Perfectly Average

Chapter 6

Lucas

The weird scene at Eli's apartment had been a bit surreal. He'd left in a daze after being thrown out. All the way home he tried to reason out what he'd done to upset Elijah so badly. Had he said something wrong? He knew Eli didn't like being the center of attention, but there hadn't been anyone else but the two of them, why would that make him panic?

After replaying the scene a few times in his head, he decided that the trigger point had to be when he'd stepped up behind Eli and put his hands on his hips. He had meant it as a way to avoid bumping into Eli and causing him to get burned, but maybe Elijah had thought that he was coming onto him or something. Maybe he had bought into the weird bl angle all those girl fans of his had latched onto, and thought that Lucas was wanting to...what?

Why would that cause him to freak out so badly? Was Eli homophobic or something? Lucas had never liked a guy that way, but he didn't see anything wrong with it. Love is love right? After much deliberation, he decided that he needed to clear things up with Elijah, to set the record straight. It wasn't that he had a problem with the other boy thinking he was gay or something, but the fact that the kid was so bothered by it, made the whole becoming friends thing, that Mr. Jacobson had tasked him with, virtually impossible.

Funny, he hadn't really thought about Mr. Jacobson's request at all when inviting Eli to lunch or offering him a ride. But now, the teacher's request gave him just one more reason to fix things with the younger boy. That is, if Eli would give him the chance to clear the air.

At school the next day, he had planned to talk to Elijah and clear up whatever misunderstanding they had, but he was running late in the morning so he couldn't catch Eli at his locker. In Advisory where both boys were supposed to report to Mr. Jacobson's office to grade papers, Lucas had been sent to assist the drama club with their preparations for the auditions for the school play that they would be having later in the week. Since Mr. Jacobson was the club adviser, that made it his concern and therefore his TA's concern.

In the auditorium he discovered a mild uproar. The student director was screaming at everyone that they were trying to ruin the play before it even began. He looked like he was just about ready to punch someone or cry. Lucas approached the other senior.

"What's going on Alec?" He prompted gently, hoping to lead by example and encourage the other boy to calm down. No such luck.

"It's ruined, the play is ruined!" he shrieked. Then he laughed hysterically. "Play? What play. That stupid girl that was supposed to be writing a play hasn't produced a single act. What am I supposed to do with no play?"

The girl in question was cowering in the corner of the stage, tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I have writer's block. I really did try."

Lucas patted Alec on the shoulder. "Don't worry, if all else fails you can redo a play that has been done before."

"If we're going to do that, we might as well just quit now. I refuse to be the director who just copied last year's play."

"Okay, I understand. Let me talk to Mr. Jacobson for you. I'm sure he'll think of something."

Alec seemed to visibly calm. "Luc, you'll star in the play for me right?"

Lucas hesitated, he had enough on his plate without adding a play to the mix, but he saw the desperation in Alec's eyes. He knew that with his popularity it would really help the play if he was in it. He let out a pained sigh, "Okay, let me take care of getting you a play first, then we can talk about me starring in it."

Alec thanked him profusely before sending him on his way. As he headed back towards the office, Lucas mulled over the problem. Casting was supposed to start at the end of the week so they only had a few days to come up with a whole new play.