by Jay Argent
Chapter 7
Liam was glowing with satisfaction. Alex, the blond swimmer, would be working with him. The topic that Mr. Timothy had given them was the Paris Peace Treaties, which had formally established peace between the Allies and Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Finland. To be honest, Liam didn’t care what the topic was as long as he could work with Alex. However, his happiness was evanescent.
“Could I work with Rick instead?” Liam heard Alex ask with some urgency in his voice. Mr. Timothy stopped arranging his papers and looked at Alex.
“Mr. Wesley, is there a particular reason why you cannot work with Mr. Green?” he asked.
“Well, sir, I just thought that I could work with Rick … or Sofia,” Alex explained.
“Rick is working with Rosa and Sofia with Jacob. You and Liam are a team,” Mr. Timothy told him, ending the discussion.
Liam was annoyed. First, Alex’s lunatic friend had tried to kill him, and now the arrogant jock was embarrassing him in front of the class by refusing to work with him. It was just a goddamned presentation. They were not expected to be best friends for the rest of their lives. Liam couldn’t understand why Alex was being so dramatic.
To Liam’s great relief, Alex finally sat next to him. “I’m sorry for the … scene. Of course, I’ll work with you,” Alex said with some regret in his voice. “That is … assuming you still want to work with me,” he added quickly.
Liam was both surprised and confused. He blushed slightly at the attention he was getting from Alex. “Sure,” he said shyly.
Both boys were silent for a long time while they were reading the handouts that Mr. Timothy had given them. Liam was writing notes in the margins and using marker pens of different colors to highlight the key points. When he reached the last page, he sneaked a glance at Alex. The jock was still on the third page. Liam moved his gaze from Alex’s hair to his slim and muscular body. This project will be so great, he thought with a smile.
After a moment, Liam looked at Alex again. The boy looked so cute as he focused on the handout. Of course, he always looked cute. Liam had noticed that, after Sam was arrested, Alex and Rick had stopped causing him any trouble at school.
Unfortunately, Alex hadn’t paid much attention to Liam at all. If anything, he was polite but distant. Liam hoped that this pair work would let him get to know Alex a little better and maybe even become friends with him.
Finally, the bell rang. Liam was about to ask Alex when they would continue working on the presentation, but Sofia appeared and literally pushed Alex out of the classroom. Liam couldn’t help checking out Alex’s butt, which was perfect as always. What was not perfect was Sofia’s hand on it.
Liam met Jacob in the corridor, and the boys walked together toward the chemistry classroom. Jacob talked about ice hockey, which didn’t surprise Liam, but he listened politely.
“You don’t mind doing working on the history project with Alex’s girlfriend?” Liam asked.
“Not at all. She’s super-hot! And besides, you’re working with Sofia’s boyfriend,” Jacob replied. Then he understood what he had just said. “Well, I didn’t mean that you and Alex are … I mean…. Well, just forget what I said.” As he tried to explain his logic, he didn’t notice that Liam was blushing.
Liam was irritated. If Alex had been a girl, he could have told Jacob that he had a crush on Alex. Instead, he had to hide his feelings while listening as Jacob gave a very detailed description of Sofia’s boobs and butt. Liam was worried about his new friend’s reaction if he told Jacob that he fancied Alex’s muscular chest and tight butt more than Sofia’s female versions. So he just smiled and agreed that Sofia was gorgeous, though the put-on made him want to vomit mentally.
The school day continued with no big surprises, and before Liam realized it, he was packing his books to go home. He hadn’t found an opportunity to discuss the history presentation with Alex, and since Alex would already be on his way to swim practice, Liam decided to talk with him the next day. He didn’t want to do the work alone.
“How was your school day, dear?” Liam’s mother asked as he closed the front door and removed his winter jacket. Though Liam had no siblings, the rack in the hallway was always full of clothes.
“It was great,” he replied as his mother straightened her suit and sprayed far too much perfume on her neck.
“I have the evening shift, and I need to go now. You father will be here in an hour. Will you be okay?” her mother asked, sounding worried.
“I’m a big boy. I guess I can manage for an hour without you or Dad,” Liam answered, amused, and rolled his eyes.
