When your best friend has an identity crisis, right in front of your cereal – Tyvan
Jonathan didn't expect much that day.
He expected to make some homework, go to class and play some videogames with Luke later that evening if the other had time. He at least expected to finish his breakfast before 11 am and don't do the dishes from last night.
What he didn't expect was his roommate, and also best friend, to barge into their shared dorm room, marge his way over to the kitchen table Jon was seated at, drop down on a chair and practically slam his head on the table. It was silent as Jon put the spoon full of cereal and milk that he had intended to put in his mouth back down in the bowl.
"The fuck is up with you?"
Evan let out a loud groan, slightly muffled by the table. Jon sighed and leaned back. Knowing his friend, it was going to take some time for him to work it out. Guess he wasn't going to finish his breakfast by 11 am.
"You have to promise me we will still be friends," Evan muttered. Jon rolled his eyes. "Whatever it is, fucking tell me." Evan sat upright, with his hands in front of him, his fingers tapping on the tabletop. "Promise me," he said with a frown on his face," Whatever I tell you next won't affect our friendship."
Jon gave him a deadpanned look. "I promise." Evan nodded. "And whatever it is, you won't think differently of me." A sigh. "I promise."
"And promise me you won't find me disgusting, or repelling, or-" Jon slammed his hand on the table. "Just tell me!"
He deeply breathed in a couple of times. It was too early for this shit. Granted it was 11:05 in the morning, but give him a break, he just got out of bed. He sighed again as he looked at Evan. The other seemed really bothered by whatever it was, maybe he should be more patient.
"Just tell me, Evan," he said," You know you're my best friend. I won't judge." Evan averted his eyes, looking so unsure. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak. But he changed his mind and closed his mouth again. Then he shook his head and opened his mouth again. And closed it one more.
Jon was unsure if he was more annoyed or amused by Evan looking like a fish out of water. It must be hard to voice and important to him if it took so long to form the words. Jon realized how serious the other was as he saw the ashamed look on his face. He took Evan's hand in his and squeezed softly, letting the other know he was there to support him. Evan took a deep breath, closed his eyes and spoke.
"I'm not straight."
After that it was silent for a long time, or did it only seem that long? Evan carefully opened his eyes and peered through his eyelashes at his friend. He was met by a blank expression on the other's face. Then Jonathan started laughing. He started to laugh so hard he had to clutch his belly, which hurt from the spasms in his muscles. Evan had a pout on his face as he watched the other calm down.
"Seriously?" Jon asked, wiping the tears from his eyes," That's it? You're having a sexual identity crisis? Right in front of my cereal?" Evan crossed his arms, still pouting which made him look like a little kid. Jon chuckled. "That's what's been bothering you so much?" Evan nodded, unfolding his arms. "I thought you knew I couldn't give a shit about such things," Jon sad," I never cared about labels like gay, lesbian or bisexual, or whatever." He smiled at Evan, who looked almost shocked. "As long as you're happy. I love you man and I support you no matter what."
Evan let out a breath he had been holding, sagging in relief. It was silent for a moment, as Evan seemed to calm down. "You okay?" Evan nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I'm alright," he said," so… It's okay to not be straight?" Jon shrugged. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"Dunno, cause people tend to tell me how straight I look," Evan muttered, shrugging as well. "You do, you look as straight as-as a brick," Jon said, picking his spoon back up from his bowl. Evan chuckled. "No seriously, you're one brick of muscles," Jon said, putting the spoon full into his mouth. He cringed, the cereal had gotten all soggy and it was disgusting. He took another spoon full. Evan shook his head, amused expression on his face. "That's not even a thing, Jon. Nobody says that."
"It is tho! I said it," Jon said, pointing his spoon at the other, making drops of lukewarm milk fly over the table. Evan frowned as he dodged a soggy piece of cereal that got some great air and shot Jon a look. The other shrugged. He'd clean that up later.
"What's brought this up anyways?"
Jon looked up just in time to see the red creep up on Evan's face. A smirk appeared on Jon's face. "Or should I ask who?" Evan flushed red. Jon thought for a moment as Evan tried to stutter out an explanation that it had nothing to do with anything, or something like that.
Did Jon know who could make his friend have a gay panic? It had to be a boy, logically speaking. Who did Evan often talk to, to develop an interest in? It wasn't Brock, he had a girlfriend and they had been going strong for 3 years now. Same with Marcel and Scotty, both already in a relationship. Brian? Nah, probably not. He was definitely not gay, Jon's gaydar would've gone off if he were. Maybe David? Tho everyone knew he had a crush on Lui. And Evan wasn't one to fall for someone who clearly wasn't interested in a relationship with him. Wait a minute…
"Oh my god!" Jon gasped suddenly, slightly scaring Evan," Is it that cute boy from your math class? What's his name…" Evan's eyes became as big as saucers. Jon snapped his fingers. "Tyler!" Evan got even redder in the face and he started to stutter. "H-he's not cute! Sure, he's very handsome and he is big and has big and strong looking arms-"
He stopped talking as if he suddenly realised what he was saying. Jon was giving him a smug look. "Sounds like someone's got a big ol' gay crush," he said, smiling. "No, I don't." "Sure, whatever you say," Jon shrugged," Just ask him out." Evan sputtered. "I can't just ask him out!"
