Title: I'll Always be Dreaming of You
Rating: "T" will probably do
Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi –I only wish I did… And the title and chapter titles will all be from song lyrics/titles. (Thinking of titles isn't exactly my forte.)
Author's Note: I was planning on starting the sequel for my other story ("Nights I Can't Remember, Friends I'll Never Forget"), but I developed a serious case of writer's block for the story, so I ended up writing this instead… So anyway, this chapter is written in Alex's POV, and takes place somewhere in between "Death of a Disco Dancer" and "Lexicon of Love"… Ah, and "Dirty Little Secret" is a horribly overused title, I know. I just couldn't think of anything better at the moment…
1 –Dirty Little Secret
"…Now, before we continue our discussion on the African kingdoms of the post-classic period, let's see if anyone has been paying attention… Can someone tell me who Sundiata is and why he is important?"
Marco's hand shoots up instantly. I swear, there's something wrong with that kid –and not just the whole gay thing.
"Sundiata, or 'the Lion Prince' as he is often called, was an African warrior that unified the Mali kingdom. He set up an administration and divided his people into social groups –thus, giving him a nearly mythical status to the Malinke people," Marco says with a stupid all-knowing grin on his face. Whatever. Fucking teacher's pet.
"Very good, Marco… Now, can someone tell us who Mansa Musa is?" our teacher (whatever the hell his name is) looks around the room. Marco –whose hand is waving frantically in the air- is the only one who looks like he's paying any attention. "No volunteers?" I can't help but laugh –Marco, the little queer that he is, looks like he's about ready to jump out of his seat to get the teacher to call on him.
"Alex." My eyes dart to the teacher –tell me that asshole did not just call on me. "Alex - since you seem to find history so amusing- could you please tell the class who Mansa Musa is?"
That bastard. I roll my eyes. "Is that like some rapper or something?"
"No." The teacher puts his face in his hands and looks like he's about to cry. I snicker –Alex:1, asshole teacher:0. He sighs, and just gives in to calling on the homo again. "Yes, Marco."
"Mansa Musa was an extraordinarily wealthy king who ruled Mali from the years…" I tune Marco out. I get it –he's smart. He's going to have a life. He's going to college. He's applying to Banting. I turn to look at Paige who's sitting next to me. Why does she have to be so damn smart? I bet she knows who Mansa Musa is… Damn it, she's so far out of my league that it's not even funny… not that it matters. She's straight…
We both are straight.
Paige takes a short break from filing her nails to look over at me, and she gives me a curious smile. I dart my eyes back to the front of the room and blush a little –how long had I been staring at her?... Not that there's anything wrong with staring at her… It's not like I was checking her out or anything…
I try to concentrate on class a little, but sitting here listening to Marco suck up to the teacher isn't exactly the most exciting thing to do. Seriously, why can't the kid just have sex with the teacher and get it over with? At least that would be a little more interesting. Gross, but interesting none the less. I let out a yawn and feel myself drifting off to sleep…
"Alex," Paige says in a loud whisper as she nudges me gently, "If you're ever going to get into college, you've got to start learning how to stay awake during class."
I yawn again. "Since when am I going to college?"
Paige rolls her eyes and sighs in that cute little way of hers, "Don't you remember? You appliedto Banting during the college fair." Oh yeah, I guess I forgot about that… Paige looks over at Marco who's sitting in the very back row of the classroom, "I still can't believe Marco blew the fair to get high. I worry about him sometimes."
I look back at Marco too. Pssh, the kid's a total pothead. I can totally believe he would do something like that...
I'm about to say something back to Paige when I hear the teacher ask a question. I know the answer! I shoot my hand up in the air and the teacher calls on me. "The jizya was a head tax placed on all non-Muslims living in Islamic territory," I say triumphantly.
"Correct as usual, Alex."
I smile at my brilliance for what feels like a good ten minutes… Okay, where was I? Oh right –Marco. I look back at him again. He's slumped down in his seat and is wearing what could be the same white tank top that he's worn all week. He shoots me a nasty look and I turn back to the front of the room… The guy always acts like such a badass all of the time. It's almost like he's hiding something… Well, at least he's not still with that Ellie girl. Anyone could tell that he was just putting a show on for everybody by going out with her...
I'm snapped out of my thoughts, when Paige taps me on the arm. She points atmy desk with her eyes before walking over to the teacher. She asks to go to the bathroom and quickly exits the room… I look down at my desk. There's a note folded in half. I open it to see that all it says is, "Janitor's closet. Down the hall. Be there in five." My heartbeat speeds up… how could I forget?
Paige is my girlfriend.
The next five minutes feel like they take an eternity, but eventually the time comes. I grab a hall pass and start walking down the hallway. Since when is it this fucking long? I keep walking... Walking... Walking...
Walking.
And finally I get there. I'm in the janitor's closet now… But where's Paige? "Hey, hun, I was starting to think you weren't coming," I hear her voice coming from somewhere behind me. I turn around and see her there. And… OH GOD. SHE HAS STRIPPED DOWN TO HER UNDERWEAR.
She takes a step towards me. Is it getting hot in here?
"Do you like what you see?" she whispers into my ear seductively.
I nod.
She leans in and my heart starts racing even faster. This is it. This is the moment. I'm going to kiss her now. I lean in the rest of the way, and notice that I'm holding my breath. My lips are so close to touching hers. Just a little closer…
"Alex!" I wake up and see Paige –the real, fully dressed Paige- is standing in front of me looking annoyed. "Alex, I can't believe you just slept through this class." She crosses her arms over her chest as if to emphasize her frustration… Of course, all the action actually does is remind me of how only a second ago I had been dreaming about… Oh God. I use my hands to hide the blush that is spreading over my face.
Marco walks over to me and Paige from the front of the room. "Alex, are you alright?" he asks me concerned. Why is he always so concerned about everything? He is such a fucking homo…
… and I think it's starting to rub off on me.
"I'm fine," I answer him back harshly.
I have to get out of here. I can't afford to have Marco make me any gayer… Because it's his fault I had that dream about Paige in the first place. Definitely his fault. I'm not gay –I've just been spending too much time with Marco lately.
"I'm just gonna… I'm just… I…" Both Paige and Marco give me a strange look. I can feel myself start to blush again. Yeah… I really need to leave.
"Uh, see you later," I say quickly before darting out of the classroom.
No one can find out about this. No one.