SCHOOL SECRETS; JAMAL MUSIALA {mini story}

be mine?

jamal was nervous when he asked you if you wanted to come over to his house that night. you had only known each other for a couple of months. well, you had known of each other since you were in year seven, but he was one of those people, who you just never really interacted with until you were seated next to each other in your english literature class in year thirteen.

you were both in the same class the previous year, but your old teacher, who you were sad to see leave at the end of the year, let you sit beside whoever you wanted. however, your new teacher didn't allow much leeway, adopting the very typical boy/girl seating plan. you dreaded it when you heard the elderly man tell you his plans for the new school year, but your opinions on the seating arrangements quickly changed when you got to know who you were sitting next to.

for the first two months of the school year, it was you and jamal sitting next to each other four times a week, getting to know the ins and outs of each other's lives and personalities. you didn't even have time to be wary of him when you were first seated next to him, because he made you feel comfortable, so comfortable in fact.

he was quick to introduce himself, making a joke about how your last teacher was so much better. from that moment on you knew you'd most likely enjoy your final year at school.

there was something between the two of you that was more than a friendship, that was clear from around two weeks of knowing one another. you started to know him in a way that you never knew anyone before. your tummy fluttered with butterflies as the excitement of sitting next to him increased throughout the day.

so when he asked you if you wanted to come over, you jumped at the chance. not wanting to seem too eager, but you could hardly help yourself from responding pretty much as soon as the words left his mouth.

you met up after school, jamal walking you to his house. the walk was quiet, cold, as it was the middle of november, but it wasn't awkward in the slightest. it was just as if you were existing in each other's presence, not needing to talk to each other. it was a change from your lessons where you were constantly talking to him. the silence, albeit rare, was a welcome change.

when you arrived at his house he nervously introduced you to his mum, who, little did you know, had heard a lot about you in the past two months. just like jamal, his entire family was lovely, they welcomed you into their home with open arms, but jamal rushed you upstairs as quickly as he could, not wanting his family to go overboard with the embarrassment that was sure to commence if you stayed with them any longer.

"your family are really nice," you told him when you entered his room, looking around to see that the room was very much the one he had as a child. there were old football trophies scattered around the room, and pictures from when he was younger, making a note of the one that he had on his nightstand of him and his family when he couldn't have been more than eight-years-old.

he took your coat from you, hanging it on one of the hooks at the back of his door. "yeah, they're great." you both just ended up standing there, awkwardly. jamal rubbing his hands on his trousers, clearly nervous, while you just stand there looking at him with a soft smile on your face. "do you want to sit down?"

jamal points to the bed, going over and perching himself on the bed, which was obviously the side he slept on. you nod your head, going to sit on the other side of the bed, facing him, as he gets more comfortable, propping himself up on his pillows, sitting against the headboard.

you both take deep breaths, playing with your hands as you're not sure what to say to each other. in class, the conversation usually came so easily, you always seemed to have something to talk about. but now, it just seemed like whatever you could say, was going to sound like the most awkward thing to ever come out of your mouth.

you look up, staring at each other for a couple of seconds before you burst out in laughter. the familiar feeling of comfort that you get while being with him is back, and you just like the fact that you always both seem to be on the same page with each other, always finding the same things funny, always having similar thoughts.

"what would you like to talk about?" you said, coming down from your outburst of laughter.

jamal shrugs. "i'm not sure. i feel like i know everything there is to know about you already."

you smile. "there's a lot more to me than what i've told you in class, you know? go on, ask me something you might not know about me that you want to know."

jamal sits with the questions for a few seconds, thinking about something to ask you that he might not know about yet. "why's your favourite colour your favourite colour?"

you tilt your head with a confused look on your face before you let out a soft laugh. "why's my favourite colour my favourite colour?" you raise your eyebrows, the smile still very much present on your face.

"yeah, everyone has a favourite colour, but i want to know why yours is your favourite." he smiles back at you.

"okay, well, i don't really have a favourite colour, to be honest," you look at him, a small furrow in your brows.

"but why?"

"i don't know, i've always just said that every colour is my favourite colour."

"every colour? you can't have that," he laughs, teasing you, which seemed to be a common occurrence whenever the two of you were together.

"what are you, the colour police? unlike you i choose to see the beauty in everything, regardless of the colour," you stick your nose up at him slightly, laughing.

jamal doesn't say anything, though. instead, he just stares at you with a smile on his face. doubts start to cloud your mind, as you think that he might think you're a bit silly for thinking that. so you look down at your hands, where you're swivelling your ring around your finger. when you look back up at him he's still staring at you, this time without the smile on his face. but the stare is intense.

"what?" you ask him, butterflies fluttering in your stomach, as you stare back into those big brown eyes of his.

"nothing," he shakes his head. "i just really want you to be my girlfriend."

you swear that you feel your heart stop, and you can't just do anything other than look at him, a smile reaching each of your ears on your face. "really?"

"yeah," he nods, a nervous tone to his voice. "would you like to be my girlfriend?"

you don't even respond to him, only being able to smile before leaning in and placing your lips against his. your lips move against his softly, jamal smiling into the kiss when he realises that this is your way of saying yes. you're his girlfriend, and he couldn't be any happier.