Awkward (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 1

I shivered. It was cold at the hockey rink and I'd forgotten to bring in my hoody. I was sitting on the bleachers alone, waiting for my little brother to get done with practice. I watched as he and the other boys skated around the rink, chasing a puck. One of them fell and a few others tripped over him. I might have laughed if I weren't alone, but I was so it may have been a bit awkward.

I checked the time on my phone. They would be done in about fifteen minutes. I'd come early because it made my brother happy that I came to watch him. I sat and watched the team of 11-year-olds practice until I felt a presence near me. I turned to my left, startled to see a guy about my age sitting next to me. I didn't even notice him walk over and sit down.

He just looked up at me and said, "Hey. I'm Damien," and held out a hand for me to shake. Unsure, I shook his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Ember." Damien had a strong, sure grip. We released hands and he said, too low for me to hear, "The name fits," and smirked.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Uh, nothing. So, do you have a brother or something that plays?" he asked.

"Yeah, number 14. Zach. He's my little brother. What about you?" I asked, feeling a little more comfortable.

"Number 17, Joey. He's my adopted little brother. Well, technically I'm the adopted one, but you get what I'm saying," Damien said.

"You're adopted?" I asked, sort of shocked. I couldn't htink of anyone I knew that was adopted. Unless they were keeping it a secret. I wondered what it was like. "Sorry," I quickly spat after I realized what I had just asked. "That was sort of rude."

"No, it's fine," Damien said. "And yeah, I'm adopted." "Sorry, again," I said, a little emberassed. I looked down, trying to ignore the intense stare that Damien was giving me with his bright green eyes. And also trying to ignore the way his chocolate brown hair flopped messily over his forehead. And the way his lips were almost too full to belong to a boy. And how it might feel to kiss those lips.

Stop it, Ember! You can't just think things like that about people. What are the chances he's even gay anyways.

I finally looked up again, but kept my gaze on the ice, watching my brother and Damien's. "Where do you go to school?" Damien asked, breaking the awkward silence that was forming between us. "Middleton High, right down the road from here," I said. "Where do you go?" But before I could even finish the question I knew he was going to the same school as me just by the face that he made.

But he answered anyways. "That's where I'll be starting on Monday. It's a little late in the year, I know. I don't know why my parents couldn't just wait until school let out for summer break to move, but whatever."

"That's cool," I said. "Maybe we'll have some classes together." Then Damien asked, "What kind of classes do you take?"

"I'm in alot of science classes this year. Animal Science, Zoology, AP Lab, stuff like that. And of course the core classes that we're forced to take, like English." I let out a moan of disgust, because I hated the English teacher and the class. Damien laughed and asked, "Forced?"

"Yes, forced. What? You like English?" I asked.

"Actually, yes. It's my favorite subject. I like to write," Damien said shyly. He blushed. And it was completely adorable.

NO! Stop thinking like that. Especially about this random boy that mysteriously, and silently, showed up for no reason.

"Well, I guess everyone is into something different," I said. "You don't know how much truth you just spoke in that one sentence..." Damien said back. "Huh?" I asked. I was a little more than confused.