You Found Me

Chapter 1.3: Crush

         As Daniel strums at his electric guitar he can't fight the thought of how bad the bullying got last year. All the harsh insults, people saying they'd rather die than be gay. Everyone thought he deserved it just because he came out. But it was deeper than just that; he wanted to protect his younger brother who had just come out as well. He didn't deserve it.

         His phone dings with a text from Nick pulling him out of his thoughts. He quickly picks up his phone reading the message 'Are you feeling okay?' Daniel types a quick 'Yeah, I'm okay. Don't worry.🥰' wanting to let Nick relax. 'Are you sure?' Nick responds quickly which throws Daniel off his feet.

        He places his guitar on its stand and slides down and off his bed onto the floor, trying to think of what to reply. He stared at the text as he tried to decide if he wanted to be honest like Mr.Ajayi would suggest.

        In the meantime he hears his phone ringing again 'You can talk to me about it if you want' Daniel smiles slightly at the text before another one comes in. 'Sounds like a pretty serious situation' 'But you don't have to' 'If you don't want to' 'But I am your friend and I do care.' The word friend jumps off the screen. That's right, he's just a friend.

       Daniel rests his head on the bed for a second before deciding to tell the truth. 'well it all started last September.' Daniel thinks back to his first time meeting Ben and wishes he could change it. But instead he just tells Nick the details. 'he never actually wanted to be my boyfriend' 'i guess he was just using me' 'sorry... i know he's your friend' Daniel finishes.

         'Well he's definitely not anymore!!!' Nick responds quickly. 'God I hate him so much.' 'Please don't ever talk to him again' Nick continues causing Daniel to smile slightly on the other side of the phone. It's nice to have someone who cares for him so much even if it is just as a friend. 'Thanks for being my supportive straight friend' Daniel replies trying to thank him as well as testing to see if he's straight.

         When Daniel just gets a 'LOL it's okay''If he ever comes near you again I'll kick his ass' That confirms that he's straight for Daniel as he tries to fight his crush on him. He simply sends back a  red heart and heads to bed.

         The next day at school Daniel can't help but look through his and Nick's messages. Even if he has to tell himself that he's straight over and over. However, no matter how hard he tries to convince himself it doesn't work. So when the lunch bell rings he heads straight to his favorite teachers room.

        As soon as he walks through the door he gets Me.Ajayis attention. "I have a question." He says nervously.

        "Well I'm officially a beacon of learning so fire away." Mr. Ajayi says while putting down his paper giving Daniel his full attention.

        "How do I stop liking someone? A straight guy." Daniel asks hoping to get a genuine answer.

        "Ah, the question of the ages. I thought you had a boyfriend?" Mr.Ajayi asked in genuine confusion, still focused only on the conversation.

        "No,no he was horrible. This is someone else." Daniel says, shaking his head and looking down at his feet.

        "Wow, being a teenager is just terrible." Mr.Ajayi says with a smile. "When I was a teenager and had a crush on a straight boy I repressed it and suffered." Mr. Ajayi said with a smile knowing it's not great advice.

       "That doesn't sound too healthy." Daniel responds with a chuckle.

       "Now this may seem obvious, but have you tried putting space between you two?"Mr.Ajayi asks knowing the answer would be no.