Dougie stepped out of his house, taking a deep breath of the crisp, November air. Although he was used to the sun, he was a little bit more than happy about the summer being over. He had never experienced something like an Arkansas summer before in his life! Not only was it unbearably hot, but it was also humid. Dougie and Tom had gone swimming together a few times, and seeing the older boy shirtless was reward enough for withstanding the heat.
But, now that the heat and humidity was gone, Dougie definitely didn't miss it. He was glad that Arkansas generally had mild autumns, and someone had told him that spring was the same way. He had actually begun to enjoy the crisp, fall mornings; especially when he got to see Tom. The more he was with Tom, the more he liked him; despite his own wishes to not. There was just something so cute about him! It wasn't so crazy to Dougie that he was feeling so strongly for the boy, considering he'd known him a little over five months, and the two had been just sort of inseparable
Dougie's eyes drooped while he leaned against the outside wall of his house. A cold wind blew through, so he grabbed his hoodie by the zipper and pulled it tighter around his body, hoping to conserve at least a little bit of body heat. Sighing sleepily, he let his eyes fall closed completely, huddling into himself as much as possible while standing. "Fuckin' school..." he muttered, wishing Tom would just let him skip for one day.
But, of course, he wouldn't. A honk told Dougie that Tom had arrived, so he opened his eyes and began to walk toward Tom's dirty, white, pickup-truck. "Morning Doug," Tom greeted when Dougie opened the passenger side door. Dougie nodded to him and climbed in, too tired to bother with words. Dougie was most definitely a bitch in the mornings if you rubbed him the wrong way, so Tom had learned soon what was acceptable to say to him and what wasn't. "You slept well?" Tom continued, backing slowly out of the long driveway. Dougie nodded but kept his eyes closed. "How many times do I have to tell you that you should buckle your damn seat belt?" Tom sighed with exasperation.
"Oh shut up," Dougie growled, pulling the seatbelt across his chest and buckling it with a reluctant sigh.
"Well! You've already crashed your car! You should be a little bit more careful!" Tom ranted on as he drove down the abandoned road. Dougie just sighed and pressed his forehead against the window. The glass felt cold on his skin, and made him want to move, but he was too damn tired to even open his eyes or talk. "You ready for Miss Johnson's math quiz today?" Tom asked, glancing over at Dougie before shifting his eyes back to the road.
"Can't we skip today?" Dougie whined, keeping his head to the glass and his eyes closed.
"Hell no! We can't skip! I've never skipped a day in my live!" Tom protested loudly.
"Oh, come on... pleaaase?" he continued, still not bothering to look at Tom.
"We have that math quiz today! You don't wanna fail, now do you?"
Dougie laughed ironically and slid his head down the window slowly. "Please, I could pass that quiz with my eyes closed," he muttered bitterly.
"Well, aren't you cocky," Tom pointed out with a laugh, glancing to Dougie again.
"That class is too easy!" Dougie complained, sitting up finally and looking over at Tom. God, you're attractive, he thought, allowing a slightly desiring smile to grace his features.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Tom laughed, driving steadily down the road. Tom was definitely a calm driver, if anything had to be said about him. He never seemed to be in a hurry to get anywhere; he just cruised along, and he got there when he got there. "That class is hard!" he finished, glancing to Dougie again with a helpless smile.
"God, that stuff is so easy for me, though!" Dougie complained over dramatically, resting his head on the back of the seat. And if something had to be said about Dougie, it was that he was smart. Very smart. And that was how he was able to be so witty; he had a vast vocabulary, a keen mind, and a thirst for knowledge. "I'm supposed to be in calculus right now! And I would be if I hadn't moved!"
"Why aren't you in it here?" Tom asked, finding it rather hard to keep his eyes on the road while Dougie was in the car. Why? He wouldn't know the answer if someone asked. There was just something about the other boy that compelled him to look at him.
"Because your school doesn't offer it!" Dougie continued, getting more worked up the longer he talked. "I swear I'm smarter than half the teachers!"
"It's not about being smart around here," Tom told him, his voice soft.
"Then what is it about?" Dougie asked, adjusting himself to face Tom better.
