Fluctuating Optimism

A/N: I was really sad that Bad Education is finished. And I ended up writing this short piece. Also I hope people write more stories for the show, it's a small fandom but I hope it keeps growing! :)

DISCLAIMER: Just a fan of the show, I own nothing.

WARNINGS: A little swearing.

It was an unreasonably hot summer's day. Stephen was sat on his own at Starbucks, sipping his cold Vanilla Frappuccino through a straw. It would have been more fun if Chantelle had been able to come, but she was on her third date with a football player. He was only in the minor leagues, but still it was exciting for both Chantelle and Stephen that she was dating someone semi-famous. And Stephen was glad Chantelle was moving on from her Alfie obsession, or at least she was temporarily distracted from it. He wanted her to have a happy life, and that included having a nice boyfriend.

A tall, attractive man in his late twenties, who had dark brown eyes and fair hair, had been staring at Stephen the entire time he had been in the coffee house. He was wearing a business suit which was tailored to fit his well-built form. It worried Stephen somewhat, as he was not sure of the man's intentions. He might be a homophobe, but it seemed more likely that he was attracted to Stephen. Or he could just be being paranoid. Perhaps the man was just observant, and liked to look at people.

Whatever the reason for the man staring, Stephen did not like it. He felt awkward, but he refused to look in another direction. It was not in his nature. He was confident and strong willed, so the idea of looking away felt like he was losing. Stephen had decided he would not show the stranger how uncomfortable he felt, so he stared right back at him. However, he was unable to stop himself getting tense when the man stood up from his seat and walked directly over to him.

His gaze roamed over Stephen, those dark eyes seeming to burn into Stephen as he smiled, showing pearly white teeth. "Hey, can I buy you a drink?"

"No thanks," Stephen replied shortly, holding up his Frappuccino. "I've already got one." He was relieved that the man wasn't a homophobe after all but he was not pleased that the man was hitting on him. The stranger was attractive, but he was probably a little older than Alfie was. And unlike Chantelle, Stephen preferred to go for guys around his own age. Besides, although he kept it a secret, he had a crush on his ex-bully. Really Frank was the only guy Stephen was interested in dating, even though he knew it would probably never happen. He hoped the man would leave him alone but it was not to be.

The stranger sat down opposite him. "I'm Adrian; it's nice to meet you. What's your name?" He asked, leaning across the table.

"I've got a boyfriend," Stephen lied, hoping it would get rid of the other man.

Adrian looked around before he laughed derisively. "Yeah? So where is he then?" Adrian demanded to know.

"He's...not here right now, obviously..." Stephen replied, hating that he had stumbled over his reply. "But he's coming soon!" Stephen quickly added as Adrian moved his seat closer to where Stephen was sitting.

Adrian rested his hand on Stephen's shoulder. "I think you're lying...But I'm gonna forgive you because I think you're fit."

Stephen cringed away from Adrian's touch, pushing his hand away. "Don't put your hand on me, alright? Just get lost, I'm not interested..." He stood up and grabbed hold of his drink, moving to another table.

Adrian followed him, and smirked at him. "I love how you're playing hard to get."

Stephen ignored him and stood up again, storming out of the Starbucks, still clutching his drink. He was so involved in hurrying out of the coffee house, he did not look where he was going and bumped into another teenager who was wearing loose jeans and a grey hoodie. It was not just a random stranger he had bumped into, though. The pale skin, the close cropped locks of brown hair, the mesmerizing green eyes, and the menacing demeanour all belonged to Frank Grayson.

Frank looked surprised to see him. "Watch it, yeah Glee? You almost spilled your drink on me." His tone was mildly threatening, but it was an idle threat. He was not glaring at Stephen like he would with anybody else who had the misfortune of bumping into him.

Stephen smiled shyly. "Yeah, sorry about that..."

"So is this the boyfriend, then?" Adrian had come up behind him and was looking Frank up and down, sizing him up and looking with disdain at his clothing attire and Nike trainers.

"What is this wanker talking about?" Frank asked, glaring viciously at Adrien before he looked at Stephen, the glare disappearing from his face leaving a mild confusion.

