He hummed as he tapped his fingers on the desk over and over and over again.  This teacher had to be the most boring teacher he had at all.  It was the same things over and over again.  This guy killed this guy and made a war and then this country jumped in and then this guy ended it.  Then restart – this guy killed this guy and made a war and then this country jumped in and then this guy ended it.

 

“This is so lame,” Kibo sighed loudly as he slided down in his chair.

 

The Zafara teacher turned around and studied all her 2^nd period students with a steely glare over sharp glasses.  “Did someone have a comment that they wanted to make?”  Her cold brown eyes fell on Kibo.  She knew who had interrupted her lecture.

 

Someone cleared their throat in the back of the classroom.  “Yes,” said a black and red Aisha with an equally steely gaze.  To spite the old lady, he propped his feet up on his desk and let his red bangs fall across his face.  “This class sucks.”

 

Instantly, snickers and gasps erupted from all over the classroom.  Those who laughed were bad students who somewhat admired him; those who were shocked were good students.  No one was really brave enough to speak up against the teacher…not even the one who had spoke…

 

“Well Mister Exallen,” the Zafara teacher said slowly as she walked over to his desk in the back row.  “Perhaps detention is more appealing to you than learning about the world’s history?”

 

Exallen, the black Aisha with red stripes didn’t reply verbally, but instead gave her another icy stare.  He hated being the center of attention.  He hated being singled out.  But he would cover up Kibo’s mistakes, he would take care of Kibo, he would love him forever…

 

Mrs. Eisenminger whipped out a referral in her Zafara paw and placed it squarely on Ex’s forehead.  “I take your silence as an agreement.  March your behind over to the principal’s office, and let him sort you out…I don’t have time for your insubordination!”

 

A low growl started coming from Ex, but he still did not reply.  He snatched the yellow referral, crumpling it intentionally and stormed out the door, his black backpack slung over his shoulder.

 

“I think you’re behind’s just fine, Ex!” Kibo called out after him.  “Stun the principal with it!”

 

The low snickers suddenly roared into uncontrollable laughter.  Most assumed that the two of them were just best friends – really close best friends.  Careful observations of the two would have proved otherwise, and of course, the popular kids were the ones doing the observing.  They knew.

 

Ex glanced over his shoulder with a nervous look.  He really hated all the attention he was getting.  As soon as he was sure he was out of eye and earshot, he sprinted down the halls, pass the hall monitor screaming at him for a hall pass and to the gym.  He ducked inside, and ignored the P.E. class already in there.  They were too busy playing basketball to notice him dash in, anyway.  He tossed the referral into a trashcan, and slipped in under the bleachers.  At long last, his heart slowed down, his breathing became calmer.  He slided to the floor and hugged his knees, burying his head in his arms.  He really hated all the attention

 

Exallen’s half-sleep was disrupted by the loud ringing of the bell, telling the students that it was recess.  He moaned and rubbed his eyes.  He was too tired to move, so he sat there.  No one noticed if he went missing, anyway.

 

 

Despite what he thought, a beautiful striped Aisha was searching the student-filled hallways frantically for him.  She had long purple hair with turquoise bangs, fair skin, and a model-like complexion.  “Exallen!” she yelled, trying to be heard over the chatter of her peers.  “Ex, where did you go?”

 

Another striped Aisha, one year her senior, spun around from digging through her locker.  She had short black hair with a blue streak down it.  “Axie!” she said, grabbing the pretty striped Aisha’s hand.  “Why are you looking for Ex?”

 

Axallea turned her attention to her best friend, Carisha, or Cari for short.  “He promised he’d help me with my math homework, and now it’s like he disappeared off the face of the earth!”

 

Cari offered her a small smile.  “He’s probably off with Kibo, don’t worry!”

 

“No, no he’s not,” a male voice said from behind them.  Both girls spun around to see the original disrupter in second period history standing behind them.  Kibo frowned, his green eyes searching their faces.  “Where’d he go?”  He was as tall as Axie, and really lanky.  He had brown fur with red stripes, and short auburn hair.

 

The two Striped Aishas both shook their heads.  They weren’t really worried, but everything felt lonely without Axie’s twin brother there.

 

Kibo sighed and shifted his backpack.  “He was sent to the principal’s office by Eisenberg, but I went to check, and he’s not there.  And he never showed up.”

 

All three Aishas exchanged knowing glances with each other.  “Bleachers,” they said together.

 

 

After arguing, they decided to let Kibo go after Ex.  Cari had offered to help Axie with her math homework, which she had to finish in ten minutes before third period started.  Kibo looked around the gym, trying to avoid the jocks.  They were around, they had to be.  He was right, they were off playing basketball at the opposite end of the gym.  The football field was too wet and muddy to be played on, so there they were.

 

“Left or right, right or left,” Kibo breathed to himself, looking from the bleachers on the right to the bleachers on the left of the gym.  Ex could be hiding under either one.  With a one-shouldered shrug, he headed towards the right.  He liked right better than left.

 

He silently congratulated himself.  Huddled in the corner with the back to the “entrance” of the bleacher’s was his lover, Ex.  Kibo tried to sneak up on him as quietly as possible.  He wanted to hug him from behind and surprise him with a trail of warm kisses on Ex’s soft, black neck, and –

 

“Hi Kibo,” Ex said quietly without turning around.  He was still hugging his knees.

