Typically Me [BxB]

Chapter Seven

 After school, Ray met me after my final lesson. I hadn’t asked him to, but when I opened the door to escape at the end of the day I saw him leaning against the wall just across the hall. He looked so peaceful; his eyes slightly closed, face absolutely perfect. He looked gorgeous.

 He looked up when he heard the door open and his eyes lit up and sparkled. He flashed me a mischievous grin. I walked over to him.

 “What’re you up to?” I whispered.

 “You’ll just have to find out.” he whispered back with a wink.

 He leaned towards me and for a moment I thought he was going to kiss me, right there, in front of everyone… but at the last second he simply pushed me gently to the side, lightly grabbed my arm and pulled me into a walk beside him. He didn’t talk, just kept the worryingly mischievous grin on his face and devilish sparkle in his eye. When we were nearing the school gates I heard someone call my name. I turned and saw Tanya waving to me, miming for me to wait for her.

 Ray grabbed my arm again and pulled me into a run.

 Being the sporty on, I could run faster than Ray and for longer, so I had to slow my pace because he, after all, was the one who knew where we were going. He quickened his pace as much as he could, pulling ahead of me slightly but motioning for us to keep running. We ran past our coffee shop, past the park, past my house. He went speeding towards the woods that marked the eastern edge of our town. He turned around and jogged backwards so I could look at him with puzzled eyes before he turned back around and ran into the forest.

 I paused for a moment before following him.

 It was darker in the woods, the tall trees cutting out a large percentage of the sunlight. In the green haven every so often there was a break where a pool of light would burst through the trees and hit the floor.

 I couldn’t see Ray anywhere.

 I called his name but he didn’t answer, I merely heard a resonating laugh somewhere far off. I jogged further into the woods. I called his name and again there was no answer, but the echoing laughter sounded again, closer this time. I ran forward and heard a rustling in the woods to my left, then to my right.

 “Cut it out, Ray!” I said, trying to make my voice sound serious even though I was practically laughing. “How am I supposed to see your beautiful face if you keep hiding from me?”

 “You’ll have to find me.”

 His voice startled me; he had silently crept forward and stood right behind me to whisper in my ear. I span round but he was already gone. He was running back the way we had come, laughing all the way. Just before he disappeared I saw him turn round and poke his tongue out at me. I sprinted as fast as I could towards him, catching up with him as he finally became out of breath. I reached out and grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him towards me, pulling him down to the ground. We were near the edge of the woods when we went tumbling down together, rolling along the ground before bursting out of the woodland and into the sunlight.

 When we finally stopped moving Ray was basically on top of me, both of us laughing. I propped myself up on my elbows, bringing our faces closer together. We both looked around to make sure no-one could see us, and then kissed.

 “Oh stop it, I’m already out of breath!” he gasped once he pulled away.

 I laughed and rolled to the side so he was lying next to me. I put my arm around him, barely aware that we were lying in the dirt.

 “You think we’ll ever get to tell anyone?” he asked me softly.

 “Tell anyone what?”

 “That we’re dating.”

 I contemplated that for a while. Sure, it would be nice not to have to hide anything, not to blush behind the mask anytime someone ridiculed gay relationships. I’d love to be able to ‘come out’ to my friends, but I just knew they wouldn’t accept it, accept me. They knew that Ray was gay and they constantly made snide comments about it. I thanked God every night that no-one had physically attacked him, but we both knew that at our school it was only a matter of time. He seemed to read my mind.

 “I know that you worry about what people will think, but if they really are your true friends they’d accept you. If they throw everything back in your face you will know they’re just a bunch of jerks. As long as we have each other, everything is okay… right?” he asked.

 “Of course. And if anyone starts on you, you have to tell me, Ray, ok? You have to, so I can sort them out.” I said, worried.

 “I can look after myself, y’know.”

 “Ray, you love to sing, prance around, sit on your butt drinking coffee and watching movies. I, on the other hand, am pretty much on every sports team at the school and I work out regularly. Who’s gonna be better off in a fight against Dylan?” I asked, poking him in his ridiculously toned stomach for one so lazy.

 “Hey, I work out!” he said, sticking his tongue out at me. It was true; he had a sweet body. “Now let’s go, I need my coffee!”

 I stood up first, then grabbed his hand and pulled him up. We walked hand in hand down the road until there were people around, and then we let go of each other but walked very close together. We reached the coffee shop and Ray ordered our drinks and we sat down at our table, where we always sat.

 Ray told me that his mum was back in town. As soon as he started to speak about her a strange look was in his eye and I felt sorry for him. Neither of us had father’s, we were the same like that, but I had such a great relationship with my mum, whereas- as far as I can tell- Ray and his mother barely even speak. They just occupy the same space, tied by a bond that both would probably sever if they could.

 He suddenly became silent and simply stirred his coffee. His other hand was resting on the table also so I lightly placed my hand on top but took it back before anyone saw. He looked up at me from under the veil of his fringe and smiled sadly.

 “When we’ve finished school we are so living together.” I told him with a grin.

 “I’d never have to go home again- just send a card now and then, can you imagine?” he said, almost letting out a chuckle but suppressing it.

 “Whatever your family life is like, you can be part of my family too.” I said. Then his eyes sparkled and he grinned back.

 “You’re the only family I need.” he said quietly.