Liam knew that the accident at the beginning of December still bothered his mother. She wasn’t over it, and neither was he. If Alex hadn’t pulled the steering wheel, Liam would have been dead. He hadn’t seen the truck coming until the very last moment. When he jumped, he had hit his head on something and lost consciousness for a while. Fortunately, the doctor had said that there was no permanent damage.
Unfortunately, Patrick, Alex’s close friend from the swim team, hadn’t been so lucky. Like Liam, he had been one of the kids walking to the Christmas market. Patrick had been hit by Sam’s truck as it slid uncontrollably on the icy street. He was already dead when the ambulance arrived.
Liam and his mother had visited Patrick’s grave on Christmas Day. In some weird way, Liam felt that fate had switched their roles. It should have been Liam who was sleeping in that grave. At least, that had been Sam’s plan.
Liam’s thoughts switched back to Alex. He had been thinking about Alex a lot lately. There was no question that Alex was the most handsome guy in the school and that Liam had fallen for him. On the other hand, it bothered Liam that Alex had been part of the gas station robbery and the accident.
He knew that Alex was dating Sofia but was still happy that Mr. Timothy had paired them for the history presentation. Maybe that was fate as well, and with some luck, he might make a new friend, a very cute one.
Alex was different than Liam’s first crush, Matthew, who had suddenly disappeared from his life. Where Alex had a well-defined, slim body, Matthew was shaped more like an ordinary guy. Liam felt shallow, being so obsessed with Alex’s good looks. He had always liked Matthew because Matthew was friendly and funny, and Liam had enjoyed spending time with him. He worried that Alex was just an empty shell without a pearl inside.
“Should I tell my parents that I’m gay?” Liam asked his reflection in the mirror. It didn’t answer and looked as confused as he was.
Keeping such a big secret from his parents was eating at him. He was close to them, and he was worried that coming out to them would change things. Maybe they wouldn’t be proud of him anymore.
After the accident, Liam had delayed his plan to come out. He didn’t want to shock his parents more. The fact that their son had almost died had upset them enough. Now things were gradually getting back to normal, but he never felt that the moment was right to deliver the message. And even if it had been, he wouldn’t have been able to find the right words.
The opening of the front door interrupted his contemplation. Soon his father’s face appeared in his bedroom door. “Do you want some pizza?” Mr. Green asked. “I bought some on my way home. I didn’t have time for a proper meal at work.”
Liam smiled and followed his father to the kitchen. They ate their pizza and wondered what Liam’s mother would think about their healthy dinner. Together, they agreed not to say a word.
“Sorry about yesterday. I thought that, because of the accident, you wouldn’t want to work with me,” Alex said when he sat down next to Liam, who seemed tongue-tied. It was five past eleven, and history class had just started.
“It’s okay. We can forget that,” Liam said finally.
“Cool,” Alex replied, not knowing what else to say.
Alex listened carefully as Liam explained the notes and observations he had made from Mr. Timothy’s handouts. He was amazed at how much informatio
n Liam had gathered. The handouts had been full of difficult terms and confusing details, and he was happy that he had been paired with such a genius.
Next, they discussed how they would structure the presentation and what additional information they needed. Alex found it funny that Liam asked for his approval for every decision, despite clearly knowing how the presentation should be done. Alex had hardly anything to add, so he simply agreed with Liam’s proposals since the boy clearly needed some encouragement.
When the class ended, Alex was surprised by how much they had accomplished. He packed his things quickly but stayed and waited for Liam, who was more meticulous in putting his belongings into his bag.
“Let’s take our bags to our lockers and go get some lunch,” Alex said. Liam followed him out of the classroom.
The cafeteria was serving grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, and grated carrots. Alex shoveled his plate full of food and looked for an empty table. Soon, they found one and sat down.
“I’m starving! Luckily, this is edible,” Alex said after swallowing a bite.
“Yeah, and it’s nicer to eat at the table than on the floor,” Liam said sarcastically.
“I’m so sorry. Sam was an idiot sometimes,” Alex replied, looking embarrassed.
“It’s not your fault,” Liam said quickly, regretting his snide comment.
Soon Rick, Rosa, and Sofia arrived and joined them. Sofia sat next to Alex and glared at Liam.
