So so sorry about the delay! But I got really, really sick and it took forever to go away :( My mapping out of this story came to here so now I have to map out some more so it may be a little while before I update this again but it shouldn't be too long! I hope you all enjoy chapter 10 :)

Chapter Ten

I walk into health and take my normal spot next to David. Apparently he had a rough night because he looks like he's half asleep with his head resting on his textbook.

"Um...David?" I ask, poking his side. He jumps and quickly wipes the drool away from his mouth.

"Mm?" he asks, rubbing at his eyes.

"Rough night?" I question, pulling out my notebook for this class. David nods.

"Apparently Sebastian found someone new to take into his room and they had a good time..." he said. I feel myself blush, forgetting that David has the room next to Sebastian's.

"O-Oh, um...that was me. But it wasn't like that. We were just drinking and goofing off." I explain. David nods.

"Well I hope you had a good time keeping me awake!" David groans.

"Sorry about that buddy..." I say, my face finally returning to its normal color.

"It's cool. But my day would be a lot better if that hot sub was here again!" David says, laying his head back on his book. I shake my head in amusement at my friend before getting out my pen and I'm about to start taking notes when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and my stomach drops. It's from Trent.

'Hey, so I kinda saw Sebastian kiss you this morning... Are you guys together? Are you gay? -T'

Oh shit.

'I can explain. I'll talk to you in math? -N'

'Okay, you better! -T'

I put my phone away and rub at my face, completely screwed. How can I explain this away? I guess I'll just come out to all of them. They're my best friends; I know they'll be cool with it. It's just...how do I explain Sebastian kissing me? We're not together and we don't plan on getting together anytime soon. But I don't want to seem like a whore who just lets him kiss me. And I can't tell them the truth that it's just to make Jeff jealous. Is that was this is? So what do I say? Maybe I can talk with Sebastian in English about it before we go to lunch. He'll know what to do. But I still have to deal with Trent next period. I decide to push all thoughts out of my head and focus on my work in class. It's pretty easy considering I've taken so many health classes I know practically every part of the body. I finish my worksheet quickly and turn it in on the teacher's desk. Now what? I have nothing to distract me from all the thoughts running around in my head. Maybe I can text someone? Yeah, that sounds good. But who? No one at Dalton in case Trent's already gotten to them and they decide to question me too. Maybe Blaine. Yeah, Blaine sounds good. Maybe I'll see what's up with him.

'Hey Blaine :) -N'

'Hey Nick! What's up? -B'

'Nothing much, just haven't talked to you in a while! I miss you! -N'

'I know dude! We have to hang out soon! -B'

'Definitely! Maybe you, me and Kurt? -N'

'Umm... Maybe you, me and Jeff? Kurt and I are kind of fighting right now... -B'

'Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. But...Jeff and I are kind of fighting as well... -N'

'Oh no :( Well you guys will work it out, you always do! -B'

'I don't know, B. It's pretty bad... -N'

'Well we definitely need to hang out soon so we can just have some fun! -B'

'That sounds perfect right about now. -N'

'Oh, I gotta go, Nick :( Class is starting, talk to you soon! -B'

'Okay, see you soon, Blaine. Bye! -N'

I put my phone back in my pocket and sigh. Talking to Blaine didn't exactly take my mind off of anything like I'd hoped. At least class is almost over. I'm sure Sebastian would be happy to know that Blaine and Kurt are fighting though. Oh, Sebastian... What am I going to do about him? I'm so confused it feels like nothing can ever be right again. I lay my head down on my desk. I just want to fall asleep right now and when I wake up everything will be okay. Maybe if I fall asleep I'll dream about everything being okay. Jeff would be my boyfriend and Thad would go to some school in Antarctica. Blaine would be back and maybe be with Sebastian. It's not that I don't like Kurt, I do, but I just want Sebastian to be happy. He deserves it. Everything would be perfect. But I can't live in a dream world. I have to live in the real world where Jeff and I can't even have a normal conversation anymore. It sucks but it's reality for me right now. The bell rings and I'm torn away from my thoughts, which I guess is a good thing. I pack up my things in my bag and throw it over my shoulder. David stands up and yawns, stretching his arms out over his head. We head silently out of class and down the hall together.

"Well, I guess I'll let you go catch up with Jeff now. See you later, man," David says and walks off after patting me on the back. I sigh. I really don't want to see Jeff. Then again, it'll be interesting to see what he has to say after seeing my and Sebastian's little display of affection before. Maybe next period won't be so bad after all.

I slowly walk to history class. I'm not in any hurry but I do want to see what Jeff has to say. I walk in and take my usual seat next to Jeff, who's already there. It's silent for a few minutes as we both get out our necessary supplies for this class. The teacher calls attention to class and tells us that we're working on a project today.

"You and your partner, that I will assign, will pick a decade and create a timeline on it. It will be due one week from today," Mr. Warner explains. That doesn't sound too hard. It should be fairly easy to get an A.

"Nicholas Duval and Jeffrey Sterling will be partners," Mr. Warner announces as he reads off of the list he's holding. Of course. Of course I'll be forced to talk to the person I have the most awkward relationship with right now. Maybe this will be good though. It gives us a reason to talk without it being too forced.

"So..." Jeff begins, "What decade should we do?"

"Maybe the fifties? I've always been interested in that and I know you like the music from back then," I say, trying not to sound like I know everything about Jeff, even though I do.

"Yeah, and a lot happened then, right?" Jeff asks.

"Yeah, I believe so," I say with a nod.

"Great, we'll do that then," Jeff says, beginning to write it down on his paper. I know he wants to ask me about the kiss. I can just feel it's on the tip of his tongue and he's trying to find the courage to bring it up.

