Thirty Five Days

13: Next Steps

  On the way to school the next morning Mikey barely spoke to me. I mean, he was always quiet but he normally managed a small amount of conversation. The closer we got to school the louder our footsteps seemed to scream inside my head. I had to break the silence somehow.
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​​​ "Did, er... did Gee say anything about last night?"
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​​​​​ Immediately, I regretted saying anything.
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​​​​​Mikey turned to look at me, his face as blank as I'd seen it.
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​​​​​"Just that it didn't go quite as he had planned it. He wouldn't tell me what happened though, which is strange – normally we're pretty good about telling each other things. Why do you care if he said anything? What happened?"
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​​​​​A dozen lies crossed my mind as I desperately tried to stop myself blushing. Eventually I decided that the truth was probably the best option. After all, Gee had kissed me so my interest in him was obviously reciprocated somewhat. What's more, if it did go anywhere, Mikey would find out soon enough anyway.
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​​​​​"Well, er, he... he kissed me."
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​​​​​"He kissed you?"
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​​​​​Mikey's expression barely shifted as he processed the information.
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​​​​​"Yeah, just before he walked out."
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​​​​​"Okay then. Wait, wait... I don't mean to pry but... are you actually gay?"
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​​​​​"Er, yes."
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​​​​​Mikey's poker face slipped for just a second, allowing me to see the relief that flooded his features.
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​​​​​"Well, that's not as bad as it could have been, I suppose. He's liked straight people in the past and it always made him miserable. Do you mind... do you mind if I tell him? Or you can tell him yourself, if you prefer?"
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​​​​​I hadn't considered that Gerard didn't know but now that I thought about it, I didn't particularly want to be the person that told him.
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​​​​​"You can tell him. As long as you do it kinda, well kinda discreetly I guess. I don't want to look desperate or anything."
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​​​​​"So can I tell him that you like him as well or just that you're gay?"
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​​​​​We were standing in the school car park now and a group of people looked around at us when they heard what Mikey was saying.
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​​​​​"Can you keep it down a little bit? Everybody else doesn't need to know. And that includes Matt and Chris by the way. You can just tell Gee that I'm gay for now – let me deal with liking him."
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​​​​​My face was burning when I added on the one thing I wanted to know most.
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​​​​​"Do you know if he likes me?"
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​​​​​The bell rang before Mikey had a chance to answer me properly but just before we headed to class he gave me a rare smile.
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​​​​​"Frank, he kissed you. I'd say that's a pretty good indicator of whether or not he likes you, wouldn't you?"
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​​​​​Just like that, Mikey headed into the classroom, rolling his eyes at me as he did so.
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​​​​​Considering I was in school, I had an unusually large smile on my face as I stepped into the classroom after Mikey, my heart beating just a little bit faster.