Tom was silent for a moment, biting his lips together as if trying to think of the right words to say. "It's about family," he said, sounding a bit corny. "Big jobs where you make all the money... that's not what we care about. Maybe you haven't noticed, but this here's a small town. There's not a single person here who's name I don't know. As long as we can all get along and protect our town, we're happy. None of us needs to make the big bucks to be happy... we're just happy being a family."
Dougie stared at him after he'd finished his little speech. He knew that if he still lived in California he wouldn't care about Tom. He knew that he would probably even laugh at him and call him a dirty hick with no aspirations. But something about the town was changing him, and he couldn't help but feel that it was for the better. Because as he looked at Tom, he was able to accept him for being different, and even admire him and his town. "Wow," Dougie said with a smile as he leaned back against the seat again.
Tom looked over at him with an inquiring look in his eyes. "What?"
Dougie smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing... that's just the most selfless thing I've ever heard."
"Isn't it like that where you're from?"
Dougie shook his head, giving off a chuckle as he did. "It's nothing like that back home. I don't even know my neighbor's names! People in California couldn't give a shit about each other... as long as we stay out of each other's ways, we're happy," Dougie told him with a nod. "I don't even really think my friends cared all that much when I left... it was mainly about the partying, the sex, and the money. Even if you had a lot of money, you always had to get more." Dougie shook his head and looked down at his lap. He'd never actually thought about the way things worked back home before, but now that he had, he didn't really see how he ever thought it was okay. "It's kind of refreshing being out here."
Tom looked over at Dougie and smiled warmly. "Well, sounds like you're slowly starting to like it out here, huh?"
Dougie chuckled quietly and looked back to Tom, who was ā of course ā looking back at the road. "Yeah, I guess I am..."
"Maybe people 'round here'll even start to like you!" Tom joked, glancing back to Dougie with a boyish grin. "I mean, if you'd just try being nice for a change..." he continued, laughing still.
Dougie laughed and shook his head. "I don't think they'll like me no matter what I do..." Dougie started with a sigh. "I'm too god damn different for them... I dunno, maybe I should take out my piercings, cut my hair, and start wearing plaid," he joked, smiling broadly. Dougie's entire life flashed before his eyes as Tom slammed on the brakes without warning, and with no apparent reason. A loud scream escaped Dougie's lips, and he braced himself on the dashboard, searching the road for any sign of why they'd come to a sudden stop. "JESUS! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!" Dougie screamed, breathing heavily.
"I should slap you across the mouth!" Tom yelled, turning on Dougie suddenly.
"Why?!" he yelled, sitting back in his seat again.
"For what you said!"
"What? About the plaid?" Dougie asked with confusion. "I'm sorry if that offended you, I didn't mean it in a demeaning way!" he tried to defend himself, a bit lost in the whole situation. He didn't think what he had said would hit a nerve in Tom. But it most definitely did.
"No! I don't mean that! I'm talking about you changing yourself to please a bunch of assholes that couldn't give a shit about you!" Dougie stared at Tom, his mouth hanging open a bit. "I like you because you're different than everybody else! You're YOU! And you shouldn't be scared of it!"
"I was just kidding..." Dougie said meekly, his stare on Tom unfaultering.
"I don't want you to be like them! I don't like them! They're too god damn scared to break out of what's normal and just be themselves!" Tom lectured, staring at Dougie with more passion in his eyes than Dougie had ever seen. It was kind of shocking, really. "You're my best god damn friend I've ever had! And it's because you're not scared to stand up for what you believe in, and I love that. You make me feel like I can do anything!" There was a brief moment where Tom was quiet and just looking down at his lap. "No one's ever made me feel stuff before..." he said, his voice sounding big and bumbly. "I kinda like it..."
Dougie's lips curled up at the corners into a smile. He was doing his best to keep from mauling Tom with kisses! "Well, if it's any consolation, I think you're probably the best friend I've ever had, too," he said after a long moment of silence. Tom smiled but kept his eyes adverted. "But you don't have to show me that by trying to kill me!" Dougie added, trying to lighten the moment a bit. Things were getting a bit thick between them, and the longer it was allowed to thicken, the more awkward it got.
