Nick sat silently at a table all claimed by himself. He'd picked a table far in the back so no-one would disturb him while he read his warn-out copy of Wuthering Heights. The books was considered his favorite, with the death and the burying of Heatcliff next to Catherine being Nick's favorite part.
Apart from the great piece of literature in his hands, Nick was also accompanied with a cup of coffee from Dalton's own coffee shop. That was the exact place where Nick was located right now. The cafeteria was quiet due the afternoon classes, Soccer- and Lacrosse practice. About every student in this school had somewhere to be, except Nick.
The boy blindly picked up his coffee cup from the small mahogany table and raised it to his lips, letting the hot liquid flow down his throat. Without looking, Nick placed the cup back onto the table before pulling a disgust face. After three years, it still amazed Nick that, even though the school had a personal coffee shop - and Dalton Academy happened to be the home of mostly caffeine-addicted boys who suffered from insomnia -, the coffee still tasted like a mix of pure caffeine with an overdo of hot water.
Normally, Nick traded the excuse of coffee they served here for a warm cup of perfection made at the Lima Bean, or ask Sebastian to bring him some when he went, which was frequently. But because Nick's car keys had 'mysteriously' disappeared - Nick was 98 percent sure that Thad, his roommate, had stolen them - and Sebastian had Lacrosse practice at the moment and had been assigned tutoring French right after, Nick wasn't going to get his 'cup of perfection' anytime soon.
So pulling grossed-out faces every time he took a sip, was all Nick could do at the moment. As long no-one would interrupt him while he was reading. Nick hated that, because he could lose himself in a book too well. The outside world was a no-go when he was reading. "They could wait." was the boy's excuse.
But Nick's worst nightmare relived itself for the millionth time as Nick felt a tap on his shoulder. With a loud groan, Nick placed down his book and turned around, ready to kill whoever had the guts to disturb him. All though, the killing part faded when he found his boyfriend staring down at him with a bunch of papers in his hand. "What is it Jeff?" Nick spat out. Yes, it was his boyfriend so his death sentence had been wiped clean but Nick was still very annoyed.
The Warbler with the light blonde hair, as Jeff was known by, sat down across from his boyfriend and gave him an apologetic look. "I was just looking for you..." Jeff knew it was a bad idea to disturb Nick when he was reading a book, but he was bored and he needed Nick to do something for him. The innocent puppy-dog-eyes worked best in these kinds of situations and there was nobody who could pull that look better than Jeff. "...I'm sorry, very sorry, but look!"
Nick stared at the pair of papers that Jeff slipped towards him. It looked like some sort of test. The title read: "Boyfriend Application". Nick had no idea how fast his head snapped up, but he was sure he could've gotten himself a whiplash. "What is this...?"
Nick wasn't answered. The only thing his boyfriend did was tap on the paper as for Nick to continue reading the instructions. With another sigh, Nick obeyed and continued reading.
"Below are a series of multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer questions. Please answer all questions truthfully in order to maximize the chances of an accurate decision to be made by administrator."
Nick shot his boyfriend another look. "Jeff, what the hell is this?"
Jeff, who until now had been smiling excitedly, dropped the expression which turned into a begging one. "C'mon Nicky, just fill it in. It's fun! Look, I did it too." he held up the same copy of papers but filled in. "Please?"
With a chuckle of amazement and disbelieve, Nick shook his head. "Where did you even get this?"
"I have my sources..."
"Trent gave it to you, didn't he?" Nick couldn't help himself but laugh at Jeff's mocked shock. There was actually just one person who would find these things and then give them to Jeff, and that was said roommate, Trent. Apart from him also being a Warbler, he was really good friends with both Jeff and Nick, but he had his moments and this was one of them.
"He did not. Now fill it in!" Jeff demanded and quickly continued when he saw Nick was going to argue against. "If you love me, Nicholas Duval, ..in, understood?"
"Fine!" Nick pushed his coffee to the side and leaned over to put his book back in his bag and replace it with a pen. "I still find it ridiculous, but whatever."
Nick read over the first page quickly and started, explaining the answers of some of the questions out loud.
"My name is Nicholas Duval and I'm applying for the position of Jeffery Sterling's boyfriend. I am 17 years old... I live in Westerville, Ohio..."
