Chapter 1 - Monday
The first day of the school week…. Ugh. I usually have little motivation Monday mornings, but the idea of that cute guy I saw at school on Friday gave me a jolt of excitement when I woke up. I excessively combed through my hair, then used my still unopened bottle of hair gel to make it stand up in lots of little spikes. Once I was finally satisfied with my appearance, I closed the lid to the hair gel bottle and placed it back into the cupboard. I applied my deodorant and shaved cautiously as to not leave any embarrassing mess-up wounds behind. As always, I finished without any mistakes and moved on to wardrobe.
I had woken up earlier than the rest of my family so that I'd have extra time to get ready. I wanted to impress that guy, hopefully he'd notice my drastic change in appearance. Izzy woke up just as I was examining and dismissing nearly every item of clothing I had. 'Dammit! Why do I have to be so freaking emo?!', I thought to myself, frustrated with all of my solid black garments. Izzy and I shared a room and she was now rubbing her eyes sleepily, "Alec, what are you doing?". I was about to tell her that it was nothing and to start getting ready for school, but she was the most stylish person I knew and I was in desperate need of assistance. "Trying to find something to wear.", I replied gruffly, 'Dang! Do I really sound that grumpy?!', I wondered, considering recording my voice so I could make sure that it wasn't just my imagination.
Confused, Izzy sat up on the side of her bed, "Just wear what you always wear.". Practically yelling I replied, "I can't!". Shocked, voice soft and comforting, Izzy questioned, "Is everything ok, Alec…. Did those bullies tease you about your favorite sweatshirt again because of that one damn hole, 'cause I swear!-". I cut her off, "No, it's not that.". I looked down, wondering what to do next. No one knew my true sexuality, not even Izzy, my favorite person in the world. Grinning, she asked, "Did you happen to pick up a girlfriend sometime last week?". Shaking my head furiously, I denied her suspicion. "No, ew! I don't like girls like that!", shocked at what I had just said, I held my hands to my mouth. I didn't dare glance at Izzy, who I could barely make out in my peripheral vision, her mouth gaping open, eyes wide.
'Well, she practically already knows now, so I guess I might as well let the cat out of bag.'. Sighing, I looked up at her, half expecting a disgusted expression smeared over her face, but instead, she just looked worried. "Izzy… I'm gay.", 'Wow, great job, Alec. Way to be subtle.'. A wide grin appeared in her complexion, and me, confused, asked her why she was smiling, "Izzy, I just came out to you, our parents are die-hard Christians who would disown me at first glance if they were to find out, and I'm having a major wardrobe crisis right now. Why are you grinning like a maniac?!". This question only made her smile even wider, driving me insane. "Because, Alec. I already knew. How couldn't I? I'm just really proud of you and flattered that you trusted me enough with your secret.". Now more confused than ever, I had one last question to ask, "Why'd you ask about a girlfriend, then? And how did your reaction look so genuine?", ok, maybe two questions.
She smiled with pride and answered me, "I wanted to see if you were willing to tell me the truth and I needed to know for sure that my suspicions were correct. For the reactions, however…", a sigh, "I take theatre classes at school. You've already been to one of my plays. Honestly, I'm disappointed you couldn't figure that part out on your own." I rolled my eyes and she laughed. Eager to get to the matter at hand, I changed the subject, "Now, about my wardrobe crisis….." "Of course.", she said, with a nod. "Remember that sweater I got you for your birthday?"
By the time I was properly dressed and ready to go, we were almost late for the bus. My mother, pleasantly surprised by my attire that was interesting compared to the usual, complimented me with the title of "dashing young man". This furthered assured me of Izzy's talent in fashion. On the way to school, I daydreamed of the cute guy I saw the Friday before, his perfectly styled hair, forming an impressive wave-like structure, glittering with literal glitter. He was obviously not straight. This gave me hope that I had a chance with him, my first true crush.
