Jack X Oliver: A Semi-Formal Relationship

one

My name is Jack.
I'm not the tall Jack, not the popular Jack, I'm not the Jack that gives out high-fives in the hallway.
I'm the gross Jack.
I take my seat at my lunch table. It's not really mine, I just sit here because there's nowhere else to sit. The girls at the other end gossip, whisper, and occasionally glare at me.
I eat my sandwich and talk to myself, not giving a shit about their prissy attitudes.
I focus my eyes on a guy across the lunchroom. He likes the same things as I do, and somehow he's not bullied nearly as much as I am.
He was a character from my favorite show on Halloween, he plays the same games that I do and so forth.
But he always seems so uncomfortable around me.
He never speaks that much back to me, tends to get annoyed with me, and stays very distant.
I don't know when this started, but it seems like it's been happening for longer than I realized.
Our eyes meet. I noticed him shaking earlier today, and he spazzed out again.
Shit.
I look at his glassy eyes as he whispers to a friend, who stares back at me.
I turn away and continue eating what's left of the lunch I packed.

This is how life is, I guess.
I have one friend; Oliver. He's the least annoying person in my life who doesn't hate me. When he looks at me, all he sees is me.
A kid with anger issues, behavioral problems, a need to always be right, but a heart underneath all that.
His eyes are soft, and the way he speaks to me is gentle. He never calls me names or seems upset by the way I present myself.
Seventh period is my favorite class. It just so happens that he's also in it with me.
"Hey, Oliver," I say, excited to talk to him. He turns around, a smile forming on his lips as he responded, "What, Jack?"
"I think I'm going to ask someone to the dance," I swayed with emotions running up and down my body. But all he did was tense up.
"You - you're serious??" his eyes looked cold
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, it's a while since the semi-formal arrives-" I defensively butted in,
"I'm not an idiot, I know that,"
"But what if you change your mind?" He sounded crazy, "Who would you even a-" he looked like the stress was getting to him as the bell rung.
I emitted a loud noise of urgency and ran to my seat.
I noticed Oliver fidgeting in his seat.
Class was great as usual. Interesting. I raised my hand as much as I could, boosting my confidence for my plans.
I was to ask Devin to the dance on Friday. He may be distant towards me, and he may not be able to look at me sometimes, but all we need to do is become closer. I need to show him that I am more than an eccentric kid who raises their voice and gets impeccable good grades.

After class, Oliver left the room without greeting me at my desk. Was he sick?
I planned to ask him what was wrong after school.
He was nowhere to be found. And it was Thursday. I wanted to talk more about what I planned to do on Friday, but if his immune system was keeping him from school, I wouldn't want to bother him any more than I had to.