THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE PREP [ 1 ]

40 - GUIDANCE

||BRAD||

Having history without Noah has gotten twice the amount incredible dullness, plus considering that we're also only watching a documentary... in black and white! Mr. Masson wasn't even paying attention to, and most of us were even whispering across the room, not giving a single damn about this prehistoric video. I would give Noah a message, but I doubt that he would even check his phone if he knew it was me for the sake of my bad grades in this forbidden class. I guess Taylor's gonna be in charge of preventing me from falling asleep. Which reminds me of something. Turning towards him on my left who was actually surprisingly minding the monochromatic film, I tapped on his shoulder and got him to notice me, "have you talked to Jackson yet?" I said, asking him in a low voice.

"Not much today, why?" He asked.

"I was just wondering because he asked me personal questions about my sexuality yesterday and I want to know if there's something up?" I leaned on my hand.

Taylor's facial expression morphed rapidly. He looks at me with an unsure look, "I kinda have a thought for a while now..." his voice fades. My vision narrows to him. "... that he might not exactly be... hetero," he murmured almost too quietly that I couldn't hear it.

I slightly rose from my seat, looking at him in surprise, "What? What makes you say that?" I said as if he was crazy, my head whirling.

Taylor shrugged, "he's been asking me questions before too, almost as if he was seeking for advice, though I don't know why he wouldn't ask you at first though," I furrowed my eyes at him, but didn't exactly know what to think of this. "Remember that time when he gave a kiss to Ethan?" I nodded, replaying that scene in my head during Noah's get together, "apparently he's been feeling confused lately because of it..." at first, it seemed like a vague accusation. I kept my eyes on him to see if he was making all this up as a joke or whether he seemed genuine about, and sure enough, he didn't even crack a single smile. I tried to put in a bit of thought into it. It may make a tiny bit sense, but I just can't believe that the signs were only showing up just now, either that or I'm may not be that observant, "Should I... talk to him?" I just brought up, wondering if I really should.

Taylor shrugged, "I mean, if someone's going to, it should probably be you."

I understood. Caressing my thumb with my other, I breathed out and kept quiet. I never thought of Jackson being like that, it's either this really was his awakening or that he's convincingly suppressed himself for an unhealthy amount of time. Then I guess that's it, I'll try to approach him slowly, and if he doesn't want to cooperate, I'll wait for him to feel ready. Who knows? Maybe that might not even be the actual reason.

-

I decided not to bring it up during lunchtime. I feel like it's best to talk to him about it where there's more privacy and not in the center of a busy cafeteria. Liam, Taylor, were just talking about random stuff with Jackson as if that conversation I had with him didn't happen yesterday. Zack, being the responsible guy that he is, brought out his folder containing his sheets of songs and was marking down things on it with a pen. Seems like all of them are busy, and I was starting to get bored. Bringing out my phone, I sent a text to Noah, hoping that he would at least respond. Sadly, I've waited for about five or maybe seven minutes and he hasn't even seen it. I pouted and placed my phone down next to my half-finished tray. Glancing at Zack beside me who still had his eyes glued on his paper. As much as I fear and hate to do so, I decided to do some 'small talk' to help pass the time, "Hey Zack, how long do you think this music concert's gonna last?" I questioned.

Look at me from the corners of his eyes, he spoke, "about an hour or longer." I let out a groan and a huge sigh. As much as I really wanted to be there for Noah, I couldn't be bothered to stay there for an entire hour. It's just that, I could give a few minutes of appreciation, but I can't keep it up for that long. Back then, Annabel used to invite me to these sorts of things. Despite music not being my thing, I tried to be there for her, and I want to do the same for Noah too. "Bro... does it really take up that much time?" I grunted.

"Well... compared to only a choir performance, since it's a music concert, meaning that the band kids are going to be included, yeah it'll take longer," Zack chuckled.

"Dude, he can help you," I heard Taylor's voice.

Taking my attention away from Zack, I turned to see both him and Jackson looking at me, Liam seemingly not knowing what exactly they were talking about. "Alright fine," Jackson heaves a breath, looking at me straight in the eyes, "meet me later after school."