The Break Up Plan (BoyxBoy)

The End of an Era

My seat in Mr Anderson's history class was always a little lumpy. I think someone dropped a cigarette on it and melted the plastic because the curve of the butt just didn't . . . curve right. And lumpy plastic meant my poor, bony ass was distinctly uncomfortable for a full 50 minutes.

Still it was one of my favorite seats for the entire school day. It was in the back, near the vents because this class gets super musty. I had a clear view of the window to zone out during one of Mr Anderson's political spiels. And most importantly, I sat right beside my bestest friend, Rin.

That's where I was at 8:29 when Rin strolled in.

I would bet a crisp, Canadian, $100 bill that he only cut it that close to smooch Stephanie.

My eyes shot to the window. For some reason, I didn't want him to know I saw the moment he walked in. Honestly, I'd been watching the door, waiting for him to get here. And now that he was, that felt like the most embarrassing fact in the world.

There was a creak from the desk beside me, the sound metal older than my parents struggling to stay together. It was also the sound of Rin predictably scooching his desk closer to mine because his seat was "way too far."

"Who keeps moving this thing back?" he muttered, irritated that his daily routine was perpetuated by some other student who kept putting the desk back later in the day.

Mr Anderson hadn't started class yet and Rin was still muttering at his desk, annoyed. It was like he was begging to be teased.

"You can't blame them for moving it," I said with a shrug. "The rest of the seats look like they were placed by a ruler."

"You mean placed by someone using a ruler."

"No, I mean an actual ruler came to life and organized these chairs, that's how straight they are," I grinned, my smile widening when Rin laughed at the cheesy joke. I was way too petty to admit I'd made any type of mistake. "Yours sticks out like a sore thumb."

After laughing, Rin scooched his desk in again, just for fun. The sound was extra obnoxious, ringing through the room like an alarm bell.

"Sorry for trying to be closer to you," he drawled, a lazy grin making his boyish looks way more apparent. Mr Anderson stood up, heading to the whiteboard and starting his teaching rituals. Rin's eyes stayed on our teacher as he leaned in, whispering "how can I cheat off you if our desks are so far?"

The concept was comical. Elliot Samuels cheating off Rin Hamada made less than sense. I tried–and the key word was tried–not to make it a habit. But there were several tests where I had to cheat off of Rin. Sometimes studying was ineffective or pointless or both. And Rin's grades are impeccable. Like a doctor slash astrophysicist decided to go back to high school.

Except an astrophysicist wouldn't get stumped by mental math but that's besides the point.

Rin never cheated off me. But as our history class started and we had to look like we were paying attention, I couldn't stop the smile spreading on my face.

I don't know, I guess it was nice. That Rin wanted a reason to be close to me. We both knew he was lying. Just like we both knew I'd been watching the classroom door, waiting for him to come. But that's why our friendship was usually perfect. Some things didn't need to be explained.

"That reminds me," Rin put his hand on my desk, leaning into my space with practiced ease. "I have a surprise for you. You'll see it at lunch."

Our teacher's monotone voice continued to drone on and I suddenly couldn't hear a word. I swung my head around to stare at Rin but he seemed content to stare forward like he was actually learning a damn thing