Love and Other Diseases (bxb)

Chapter Nine

"Would you want to go on a date with me?" Blake the evil snake asked me, green eyes wide and curious.

It took me approximately two seconds to come up with my answer. "Um, no. I hate you."

Blake threw his hands in the air. "No you don't! I'm your type and you got a boner yesterday when you were around me. You're overcompensating. And guess what? It's your lucky day, because I'm bisexual."

"No you're not."

"This is the most blatant example of bisexuality erasure that I've ever seen," he said, exasperated, and the words bisexuality erasire coming out of homophobic Blake's mouth made no sense.

"You're a homophobe,"  I accused. "I know you're a homophobe."

"Ask my mom!" Blake said. He stood up, tense and uncomfortable, and yelled, "MOM! Aren't I bisexual?!"

Distantly, his mom answered, "Yeah, sweetheart!"

Okay, he easily could have given his mother money to say something like that. I knew that Blake Beckson was a homophobe.

"See?" Blake's green eyes were trained on me. "I'm bisexual. And I'm not a homophobe. And I broke up with my girlfriend the second I found out we were working on this project together."

"Why?" I was utterly baffled. He seemed completely honest. Of course, Blake was a deceptive person, but still...

"Because, I want to..." Blake sighed. "I've always liked you a little bit, Jake. That's why I tried to talk to you all those times on the way to school. Remember back when we were friends? I liked you back then."

He was definitely fucking with me.

"I hate you Blake, we're not compatible."

"Why do you hate me so much? I just don't get it! There's no reason that I can think of."

Looks like I'd have to explain myself. "It was back when we were nine. The very week your family threw a big cookout, I realized I was gay." I didn't mention how I found out. "The same day I was going to tell you, I overheard you talking to some kid at the cookout. You were mad at him and called him a stupid homo," I recalled. "You pushed him to the ground and he started crying."

"That's why you hate me?" He stood up off the bed and faced me. He looked kind of pretty with his hair a mess and his face flushed in anger. "From something that stupid that happened nine years ago?"

"Yes!"

"That's insane!"

"...Too bad, I hold grudges."

Blake was looking at me with his jaw dropped. He shook his head. "That little snot's name was Drew and he totally had a crush on you. When he told me I acted like a dick."

"Yes. You're an asshole."

"I was jealous, you dumbass."

Wow, he was really putting it all out there.

"That's convenient to your 'oh I'm bi now' story," I scoffed.

Blake groaned and over-dramatically dropped face-first onto his bed. "Jake," he mumbled into his pillow. "I'm into guys and I think you're kind of okay."

I was really torn. On one hand, he was kind of my type. On the other...well I hate him for being a homophobe, but... if he actually wasn't...

"Are you fucking with me?" I asked honestly. "Because when Ben told you I wanted to do gay things with you, which wasn't true by the way, you said 'I'm not a fag.'"

He lifted his head from the pillow and I took in his blush and his shy look. "No," he admitted. I actually believed him. I actually didn't think that Blake was being a snake. "I'm not fucking with you. I only said that because nobody knows the truth about me and I was scared. ...I still am, to be honest."

Well, that was really all I needed. "Okay, I'll go on a date with you, not Kevin. Because I guess if you're not actually Satan incarnate, I need to figure out who you are."

Blake the not snake gave me a surprisingly bright smile. It seemed to light up the room. "Really?"

"Really. I guess."

—//—

The next day at school, I had the impossible task of telling Kevin that I wasn't actually interested in going on a date with him anymore.

"I'm not interested in going on a date with you anymore," I informed him tactfully.

Kevin nodded. "I-it's okay. Blake told me the truth."

"Yeah, sorry."

"It's okay."

Well that was easy.

With that awkward task over, I had some explaining to do. I sat down at my lunch table and met my friend's eyes. "You guys aren't going to believe it," I began.

They all asked me what was up.

"Don't freak out, but I'm going on a date tomorrow... with Blake Beckson," I said, truly expecting them to freak out.

Kay just shook her head. "Thank God the overcompensation is over."

"I knew you wanted to make him your catamite!" Ben exclaimed, way too loudly in the lunchroom.

Thankfully people were already used to him. Nobody looked over.

Christi was the nice one. "I'm happy for you, Jake. I know you've been crushing on him for a long time, so I hope the date goes well."

Everyone seemed to think that I was in love with him, except for me. I mean sure, when I truly got a glance of his green eyes, they gave me stomach flutters. And fine, there was no doubting that he was obviously very handsome and charming. But still—that was just admiring!

On the way home from school, I walked side-by-side with the guy I once hated and now was confused about.

"I hope this date goes poorly," I admitted. "It would be really tragic if I never got to call you Blake the snake ever again."

Blake rolled his eyes and let out a little laugh, which was new. He had a nice laugh, for a sicko. "You're way too blunt, do you know that?"

I shrugged. "I just tell the truth."

"Let's go on our date tomorrow," Blake suggested. "And if it goes well, we can go on another date."

I looked into green eyes that I'd once considered swamp water. Now I thought they more closely resembled emeralds.

Not that I liked emeralds, either.

"I really hope I don't regret this, Blake the snake."