by Semirhage
Rating: R for SLASH!! ^.^ (Like that's a bad thing! ::winks::) And, err, cussing.
Chapter Four
Nothing eventful happened in Algebra. The teacher, Miss. Hillox, droned about some kind of formula, and I fell asleep on my desk. Overall, a completely normal class. By the time the bell rang to release us to lunch, I was ready to eat.
I made a quick detour to my locker to grab my lunch bag, then hurried after the crowd into the lunch room. As soon as I stepped into the large, student-packed area, I followed the wall towards my usual lunch table which was located beside one of the big windows. I loved this table the most because I could look outside at the expanse of blue sky or turbulent clouds. It was also the ideal location for watching all the other students.
I froze mid-step and nearly fell on my face when I saw a brown haired boy walking towards me. "Noah!" I hissed silently. "Shit, I forgot he had this lunch too!" My face flushed, but I did not have any time to consider my slip-up before Noah had stopped before me.
"Hey, Adrian," he said. "Are you okay? I thought you got over that clumsiness years ago." His tone was serious, but I knew he was teasing me.
"Hah hah." Sticking my tongue at him, I muttered, "So are you sitting with me today or Ashley?"
"You," Noah replied, causing me to inwardly groan. "Ashley's not at school today. She called last night and told me she was sick. I think she's got that flu that's going around. I'm probably going to go see her this afternoon."
Nodding in agreement, I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped when I remembered something. "So...I suppose that means we're not going skating this afternoon?" I asked, despite the fact that I already knew the answer.
"We can do it some other time, right?" the brown haired boy asked. "I promise I'll make it up to you. It's just that Ashley sounded so sick. It wouldn't be right of me to leave her all alone."
Although I had a strong desire to yell that she did have parents, I nodded. "It's okay. We'll do it some other time."
"You're the best friend a guy could have, Adrian," Noah said as he started walking beside me towards the table by the window.
Smiling, I ducked my head and glanced at him from the corner of my eyes.
After a few moments, Noah said, "She mentioned a double date when I was talking to her, though. She has a cousin, Jessica Raleigh. Ashley said she had wanted to do it for some time, but her cousin was away. But now since she's back... Ash was really disappointed because she got sick. I told her we could do it as soon as she's better."
"Jessica Raleigh," I repeated, searching my memory for a picture of her. Usually, I was really good with faces. "Long, blonde hair, grey eyes, and a perky smile?" I asked.
"Short hair, now," Noah replied. "I'll tell her that it's okay with you and we'll see when we can work something out. It'll be interesting to go on a double date together. It's something of fate, isn't it?"
"I don't really even know her," I pointed out as I sat my bag on the table.
"Once you meet her, you'll like her - oh, there's the new guy." Noah's face changed into stern lines, and his eyes hardened. "He's in my class. He has a ring in his belly button, too. And he seems proud of it. Ugh. Watch out for him on the bus, Adrian. I'm not positive yet, but I think he's a fag."
I opened my mouth to protest, but closed it when I felt a hand land on my shoulder. Gavin, I thought, fighting hard to keep from laughing hysterically. How did I always manage to get myself in the middle of these situations? Caught between my best friend and the charismatic, charming Gavin...
I could see the muscles in Noah's face working and realised that if I did not say something, Gavin probably would make a comment that would only make things worse. I found myself hoping that if Noah got to know Gavin, then he would see there was nothing wrong with him.
"Err, Noah...I don't know if you've ever formally met Gav-in," I said, deciding at the last moment to use Gavin's actual name.
"Thankfully, not," Noah said coldly. His brown eyes were narrowed in dislike and disgust. I recognised it from the times when he stared upon murderers or rapists featured on the television.
My smile fell for the first time with Noah as the cause. I tried to catch his attention and motion for him to try to be polite, but he did not seem to notice.
"Adrian, are you going to let that - abnormality touch you like he's doing? Let's go find another place to sit if he insists on sitting here. I won't cause a fight over something so disgraceful." Noah's lip curled and I felt my hopes plummeting. My stomach tied in knots and my throat constricted.
My tongue darted to lick my lips. "Noah," I pleaded, "why can't he sit with us? He hasn't done anything wrong."
"No," Gavin suddenly said. I was surprised to hear his honeyed tones clipped in ice. "Let him go sit with his perfect friends. I don't want any homophobic, narrow-minded, discriminative, hypocritical, self-righteous idiots such as Mr. Snowden around me. You, Adrian, I don't mind - but not around him. I'll find my own table." He tightened his grasp on my shoulder for an instant before whispering, "You'll always be welcome there."
The pressure disappeared, and I did not have to turn around to know that he had left. My shoulders slumped and my head drooped.
"Well, at least we don't have to find a new table."
My eyes widened, then I snapped my head to stare at Noah. "Why?" I asked, trying hard to stay calm. "Why did you have to act like that? If you would have given him a chance, you would have seen he's a good person! Just because he's not just like you doesn't mean he's wrong!"
"Oh, stop trying to defend him, Adrian! You've read the Bible; you know it as good as I do. God made man and woman. Not man and man. He is wrong, and that's all I have to say about it." Noah's mouth set in a firm line as he took his place at the table.
At that moment, I felt helplessness flooding through my every pore. I felt like collapsing on the floor and wailing at the top of my lungs. I felt sick.
My head dropped again and I stared hard at the floor as I felt the bitterness of my inadequacy as a human and friend stinging at my eyes and moistening my cheeks. "It isn't right," I finally muttered, still not looking towards Noah.
After a few moments, I heard Noah's quiet response. "You just don't understand yet that his evil is evil just the same as that of a murderer-"
"No!" I exclaimed, cutting off whatever he had been going to say next. "Not ever! Don't say that, Noah. Don't."
He stared back at me willfully, then his expression softened. "It's okay, Adrian. It may just take you longer to realise it. Don't worry, with someone like that around, it will just happen faster. Fine, if you want to be his friend, go ahead. I'm not going to hate you for it. Just because I know it will open your eyes to the truth. Go on."
I wanted to suggest that maybe if he spent time around Gavin that he would see the truth, but realised it would not do any good, if not bad. My entire being yearned for him to understand, but I accepted the fact that it would take something infinitely bigger and greater than myself to change his perspective.
"I'll call you later. Tell Ashley I said hi, okay?" I asked before grabbing my bag.
Carefully, I wandered around the tables towards the red-haired figure I saw sitting alone. Before I reached his table, I changed my mind and left the lunch room. As soon as I was clear, I ran to the nearest bathroom, flung myself in the first stall, and proceeded to empty my stomach of all the snacks I had consumed during the day.
Afterwards, I loomed over the toilet for a few moments before flushing it then collapsed against the stall and, pulling my knees to my chest, wrapped my arms around my legs.
"Why me, God?" I asked. "Can't you help Noah see the truth? Or do you have the same beliefs as him? Do you, too, believe Gavin's wrong? But if he's wrong then why do I like him? Why do I want to be with him and be his friend? Why do I like him...?"
Banging my head back against the wall, I waited for the bell to ring. Gym...and Gavin was in it. Thankfully, not Noah. Maybe it would not be so bad... Maybe I could find a toothbrush.
||Chapter Three||Chapter Five||
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