Another Way To Love (LGBT)

V

"What about a movie night at your house?" Cooper suggested as we walked to school.

I shook my head. "Too personal. It's the first date. I don't think I should be bringing her back to my house."

"What about a picnic?"

"For a first date?" I questioned. "That seems like too much effort. I don't want to freak her out."

Cooper clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes at me dramatically. "How about you go out to dinner, then?"

"Like a couple in their fifties?" I asked dryly.

Cooper groaned. "C'mon, Gary. Now you're just being difficult because you want to chicken out. Any of those things would be fun."

"Yeah, but this isn't just any date or any girl. This is Nina and she deserves the best." I told him firmly. "I just...really want to impress her."

Cooper was giving me that look again. That look he got when he thought I was being an idiot.

I would've questioned him, but we were suddenly outside the school and I saw Nina and her bake sale up ahead.

And suddenly I was trying not to throw up.

"Oh, God." I panicked quietly.

Cooper set a hand on my shoulder, grinning. "You got this."

"I can't." My hands were already shaking. This was such a stupid idea.

"You can."

"I can't."

"You can."

"I can't."

"You can't."

"I can- augh!" I let out a frustrated groan as Cooper snickered at my misery.

But then he sighed, expression morphing into something sincere. "You really don't think you can?"

My shoulders drooped. "I don't think so...I feel like my tongue is too big for my mouth. If I go over there, I'll just say something stupid."

Cooper stared at me for a moment with an unreadable expression.

And then he smiled. "Okay, have it your way."

Before I could question him, he was reaching into my backpack and digging around. And then he was taking my wallet.

I paled in realization. "Cooper- Cooper, don't you dare- COOPER- Oh..." I covered my face with my hands in pure defeat as Cooper all but strutted over towards Nina and her setup.

I couldn't hear them from where I was, but I saw them greet each other and smile wide. Cooper said something and gestured to me and suddenly I wanted to bury my head in the dirt and never come up.

But then Nina was giggling and giving him a nod, and Cooper seemed to cheer before handing her my money.

And then he was coming over with two cupcakes and a post-it note. "You're welcome." He said as he handed me the note and cupcake.

I looked at the note, already prepared for the worst.

It was Nina's phone number, with a little message after it saying: Give me a call! ;)

"Have I ever told you how much I love you?" Was all I could say as I held what felt like my entire existence in one little post-it note.

Cooper wheezed next to me before shoving the entire cupcake in his mouth. I scolded him to savor it and to not be gross.

He didn't listen (I didn't expect him to).

Hi Lovelies!

I'm not going to give out names in order to respect their privacy, but the cutest thing just happened. So I'm running my bake sale, right? Totally casual, no big deal, and someone comes up to me and explains that their friend has been wanting to ask me out for a while. It was like something straight out of a cheesy movie or book! The kind of thing you always dream of happening, but it never does. But it DID. TO ME. Soooo I gave them my number, because hey, the worst that can happen is this becomes an epic story, right? Wish me luck on my date, more deeds to come!

-The Gossip

Okay, I don't want to say I was swooning or struggling to stand up straight or anything, but I may have leaned against my locker for support when I saw Nina Myers wrote about me in her latest post.

This is one of the things I adored about Nina. She wasn't ashamed of her life or had the desire to keep it private. But she also wasn't the type to write about me without my permission first. I appreciate that she kept me anonymous.

(If our school knew I was going out with Nina Myers, I might not be able to cope. I can barely cope with just her, me and Cooper knowing about it.)

But my overwhelming joy was quick to get squashed as I heard ruckus down the hall and looked to see Cooper leaving the principal's office with one of the teachers. She was holding a paper in her hands and looking awfully angry about it.

I resisted the urge to step in. Cooper's told me a dozen times to stay out of his school issues, but it was hard.

He had his fake smile on, too. The one he used when he was trying not to break down.

Cooper stormed off, ignoring the teacher as she called out to him.

I'd get info out of him later, I guess.

But still,

I really hope he's okay.