to see a boy I just met.

"I was heading to the bathroom and saw Gina. She was lost in the hall on the way to your classroom." I make up a believable lie and stand up to face him.

I told Ricky that Chemistry class would be okay but I hate Mr. Mazarra.

"Where's your hall pass?" I watch him pull out a detention slip from his lap coat pocket.

"I don't have one." I admit to him while watching him write me a detention slip.

Great.

Detention, angry water polo team mates missing their openly bisexual co-captain, and no time to see the cast list that Miss Jenn's putting up at the end of the day.

"Head to class before I tell your teacher that you weren't in the bathroom, E.J." I watch him hand me the yellow detention slip of paper with the date, time, and place on it while I pick my nails behind my back nervously.

Detention is not a place for Caswell's.

My dad isn't going to be happy about me missing a practice.

"Yes sir. Sorry for interrupting your class." I hold onto the detention slip and watch him walk back into his classroom.

The one time I care about someone other than myself, I get detention.

Great. Just great.

While I'm walking away from Mr. Mazarra's science classroom, I hear an air horn sound go off loudly and turn back towards his classroom to see where the noise came from.

I know that I'm not supposed to spy on my friends or look through a classroom window but I'm worried about them.

What in the world was that sound?

Through the small classroom door window that I was staring at earlier, I see Jet and Big Red awake and startled from the sound and notice the air horn on Mr. Mazarra's desk. Next to Big Red, I see Ricky looking around the classroom as if he wants to get out of there.

I don't blame Jet and Big Red for falling asleep.

I don't blame Ricky for looking around wanting to escape.

A second later, our eyes meet since he's sitting in the back closest to the window I am looking through. I see his eyes full of tears and water from afar and can only wonder what he want through when Gina was telling me to be careful with him if I fall in love with him.

I just want to give him a big hug right now and tell him that the class is only for a few months until next term since I assume he's a junior with Jet and Big Red.

I can't get into more trouble though.

I already got detention which means that I am missing water polo practice.