Our little arrangement💫

-13- Axel💓

"Axel! Axel wake up!

I jumped awake as someone had shouted my name and ran all the way down the stairs to see that it was just Amber. She was already dressed in her school uniform but Erick was nowhere to be seen. Breakfast was already on the table so I quickly ate before running upstairs and taking a shower. Duncan was coming today, I didn't know what time or hour but he was coming and I wanted to look nice. For him I wanted to look nice. It felt weird saying that I had a boyfriend since a few months ago gay wasn't part of my vocabulary.

I was scared of being gay mostly because I was partly raised by my mom and when she heard things she disliked I got the worst of it. It was one of the reasons I left. The other one was because of my grades that drastically started going down. I was so focused on my home life that it messed with my streak of always getting A's. It wasn't hard once I put my mind to it and some of my teachers thought I was cheating or writing off from someone else. It wasn't uncommon for guys in our school to do that. That was the reality of our generation.

I came downstairs dressed in uniform and grabbed myself some more toast. Amber was watching Tv, just flipping through the channels when I joined her. She looked over to me then back at the Tv and I thought to myself that maybe she was angry. She seemed to have no facial expression and seemed focused.

"Amber?

"Yeah?

"Why did Jake come over yesterday?

"Why don't you ask Duncan? asked Amber nonchalantly.

"Why don't you tell me? We tell each other everything.

" No we don't Axel. Just the things that are important.

"Well this is important! Please?

"Axel-

"Amber. Please?

"Fine.

"Jake warned us to stay away from Duncan. He said if we came close to him he wouldn't hold back. Erick is strong but if Jake does something that could put him in danger... I can't take that risk.

" Well what does that mean?  What are you saying?

" Duncan needs to decide what he's going to do about this. Because Jake is a dangerous person and anything that comes close to being a threat he'll destroy.

"  Amber, I know you're scared. But Duncan will never let anything happen to you. I know he won't-

"Because you know him so well? Axel ... you are blinded by your relationship. I can't let Erick get hurt, said Amber folding her arms across her chest and looking at me.

" If you're asking me to choose between my friends and my relationship, you are putting me in a position I don't want to be in, I said as I took her hands.

" I'm sorry but I can't let Erick get hurt just because you have some feelings for a guy.

There was a car's horn honking outside. It was Duncan judging between the fresh new paint and wheels. I wanted to stay here and talk to Amber, try to reason with her but Duncan was waiting. I knew that Jake was dangerous , in the halls he'd push me around and cause me to bruise but only because my friends weren't involved in his life. Now that Duncan was in the picture things changed dramatically. I couldn't do anything to help Amber.

" I have to go. I really can't talk about this right now.

"Whatever. You know I'm right. Sooner or later this thing is going to bite you in the ass.

"Amber-

"Just go. Your relationship is more important to you now.

"Amber, I'm sorry.

I grabbed my bag and closed the door behind me. Duncan was sitting inside his car, his window was rolled down and he looked like he was waiting for me. I got in and his face lighted up. He pulled out of the driveway once I was in and we headed off to school. Duncan wasn't going to let anything happen to Amber. He was going to protect her, Erick and me. At least I hoped he would. I couldn't let anything bad happen to my friends but at the same time I was happy. Why was life so complicated?

I stared out the window and Duncan rested his hand on my knee. I just let it sit there. I wanted to act like everything was fine and normal but the truth was that it wasn't. Amber wanted me to choose between my boyfriend and my best friends. It was a choice I could've made weeks ago when I still thought Duncan wasn't serious about me but I was catching feelings for him. It just seemed so unfair since I never demanded anything this drastic of Amber.

I was a good friend and she just had to understand that. I looked out the window again and saw that we weren't moving. The car wasn't moving. We were parked a few miles from school and I knew that cause I used to walk everyday with Amber. The world was simpler back then.  Duncan turned to me and I was so confused I thought that maybe the car's gas was empty.

"Why did we stop? I asked unaware of my voice crack.

"Because we're not going until you tell me what's wrong. We can sit here all day if we have to.

"We'll miss school if we sit here all day. Duncan-

"Tell me who upset you. I hate to see you upset so tell me what happened. Axel, he said as he took my face in his hands, you can tell me.

"Promise?

"Promise.

So I told him. I started crying the second he said that and he unbuckled his seatbelt. He pulled me towards him and hugged me while I cried. It felt like we were there for about thirty minutes. I told him about Amber and how she told me why Jake was there, I told him about our fight and how I just walked out. Duncan held me and stroked my hair. It felt nice being here, being with him in this vulnerable place. I could never be like this with Amber or even Erick. With no one actually.

My breathing slowed and I had a headache but my eyes weren't red anymore. I took Duncan's hand in mine and he turned on the car, driving us to school with a few minutes to spare. I was surprised we weren't late and thankful that Duncan had such a fast car. He surprised me by not stopping at the back of the school but in the front where most of the kids were. He turned to me and smiled. I knew what he was doing and frankly I hoped Jake wasn't around.

He kissed me and for a few seconds I grabbed the edge of his shirt. We pulled apart just as the bell went off and got out of his car. He turned to me and grabbed my hand which surprised me. Usually he wasn't this out and open but something must've changed. Maybe it was the Jake thing or my fight with Amber that made him this way. Either way I was just happy that I could walk to class with him and hugged him before entering math class just on time.

A few minutes later I got a text from Duncan and made sure the teacher couldn't see me. As always Mr. Gilmore went on about why Spanish was important. I couldn't have cared less.

Duncan: meet me in the library ;)

Me: count me in ;)