"Wow, you're good. But I guess I wasn't really being that subtle. You took me by surprise."
"It was a gut feeling. I have Chorus next period, how about you?" He said, glancing at his watch to make sure they weren't going to be late.
"Oh, I've got Calculus, damn it, I don't know where I'm going in this school, do you know where this room is?" He asked, taking out his schedule again.
"Hmm… cute, talented, and smart," Garret commented, before showing Andy where his next class was. "I came here before the break started to make sure I knew where my classes were."
"Do you always answer people's question's before they ask them?"
"It's a habit. You're going to ask why I came out like that, too. It's pretty simple. I know what I've got," he said, gesturing at his face and body, "and I'd rather not have to start school with girls all over me. Not like I really care what other people think. I can defend myself."
"Hmm… yeah. My old school's not even as close to as rich as this one is, so you see a lot of different types of people. I was out of the closet there, and no one really judged me for it. I guess the whole football thing helped out with that though. It's pretty obvious that it'll be different here."
"It really was nice to meet you; it certainly was a pleasure to meet a friendly face in my first class, especially one attached to a body like yours with a huge brain behind it. Call me after your last period. We can hang somewhere, continue this. That cool with you?"
"Sounds great," Andy said, before turning to walk in the other direction, a huge smile plastered to his features. 'What an awesome first day.'
--
Andy's had boyfriends before, but he was still taken aback by how fast this relationship was going. He didn't know the guy for more than two days before they were already on their first date, and exchanged their first kisses. He already took him home to meet his folks, his mom beaming that Andy found such a charming young man to accompany him in this new place.
It didn't take long for the word to spread about the couple. After all, they had no qualms about holding hands in the hallway, and that just wasn't done between guys at Liberty. A few days into their new semester, and they had all but become accustomed to the combination of giggling from girls and scowls they received as they passed through the hallways.
"See ya later Bri!" Abigail said, kissing her boyfriend quickly before touching the gold charms on his neck for good luck, smiling that he was actually wearing them.
"Excuse us, sorry for interrupting," Garret said, laughing, pushing the couple apart to get through the doorway and pulling Andy in for a surprise kiss of his own, mimicking Abigail's actions.
"Ugh, disgusting assholes. I can't believe you have to go to class with them every day; you must get sick just watching them. Anyway, bye!" She said, sauntering away to her own first period.
"Bye…" Brian replied, turning to Corey when she was outside of earshot, "Annoying slut."
"Amen," Corey said, laughing. "She doesn't know what she's talking about. They do make a cute couple, though."
"Jealous, much?" Brian said, raising his eyebrows.
"Me? No, you know what we've got is a thousand times better, anyway," Corey said, discreetly squeezing Brian's ass outside of anyone's line of sight before they sat down, laughing at Brian's reddening complexion.
"Quit it! Not here!" Brian hissed, the simple touch already working him up.
"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about…" Corey said, taking a quick glance around the computer lab before snaking a hand to the inside of his thigh, causing Brian to squeak quietly. Corey snapped his hand away, the perfect picture of innocence, as Brian resorted to putting his head down on his desk to call less attention to himself.
"Is everything alright back there, gentlemen?" Their teacher asked, entirely used to them not paying any attention.
"Yes sir!" Corey said, grinning. "He's just crazy when he doesn't get enough sleep."
"I'm sure you would know," Mr. Monroe cracked, before resuming his lecture. He was really starting to hate those two.
--
Ensuring that Brian was within earshot when the bell rang, Garret pulled Andy in for another quick kiss before readying to leave. "Bye Andy-wandy-poo!"
Andy laughed, pulling away, mouthing a silent sorry towards the slightly irritated looking Brian. Garret saw it though, sighing.
"Oh, fine, if you're going to be like that." Garret said, approaching Brian. "Sorry to mess with you, dude, just that your girlfriend is so goddamned annoying. She's in some of my other classes, how can you stand her?"