“How’s your project going with Jacob?” Alex asked Sofia.
“It’s okay,” Sofia said shortly.
“How’s the gay couple doing?” Rick joked, referring to Alex and Liam. All of the other boys had been paired with girls. Alex and Liam were working together because there were more boys than girls in the class.
“Our work is going well,” Liam answered quickly before Alex could swallow all the food that was in his mouth.
“We’re going to Rick’s house to work on our project tonight,” Rosa said.
She glanced at Rick, who had a goofy smile on his face. “Indeed,” he said finally, and his smile seemed to get wider.
“Would you like to come to my place tonight? We have some more work to do, too,” Alex asked. It took Liam a moment to realize that Alex was talking to him.
“What? Sure. That’s fine,” he replied.
“Good, it’s agreed, then,” Alex said casually. He continued eating, totally oblivious to Sofia’s acid glare.
“You are so lucky. Liam’s such a genius,” Rosa said to Alex. She smiled at Liam.
“Miss ‘music is my whole life’ Pearson is making us write an essay about some boring movie that she showed us in music class,” she continued. “Liam finished it in, like, ten minutes.”
“Great. Then I’m in good hands,” Alex said enthusiastically. He didn’t notice that Rick tried to muffle a laugh or that Sofia continued to glare at him silently for the rest of lunch.
When the school day ended at three o’clock, Alex walked to the swimming hall with Rick. They had a two-hour practice that day, and he had agreed to meet Liam after that. He thought they could do homework together and then continue to work on their history presentation.
The boys took quick showers, dressed in their speedos, and walked to the pool.
“I’m still not used to Sam and Patrick not being here,” Rick said with sadness in his voice.
“Me neither,” Alex replied. Even though Sam had been his friend, Alex couldn’t help feeling that he had gotten what he deserved. Did that make Alex a lousy friend?
What Alex missed were all those discussions with Patrick. While the other boys were more interested in girls and swimming, Patrick was the only one he could talk to about his plans for the future. Alex felt that he was growing apart from his childhood friends and that he had just lost the one he would have wanted to keep. The feeling was scary and sad.
“Okay, guys,” Coach Hanson said, choosing his words carefully, “we’ve gone through some difficult times. Two of us are not here anymore, but the rest of us need to keep going.”
After Patrick’s death and Sam’s arrest, the joint decision had been made to stop practices for a while. The team had met a couple of times a week at the swimming hall, and they had mostly spent those times just hanging out together in the pool. Nobody felt any real desire to practice, but they appreciated each other’s company.
Coach Hanson asked the team if they felt ready to continue training. Everybody nodded, and they began with a warm-up. Alex did push-ups and sit-ups on the floor, then jumped into the water and swam to the other side of the pool as fast as he could. It felt great for his body and mind. He hadn’t felt this happy and energetic for weeks.
“What do you think about Liam?” Rick asked Alex when they were taking showers after practice.
“What do you mean?” Alex replied.
“Well, there are some rumors,” Rick said uncomfortably.
“What rumors?” Alex asked impatiently.
“Um … Sam said he’s … gay,” Rick said quietly.
“And you believe everything that Sam said? He killed our friend!” Alex shouted, staring at Rick.
Rick hadn’t wanted to upset Alex. “Sorry, forget I mentioned Sam,” he said quickly. Then he tried again. “I just suspect that Liam isn’t playing on the same team as us.”
“I don’t know where he plays, and besides, it’s not like we’re friends or something. We were just asked to prepare a presentation together,” Alex said and realized that he sounded like he was making excuses for something.
He continued, “And do I really need to remind you that I’m dating Sofia?” He was irritated since Rick had just forced him to cancel his plan to focus on school instead of girls.
Rick changed the subject, and they finished their showers. As they drove home in Alex’s car, they hardly spoke. What Rick had said about Liam bothered Alex, but he decided to ignore Rick’s comments. He stopped in front of Rick’s house, let his friend out of the car, and drove home.
He thought about Liam, whom he and his friends had bullied for the whole semester. Even after that, Liam wanted to come to his house and work on a project with him. The boy must have a big heart, Alex thought, and he felt ashamed of his behavior.