Secluded - Jeffmads [DISCONTINUED]

Chapter Nine

The bell sounded, and Thomas nearly leaped out of his chair, eager to get to the courtyard and to see James. He was almost halfway down the hallway before he felt a hand on his shoulder, dragging him backwards. Thomas sighed, already having presumptions about who the hand belonged to. "Jefferson, where are you off to so fast?" Alexander asked, curious.

Thomas turned around, seeing Alexander standing prideful, his chest puffed out slightly. He had his arm around the waist of his boyfriend, John Laurens, who was adjusting a strand of his curly hair, meanwhile shooting a few dirty looks in Thomas' direction. Alexander's friends, Hercules and Laf, the taller of the four, stood behind them with their arms crossed, as if they thought that their ominous looking stance had a chance of scaring Thomas. "What do you want, Hamilton?"

"I want to know, what's got you in such a hurry?" Thomas rolled his eyes, turning to stride away from the group until Alex grabbed him again. "I asked you a question."

"Fuck off," Thomas growled, shoving Alexander's chest before hurrying off to the courtyard. He sighed in relief as the outside air filled his lungs. "God I hate that guy," He mumbled to himself, his sour mood changing immediately as soon as he saw James on the same bench he had found him on the previous day. "James!"

"Hey T-Thomas," James mumbled meekly, giving Thomas a small wave.

"Sorry I'm late, there's this idiot named Alexander Hamilton and he stopped me in the hallway," Thomas took a seat next to James, who Thomas noticed, only had a few folders and notebooks. Thomas himself didn't have any food, only because school food was less than subpar, and he'd always been too lazy to pack lunch. "How come you never eat?"

A flicker of panic showed in James' irises, though he pretended to be nonchalant about he question. "I-I never remember t-to bring anything," James muttered, avoiding Thomas' eyes.

"Are you sure?" Thomas asked, not completely convinced by James' answer. James nodded, picking at his fingernails, the pink polish starting to chip. "That's cute," James blushed, pulling his sweater sleeves over his hands. "Jem, don't hide that from me. Like I said, it's cute. You're more adorable than you realize."

"Am n-not," James said, trying to suppress the blush on his face. "Thomas, m-my mom invited you t-to come o-over after school. Y-You don't have t-to, of course. Sh-She just likes making a f-fool out of me," Thomas smiled at James, taking the smaller man's hand.

"Sure, sound like fun. Your mom sounds interesting," Thomas said, squeezing James' hand.

"She's okay, I-I guess. She's a-all I have," Thomas gave James a puzzled look. "M-My dad d-died a little while a-ago, so did my sister," Thomas stared at him, a little unsure of what to say. "What a-about your parents, w-what're they like?"

Thomas bit his lip, unsure if he wanted to be completely honest. But seeing as James busted out his late father and sister, how could he lie? "Well they're not together. My dad works a lot, he has his own business, I think he's a carpenter or whateverthefuck. My mom's in rehab, she's been a druggie since I was four. My dad couldn't take it anymore so they split, it hit my brother pretty hard, but my little sister doesn't care in the slightest."

"And h-how do you feel about it?" James asked, looking Thomas straight in the eyes, something James didn't do often.

"I don't know," Thomas shrugged, staring at the grass that was just starting to turn brown and dry from the changing of the season. "I don't think about it, there's no point. I've never had a good mom, and my dad's barely there. I'm the parent of the household," James wasn't sure of what to do. He had a number of options he had read in a book a long time ago about how to be empathetic. The only thing James could think of doing, every tip from the handbook leaving his memory, was to rest his head on Thomas' shoulder. Thomas sucked in a shaky breath, ignoring the lump in his theist, deciding to change the subject. "You're gay, right?"

"W-What?!" James' head bolted up. "I'm not gay! I don't know why you would even s-suggest such a thing. G-Gay?! Who's even gay n-nowadays? ...A l-lot of people. B-But I'm not! I am not even close to being h-homosexual."

"James, I'm gay," Thomas said with a small chuckle. "So I'm certainly not going to judge you if you are. And you are, aren't you?" James stared at Thomas for a moment before giving Thomas a reluctant nod. Thomas decided fuck it, I've got to ask him sometime. "Will you go out with me?"

"What?" James asked, gazing at Thomas in disbelief. Never had James even thought anyone would ask him that question, who would ask out the freak? Thomas, Thomas apparently would.

"Will you go out on a date with me?" Thomas asked hopefully. "I've really liked you, and I was hoping you'd give me a chance. Just one? Please?" James was still in shock, but he nodded, a small smile creeping up on his face. He was already worried about saying yes, but as Thomas smiled back, James forgot everything but Thomas.

"Yes, of course I will," James said, without a single stutter.