You're My Reason Why (Boyxboy) #Wattys2016

Chapter Eight

(Eric's pov)

I walked outside and started walking to school. I kept thinking of what happened yesterday. I can't believe I broke down in front of Ricky. He seemed so nice and easy to talk to, but that could all be an act to hurt me. I sighed and kept on walking to school. When I got there I saw Ricky and his friends laughing and talking. I kind of wanted to see if Ricky wanted to hang out at lunch. I need to get to know him more before I can consider him a friend. I walked up to them and said, "Hey, Ricky."

He smiled at me and said, "Hey, what's up?"

"I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out at lunch."

He smiled and said, "That'd be awesome." I smiled and nodded at him.

"Okay, see you at lunch," I said and walked into the school. My heart was pounding in my chest. Why was I so nervous? I'm never nervous! I'm the cocky asshole that people hate. I sighed and said, "What is this boy doing to me?" I got to my locker and saw my friends standing there.

"Hey," Alec said. I waved and got my books out.

"Ricky's siting with us today," I said and they all looked at me in shock.

"I thought you hated him?" Monica said.

"I never said I hated him, I acted the same way with all of you guys at first, too. I just need to make sure they're not going to hurt me. Sadly, I made the mistake with you guys," I said. They all looked guilty and I shut my locker.

"We're really sorry. You don't know how bad we feel."

I shrugged and said, "Whatever, just forget about it." I pushed past them and went to my first period. Four very boring lectures later, the lunch bell rang. I walked to the cafeteria and saw Ricky standing outside the door.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?" I said.

"I didn't know if you still wanted me to sit with you," he said.

"Well I do, let's go," I said. We walked in, got our lunch, and sat down.

My friends all smiled at us and Candice said, "So, I have a question, Ricky." He nodded at her and she said, "Why did you choose to be gay? You do realize how hard it is to be gay, right?" I felt angry when I heard that. Why? I don't even know.

"Um, it's not a choice. . .I was born this way," Ricky said with a defensive tone.

"Yes it is," Candice said. Ricky rolled his eyes and shook his head no.

"No, no it isn't."

I could heard him getting angry so I said, "Why don't you just shut the fuck up? It's not a choice, end of story." Candice got up and stomped out of the cafeteria.

"Damn, you didn't have to do that," Ricky said.

"Trust me, she argues about everything. She deserved it."

He smiled and said, "Well, thanks." I shrugged and ate my lunch.

"You two would be a cute couple," Monica said. I looked up at her and glared.

"Don't ever say that again, I'm not gay," I said. I saw Ricky looked kind of hurt.

"Whatever, I'm still shipping you guys," Monica said. I rolled my eyes and got up to throw away my stuff. Ricky got up and followed me to throw his stuff away. I kind of felt like I needed to calm down so I went into the bathroom. I splashed some water on my face and heard the door open.

"You okay?" Ricky asked.

I shrugged and said, "Just a little pissed off."

He nodded and said, "Need a hug? That seemed to help you yesterday." I blushed at the thought of yesterday. I still can't believe I broke down in front of him.

"Yes. . ." I said and walked over to him. He wrapped his arms around me and I put my head on his shoulder. I felt safe, like nothing could hurt me if I was in his arms. Wait, did I just say that? I squeezed him tighter, not wanting to ever feel alone again. "Promise me you'll always be there. I don't want to feel alone anymore," I whispered.

"I promise, I won't let anyone hurt you." I smiled and he pulled back, leaving me feeling alone. But I'm not alone, I have him.

"What are you doing to me?" I said.

"I'm making you happy, I don't want you to feel alone ever again," he said.

The bell rang and I said, "Let's get to class." He followed me to our next class and we sat down. I can't believe he cares about me. He barley knows me but he is nice to me. I guess I was zoning out because I about jumped out of my seat when the teacher slammed him fist on my desk.

"Mr. Grim, if you're not paying attention I suggest you get out of my class," he said. I rolled my eyes and I, being the asshole I am, got up and flipped him off while walking out of the classroom. I walked to Mr. Buckingham's classroom since this is his planning period. I walked in and he gave me a smile.

"Hey there, kiddo. What's up?" he said.

"I just got kicked out of class for daydreaming." I shrugged like it was no big deal and he shook his head and laughed.

"Well, I'm actually glad you're here. I've been meaning to ask you something," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"May I ask why you didn't come to me when you wanted to kill yourself? I may just be a teacher but I could've gotten you help," he said. I sighed and shrugged.

"Everyone else laughed at me, I didn't think you would care."

"I understand, but please don't let people get to you. It's hard but worth it," e said. I nodded and thanked him.

"I have a question, too," I said.

"Shoot."

"What does it mean when you feel safe around someone. Like, you never want to leave their side and when they do you feel so alone." He looked at me and smiled.

"That probably means you're crushing on someone," he said.

I sighed and said, "That's what I was afraid of."

"What's there to be afraid of? You found a girl you like. Plain and simple," he said.

"That's the problem, it's a boy. . ."

"So what? Who cares if you like a boy."

"I do! I don't want to make people act weird around me just because I might be gay."

He nodded and said, "I understand, just try to think about it and talk to him. The bell is going to ring any second now so you should get back to class." I nodded and thanked him before walking to my next class. Luckily, it's art so I can just think and not do anything. I walked inside, sat down and started thinking over what I'm going to say.