MALE FACTOR [BxB]

Chapter 34

The sixth period ended a few minutes before the scheduled break, granting SSS3 science class an early break. During this time, Jason and Stephanie rendezvoused at the abandoned building. They engaged in a conversation about the classroom incident that had occurred earlier, before finally broaching the elephant in the room. "That time I saw you and Zino..." Stephanie started.

"Yes??"

"It's OK I understand now. But why didn't you tell me?"

"Because of the way you reacted. "

Stephanie attempted to grasp the situation by drawing parallels between Jason, Timi and Zino with queer fictional characters from K-dramas. She carefully selected her words to avoid sounding homophobic. Jason acknowledged Stephanie's effort and felt genuinely proud of her for trying to understand.

"does Timi know?"

"That?"

"That I know."

"Nah there's no need telling him, he doesn't even know about me and Zino."

"You keep a lot of things to yourself"

"My best quality" Jason praised himself.

"I'm guessing Zuriel doesn't know, or does she??"

"Of course not she'd probably condemn me or something." Jason assumed.

Stephanie reminded Jason of Zuriel defending Chika, Jason replied saying, "She only stood up for him cause it's Chika, not because he's gay".

Jason was growing weary of discussing himself, so he shifted the conversation towards Stephanie. Stephanie had no desire to discuss Beamer, so she switched to a different topic by mentioning her sisters returning to boarding school.

The topic only occupied them briefly before Jason brought up Beamer. Stephanie asserted that she hadn't communicated with him since his confrontation with Lekan.

"That was very brave of you, but you should've stopped it right from the very beginning" Jason said.

"Me that was scared when I was begging Beamer, I didn't want to get in the middle of them, before someone would go and mistakenly hit me, Zuriel has mind! See the way she broke that Chair on Malik's back"

"I swear!"

"When did you and Timi start dating?"

Jason was moved by her inquiry.

"What happened?" Stephanie asked.

"It's just that nobody has said that, so it sounded weird" Jason explained, Stephanie chuckled. "back to you, where's Beamer? I want to bring you guys back together since you brought me and Timi together when we broke up" Saying this made Jason feel a bit awkward, but he knew it was something he could adapt to.

Jason headed off to search for Beamer, but time was running out, and break was almost over. He returned to the abandoned building to find Stephanie and encountered Beamer having a conversation with her.

"Before you say anything, Stephanie is sorry and she means it," Jason interjected.

Beamer and Stephanie shared a laugh and informed him that they had resolved their issues while he was away. Jason was glad to see them back together, though he couldn't say the same for his own situation.

Chika made an effort to stay inside his classroom until school hours were over. When he finally attempted to leave, he realized that all eyes were on him, making it nearly impossible to go unnoticed.

A group of SSS3 students called out to him from the pavillion, and reluctantly, he responded. They seemed on the verge of bullying him, but their behavior changed when they noticed Zuriel approaching. Zuriel called him over, and they allowed him to go to her, apprehensive about what she might do if they continued harassing him.

Zuriel asked about his wellbeing "did you injure?"

"No, they were mostly kicking my stomach and chest - which is still paining me. I was covering my face, the entire time so it wouldn't swell up" Chika said.

Zuriel expressed her sympathy, saying, "I'm sorry. When you get home, make sure to rest."

Chika began to leave, almost out of school, but Zuriel called him back, and instructed him to wait where he was. She then asked a junior to get Tope.

"When you get to his house, talk about what he did, It's wrong, I only helped him because he's my guy." Zuriel informed Tope when she arrived.

Tope simply nodded and went to join Chika, opting not to explain her reasoning to Zuriel.

Tope simply nodded and went to join Chika, opting not to explain her reasoning to Zuriel. 
ogether, side by side, they engaged in a lengthy conversation. Chika appeared to have moved past recent events, but he was still carrying emotional pain.

Finally, Chika asked, "What did Zuriel say when she called you?"

Tope replied, "She told me to advise you to stop doing what you did."

Chika responded, "I'm not surprised, but I understand where she's coming from. She just wants what's best for me, or at least what she thinks is best for me." He rephrased.

Tope escorted Chika all the way home, and upon their arrival, they found that his mom was at work. Chika began to reconsider everything that had happened. He wished he had stayed somewhere else and returned home after his mom had left for work.

Chika took off his shirt in front of Tope, revealing a shocking display of bruises on his light-skinned body. Tope was taken aback by the sight.

"I'm so sorry," Tope gently ran her hand over the bruises.

Chika's eyes welled up with tears, and he confessed, "I just want it all to end. I hate myself so much. I wish I weren't gay. I just want to be normal"

"Chika, please don't say that. You are normal. Lateef is the one who isn't normal for what he did to you. I understand what you're going through. It's going to get better, trust me," Tope reassured him.

"You don't know what I'm going through!!!" Chika started tearing up "You don't know what it's like to be constantly attacked for just being yourself" Chika collapsed into Tope's comforting embrace, and she held him in silence as he wept. In her arms, he found solace and began to feel a sense of relief. 

Zino paid a visit to Jason at his house, keen to discuss their situation with Stephanie. Jason reassured Zino that Stephanie could be trusted to keep their "secret" safe.

Zino appeared deeply troubled. "I don't like everything that's happening"

Jason's heart sank, fearing that Zino might follow the same path as Timi and distance himself. "What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"See what they did to Chika, that could've been you or me. Let's just stop."

Jason was taken aback by Zino's sudden change in perspective. "Stop what, Zino?" he inquired, his voice edged with a hint of frustration, knowing what Zino meant.

"This whole gay stuff," Zino declared firmly.

Jason responded with a dismissive hiss. In turn, Zino took offense and stormed out of Jason's house in anger.

Timi descended the stairs with his belongings, a concerned expression on his face as he inquired about the situation. Jason, however, chose to remain silent.

Timi proceeded to indicate his intention to leave and head home.

As he prepared to depart, Jason asked, "Wait, you're leaving?"

Timi turned to face him, his expression softening. "Yeah, my parents are waiting for me at home."

"Please just stay for the night" Jason implored, his voice quivering with emotion.

"I can't, I'd still come visiting don't worry" Timi stated.

Jason decided to convey his feelings through action rather than words. He leaned in and kissed Timi, who readily reciprocated.