His Safety Net

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

       I looked around the hallway, making sure nobody was watching before I looked at the locker I was standing in front of. Nobody was in the hallway right now, so I didn't have to worry about people seeing me. Not too many people were ever in the hallways during lunch. They were at the beginning to go to their lockers but after that, they were either in the cafeteria, off campus, or in a classroom.

       I moved the piece of paper towards the vent of the locker, about to put it in but then I stopped myself. Why was I doing this? This was an extremely dumb idea. I should just walk away and pretend I wasn't about to do this.

       I sighed, moving the paper away from the locker. However, I, myself, didn't move away the locker. I guess part of me really wanted to do this. The other part was too scared to.

       So I was stuck between putting the piece of paper in the locker and just leaving without doing it.

       As I was trying to decided which one I should do, I suddenly heard someone ask, "Why are you standing in front of my locker?"

       I turned around to see Jerome standing there, so I quickly hid the piece of paper behind my back. "N-no reason. Just... bored."

       "What's behind your back?" Jerome asked.

       "Uh..." I struggled to think of an answer that wasn't true, and since I wasn't the best liar I came up with not the best answer. "M-my... hands."

       "And what's in your hands?"

       "My... palm."

       "I mean, what are you holding in your hands?"

       "The a-air?"

       Jerome chuckled. "You are still so fucking cute. Alright, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

       I hesitated before handing Jerome the piece of paper. "I-I was going to put this in... your locker. Then... I th-thought it would have been lame..."

       "What is it?" Jerome asked as he unfolded the paper.

       "S-something I drew," I said. "To... make you feel better. W-well, that's if... if you like it."

       Jerome stared at the picture for a bit before looking back at me. "You drew this? Just for me?"

       I looked at the ground so I wouldn't have to see Jerome's reaction to it. I couldn't really take criticism all too well, especially from someone I really cared about. This was why I just wanted to leave the drawing in his locker, so I wouldn't have to see his reaction when he found it.

       At first, I thought Jerome didn't like it because of how silent he was. Besides, the negative parts of life were always the first thing that popped into my mind, whether it be someone having a negative reaction about something I did or a worst case scenario for anything. I could never imagine the positive sides instead.

       However, Jerome soon broke his silence by saying, "Nolan, this is amazing."

       I looked up at him, seeing a small smile on his face. "R-really?"

       "Yeah, of course," Jerome said before pulling me into a hug. "Thank you. No one has ever done something like this for me."

       "I-it's just a drawing..."

       "Yeah, but it's a drawing that you drew with the intention to make me feel better. A beautiful drawing at that. It means a lot to me." He pulled away, smiling widely. "Now, I would kiss you right now, but I know you're iffy about that. So how about we sneak into the janitor's closet to make out? Or to do other things?"