Jon shrugged and stood from the table to add his now empty bowl to the stack of dishes already in the sink. "Wait, isn't he bad at math?" Jon asked, remembering when Evan talked about the boy seated next to him in math class. Granted, he could've seen Evan's crisis coming, with how much he talked about Tyler. But Jonathan didn't always pay full attention to conversations. Luke always warned him that he would miss out on something important. Oh well. He tried his best. Besides, Jon knew Tyler. They had biology class together and often spoke to each other. He seemed like a cool dude.
"Yeah, why? Does that matter?" Jon shook his head. "We wouldn't happen to know someone who's good at math and could offer him some extra help with his assignments?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows at Evan. The other looked confused. "Who? Brock?" Jonathan face-palmed. He actually, really face-palmed. "No, you dipshit."
A look of realisation crossed Evan's expression. "Ooooooooooh," he said," I am good at math." Jon snorted. "Exactly, you can ask him if he's interested to come over for some extra tutoring. Or you could go over to his place," Jon said," Who knows? Maybe even spend the night-"
Jon had never seen Evan move as fast as he just did to shoot up from his chair, cross the distance and cover his mouth to prevent him from saying more. Jon smiled at seeing Evan's red cheeks and sharp gaze, seeming to give him a warning. A dare to say more. He stuck out his tongue, licking the hand covering his mouth. Evan pulled back in disgust and went to wash his hands.
"You know, I betcha he's already attracted to your good looks," Jon pondered out loud," You just have to charm him up some more and woo him with your amazing math skills." Evan seemed to think about it as he dried his hands. "I could get to now him better by spending sometime with him," he said. Jon nodded his head enthusiastically. "Actually, and I can't believe I'm saying this, you may have a good idea."
"Hey! I always have great ideas!" Jon complained. Evan rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm actually going to do this," he muttered. "Don't you have math in half an hour?" Jon asked, looking at the clock. It had past 11:30 already. Evan nodded. "Then go and change into something sexy!" Jon said excited, pushing Evan towards his bedroom. "Calm down," Evan said," I'll get ready, jeez."
Jon stuck out his tongue as Evan disappeared into his room. He decided to pack his bag, for he had to leave for his class soon as well. At least now they can walk together and talk some more. When he was done packing his bag and put on his shoes, Evan came out of his bedroom. He wore ripped jeans and a tight black t-shirt. His trusty black hat with the white letters VG on his head. Jon whistled and Evan gave him a deadpanned look.
"Ready to go?" Evan asked as he grabbed his keys. "Yup," Jon said, checking if he had his own pair of keys in his pocket and his phone in the other. They left for campus, talking about games like GTA V on their way there. Once they arrived, they said their goodbyes, each going different ways.
"Go get him, owl boy!" he called to Evan, giving him thumbs up. "See you later, clown," Evan said and walked away after flipping him the bird. Jon laughed as he made his way over to room 1402, meeting Ryan and Luke in the hallway. It was a good thing his friends were in that class, making it fly by. Geography on the other hand was boring and took forever to end. David had constantly been talking about what great thing Lui had done or said this time and Jonathan was getting a headache.
Once class was finally over, Jon was glad to escape to his shared dorm room, sighing in relief once he made it back. He smiled at seeing the image he was greeted with. Evan was seated at the kitchen table, hunched over math books and notebooks that were scattered across the tabletop. Seated besides him was Tyler, a frown on his face as he paid attention to whatever math problem Evan was trying to explain.
"Hey, I'm back," he called in greeting after dropping his back besides the couch. Evan looked up and smiled at him. "How was Geography?" Jon groaned as he made his way around the kitchen table, towards the fridge. "Boring as fuck." Tyler snorted. "Isn't Nogla in that class? Must've been the absolute worst then," he said. Jon laughed as he opened the fridge to look for something to snack on. "You're right and I sit besides him," he said. Tyler groaned in sympathy as Jon opened a can of Coca-Cola.
"He isn't that bad," Evan said and both men gave him a look. He rolled his eyes and went back to his notes to pick out the next math problem to explain to Tyler. "I'll leave you two to it," Jon said, as he grabbed his bag and walked towards his bedroom," If you need me, you know where to find me."
Other than some hums in agreement, he got no reaction. Before he closed the door behind him, he peeked at the two at the table. He noticed how close they were huddled together, noses almost touching the books and slight blushes on their faces. Evan was talking, trying to explain a thing or two, scribbling the example in his notebook. Tyler was definitely not looking at the book, but instead was staring at Evan's face.
Jonathan let out a laugh, startling the two men. He winked at them, before disappearing in his room. He left them to look at each other and realise how close they were, cheeks burning red. For some reason, Jonathan thought it wouldn't take them all that long to get together.
And he was totally fine with that.