PRIDE & ENVY

CHAPTER 1

It was an early morning in the city of Daemor and there lived a young boy who went by the name of Nic. Nic was pretty popular within his school; he was known for always helping out when he could. The start of the school day was closing in as Nic waited outside his friend's door impatiently, desperately wanting to leave his friend before he was late for school.

"Hurry up Aiden, we don't have all day." Nic called out.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Aiden rushed out of his door.

Aiden was a spunky young boy, known for always being optimistic and lively. Although sometimes he could be a little too energetic, most people enjoyed his company. They finally left his home in pursuit of their high school. Miracle City High, the school that makes your dreams come true. Students were packing into the school building, lining up in the halls and collecting their belongings from their lockers. Nic and Aiden's lockers were basically next door to each other, only having two lockers in between. Before they could leave their lockers, a familiar face approached Nic and Aiden.

"Oh, hey Jayson!" Nic greeted.
"Hey Nic, Aiden~" Jayson smirked.

Aiden didn't want anything to do with Jayson because he was a bully. He hasn't done anything serious but he does like to taunt and tease people. Most people didn't like Jayson because of his rude and stuck up personality but he and Nic became good friends, so Aiden always tried his best to be nice.

"Hi..." Aiden muttered.
Jayson threw his arm over Nic's shoulder and asked, "So, how are you doing today?".
"Good-" Nic was interrupted by Aiden growling from the side.
"Is something wrong Aiden?~" Jayson asked tauntingly.
"No, nothing's wrong" Aiden snarled.
"If you say so!" Jayson snickered.
"Well, the bell is going to go soon so we should probably go get to our classes" Nic suggested.

After they said their goodbyes for the morning, the bell rung and all the students walked steadily to their classes. Classes usually each last forty minutes. During morning period students attend three classes before their first break. During the first break Nic met up with his friend's; Khloe and Andrew. They mainly spent their time talking about small things like recent news and gossip. Before they knew it, the bell rung for the middle period which consisted of two classes. After those classes were finished was lunch. This was usually the favourite time of day for most students. Most students would gather in the cafeteria to eat lunch and hang out with their friends, some would go play sports or hang out outside. Nic is always in different places in the school, depending on who he is with.

"Nic!" Aiden yelled out.
"Hey again!" Nic smiled.
"So, how was your lesson?" Aiden asked.
"It was like every other lesson, boring!" Nic let out a small laugh.

He is so cute, Aiden thought. Aiden had a crush on Nic. He had liked Nic for the past three years. Every day he could spend with Nic made him happy. He didn't know how to tell him, nor did he think that Nic liked him back. Suddenly, interrupting Aiden from his thoughts, Nic let out a gasp of surprise.

"Gah!" Nic gasped.
"Huh?" Aiden snapped back into reality.
"J-Jayson, don't slap my butt!" Nic stood back, blushing slightly.
"Aww, why not?" Jayson whined.
"Well for starters, it's weird, and anyone could've seen that!" Nic stated, covering his butt.
Jayson looked at Aiden who looked angry, "What's wrong Aiden?~".
"Nothing!" Aiden snarled once again.
"Oh, so it's not because I touched Nic's butt? Then I guess you wouldn't mind if I did this!~" Jayson then hugged Nic from behind.
"J-Jayson!" Nic said in shock, blushing more.
"Grr... I-I don't care!" Aiden growled.
"Really? I'm pretty sure I heard a growl! I guess I'm hearing things." Jayson said sarcastically.
Aiden mumbled to himself while looking away from Jayson.
"Well, I guess you wouldn't care if I took Nic for myself? I mean you wouldn't care if I did this, right?" Jayson then turned Nic around and kissed him on the lips.
Nic couldn't move because of the shock, so he just stood there and blushed.
"That's it, I don't care if you marry him! I DON'T CARE, YOU HEAR THAT!" Aiden's face burned a fiery red. He begun to tear up as he stormed off feeling so many shades of anger and sadness.
"J-Jayson, why did you do that?!" Nic stuttered in confusion.
"Man, you're as blind as a bat!" Jayson stated.
"HEY! I'm not blind!" Nic objected.
"Oh really?" Jayson chuckles. "Anyways, I was joking! It's just, Aiden should just tell you the truth, he makes it obvious. Well, not to everyone." Jayson glanced at Nic.
"What?" Nic asked, stunned with confusion.
"It's nothing, you'll find out one day! Now, did you enjoy our little kiss?~" Jayson smirked while giving a flirtatious wink.
"I-It was okay... I-I guess." Nic stuttered, totally embarrassed, still slightly blushing from the kiss.