 

Kibo sighed and sat down next to the fourteen-year-old.  “I hate your stupid vampire senses.  It ruins all my romantic attempts.”

 

Ex gave him an apologetic glance, but nothing more.

 

“Come on,” Kibo whined, tugging at Ex’s shirt sleeve.  Ex was wearing a navy blue shirt with a jolly roger on it.  “I’m not Eisenberg, don’t be mad at me!”  He tugged some more, trying to get the sulky Aisha to smile.  He didn’t.  With another sigh, Kibo took Ex’s limp hand and put it on his chest, right above his heart.  “See?” Kibo said softly.  “I’m not Eisenberg.  She’s got saggy boobs.”

 

He couldn’t help it, Ex laughed.  “You’re right,” Ex replied, taking his finger’s away from Kibo’s softly beating heart and took them to his face.  “I like you much better.”  He gently drew Kibo’s head to his, and caught his lips in a gentle kiss. 

 

Kibo let his fingers wander up Ex’s back under his shirt, instantly stopped when snickering was heard. 

 

“Homos!” called several voices.

 

Ex drew back, horrified.  “You came here with people in the gym?” he hissed at Kibo, too ashamed and afraid to move any farther than he had already had.

 

“Well, yes,” Kibo said, looking up through the cracks of the bleachers, to see the jocks looking back down at them.  “I-I thought they didn’t notice…”

 

Ex glanced up at the bleachers, inching away to the way he came in.  “Well they did, and now what?”

 

Kibo looked up again at the guys above them, half-listening to their jokes and laughs.  He turned back to Ex, who had a panicked look on his face.  “Run!” Kibo yelled, almost laughing himself.  He grabbed Ex’s hand and jerked him out from under the bleachers, out of the gym, into the hallways where students were slowly trickling to their third period classes.

 

“Hey!” one of the guys on the football team yelled.  “The faggots are getting away!”  There were shouts and footsteps thumping down the bleachers, onto the floor of the gym.  They took off after Ex and Kibo, who were running without ever giving a second glance.

 

“This way,” Kibo said, now broke out into a ear to ear grin.  He skidded and made a sharp turn into a freshman hallway, where few brave students still lingered, unafraid of being late for their next class.  They ducked into a seemingly empty classroom and caught their breath.  “You all right?”

 

Ex didn’t reply.  He turned away from Kibo, his face towards the chalkboard like he was called up to solve a problem.

 

“Hey,” Kibo said, his feelings a little hurt.  “Why do you get so poopy when people see that we’re gay?”

 

“I don’t,” Ex replied coldly, still not turning to face Kibo.  He picked up a piece of chalk and started drawing on the blackboard.  His hands swirled around and around, dragging the chalk with it, until finally it became apparent he was drawing the jocks as ugly little pigs with devil horns.

 

Kibo walked behind Ex and took Ex’s hand and made him draw the two of them as stick people holding hands.  “Liar,” he says softly, now making a heart around the two.  “Are you embarrassed of being with me?  Or just being seen with me?”

 

Ex let out a soft cry and threw his head back onto Kibo’s shoulder and forced tears to stay hidden.  “Just…just being seen.  …I love you Kibo.  I really do.”  He licked Kibo’s chin before continuing.  “Please don’t hate me…I don’t like being stared at…”

 

Kibo sighed but ignored it, and caught Ex’s lips in an awkward, almost upside down kiss.  They were just moving into a slightly more comfortable position when they were disrupted yet again – this time by teachers.

 

“But if they can’t pay for the art su-” the two teachers stopped and stared.  Instantly Ex and Kibo pulled away and stared back.  There was a moment of silence, before the short, balding man yelled at them for being late to class, for entering a closed classroom, and for kissing on school grounds, and for both being male.

 

The words floated over their heads.  Same old lecture.  No fooling around.  No dating.  No sexual contact, meaning no kissing.  No being late to class.  No skipping class.  No breaking and entering into locked classrooms.  God didn’t make two Adams.

 

They were sent to the principal’s office, but of course, they only got to see the vice principal.  “And what were you two doing?” she asked, shuffling papers on her desk.

 

“We were hanging out in an empty classroom, when the tardy bell rung,” Kibo replied softly.  He saw Ex on the brink of tears.  The poor guy.  He hated being exposed.

 

“And what were you doing in the empty classroom?”  When neither boys replied, she frowned and looked up at them.  “I said, what were you doing in the empty classroom?  If you don’t answer me, I can count you two for insubordination, too.”

 

“Kissing,” Ex said softly before Kibo could reply.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“We were kissing!” Ex shouted at her, starting to cry.  “If that’s too hard for you to understand, we were doing this.”  He reached over from his seat to Kibo’s and yanked their bodies together, smothering Kibo’s lips with his own.  He heard the VP gasp, but he didn’t stop.  He ran his tongue over Kibo’s, across the roof of his mouth, over his teeth.

 

Suddenly he didn’t care.  He wanted to yell and scream and make everyone feel what he did.  He wanted them to see them kissing, see them loving.  This is how they were, like it or not.  If they didn’t understand, screw them.