Stephen went to stand by Frank and linked arms with him. "Don't be silly, babes...You know exactly what he's talking about. I told him I'm taken, that you're my boyfriend, but he doesn't believe me. So tell him, Frankie..." He rested his head on Frank's shoulder. Stephen could feel Frank stiffen and all he could do was silently will Frank to play along. To his disappointment, Frank shook him off.

"Nah. Stephen's not my boyfriend," Frank stated firmly, "And he ain't ever gonna be your boyfriend, so fuck off or else you're gonna regret hassling him, yeah?"

"Stephen, that's a nice name..." Adrien brought out a business card and hurriedly pressed it into Stephen's hand, eyeing Frank warily as he did. "Call me later so we can set up a date. You won't regret it..." As Frank advanced upon him with clenched fists he wisely decided to leave, walking away and disappearing into a crowd of people.

Stephen bit his lip, looking down at the business card without really reading it. It had hurt him when Frank had denied they were boyfriends. The fact that Frank could not even stand to be known as his pretend boyfriend was depressing. It looked like his chances with Frank had gone from slim to none. Still he thought it was sweet that Frank had scared his overzealous admirer away. He looked up and fixed a polite smile on his face. "Thanks for that, Frank. I don't think he'll bother me again..."

Frank nodded slowly. "If he does, you come and tell me and I'll sort it out, yeah?"

"Yeah. Well, I think I'm gonna go home now..."

Frank snatched the business card out of Stephen's hand. "Ok. I'll see you around, Glee. And tell that prat Dickers he still owes me some money..."

"You shouldn't be so hard on Alfie. He may not be the best at teaching, and his ideas usually go horribly wrong, but at least he cares. And why do you want the card? I mean, what if I decide I do want to go out with Adrien? I might just ask Chantelle what she thinks about it. I bet she would think it's a good idea..."

Frank's eyes widened in disbelief, and then he frowned sullenly. "You're not going nowhere with that prick," Frank snapped. "I'm not gonna allow it. And no offence to your best mate, but any girl who has gone barmy over Dickers...She's gotta have bad judgement..."

"No, Chantelle just knows what she wants and she's not afraid to go for it. I guess, just like Adrien. He liked me, so he came up to ask me out. I mean yes, there is an age difference which I'm not keen on but it's not that bad now that I think about it. He's only a bit older than Alfie..."

"Look. You can do a lot better than him, yeah? So you don't need his card," Frank tore the card into two pieces, and carried on viciously tearing the card into small pieces which he then dropped on the ground. He crossed his arms. "Go on, then. I know you wanna yell at me now..."

"Truth is, I don't care about the card, Frank. I don't want Adrien. There's only one guy I like. I thought...I hoped he might like me too..." Stephen sighed heavily. "Except now I don't think he does..."

"Then he's an idiot, isn't he?"

"What about you?" Stephen dared to ask, his heart pounding madly in his chest. He was very nervous, but did not show it.

Frank suddenly looked wary. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you said I could get any guy I wanted..." Stephen bit his lip, hesitating for a moment before he took a deep breath and continued. "Could I get you?"

Frank looked taken aback for a few moments, then he laughed, but it seemed forced. "I ain't your type, Glee." He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, seeming self-conscious. "And you ain't my type either." He hastily added although his voice lacked conviction.

"What if I said you were my type?" Stephen pressed, walking closer to Frank. "What would you say to me then?"

Frank's face fell, and then he covered it with a scowl. "We had a little laugh but I ain't playing around anymore, yeah? Don't joke about something like that," Frank replied sullenly. "I'll see you around."

Before Stephen could say anything else, Frank stormed away. Stephen thought Frank's reaction to what he had asked was interesting. He took out his phone and quickly texted Chantelle, giving her a short version of all the drama that had gone down. She texted back saying she would meet him later so she could hear all the details and tell Stephen about how her date had gone. Stephen walked on to the shopping centre, in a much better mood then when he had left home earlier that day, and he was finally able to finish his drink. The sweetness of the vanilla syrup had almost gone, only the tasteless crushed ice mixed into a slush with whipped cream remained but Stephen did not care. He was thrilled that his chances of being with Frank one day were not as bad as he thought they were.

Thanks for reading :)