"I manage, somehow," Brian said, scoffing as he walked out of the classroom with Corey, who was too busy laughing at Brian's expense.
"You know, I like him," Corey said.
"That makes one of us. I don't need people telling me what I already know."
Garret walked alone to the chorus room, taking a seat, waiting for the class to start. He glanced at his watch, and figuring that he had enough time to get this over with, he turned around, sighing with agitation. 'I can't believe it's already starting, I thought I tried to make it as obvious as possible that I'm gay…'
"Your name is Christine, right? You know, it's not polite to stare."
She blushed, averting her eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Sure you don't. I don't find it offensive. But I'm gay, and I'm currently dating someone, so, you know, just quit, okay?"
"Oh…" she said, forcing herself to regain her composure. "Sorry about that. Just that, you've got a beautiful voice."
He laughed, seeing in this girl's eyes that she wasn't like the rest of them. "Because it was my voice you were staring at just now? I'm kidding, I'm kidding, thank you for the compliment, I'm flattered, especially from someone with a voice like yours. I don't think I've introduced myself to you before. I'm Garret Summers, moved here this semester from Texas."
"It's nice to meet you," she replied, working her way past her previous embarrassment.
"The pleasure's all mine…" he said, thinking for a moment. "You know, I don't really know anyone here, except for Andy, but he doesn't know anyone either. We were going to go out for dinner somewhere tonight; would you like to join us? If the third wheel thing is too awkward or anything, I'm sure he'd be okay with double dating. If you're going out with someone."
Slightly taken aback from how direct he was, she slowly nodded. "That sounds like, fun, actually. No, I'm not dating anyone, but I can find someone to go with. Can I have your number to call for the time and place?"
"Sure," he said, pulling out his phone to exchange numbers with her.
--
"Wait, what, where are you dragging me this time?" Brian asked.
"We're double dating with this couple I just met today. Don't give me that look, I've only met one of them, but he's really sweet. Come on, it'll be fun!"
Brian shook his head, silently cheering for the chance to go out with her in a date setting, even as friends. "Fine. Who's the lucky couple, then?"
"Oh, their names are Garret Summers and Andy… Taylor I think?"
"Andy… as in Andrea, or Andy, as in, like, we're going to be double dating with a gay couple."
"Second one. You don't have a problem with that, do you?" Christine said, preparing herself to berate him if he answered incorrectly.
"Why would I? Makes no difference to me," Brian said sheepishly, his hands up defensively as he saw the daggers in her eyes. 'Great… more gay guys. I've got a great track record for making gay friends. It's enough for me to question Lee's sexuality now, too.'
--
"This must be Andy!" Christine said, shaking the brunette's hand.
Brian took his turn to introduce himself to them, hitting himself mentally. 'I should revise that. I've got a great track record for making gay friends that are more attractive and in way better shape than me. At least I don't have to worry about competing for Christine. Wait, why am I thinking like that?'
"It's nic
e to meet you two. To be honest, I was kind of weirded out that Garret randomly asked another couple to double date with us after just having met one of them, but obviously he's got a good eye for good people."
"See Christine? I'm not the only one who thought that this was weird too!"
"Keep quiet, Brian, it obviously wasn't a mistake to come. We should head inside. It's ironic that you chose this place. I used to go here all the time, Italian is my favorite."
The four couldn't even manage to take a few steps into the restaurant before the manager came up to them, shaking Christine's hand vigorously. "Wonderful! It's been so long since I've seen my second favorite customer here! Speaking of which, where is Brian? I haven't seen him around since-"
"A month and a half ago, with a loud, pompous, clingy idiot? Yeah, sorry, I don't really hang out with him anymore," she said, not missing a beat.
"That is unfortunate, I really miss having him around to taste my new recipes. If you see him, tell him to stop by, I've got plenty of new ideas I'm sure his stomach would love!"
"I'll be sure to. Sorry to hurry this along, but I'm kind of starving."
"Of course, of course, let me show you to your seats."
