On The Ropes

Round 1

Antwon's POV

My life has always been great as far as I've been concerned. My dad loves and spoils me, my pops is like my best friend, my grandma is great even though my dad hates her for some reason, and I have a best friend to keep me occupied when I'm not chilling with my parents.

The downside?

Unfortunately, I have had a crush on my best friend for six years. Crazy, right? You'd think it'd go away after a while, but no. With each year that passed, I fell more and more in love with his diabolical ass.

Speaking of which, I perked up in my seat as the door to the class swung open, and in walked the man of the hour. "SKEEYEE!" He yelled at the top of his lungs for literally no reason the second he stepped foot inside the class. Most of my classmates chuckled, others groaned and grumbled about how weird he is, while the teacher simply sighed and pointed at him.

"Mr. Campbell, you might as well turn right back around. Not only are you late, but you're also being disruptive." Mrs. Scott complained in her nasally voice.

Xavier just smiled all the while and shrugged at her. "I ain't even mean to, Mrs. Scott. I just be havin' to say shit sometimes, feel me?" He flashed her a sparkling smile- though he did have a blinding white smile, he usually wore diamond grills over his teeth. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw him without them. "And I ain't mean to be late, neither. I got distracted, that's all."

Mrs. Scott stared at him for a moment with a look of defeat on her face before she sighed and pointed to his seat right next to mine.

Zavier's grin widened and he shot some finger guns in her direction before making his way back to me and flopping down into the chair.

Once Mrs. Scott started talking again, Zavier and I's heads immediately gravitated toward each other as we started speaking in a low tone. "Dude, you're gonna end up kicked out before we graduate. We only have a few months left and you keep showing up late, turning your work in late if at all, and disrupting the class." I scolded him, though there was amusement in my voice.

Zavier, of course, just flashed that pretty smile at me and shrugged. "It ain't my fault. It's my brain."

Zavier was diagnosed with autism when he was five years old. According to him, he didn't start speaking when he was supposed to. By time he was five, his parents' concern for his lack of speech grew enough for them to take him to get checked out, and sure enough he was diagnosed that very day.

Years of speech therapy ended up catching him up, and now the boy refused to ever stop talking.

"So that's the word of the day, huh? Skeeyee?" I laughed quietly. A lot of Zavier's stimming tended to be verbal. He loved music more than anything, and usually a sound or phrase or just the beat of a song would get stuck in his head and he'd repeat it constantly until something else took its place.

Zavier nodded enthusiastically and flashed me his phone, showing me Sexyy Red's song that he probably played a thousand times before entering the class.

"Boys, are you paying attention or shall I wait?" Mrs. Scott's voice forced us apart, and we both flashed her a smile that made her roll her eyes before she turned her attention back to whatever she was teaching.

By time the class was over, Zavier's hand was locked in mine as we walked out of the class together. This was another reason I found it so hard to get over my feelings for him. Though many autistic people might hate physical contact, Zavier loved it. Especially when he was close to someone and ESPECIALLY if the person had smooth skin. He'd sit and rub patterns into my skin for hours if I let him.