August in the Fall (A "Lab Partners" Fanfiction) *COMPLETED*

Emotions Suck

A Polyamorous Relationship.

That's what my brother had suggested. 

A Ployamourus Relationship with August Bade. 

I had to admit. Sometimes,  Nick was a real idiot. But something gave him the decent idea for a relationship like that. For once. It could work. It could not work. Was August even into that kind of stuff? I couldn't say whether he was or not. He might be. He might not. This whole idea had my stomach in knots. At the time, when Nick had suggested the idea, it seemed like a fairly good idea. Now that I've thought it over for the past few days, the strength of that plan didn't seem as durable. I'd had a crush on August Bade for a long time. I'd never had a crush that strong before. August was the spitting image of perfection. His dark hair, his mysterious hazel eyes., the cheekbones of a God, his perfect height.. After a time, I couldn't imagine myself with anybody else. I only wanted to be with him. So when I found out Nick liked him, I didn't know what to think. 

Nick and I were always pretty close. We always had each other's backs. We barely ever fought, (which our Dads were very thankful for), and when we did, it was always over something petty and stupid like who actually got the last cookie in the jar. We always stuck up for each other. Family was all that mattered. Bros before Hoes. That was Nick's saying. It was a good one. Which is why I never understood why Nick fell for August. He knew I liked him. Quinn was the one who told me about the crush he had. She was my spy. Whenever I couldn't, she kept an eye on Nick for me. Kept him out of trouble. Nick may be two minutes older, but he acted like a child sometimes, so I felt like it was my duty to look after him. 

It was on one of Quinn's rounds that she found out. She came and told me straight after. She was crying when she told me. "I don't want to be a snitch, Noah." She said, tears in her crystal blue eyes. "But I know how much you like August, so it only feels right to tell you." Quinn Riddle has always been an emotional person. She's the one balling over Where the Red Fern Grows, or throwing furniture because Orange is the New Black was cancelled. Once Quinn feels emotion, she doesn't take it lightly. If she's happy, she's bouncing off the walls. If she's mad, she will plot your murder. If she's sad, she will use four boxes of tissues in one go. That's just Quinn. 

When I found out, I didn't want to talk to Nick. Or anyone for that matter. I was conflicted. I loved my brother, but I loved August. I kept my anger towards Nick a secret for everyone but him though. I didn't want to worry Quinn, or our Dads. So I let only Nick know. We eventually did make up, though. That was the night Nick came up with the bright idea for a Polyamourus relationship. I was intrigued, to say the least. All August had to do was say yes to the idea, then bam. Happiness. For all of us. One happy three person trio. It added a different kind of meaning to "love triangle." It was kind of funny, really. The problem was, we had to ask him in the first place.

I'd never really had much confidence. Sure, I had the confidence when it came to scoring a goal. Soccer was a piece of cake. I could easily make a speech in front of people. I could do well under pressure, but when it came to being under this certain type of pressure, I was dead meat. It was this certain type of pressure, -like talking to August, or standing up to Flynn-, that I was completely frazzled with. I just freeze up. I'm unable to move. Unable to speak. It's things like that make Nick better than me. When I can't stand up to Flynn, that's when Nick puts on the big brother act and does it for me. When I have an anxiety attack, Nick is always by my side. It's things like this that make us so close. The perfect brothers. I wouldn't change that for anything. Nick wasn't afraid to do anything I couldn't do. 

Except this time. 

Apparently when it came to crushes, both of us were weak at the knees. Too much like Dad. When Jordan, -Dad-, told us the story of how he got our other Dad to fall for him, it forever became my most favorite story. Nick had asked Jordan what do if we wanted his attention. We couldn't just say Dad. We had two. "Just call him DJ." Elliot joked. "Dad. Jordan. DJ." 

"As... amazing as that sounds," Jordan smiled awkwardly. "Let's not."

Nick still does it. Not to his face though. 

The point is, August is just too perfect. He may have a sharp attitude and act like he doesn't have a care in the world, but he can be nice when he wants to be. He has the potential to be a decent person. Even if he doesn't want to admit it to himself yet. The thought of him being in a relationship with us seemed impossible, and at the same time, possible. Imagining him cuddling with us on the couch watching some cheesy movie from the nineties made me blush. I could see it. I wondered if Nick ever had fantasies like that.. If he did, I think they'd be way cheesier.

"Noah!" a voice yelled. My head snapped up. The classroom that used to be full was now empty. Shoot. Quinn waved a hand in front of my face. "Hey, Daydreamer! Let's roll. Practice starts in ten minutes." Crap! My eyes widened and I stood up, frantically shoving my books into my bag.

"Damn it, Quinn! You could've said something earlier!" I slung my leather bag on my back, and brushed my blonde hair out of my eyes. Quinn gave a hurried apology as we raced out of the classroom and down the hall to the fields behind the school. When we finally reached the fields, the rest of the team was already in their blue and gold uniforms and running drills. I swore under my breath and frowned at Quinn who shrugged at me. Rolling my eyes, I headed for the locker rooms to get changed. Luckily, Flynn wasn't there. Exhaling in relief, I set my bag down on one of the benches, sat down, and unzipped the bag, pulling out my soccer uniform.

After getting changed, I folded my clothes, -I was a bit of a neat freak-, and ran out into the field. The players were still running drills. Looking around, I noticed that Quinn was with her Cheer Squad. Her brunette hair was tied into two pigtails, and she smiled at one of her teammates. Quinn always hated the uniforms they were required to war. They were much too short. Eye candy for the boys. "Too bad for the dudes." Quinn once said. "They can't have me." She wasn't into their type. Her words, not mine. I once asked her what her type was. "I'll give you a hint." She smirked. "My type rhymes with squirrels." It took me so long to guess what she meant, that she slapped me on the face, walked over to Mindy Smith, -the smartest girl in my Biology Class-, and kissed her square on the mouth.

After Quinn broke the kiss, Mindy was so in shock, she dropped the textbooks that had been in her hand. Quinn helped her retrieve them, then put a hand on her shoulder. "It didn't mean anything." she told Mindy. Then she had pointed at me. "My friend here is just an idiot." Then she grabbed my hand and we walked to class.

"Goldman!" Coach Biest yelled. I snapped out of second daydream today, and looked up at the coach. His hands were on his hips, and he glared at me from behind his glasses. "You're late to warm ups again! Six laps around the field!" I groaned as Biest blew the whistle he had around his neck. Starting my laps, I looked out at the players. I glared at Flynn who was smirking at my suffering. I wanted to smack that smirk of his freckled face. Looking away, I focused on running. Left, right, left, right. Suddenly, something next to the tree not far away from me caught my eye. As I turned in the tree's direction to get a better look, I realized that August Bade was sitting up against the tall oak tree reading a book. I was so captivated by him being there, that I didn't look ahead of me.  Then before I knew it, I was face first in the dirt.

Flynn cackled. "Pay attention next time, Idiot Goldman!" He taunted. I glared at him as I pushed myself off the ground. Flynn jogged away. I looked back at the tree to see if August had seen the whole thing go down. (I really hoped he did.) But to my luck, he was gone. I continued running my laps, and as I did, I began to wonder if he was ever there in the first place.