"I was texting Blaine before," I say, breaking the silence that was beginning to get awkward.

"Oh yeah? What's up with him?" Jeff asks, not looking up from his paper.

"Nothing much," I say with a shrug, "He and Kurt are fighting he said."

"I'm sure Sebastian will be happy about that. Unless he has a new guy in his life..." Jeff says, looking out of the corner of his eye at me. And there it is. The questioning that he's been waiting to get to since he saw my lips touch Sebastian's.

"I don't know," I say casually, "I think he still loves Blaine no matter what."

"And does that bother you considering you're his new boyfriend?" Jeff adds, the disgust obvious in his voice.

"He's not my boyfriend...yet," I say mysteriously. There's no harm in having a little fun torturing Jeff, is there?

"Oh? It looked that way before first period today. And from the way you were all he could talk about in class," Jeff said, still writing on his paper. I'm not even sure what he's writing now. I can't help but smile. Sebastian knows exactly how to play this out. It's amazing.

"He talked about me?" I ask, a smile on my face that has to be annoying Jeff.

"Yeah, for the whole hour. Telling everyone how cute you are and how sweet you are and blah, blah, blah..." Jeff says, irritation obvious. Either Jeff doesn't like Sebastian or he's jealous. Although I'd prefer the latter, I'm gonna go with the first option.

"It was just a kiss, Jeff," I tell him, unsure of what else to say about it.

"Whatever, dude. It's your business. Guess I'm not entitled to it since I'm not your best friend anymore," Jeff says, obviously trying to make me feel guilty. It's not going to work. Not this time.

"You're still my best friend, Jeff," I tell him honestly.

"Am I?" he asks, finally looking up at me. I look into his eyes and I know I can't stay mad at him. He still makes me melt, as much as a jerk he's been lately.

"Yes, you are, Jeff," I say, earning a smile from Jeff.

"Thanks man," he says, pulling me into a bone crushing hug. I can't help but hug back and lay my head on his shoulder. It feels so right that I never want to let go. I've always felt like this is where I belong. Right in Jeff's arms. I felt so safe and so secure and so loved. It's the best feeling being held by Jeff. But all too quickly for my liking, he lets go. I let go as well so it's not awkward. He smiles and returns to writing on his paper.

"What're you writing?" I ask him, peeking over his shoulder.

"Just some facts I already know about the fifties," he says as he scribbles away furiously. That's another thing I love about Jeff. He's so smart. He can just pull facts out of his head when he needs them. It comes in handy when he's your partner for almost every project. We spend the rest of class talking about the project. Occasionally we'd move on to another topic but it never involved Thad or Sebastian or any of that. It was nice, like it was before everything started. Just me and my best friend talking about anything we wanted to. I had missed this even though it had only been a few days of awkwardness so far. Before we know it, the bell is ringing and it's time to go to third period. Math. With Trent. And I still have no idea what to say to him. I know Trent has a heart of gold and he's a great friend but he's a blabber mouth. Once you tell him something, the whole school knows about it. So I have to be very careful about what I say. Oh, I really wish I had English with Sebastian before math with Trent...

Jeff links his arm with mine and we walk out of the classroom. It feels just like old times. It feels nice. We walk, talking about how we're going to set up our timeline until we have to part ways in the hallway to go to our third period classes.

"See you at lunch, Nicky?" Jeff asks.

"Of course, Jeffy!" I say with a smile. He grins and pulls me in for a quick hug before walking down to his class. I smile, thinking that even though this may not be what I want, it's getting better. I turn around and head towards my own class, remembering that I have to face Trent now. Oh, fun... I'm still not sure what I'm going to say. All too soon, I'm walking into the classroom where there's an eager Trent waiting for me, waving me over. I slowly walk over and take my seat next to him.

"H-Hey, Trent..." I manage to stammer out.

"So, spill!" Trent exclaims without even a hello.

"W-What do you want to know?" I ask, hoping to stall as much as possible. Trent rolls his eyes and gives me his best bitch look. It can't even compare to Kurt's so it's not very intimidating.

"Well...are you gay?" he asks finally. I take a deep breath.

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm gay..." I admit to him. He just smiles at me.

"Well, I'm glad I finally know the real you," he tells me honestly. I smile at him.

"Thanks dude. But can you do me a favor and not tell the other guys? I kinda want to tell them on my own..." I tell him.

"Yeah, of course man! It's your piece of information to share," Trent says with a smile.

"Thanks, dude," I say.

That was pretty easy.

"Well now that I know that...what's up with you and Sebastian?"

Oh crap. I still don't know what to do...

"We're not together," I finally manage.

"Then what was with the kiss?" he asks, curiously.

"Well..." I begin, unsure of where I'm going with this, "it was just a kiss. We don't really have feelings for each other in that way, we've just become really good friends."

"So...you kiss all of your really good friends?" Trent asks, raising an eyebrow.

"No..." I sigh, "I just... I don't know, Trent. He's the one who kissed me, ask him."

"Well, I'm not close enough with him to just randomly ask why he kissed you. So I figured I'd ask you," Trent tells me.

"Well I don't know what to tell you then, Trent," I say with a shrug. He sighs and nods. He'll have to be content with that answer because I've got nothing else to tell him. I can't tell him of all people that it was just a show for Jeff. It'll end up getting back to Jeff and I can't have that. So for now, he's just going to have to be left in the dark about it.

I love that Nicky and Jeffy are friends again! And I want to thank those of you who comment on nearly every chapter! I love to see your responses to them as the story develops :) Thanks guys!