They ordered their drinks and appetizers, Brian nudging Christine at the curious stares from the couple on the other side of the table.
"I'm sorry about that, guys. Old friend, used to go here all the time with him."
"You wouldn't be talking about the same Brian who's going out with that bitch Abigail Sinclair, would you?" Garret asked pointedly, ignoring the subtle glare from Brian to drop it.
"Yeah, Brian Mannus. Why?"
"Oh, nothing, we have him in our first period, we gave him a pretty hard time today about his girlfriend, didn't we?" Garret said, laughing.
"Don't remind me… you have to stop doing stuff like that, it's already bad enough that we get glares from half the school, we probably shouldn't be making any more enemies than we have."
"Lighten up; Brian's friend seemed to think it was funny. Brian himself seems pretty cold though."
"Enough about that," Brian interjected, even though he was beginning to get interested when Corey was brought up. He didn't want to risk Christine getting unstable on him again. "So, what do you two do for fun?"
"Oh, lighten up, Brian, I'm fine, can't you tell? They'll answer your question in a second. Sorry about him, he's just being defensive on my behalf. Back to what you did, details?"
Garret relayed the events from that morning and Brian and Corey's reactions, much to Christine's amusement. Brian couldn't help but laugh either, especially since he knew that Brian was only putting up a front. He'd heard plenty from Corey over the phone, and was even surprised that he was starting to use the word "love."
'I guess that means that the relationship with Abigail is tanking. Christine would be thrilled, if I could tell her. I wonder if Brian feels the same way back towards him…'
"Oh… and about us. I don't really do that much, I sing here and there and play guitar. Andy here is the real talented one though. I'm still amazed I managed to catch someone like him on my first day here."
"You're exaggerating, Garret. Really, don't listen to a word he says, he loves to embellish about me."
"Embellish nothing. A genius, an artist, and an athlete in one package. Star quarterback for his old high school team, the Washington Wildcats, as a junior."
"Wait, what? You were their quarterback?" Christine asked, amazed. "We only beat you by a little bit. That was an amazing game! What a small world!"
'Damn, I have to revise my statement again… I've got a great track record for making gay friends that are more attractive and in way better shape than me, and happen to be football prodigies…'
"Yeah, we wouldn't have beat you at all if it weren't for that last ditch play on our part," Brian said, suddenly impressed by the person sitting across from him.
Andy grimaced, remembering how sure he was that night that they had victory in the bag. "That was impressive. Who were your quarterback and running back, anyway?"
Brian and Christine blinked, the pure coincidence of the situation making their heads spin. Christine looked at Brian first, and answered, "Why they would be none other than Corey Towers and Brian Mannus."
The manager came by with the tray full of their orders, and waited to see what they thought of the food. After they all nodded their approval, he went off, tending to the rest of the customers.
"So where were we?" Christine asked, staring amused at the spectacle across from them. Garret was shaking his head with embarrassment at Andy who was attacking his plate with a fervor that Christine had only seen one person have before.
"You'll have to forgive him," Garret said, slapping Andy on the back, causing him to gag and slow down. "He forgets that the food won't just up and disappear on him."
"No… no, he's fine, let him be," Christine said, giving Brian a meaningful look before starting her own meal.
--
"Thanks so much for doing this with us," Andy said, shaking both of their hands and giving Christine a slight hug. "We really appreciate making new friends here. We got lucky and found ourselves a pair of normal, non-judgmental people."
"Always happy to meet new people," Christine replied, giving Garret a small hug too. "We'll keep in touch, for sure. Call again to hang out any time."
"Expect it," Garret said, taking Andy with him to his car.
As Christine got into the passenger seat of Brian's car, he brought up what was likely to be on her mind. "He reminds you of the old Brian, doesn't he?"
"Andy? You noticed it too? I thought I was going crazy."
"Are you going to be okay?"
"I think so. I miss him, Brian."