∘〇 〇∘
Once I was finally at school, I scanned nearby faces, hoping to see him. No luck, but just as I was starting to consider the possibilities of him being sick and absent from school, I heard a body slam against some nearby lockers. I turned a corner to find just the extravagant, not-straight, cute-guy I was looking for. Unfortunately, he was the one being slammed against the nearby lockers by a jock, who I recognized as the captain of the football team. (Yikes!) He had his fist clenched, my crush's collar within its grasp. Mr. First-Crush was gasping for air, his feet hovering above the ground.
"Faggot! You're nothing but a freak! Enjoy Hell!", the jock yelled in his face. I don't know what I was thinking, all I knew was that adrenaline had taken control, and it was my turn to sit back and watch. I couldn't stand to see him being treated this way. My heart was thumping and my hands clenched into tight fists, knuckles turning white. "Let. Him. Go.", I said under my breath, glaring the jock down. For a second, I thought that he might not have heard me, but my theory was nearly immediately disproved as he slowly turned his head towards me. "What?", he said threateningly. Now, voice confident and loud, I repeated myself. "Let. Him. Go!". I glared my most hate-filled glare. I looked him directly in the eye, the intensity of the glare heightening as I grinded my jaw and clenched my fists with such strength that I was sure my knuckles were as white as physically possible. "And if I don't… What're you gonna do about it?", he questioned, testing me.
That was it. I swung as hard as I could, exerting all my strength into the single, unexpected punch. I hit him smack in the nose. A cracking sound could be heard and his nose immediately started to bleed. The tough, intimidating jock I'd just earlier seen transformed into a screaming toddler. He instantly released the insanely hot mass of glitter and ran towards the nurse's office, wailing exaggeratedly. I knelt down to aid my crush, helping him into a standing position.
We made eye contact and time seemed to freeze. His creamy, brown eyes shone up at me, tears forming a glossy film encasing the stunningly beautiful feature. I felt like kissing him right then and there, already standing so close to him, and already falling so deep in love. Love, not just a simple crush. I almost couldn't speak. "Uh.. uh, are-are you o-okay?", I managed to croak, butterflies filling my insides. He seemed to also be in a trance as he stammered back, "Um, y-yeah, I think.". I glanced at a nearby clock which told me that it was almost time for class. "I'd like to at least know your name before class starts.", I said, as stammer-free as I could manage. He nodded, and didn't seem as recovered from the moment of intimacy as I was, "Y-yeah. Of course.". He managed to form a smile, "My name is Magnus.". I smiled back, "Alec.". He was about to walk away as I grabbed his wrist, stopping him from moving any further from me. He looked back, surprise evident in his expression. I pulled a sharpie out from the side pocket on my backpack with my other hand and wrote my number on the back of his, then placed the writing utensil in his grip. "Could I have the honor of getting your number?", I requested, stretching my opposing hand out towards him. I sounded so calm and collected, but my breathing was difficult to control. He nodded quietly and got to work, scrawling his phone number on my forearm in the neatest handwriting I'd ever seen.
With a forced smile, he looked into my eyes, an action that I could tell he instantly regretted as his smile faded and he just stared, seemingly lost. I couldn't help but admire his too. "You're eyes...", he managed, voice cracking, "They're so…. Blue.". I chuckled, "Is that a compliment?". A genuine smile formed on his lips as he replied, "Absolutely.", before turning away and rushing up a nearby staircase. His stuff still laid, scattered, on the floor where the incident had taken place. Not wanting it to get stolen, I gathered it up and climbed the staircase as well. I could just barely make out his glittery hair as it bobbed up and down in the frenzy of students surrounding us. I followed him all the way to a locker that he stopped at and began to unlock. I ran to him and got his attention with a tap on the shoulder. His head whipped around, startled. "You left your stuff.", I stated. He smiled and replied, "Thank you, Alexander.". I was about to correct him when he took his things and escaped into the swarm of teenagers flooding the hall.
I suddenly remembered my next class and hurried to the room at which it was held. I didn't see Magnus again during the rest of that boring school day, but I definitely texted him afterwards:
Me:
Hi.
Magnus:
Hello, Alexander
Me:
My name's Alec.
Magnus:
I know, but I prefer Alexander if you don't mind.
Me:
It's fine.
Magnus:
:)
Me:
:)
I know, it was just a casual conversation, nothing more, but it was a start and I was very excited for the days to come.