Walking Sins (BoyxBoy)

The Pressures of Masculinity

The title of this chapter is very misleading, I'm not gonna lie.

Sorry for the wait I've been swarmed with... well everything.. Justin^^

"Jeremy?"

Jeremy was back. Jeremy is back. He's in front of me, taller and older but shorter and more smiley than I remember him being. From my peripherals, I can see Erik's confusion. I can't see Will, but I imagine he's probably just as shocked as I am.

"The one and only,"

My mind is drawing a blank, brain short-circuiting. I blink, "Well shit, man, how have you been?"

Jeremy laughs, his eyes are still as brown as I remember, crinkling at the sides and bright. "Yeah, here and there, still signing in and getting books, you know, the usual bullshit." He looked around, waving briefly in Will's direction. His eyes pass over Erik but don't linger any longer then they have to.

"Look I gotta get back and see some teachers. But I figured I'd come and say hello. I'll see y'all around, okay?" I nod in answer, not sure of anyone else's response.  He waves us off, walking back towards Dave and his douchebags' table.

"Jeremy?" Erik says, a tone to his voice that demands an explanation.

It wasn't technically a question, however, there are a multitude of answers I could give Erik. Leaving him with a simple 'Yeah' probably wouldn't suffice. I cringed internally. I only really had two options, lie to Erik and say Jeremy's an old friend, or tell him, 'yeah that's my first love'. "Uh, well... he used to be a part of our little group." I settle with.

Erik doesn't seem to buy it. But I know he won't directly ask me what more there is to the story. "Seems like you two were close." He gives me a side glance,  knowing that I'm ommitting part of the truth.

I force a laugh, "Yeah, relatively,"

Erik narrows his eyes but doesn't say anything else. It's safe to assume that at this point there's no point to getting me to spill the whole can of beans. He checks his phone, frowning at the time before pocketing it. "I gotta go and see Mister. Kilp, I'll see you after school."

He doesn't seem upset, but he does at the same time. He's in a hurry - never a good sign - and barely looks up as he says goodbye.

I grin, "See ya," and wink. He laughs - a good sign - before shaking his head and walking away. I turned back to Will, stuffing my bag, meeting his eyebrow raise. He sips at his coke, giving me an expectant look. "What?" I ask.

"I think the universe is testing you, dude."

I frown, "What the fuck do you mean by that?"

Will glances down at his food, shoving the last mouthful down his gob. He lock his phone, putting it down. I brace myself. "You get into a relationship, things go okay, life's good and then your first love turns up? Sounds fishy to me."

I scoffed. "It's not like I still have feelings for the guy, calm down," Of course Will would think I'm in love with Jeremy. "Do you still like you-know-who?"

Will scoffs, "She's not Voldemort, but no. I don't."

I throw my hands in the air. "Then why would I?"

"All I'm saying is, those feelings don't just go away. And you haven't seen the guy in years, he up and vanished - at least I got rejected, I got to have that heartbreak, you know? Who's to say those feeling won't come right back? Be careful, that's all." 

I shake my head, lifting my bag onto my shoulder, walking with Will, "Trust me, Buddy, I had the heartbreak. Fourteen-year-old me knew how to be sad."