Teach Me // DNF

1

George was sat behind the counter of the campus cafe that he worked at, honey brown eyes cast down as he idly played with a pen that was lying near the register. The cafe was slow that day, and he was simply biding his time until he got to leave for the night.

He heard the bell above the front door ring through the store, a signal that someone had just entered. And as he lifted his eyes to greet the customer, his breath caught in his throat, his face immediately heating up when he noticed that it was a guy from one of his computer science classes. And not just any guy, but the guy that George just so happened to have a massive crush on.

Although they had never exchanged a single word, George knew that the guy's name was Eric, and that he was in the same year and major as George. Apart from that, the only other thing that George knew about him was that he was tall, brunette, and incredibly handsome. He was the type of guy that George had only ever been able to admire from afar; casting longing glances in his direction during class while he imagined impossible scenarios in his head.

George knew that he would probably never work up the nerve to speak to Eric, and that was mainly due to the fact that he had absolutely no experience when it came to relationships. Although he was in college, he had only ever been on a few dates, and he had yet to even have his first kiss. There had been opportunities for it before, but George had always been too nervous or it just didn't feel right.

So as Eric approached the counter, George could only blush furiously, his brown eyes dropping down to the touch screen register in front of him as he typed in his order. He managed to mumble out that the order would be ready soon, then finally lifted his eyes to watch as Eric took a seat at a nearby table, pulling out his laptop and some textbooks.

George sighed quietly to himself as he began making Eric's drink, silently scolding himself over the pathetic fact that he couldn't even make eye contact with him. He gave himself a pep talk while he worked, finishing the drink and then taking a slow breath. Then, with the blue ceramic cup in hand, he walked over to Eric's table, trying to act more confident than he felt as he set it down and mumbled a quiet, "enjoy."

Eric's blue eyes lifted from the pages of his textbook, and he smiled up at George as he asked, "you're George, right? I think you're in one of my classes."

George's heart rate increased almost as soon as he heard his name fall from Eric's mouth, his eyes widening in surprise as he quickly answered, "yeah, I'm George. And we do, you're in my programming class."

He felt a flutter of nerves in his stomach, and he was almost sure that Eric would be able to hear how loud his heart was beating. But he tried to exhale the nerves, his hands fumbling together as Eric began chatting about their shared class.

The conversation only lasted for a little while, and it eventually ended with Eric admitting that he was having trouble with their current lessons. At this, George saw an opportunity that he wasn't willing to pass up, so he gave Eric a small smile and said, "I can probably help you, if you wanted."

"Really? Are you sure?" Eric questioned, "I wouldn't wanna bother you too much."

George waved away his words with a smile as he responded, "really, it's no problem."

George felt his face warm as Eric's face split into a smile, looking up at George as he said, "I'd really appreciate that, George. Maybe we can meet at the library later this week?"

George nodded in agreement before the pair were saying their goodbyes, and then he spent the rest of his shift behind the register, trying not to let Eric catch him staring. He couldn't believe what had just happened, it was something straight out of one of his imagined scenarios.

But despite how excited he was feeling, he was also feeling nervous and unsure. It was only a trip to the library, but George was hoping it might lead to more. And if it lead to more, then George would have to do something about how inexperienced he was.

*

As soon as his shift was over and the cafe was locked up, George found himself rushing across campus towards the small, two bedroom apartment that he shared with his best friend, Dream.

He had known Dream for as long as he could remember, but they had grown extremely close during high school, bonding over video games and their shared love of coding. And when George got accepted into his dream school for computer science, he was beyond thrilled to find out that Dream had also been accepted. It had been a no brainer for the both of them, and they had been living together since they moved to campus freshmen year.

Dream was one of the few people who knew that George had no experience when it came to boys, and George was always extremely grateful that he never made fun of him for it. He always expected him to, considering that Dream was quite the opposite.

Dream had a charismatic aura that surrounded him; he was charming and he simply made people feel at ease. He was also dangerously confident, something that aided him when it came to talking to both girls and guys alike. It seemed like every party they went to together, Dream was either talking to, kissing, or hooking up with someone new.

And that's exactly why George knew that he would be perfect for the plan that he was already formulating in his mind. He knew that it was probably a stupid idea, and that it would maybe even end badly, but he was determined to ask Dream anyway.

George was out of breath by the time he got to their apartment, opening the front door to find Dream lounging on the couch playing video games, his messy blonde waves falling over jade green eyes. Dream looked over the back of the couch as he heard the door close, his face melting into a smile as soon as his eyes met George's.

"Hey, Georgie. How was work?" Dream called out, but George didn't respond, only kicked off his shoes and dropped his backpack by the front door.

He made his way over to the couch just as Dream was setting his controller down on the cluttered coffee table, an eyebrow raised as George dropped down beside him.

"Everything okay?" Dream asked him, and George managed a quick nod. He dropped his eyes down towards the couch, nervously pulling at a loose thread as he felt his face grow warm. He could still feel Dream's eyes on him, his voice edged with concern as he continued, "you gonna tell me what's going on, or are you gonna make me guess, George?"

George huffed out a breath, his eyes finally lifting to meet Dream's as he answered, "sorry, I'm just distracted. That guy from my programming class, Eric, came into the cafe today. We ended up talking and I offered to help him with some coding, so we're meeting at the library in a couple of days."

"Eric, is that the guy you're always rambling on about?" Dream asked with a playful smile.

George reached out to shove at the blonde's shoulder, rolling his eyes as he muttered, "I don't do that. But yes, that's him."

Dream laughed before responding, "okay, well that's a good thing, isn't it? So why don't you seem happy?"

George shrugged, feeling himself blush again as he answered, "because, he's not gonna be interested in someone who hasn't even had his first kiss yet, Dream. It's pathetic. I could barely even talk to him today."

Although his eyes were cast down again, he could feel Dream's eyes on him, his voice soft and gentle as he said, "George, if he's a decent guy then he won't care about stuff like that. You're just overthinking it, it's not that big of a deal."

George nodded, lifting his eyes to meet Dream's again as he took a steadying breath, preparing himself to ask the question that had been building in the back of his mind. His voice was quiet when he finally spoke, just barely drifting into the space between them as he asked, "do you think you can teach me, Dream?"

Dream's eyebrows were furrowed in confusion as he asked, "teach you what, George?"

George's heart was beating hard now, his face heating up as he exhaled a frustrated breath, trying to make himself sound more confident as he answered, "I want you to teach me how to kiss."