High School Love - A Collection of Romances

God, Don't Look at Me

Lucas feels a hand pat his back.

"Ah! I'm up!"

He'd fallen asleep in class again. Mr. Patrick chuckles a little. "Come on, Luke, you gotta start going to bed on time!"

Lucas smiles sheepishly. "Yeah, I know." If he could, he would. It's difficult to sleep when all of your neighbors are constantly playing shitty music, having what sounds like really bad sex, and screeching over drugs.

He looks at Daniel, who's looking dreamy as per usual. His adorable doe eyes can draw anybody in, so it isn't surprising that he already has a girlfriend. This little obstacle doesn't stop Lucas, though, as he still glances at him with a demure admiration.

The bell rings, and the class dismisses themselves to the cafeteria, where Lucas sits with his friends Priscilla and Barira.

"Hi Luke," says Barira, "I saw you staring at *you-know-who* again!" She giggles, her fat layers jiggling with glee. "Shut up, whore," replies Lucas with an abashed flush. "You're just embarrassed, Luke!" Priscilla laughs heartily and scratches her balls a little. "Faggot," Lucas says.

Just then, Daniel sits in front of them with his girlfriend. Priscilla and Barira exchange glances as they look to Lucas, who has suddenly become shy. He's making small talk with her, but his eyes, once bright and innocent, look dull and uninterested as he kisses the girl. Lucas can spot this bleakness from a mile away, recognizing it as a sign of a closeted homosexual.

They all eat their lunches and go to sixth period, English class with Mr. John.

"Okay, class!" exclaims Mr. John, "Today we have a project on The Tragedy of Othello, so I will be telling you your groups." Barira groans. "Oh, come on, why can't we choose them ourselves?" Miguel nods his head in agreement. "Because if you choose," Mr. John rebuttals, "You won't get any work done. You'll waste the whole period chatting!" He then begins to pull up a chart, where each of the groups are situated at a specific table. It looks like Barira, Priscilla, Miguel, and... Julius... are seated together. Priscilla nearly gags at the thought, but Mr. John makes them sit together. Lucas, on the other hand, appears to be seated with Duru, Patrick, and... Daniel!?

They sit together, but this menial assignment is a massive opportunity for Lucas to be closer to this massive heartthrob. Lucas's hand brushes against Daniel as he reaches to grab a marker, and he blushes, to Daniel's obliviousness. They write, and theorize, and chatter about the silliest of matters. Duru and Patrick bicker over Roblox, so Daniel and Lucas are left to discuss on their own. 

"So... This project is pretty out-of-the-blue, huh?" asks Lucas. "Yeah, I don't even know Othello all that much." They make small talk for a little while, before Lucas works up the courage to ask: "You and Annie, huh?" "Yeah," Daniel replies, "We've dated for a year now." Lucas nods as an act of feigning approval. "You love her?" Daniel stops short, like he doesn't know how to respond. "I.. I-I'm supposed to, yeah." This answer begs more questions. "Wait, you 'guess'? It's a yes or no question.." Daniel swallows nervously. "Listen, I.. I'm still figuring stuff out. Still figuring... myself out. I don't know, okay?" He turns away defensively. Lucas puts a hand on his shoulder and comes a little closer. "You can always talk to me, alright? I get it, the whole identity thing. I've been through it too," Lucas admits. He can't help but pity Daniel. After all, he went through a very similar crisis himself when he was determining how to identify his sexuality, before settling on coming out as gay. It wasn't entirely well received, but he feels more free now that he's not hiding anymore. Daniel nods and touches his hand. "Thank you. Do you wanna hang out after school?" Lucas is a little taken aback by the offer; he hadn't expected the two of them to become friends so quickly. "Sure, I'll see you then."