"...I am not a virgin... thanks to Jeff." Nick looked up to see Jeff grining cheeky and muttered "Idiot" before continuing about his education.
He thought carefully about answering the question about his future before he wrote down that he wanted to either teach English or star in a Broadway show. And while he wrote the words he knew his boyfriend was smiling at him.
Jeff had always believed that Nick would make the perfect teacher. Sure, Broadway was his first choice, but Jeff saw the joy it brought to his boyfriend whenever Jeff bought him a new book. But it wasn't only noticed by Jeff. The other Warblers and even non-Warbler students would often jump by Nick to let him check their essays or question him about impossible assignments their teacher gave them.
Jeff knew whatever way life would choose. Nick would be the one ending up doing what he'd love to do.
"Sports? Really, Jeff?" Jeff snapped out of his daze and gave his boyfriend a questioning look. "The line is too short to put in what I do play or not."
And there Jeff's eyes went. He exaggerated the eye-roll and motioned for Nick to hurry up already. Next questions were specify questions and Jeff just couldn't help to roll his eyes again when he saw Nick's answers. Especially at his top 5 of books:
1. Narnia
2. Narnia
3. Narnia
4. HP
5. Hunger Games
"Honey, two questions." Jeff waited until he had eyecontact with Nick and his undivided attention. "First, where's Wuthering Heights?"
"Oh crap! You're right." Immediately, number one on the list changed into Wuthering Heights. After he re-checked his list, Nick glanced back at his boyfriend to continue the second part of his question.
"Why is Harry Potter above The Hunger Games?"
Nick sighed and turned back to the form. "Aren't I the one who's supposed to fill it in?" he drew a line with two arrows on both sides between number four and number five, to switch their places. "Happy now, Jeff?"
In approval, Jeff nodded happily and waited until Nick moved onto the next questions.
And Nick did, muttering answers to himself. "No smoking, no drinking, no drugs... Hmm, typical weekend?" With another glance towards his boyfriend Nick answered. "Hanging out with a nutjob called Jeff." Jeff received a cheeky grin before he could defend himself. "Either that or attending a Warbler party."
And as if it was programmed into their brains, both Nick and Jeff broke out into a loud "Warble on!". To add more effect, Jeff threw his fist up in the air. This resulted into hysterical laughter from the both of them. The laughter died quickly when they realized they were being stared at, and so Nick continued once again.
"You own crocs… NEVER! I don't get people who wear crocs, I honestly don't."
"You would be freaked out if you found out I was writing about you on my blog…" Jeff immediately looked down at the table, avoiding Nick's gaze that was burning in his head. Nick himself, just laughed at his boyfriend gesture and answered: "I know he does that already…"
"You like to make breakfast and be cute…" Nick pulled a line through the words 'make breakfast and' before he repeated the question again and drew a cross through FALSE.
"Nick, you are unbelievable."
Instead of responding, Nick just moved on to the last four questions. "Definition of cheating… Doing things you're supposed to do with the one you love and breaking their heart. Or something like that."
"Definition of love…" Jeff didn't need to look down to see what Nick had written down on the lines because the smile from ear to ear explained it all. "Jeffy :D"
The following question that said "What would you say is 'your type'?" was answered the exact way. "See question above."
Jeff couldn't help himself "Aw."
The last question had Nick thinking for a while. "What would my perfect date be?" it wasn't until he asked Jeff for help that the answer hit him right in the face. "Nothing too fancy. Just being with the person you love."
Nick signed the paper and handed them to Jeff with the last lines that were written on the form. "I, Nicholas Duval, hereby promise to be the perfect boyfriend of Jeffery Sterling. And I suggest you make a copy of these because I will never do this again." Jeff all but pulled the form out of Nick's hands with an affecting smile, one that Nick knew all too well. He hugged his boyfriend quickly, planted a kiss on his cheek and left with a "Thank you, Nicky."
The only thing Nick could do was shake his head at his boyfriends behavior that was anything but strange "Guess I signed up for that too.", so he dugged out his book and started reading again. The matching smile never leaving his face.
For those who want to see the complete form:
.com/post/23343604650/boyfriend-application-niff-nick-duvals-test