topics. [discontinued]

joe

"Zack... What're we doing?"

I laid on the floor of my bedroom with Zack next to me although his head was by my feet. I stared up at the ceiling and rested my hands under my head to support it. It was the final day of our December holiday break and we were spending it together. The two of us had gotten a lot closer over the past few weeks and I no longer needed Jordan's help anymore.

"What do you mean?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows. I sighed and mimicked his actions, my eyes soon connecting with his. I looked at him deeply while trying to figure out what to say in my head. Every cell inside of me was telling my body to touch him, hold him, kiss him; make him feel loved for once. But instead of doing that, I laid back down.

"Like... What are we?" I said, secretly hoping for a certain answer that would end my entire self debate. I saw him shrug his shoulders with the corner of my eye. I bit the inside of my lip as I watched him simply stare at the blank wall. And soon enough, the previous thoughts won. I told him. I finally, after many years, told my best friend that I loved him. I didn't feel nervous anymore, but now more relieved. The obvious secret was now out in the open. I didn't need to hide anymore. He knew.

Silence accompanied us up until Zack decided to break it. His gaze turned to me and I felt his eyes burning holes into my face as he harshly stared. "Well, show me then," he whispered.

My heartbeat sped up when I heard his words and I sat up. I looked at him and took a few deep breaths before leaning forward and letting myself get lost in him. I hovered over him with both hands by my side and he laid under me with only his elbows to support him. I stared at Zack's lips until I couldn't handle it anymore and I closed the gap between me and him. His lips tasted sweet and a lot like I'd imagine them to taste.

We stayed in the same position for a few minutes simply savoring each other's lips, only pulling away for air when needed. I sent my tongue along his bottom lip and Zack opened his mouth wider, allowing me to turn what we were previously doing into a French kiss. My hands began to wander his body as I felt places I never thought I would ever touch when it comes to Zack. A hesitant moan came out of his mouth, only enabling me even more.

Then all of a sudden I heard the door begin to creak open. "Oh," I heard a nasally voice say. I immediately jumped off of Zack and sat by his side, my arms supporting my weight. Loud pants escaped my mouth as I looked up to see Ryan standing in the doorway.

"Jesus Christ, Ryan. Knock next time, will ya?" I shouted at him as he held his stomach and laughed at the two of us. Ryan told me that he'd come back after we were finished, only causing me to groan. Once he closed the door I looked over at Zack. His face was red from the embarrassment and I gave him a reassuring smile. "We'll continue this later," I told him with a wink, only causing him to cover his blushing cheeks. I stood up and reached my hand down for him to grab, then helped him up.

The two of us walked down the stairs to go see what was up with Ryan and why he decided to barge in, but there was no one there. All that he left was a little note apologizing and telling me that he had to leave or else his father would get angry. I groaned; he practically ruined Zack and I's moment for absolutely nothing.

"Well, whatever he wanted isn't important anymore," I said, turning to Zack and sneaking my hands around his waist, tugging his body closer to mine, "Shall we continue?"

Zack wiggled himself out of my arms as a blush rose upon his cheeks. He crossed his arms over his chest awkwardly. "Uh, I actually have to go. School tomorrow, y'know?" he said and shot me an apologetic look. I nodded and told him that I understood.

After escorting him out and giving him a quick goodbye kiss, I fell backwards on the couch. A huge smile didn't leave my face. I raised my fingers to my lips and touched them softly. Zack has kissed these lips, I thought to myself, Zack has kissed my lips.

-

The next morning was a drag. After being so used to the holiday break routine and sleeping past midday, I was pretty out of it. When I got to the school, I could barely open my eyes. Maybe staying up until five AM watching American Horror Story wasn't the brightest idea.

The day flew by quickly since I was mostly asleep in every class. Lunch was quite strange, to say the least. We were all sitting together for once; the whole gang. Bee was at the end of the table with Will sitting across from her. Next to Bee was Mitchell, then Brayden, and finally Mitch. Brayden was in a "Mitch sandwich" as Straub liked to call it. Sat next to Will was Zack and then me. I slipped my hand into his and smiled at him. On the right side of me was Jordan who either had his eyes on his phone or Will, nothing else. Parker and Liam were off in their own little world as always. And Ryan was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Ryan?" I asked, turning to face Jordan who was staring down the table at Will. He seemed to be zoned out a bit since he didn't answer my question or even acknowledge my presence. I waved my hand in front of his face, "Jordan!" He didn't budge. I snapped my fingers in front of his ears and he soon perked up, shooting me a puzzled glare.

I repeated my question to him once he finally noticed me. "Oh, uh, I have no idea," he said, a hint of worry sounded in his voice, "That's what I'm trying to figure out." He held up his phone to show his conversation. I nodded.

"Well, you're not gonna find him while staring at Will. That's for sure," I told him. His cheeks heated up and displayed a pinky taint. He slapped me on my arm and jokingly scolded me. "Seriously, Jordan. If you still like him, go talk to him. For fuck's sake, man."

He bit his lip, contemplating my response. "You know what... You're right," he told me. A sudden boost of confidence must have hit him because he immediately got up from the table and began to walk over to Will. Just as he was about to tap the younger boy on his shoulder the bell rang. Great timing. Will stood up, coming face to face with Jordan as I observed from afar.

"Please move out of my way," the British boy mumbled. Jordan moved to the side and Will walked off, heading to the cafeteria's double doors. I sighed when I saw the disappoint on my friend's face. "Don't worry about him, Jor. There are other fish in the sea," I told him and tossed my arm around his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him then walked out the doors into the hallway.

The school day went on. Class after class, all of us students were piled up with reviews and new lessons since it was our first day back. Saying that it was overwhelming would be an understatement. I walked out of the building at the end of the day and smiled when I saw Zack waiting for me at the curb.

I reached out my hand and he happily took it. We intertwined our fingers together. I connected my forehead to his and stared into his eyes, not even acknowledging the fact that the whole student body was roaming around us. "So... Does this mean I can officially call you my boyfriend?" I whispered and bit my bottom lip.

He smirked, "As long as I can call you mine."

Our moment was soon interrupted by the annoying ring of Zack's phone. He dug his free hand into his pocket and shot me an apologetic look when he saw the caller ID. "It'll just be a second," he told me. I nodded and he walked off to answer the phone call although I could still hear him speak."

"Hey. What do you need?"

"Yeah, I'm with Joe."

"Woah, Jordan... Slow down."

"He what?"

"The hospital?"

"Okay... we're on our way..."

— R.L