The Tuxedo Man (boyxboy)[Wattys 2016]

Chapter 13 - Bittersweet

[Picture: Eric Bradley Chancellor. Video: My Heart Is Open - Maroon 5 Ft. Gwen Stephani] 

"One night 'till the Red and White Ball!" I yelled as I entered the room, seeing an unamused Ruth sigh and shake her head. 

With weeks and weeks of waiting, the dance could not be any nearer, and I couldn't be any more excited; I don't even think I'm going to be able to sleep tonight. Every single day, we counted down 'till the night before prom, and it has finally come. 

The weeks that have passed were mainly uneventful with only usual school stuff happening around, pop quizzes, sleepless nights studying for a test, the silent war waging between the Great Bang and I is still going on, and Dylan and I haven't really spoken ever since, with him leaving me a text that there's going to be something coming up with the company that will be taking almost all of his time, asking me if ever I would want to meet up with him and talk things out. I actually agreed, but chickened out the last second. He was definitely upset at the time, but now I'm hoping he'd gotten over it. 

I don't even think I have a chance with him anyway. 

WIth Eric and I though, you can say that things have been going pretty well. 

_ . _ 

In Economics class, Eric nods me over as soon as I enter the room, forcing me to part from Mason for the class. He sends me a look of approval following a nod, so he's all good with it as he knows there's something Eric and I need to discuss about. He usually doesn't care at all when it comes to love and relationships, but Mason is and always will be a gentleman, always thinking of others before himself. 

He sits close to me, closer than ever before as we're already shoulder to shoulder, his scent immediately flooding my nose. 

"Can you hang for a little bit later after class?" He asks, looking at me as he rests is cheek on the palm of his hand, his chiseled jaw flexing as he chews on gum. 

I grab my book. "Coach bailed again?" I tease, sending him a look saying that I don't trust him that much. 

He chuckles, closing his eyes in defeat as the blood rushes to his cheeks, making them red and plump. It's pretty adorable, in fact. "How did you find out?" 

"Believe it or not," I tell him. "I have a few friends in the varsity." 

The day he wanted to talk as we walked around the school campus, he told me that their coach bailed on them that day, Eric saying that they don't have practice for the day. 

Funny enough, coach didn't bail. 

He skipped practice to talk to me, which is such a stupid reason, and isn't really worth the consequences he had to face, which were to run three miles, execute two hundred push-ups and a hundred sit ups, on top of that, he had to complete thirty pull-ups in two minutes. 

"Sorry I lied to you." He says, wiping the sleep away from his face as he brushes his palm against the right side of his face. "Well, Coach really isn't here today, he has an important meeting with the heads of the school." 

I cock my eyebrows in disbelief, and he sighs to this. "Trust me, you can even ask Jordan." He says, still clearly tired and groggy. Jordan was one of my good friends from the basketball varsity, he's the kind of guy who's both pretty nerdy and athletic at the same time. We met in music class as he said that he played the cello. 

"If you're lying again, then I'm going to have to do something to you." 

I see his lips quiver like he has something on my mind. "Like what? Take me on a date?"