Jayson smiled and then said his goodbyes to Nic once again. He then walked away, leaving Nic alone and confused. The bell rung for the final period of the day, which again, only had two classes. Students begun to make their ways to their classes. Nic just tried to ignore his previous situation until after school was finished. Although Nic tried his hardest to ignore the kiss, he could barely focus in class. He couldn't understand why Jayson had kissed him, or why Aiden stormed off. After classes had finally ended, students went to their lockers and begun to leave the school grounds. Nic had a few errands to take care of before he could leave the school. Once he had finished, he decided to visit Aiden's home. He thought that maybe he could find out why he stormed off, or at least, get a better understanding of what happened. As he stood at Aiden's door, he thought about what happened exactly. It couldn't be because he likes me, could it? Nic thought. He finally knocked on Aiden's door and after a few moments, Aiden opened the door.

"Hey" Nic greeted.
"Hi..." Aiden mumbled, gesturing Nic to come inside.
"What's wrong? You seemed mad before." Nic asked.
"I wasn't mad!" Aiden stated.
"I mean, I only assumed that because you stormed off." Nic pointed out.
Aiden fell silent, looking down to the floor.
"Jayson said there is something I'm not realising. You wouldn't know what he is talking about, would you?" Nic questioned.
"...No..." Aiden muttered nervously.
"Aiden?" Nic just wanted to know what was wrong, he hated being left in the dark about things. Especially when he was involved.
"Fine! I-I like you..." Aiden whispered.
"What was that?" Nic asked.
"I said, I-I like y-you..." Aiden mumbled.
"What?" Nic repeated.
"I LIKE YOU!" Aiden yelled, covering his mouth immediately.
Nic was speechless. After a moment or two, Nic spoke up, "So you like me? I thought so...".
Aiden was blushing, "So you had a feeling?"
"Yeah... Aiden, please don't take this the wrong way but I'm not sure how I feel." Nic said feeling ashamed.
"Nic, it's okay, really! I never expected you to like me... I'm glad just to be your friend, being around you makes me happy!" Aiden reassured Nic, hugging him.
Nic hugged back. "Aiden, I'll think about it... It's just-"
"Jayson, right? I could tell you felt something today with him..." Aiden interrupted.
"...I really don't know how I feel... It's all kind of overwhelming!" Nic exclaimed.
"I know, maybe you should head home and get some sleep?" Aiden suggested.
"You're right. I'll see you later!" Nic waved goodbye as he walked out the door.
"See you later." Aiden waved back.

As Nic was walking home, he kept thinking to himself about what happened at school and how Aiden likes him. He kept thinking of what his future would be like with Aiden but no matter how hard he tried to picture it, it never felt right. He then thought about Jayson and the kiss.

"So that's what Jayson meant, wait... Does Jayson like me too? I mean, he did kiss me, or was that just to spite Aiden...?" Nic said to himself.
As if on cue, Jayson turned around the corner, bumping into Nic. "Gah!"
Suddenly, Jayson was on top of Nic. It only took a few seconds for Jayson to realise what happened. "Oh gosh, Nic I'm so sorry!" Jayson said as he got up, helping Nic up after.
"I-It's okay, just a little unexpected that's all..." Nic reassured, blushing slightly.
"Well, I actually wanted to talk to you." Jayson stated.
"Huh?" Nic mumbled.
Jayson leaned on the wall and began to talk, "I'm sure you've talked to Aiden by now, and you're probably wondering if I like you!"
"Well, yeah kind of..." Nic agreed.
"Well to be honest with you. I'm not sure how I feel. I mean, you're the first person to ever really try and be my friend and even though I'm like the worst person ever, you still respect me-" Jayson explained.
"You're not the worst, and of course I respect you! You have your reasons for why you're the way you are. Plus, I know the real you, you're sweet and protective." Nic stated.
Jayson was blushing red like a tomato. "You really think all that about me?"
"Of course I do!" Nic argued.
Jayson then hugged Nic. "That means a lot, thank you!"
Nic hugged back. "Can I ask about the kiss from earlier? Was it like... A real kiss?" Nic asked.
"Well it was to me! But that reminds me, I wanted to apologise about that... I'm sorry!" Jayson scratched the back of his head.
"It's fine, I actually liked it! I'm glad it wasn't a joke..." Nic mentioned.
"I wouldn't toy with your feelings like that... Well I shouldn't say that since what I did was technically wrong..." Jayson sighed.
"It's really okay!" Nic argued.
"Well if you say so. Do you want me to walk you home?" Jayson questioned.
"I'd like that!" Nic smiled.

Jayson walked Nic to his house. They finally reached their destination which they had to part ways. Before Jayson left Nic, he hugged him and lightly kissed his cheek. He smiled as Nic blushed. Jayson then waved goodbye and walked away. Nic watched as Jayson walked away. Once Jayson was out of view, Nic walked inside and felt his cheek. He smiled and continued to walk down his hallway into his bedroom.