Omega

Chapter 5

I felt really, really stupid standing, or more like lurking, outside the library doors at school the next day. 

It was the day after Adam had appeared on my porch and I discovered we were neighbors, and I was planning an attempt at repairing whatever friendship or relationship we might have had. I didn't have a problem ignoring the looks people gave me, but the bag full of pastries from Whisk, the local bakery, were making it hard to focus on finding Adam. 

Finally, I caught sight of his broad shoulders and thick, messy hair and I made a beeline for him as he hunted down his locker and worked the combination. Just as he swung open the door, I stepped up beside him and held a giant, lemon poppy seed muffin under his nose. 

I could tell it startled him, but when his eyes shifted from the muffin down to me, his face broke into an easy, carefree smile. 

"Well good morning, neighbor," he murmured, plucking the muffin out of my hand and inclining his head.

I took an equally huge banana nut muffin out of the bag and tapped it against his. "Cheers," I responded before taking a bite. I let out a little moan and fell back against the locker as I chewed. "These things are sooo good." 

Adam nodded his agreement as he bit off a huge chunk of his muffin and leaned his right shoulder against the locker next to me, framing me in his tall, broad shadow. 

"Bringing me breakfast at school? I have to say, this is much more neighborly than you were last night." 

I responded with an eye roll and a smirk. "It's a poppy seed muffin. Not a homemade lasagna. I just felt bad after you left last night," I paused before adding, "I kinda know how hard it can be when you first come here. I figured I could try to be a friend." 

I stared at my muffin while Adam considered my words for a minute, and then he nodded once as if to say we were finished with that conversation. Popping the last bite of his muffin into his mouth, he slammed the door on his locker and threw an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close against his side as he set off towards his first class. 

I froze, barely barely able to move my feet as shocked as I was at the unexpected contact. 

"Ummm..." I couldn't even form a word to say as I stepped away from him and let his arm fall off my shoulders. 

"Ummm what?" Adam had a cute, boyish smile on his face as he looked at me expectantly. "You said we should be friends, right?" I nodded carefully. "Well, can a guy not put his arm around hijs friend?" 

I chewed on the inside of my cheek for a few minutes before answering. 

I wasn't able to fight back a smile as I conceded, "Well, I mean, I guess there's nothing that says you can't..." 

Adam laughed and pulled me back towards him before marching on through the bustling hallway, steering me around the staring faces of classmates and teachers as he spoke. "I'm not big on subtlety, Carson. I figure if people are going to stare at both of us anyway because we're outsiders for whatever reason, maybe we can make it a little easier on them. And that way, maybe they'll get bored a little faster." 

I could barely keep up with all the words he was saying as we walked, what with the entire student body parting like the Red Sea to let us through, his strong arm weighing on my upper back, and his fresh spicy scent bombarding my senses. 

When we turned the corner in the hallway, Adam gave me a casual squeeze and released me from his protective embrace so that I could go into the chemistry lab as he went out the back door towards the auto shop. 

My feet felt simultaneously like they were levitating and like they were weighted down with concrete blocks as I took my seat near the back of the room and tried to avoid the stares and snickers. As much as I hated being the center of attention, I had to admit, being accepted by someone, even a fellow "outsider" as Adam put it, was kind of nice. 

I managed to attract minimal attention until lunch, when I took my Styrofoam tray outside to the small courtyard and sat at the same shaded table I always chose. Just as I was about to put my earbuds in and open a book to read, Adam slid in next to me at the table and stretched his legs out in front of him before reaching over and picking a french fry off my plate. 

"Okay, Adam?" I said, my words steady and calculated. "Just because we don't stare each other down and make snide remarks about each other does not necessarily mean that we're tight enough to be sharing food and acting like a--" I caught myself before I said what I was thinking. I didn't want to presume anything about our interactions. 

Adam smiled and leaned closer to me. 

"Like a couple?" He asked pointedly. 

I shot him an exasperated look and rolled my eyes, even though I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face at the thought. 

"Yes, like a couple," I responded. 

Adam smirked and reached over to take another fry. "What's wrong with being seen as a couple?" 

His question caught me off guard. What was wrong with being a couple? Well... what was wrong with it? "I mean, I'm not super experienced with guys and couples and stuff but I feel like its not something you just decide like that out of the blue. I mean we just met yesterday." I stirred my peas as I spoke, not able to look him in the eye. 

There was long moment of silence before he said anything else, and while I waited, I listened to his breathing, slow and measured, like he was consciously making his lungs inhale and exhale each breath. 

"Alright, well, we don't have to make any decisions right now, I guess," he said casually. 

I cast a sidelong glance at him to see if he was serious. Did he want to be a couple, or not? Thinking it better not to push the subject for now, I nodded and said, "Friends?" as I pushed my tray closer to him to give him better access to my french fries. 

He grabbed a handful and smiled back at me. "Friends," he concurred. "For now," he added with a wink. 

I giggled (literally giggled) and threw a ketchup packet at him. We spent the rest of lunch chatting and getting to know each other, and by the time the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, I felt pretty good about the whole "friends" situation. 

The rest of the week passed by pretty uneventfully. Adam and I started walking to and from school together; he liked my little secret path through the woods to our houses, and we always had lunch together outside. During sixth period English, the only class we actually had together, we even paired up for the end of the semester project. We were getting closer by the day, and by the time Christmas break rolled around, the idea of being a "couple" with Adam was looking better and better.