Elemental Angels

Chapter 4

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Liam's POV
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"Y-You really meant what you said out there? I-I'm your friend?" Ryan asked when we continued driving. I smiled at him.

"Yeah. 'Course you are." I answered. "Is that bad?" I asked as I scratched my neck.

"N-No, not at all. I just wasn't expecting someone like you to want to hang out with me. I'm pretty boring." He said and I gave him a dirty look.

"Stop doing that. It's unhealthy. And besides, who cares if you're boring. You're not boring to me." I said with a smile on my face. Then the guy in front of us turned around and put his hand out. I recognized him. He was fighting Bec just outside.

"I'm Steven. But you asshole probably know me by 'that gay guy' or 'faggot'. Or even 'cock sucker'." He introduced himself. It was rude, but honestly I do remember the jocks mentioning those names a few times during conversation.

"Heh, I do know you from these names." I said awkwardly. He raised an eyebrow. Then the girl next to him joined the conversation.

"And I'm Sandy. His best friend." She said with a wide smile on her face.

"I-I'm Liam. But I'm gonna assume you knew that." I said. They nodded.

"How could we not have heard of the asshole Liam."  Steven said. My heart broke. Everyone knows me like that.

"Those are lies. I promise. I didn't do any of that. A-And I'm not homophobic. Some of the other jocks probably are, but I'm not. I actually did yell at Mike and Carl a few times after I heard some homophobic slur come out of their mouth. I-I swear." I confessed, telling the truth. It annoys me when someone insults someone because of their sexuality.

"You did? Wow, I wouldn't expect that from you. I think I'm starting to like you." Steven said in shock and then shot me a smile. I smiled back. "I heard what you said to that girl, Becca. Very brave. You just lost your title as the most popular boy of the school." He added. I shrugged.

"I honestly don't care. I never really liked being popular anyway. There's too much pressure. Apparently everyone who's popular is an asshole. And I don't like that. Also then there's the thing that someone literally went around the school and told lies about me so that everyone hated me even more." I confessed and looked at Ryan. He had a sad look on his face. "I just don't wanna be around them anymore. I'd rather be around someone like you guys." I added and Sandy smiled.

"Well, I never had anything against you, but Steven hates you for no reason." She said and lightly punched his arm. "And what's your name?" She asked as she turned to Ryan.

"Uh, Ryan." He answered simply.

"Oh, you don't talk much do you?" She asked. Steven punched her arm. I know she didn't mean anything bad with that, but maybe Ryan's very anxious about that.

"Uh, I've never had friends. I don't really know what it's like." He said and I couldn't help but feel bad. He must've been so lonely.

"Oh. Why? You seem like a nice and likeable person." Sandy said and I noticed Ryan blush slightly.

"I-I've been turned down every time I was close to making friends. I guess that's why I'm closed off. I don't trust anyone now. But Liam sorta restored my trust in people a bit." Ryan said and I felt so happy.

"Really?" I asked and he nodded.

"I still wouldn't trust Liam." Steven chimed in and Sandy was quick to punch his arm.

"Liam isn't bad. You just didn't meet the real him yet." Sandy said and I smiled at her. She was quick to smile back. But no one actually knew the real me. There's one secret that no one knows about me. And I'm not ready to show that part of me to anyone yet.

"Guys, there's apparently cabins for four people and, well, I'm gay and I don't have any guy friends. Do you maybe want to go in a house with me?" Steven asked.

"Oh, so you wanna be in the same cabin with me? For a whole week? Are you thinking straight?" I teased.

"I never think straight. I'm gay." He threw back. "But I also said I'm starting to like you. I wanna give you a chance." He added and that made me feel better. "And Ryan's just a cool dude and I like him." He said and smirked at me. They kept on talking about all sorts of stuff for a few more hours. I'm also glad that Ryan relaxed around us. All of a sudden Becca showed up. I noticed Steven roll his eyes.

"What do you want? Are you jelaous of me or something?" I asked with a cold tone.

"I-I... I don't know what I want, to be honest. I'm heartbroken. You don't even like me as a friend. That's what breaks me." She said.

"Well, I'm sorry but I meant what I said. I'm gonna think about talking to you when you get rid of that horrible personality." I said. She frowned. "I think you should go now. I don't think any of my friends really want you here right now." I added.

"But I just want you to give me a chance. I promise you I'm not that bad." She kept pushing.

"Then prove it. Stop being a bitch to anyone who's 'unpopular'. Start being nice. Make sure homophobia in our school stops. Make sure racism stops. Literally do anything good." I said and pointed to the back of the bus. "Now scram. You're done here." I added, she gave me one last sad look before turning and walking to the back of the bus.

"Damn. I like you more with each second." Steven said and my heart felt at ease. He trusts me.

"So does that mean you trust him?" Sandy asked. Steven shrugged.

"Who knows." He simply said. Then they both sat back down in their seats and talked between each other. I put my earbuds in and listened to music for a few minutes until Ryan tapped my shoulder. I took one of my earbuds out.

"I know you said you weren't gay out there, but I actually wouldn't be that surprised if you were." He said with a smile on his face.

"B-But I'm not. What even makes you think that?" I asked.

"Well, I guess you look like a straight boy, but your personality just has that vibe. But don't take it as an insult. Gay means happy after all." He said and chuckled.

"I-I didn't. Don't worry. But, yeah, sorry to disappoint you. I'm not gay." I stated and he laughed a bit. It's weird. He's the first one that ever said I give off a gay vibe. But I guess it's not that bad, right? "But, uh, are you gay?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Nope. Straight as a ruler. But never had a girlfriend because I'm a loser. I constantly get crushes, but I'm never good enough for the girls." He said and I patted his shoulder.

"C'mon, be positive. You'll find the right one when the time comes." I comforted and he smiled.

"And what about you? I can imagine you had a bunch of girlfriends. You're popular." He said. I chuckled.

"Well, not that many. I was in three relationships 'till now." I lied. I was actually in four, but I never told anyone about the fourth one and for now I don't plan to do that. I feel too insecure about it.

"At least you had girlfriends." He said.

"But the only reason they dated me is to get some recognition in school." I said truthfully. Except for the fourth one. But that one's a different story for a different day.

"That sucks." He said with a frown. "Don't hate me for what I'm about to say, but I think Becca really loves you. As crazy as it may sound." He added. I did get a little mad, but calmed down pretty quickly.

"Well, she can forget about me. I never liked her and never will." I said. "Never liked her romantically I mean. She used to be such a good friend when we weren't popular. But she turned into a bitch as soon as she got popular. The attention got to her head." I added. It was the truth. I used to really enjoy her company. The rest of the ride was pretty casual. And I was actually surprised that none of my popular friends asked about me.