"I know," Brian said, giving her a comforting smile. 'Please don't hate me, Christine…'
--
"Andy, did you want to do anything this afternoon?" Garret asked, meeting him by his last period.
"No, I have to go to that meeting thing, for students wanting to play varsity football next year. I'll call afterwards though, it shouldn't take too long."
"Have fun…" Garret said, walking off towards the parking lot.
Andy had by now acclimated himself to the building somewhat, and knew generally his way around. When he made it to the room that the announcement stated, he was surprised to see Brian and Corey there. He had assumed that they were both seniors. Looking around, he saw a few people signing in, and he waited in line. The coach was at the end of the table, appraising the new talent.
When Andy wrote his name on the sheet, Coach Stewart glanced over, and grew much more interested. "You're Andrew Taylor?"
"Yes sir, but I prefer Andy."
"That's fine, why don't you stand by me for a moment, until this meeting starts. I'm the head coach; you can call me Coach Stewart."
Corey didn't miss the person who Coach just singled aside, and nudged Brian to make him aware of it too. 'Damn it, what is Coach planning. This could be bad…'
Coach Stewart saw the concerned look on Corey's face, smiling inwardly. He'd heard about the proclamation that Corey gave that Brian was officially the new captain for next year. While he didn't appreciate Corey trying to use the school to pressure his decision, he respected him enough to keep his recommendation into consideration.
"Corey, what are you even doing here, anyway?" He asked.
"Just checking out the new talent too, Coach," Corey replied obediently, still eyeing Andy hesitantly.
He checked the clock, judging that he might as well start the meeting. "This is mainly directed towards the underclassmen here, but you people already on the team should listen up too. You should know that our school takes football extremely seriously. If you're trying out for my team, I will push you, until there isn't anything left to push anymore. Not all of you will make it through the summer, better yet onto the varsity team. I'm not trying to scare you out of it, but go into this knowing what you're getting into."
H
e paused, backing up until Andy was in front of him. "Before I start giving out all the administrative crap though, I'd like to introduce someone that I'm sure will promise to be one of our most promising players next year. This young man started as quarterback for our biggest competition this year, as a junior. His record rivals even that of our own Corey Towers when he was a junior. Team, I'd like you to meet our new secret weapon, Andy Taylor."
CHAPTER SEVEN
"Coach, are you seriously gonna let that fag play on our team?" Dallas roared in outrage. A quiet murmuring bubbled around the room as people began to talk, the noise level steadily rising in the room.
"Whoah, whoah, now, what's this about?" Coach Stewart said, curious to get to the bottom of this situation.
"Brian and Corey can tell you, they have him and his boyfriend in their first period. Even me and Dallas've seen them kissing and shit in the halls!" James said.
After that ourburst, the coach lost the ability to control his team. Complaints, insults, and all manner of cursing were thrown left and right, both at Andy himself, who was backing up slowly in the direction of the door in slight fear, and at Coach Stewart, for endorsing the gay. Coach Stewart himself was having second thoughts, he shared much the same ideologies as his team, and he wasn't sure how he felt about their quarterback, who might even be team captain, being gay.
By the time Andy realized it was a smart decision to leave before he was in any actual danger, Brian shot up, standing up on a chair, poising himself to shout.
"QUIET! Andy, don't you think about leaving. Dallas, James, sit your asses down, and quit being fucking retards. The rest of you, you should be ashamed of yourselves. Don't you realize who this guy is? He's the quarterback of the team that almost actually beat us. Don't you realize how much of a blessing it is that he's on our side now? Especially since Corey's leaving this year, let's face it; none of our junior quarterbacks are up to snuff. Talent is talent, how you swing doesn't make a shit of difference."
Coach blinked, genuinely impressed by how Brian took control of the team. And the team actually listened. Maybe there was something after all to Corey's recommendation. He wasn't making any decisions yet though. He wanted to see for sure if Andy would be better or not. "He's said all that needs to be said. Andy, sit down, and welcome to the team, son."
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