Tom laughed and looked up at Dougie. "Glad you were wearing your seatbelt now, eh?" Tom asked smugly.
"Oh, shut up and take me to school."
"Well, class, I'm sure you all know that today is a special day!" Ms. Johnson started with a smile after the bell rang. "Today is Veterans' Day!"
Dougie's mouth opened in a silent gasp of irritation. Are you fucking kidding me?! We normally get this day off! he thought angrily, although everyone else in the class seemed to be perfectly fine with it. Now Dougie knew his day was going to be shit.
"And so, in tradition, I'd like to ask you all to stand and face the flag so we can say the Pledge of Alliance like always!"
Dougie scoffed quietly at her and shook his head, but didn't stand with the class. Ever since he was old enough to know about his country, he hadn't recited that damn pledge. And he wasn't about to start any time soon. "Yeah right," he mumbled with a quiet laugh.
"Umm... Dougie? Please stand up" she demanded, looking over at him expectantly. Of course he couldn't just get away with it... she'd put him in the front of the class.
"I think I'll sit this one out, thanks," he said with a raised eyebrow.
Ms. Johnson just stared at him. Legally there was nothing she could really do about it, but she just didn't feel morally right allowing a student to 'sit out' on the Pledge of Allegiance. "Are you sure?" she asked, squinting her eyes at him awkwardly.
"Mmmm..." Dougie looked at the ceiling for a moment, seemingly thinking about it, before nodding his head quickly. "Pretty darn sure."
"Ah, come on, man," a boy next to him said, nudging his shoulder with his hand. "Just stand already."
"Isn't it... I dunno, but I think it's my right as a human being to decline... is that? Is... is that right?" he asked, faking confusion.
"Just stand already," another boy from the back said.
Dougie raised both eyebrows and turned to look at him. And, of course, it was Dean. "Well, that's not very patriotic of you," Dougie pointed out with a laugh. Oh, he was having too much fun with this. He really shouldn't have been... but he was.
"Why the hell not?" Dean asked, clenching his fists.
Dougie stood and turned to face him. "First off, I don't pledge my allegiance to a god damn piece of fabric!" he said with a cynical laugh. "Have you ever stopped to think about how ridicolous that is?!" Oh, now he was getting fired up.
"And why's that so ridiculous?!" Dean asked, taking a few steps forward.
"Oooh, Mr. Flaag! I looove you! I will honor and stay loyal to you foreeeevvrrrr!" Dougie said in a mocking, high voice, folding his hands together and placing them against his cheek. He dropped his hands and stared at Dean seriously, tilting his head to the side. "I mean, what's so wonderful about the flag? They're probably going to throw that flag away in ten years and get a new one!" he said, pointing toward the flag with his whole arm. "Maaaaybe if it was, 'I pledge allegiance to the United States of America because we rock hardcore,' or something like that! I could handle that. But 'I pledge allegiance to the flag'? Come on!"
The entire class was staring at him, including Tom. Slowly, Tom smiled and sat down, folding his hands on his desk. "Tom, what the hell are you doing?" Dean asked, noticing him sitting.
Tom shrugged and smiled arrogantly at Dean. "I think he's got a point," he said bluntly.
Dougie grinned and looked back to Dean, before sitting as well. He looked over to Tom, who looked back at him, and the two just shared a tender smile for a moment. "Thank you," Dougie mouthed to Tom, before looking back to the teacher.
"Tom! Get the hell up!" Dean complained.
Dougie turned quickly in his chair and threw a finger over his mouth, shushing Dean quietly. "Don't suppress his rights!" he said quickly, trying to hold in his laughter.
"Why Iā "
"Boys! Come on! Let's just recite this thing so we can get on with our class, alright? In case you forgot, we got a math quiz to take!" As if on cue, the entire class groaned. "I don't wanna hear it! Now everybody that's reciting the pledge please put your hand over your heart and say it with me. Everyone that's not, please be quiet in your seats." The class all shifted and faced the flag, all with right hands over their hearts.
