+ Positively Negative - | Freddie & Joey

8. Freddie + I Need You

Chapter Eight

I need you

Freddie +

I walked into Citizenship a few minutes late; I had been talking to Sherry about what happened with Joey. I was mad. So, freaking, mad. But, strangely enough, not just at the block-headed twat. I mean, why was Sherry going around telling people that my dad had cancer? That was personal. I didn’t want everyone to know, and now that she’d told Tom (as much as I loved the guy,) –and Joey had overheard- it was probably going to find its way around our year. I didn’t need that, didn’t want it.

‘Thank you for joining us, Sharon, Frederick-’ I heard nothing more of what Miss White said. My eyes found Joey straight away. He was sitting where we had been last lesson, a closed laptop in front of him. At first I thought he was glaring at me as if I was a piece of shit stuck to the bottom of his Sports Direct trainers, but then I realised it was Sherry he was looking at. When his gaze flicked over to me, it softened. I actually almost looked over my shoulder in case his girlfriend was there. What was that all about?

‘Hey,’ he said. His voice was softer –less aggressive- than usual. I was surprised he initiated the conversation too, but I was careful to keep my face blank.

‘Hey yourself.’ There was silence and then he pushed the laptop towards me.

‘The stuff is on your account,’ Joey said after a pause. I nodded slowly and opened it, typed in my username and password then waited for it to load. Once it had done so, I began to get on with the project. ‘Um, Freddie’ awkward pause again. I looked at the guy who –I am certain- flushed a light shade of pink for a second, blankly. Forgive me for not making it easy for him, he’d been an absolute twat to me the day before. ‘I like music.’

He liked music. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard correctly. ‘What?’ This time I’m definite he blushed but he looked down to hide it.

Aww; cute.

‘I said I like music. You know, as in the subject. It’s cool. I like it.’ My eyebrows rose as I opened the document and typed that Joey did –in fact- enjoy a subject.

‘Are you doing it for GCSE?’ I asked him. He shook his head.

‘Wasn’t an option.’ I didn’t know what he meant seeing as everyone could pick it as an option if they wanted to but didn’t press.

‘Thank you,’ I murmured.

‘And I think I understand that thing you said about the sixth forms last lesson too.’ I looked at Joey, my eyes widening. The guy was fiddling with a piece of stray thread and he looked so cute and vulnerable concentrating hard on twisting the black string until it curled into a tiny ball.

‘Cool,’ I said, and when he looked up I smiled. Then, unexpectedly, he smiled too.

+

Fifteen minutes of the lesson went by and Joey was still co operating. We were looking through different sixth forms and colleges in our area and discussing what GCSEs and qualifications you needed to get into them.  ‘You know,’ I began, ‘It is really good to go to sixth form or college after school. Just get like a part-time job or something-’

‘I know it would,’ Joey said with a small sigh. ‘I just-’

‘What the heck?’ I interrupted. Joey’s eyebrows shot upwards defensively.

‘What?’

‘You don’t have to agree with everything I say just because my dad has cancer you know-’