No Homo

11

Seth's pov

Nine years ago~

"Okay class, today is a very special day!" Mrs. Lewis, our teacher, cheers. I look around at the faces of the children around me, they all look so excited, though they shouldn't be. Every time Mrs. Cranky tells us she has exciting news, it's usually boring. These kids are being fooled by the wicked witch.

"Do any of you remember the country we learned about this week?" The witch asks us.

The answers Australia, the land where guys can't play baseball. At least that's what my dad told me. He insists on baseball being an American sport.

Multiple kids around me quickly raise their hands with excitement, wanting to answer the question, including Savannah, my best friend.

"Savannah?" Mrs. Cranky calls.

"Australia!" Savannah cheers, a little too excited to answer the question. The snake instantly smiles widely at her prey, Savannah.

"Very good, Savannah! Class, we have a new student joining us today. He's from Australia, so please be considerate and make him feel welcome!" Mrs. Lewis walks to the door and opens it, letting in a boy Ive never seen before. He's around my height with tan skin and eyes that almost look like honey. He's got dark brown hair and perfectly straight white teeth. All the girls here will tear him apart, he's gonna have a lot of running to do on the playground to get away from them.

Maybe I'll help him face the jungle of girls and love.

"Class, this is Jackson," Mrs. Lewis places one of her thin witch hands on the boy's shoulder, and his face instantly turns a shade of pink as he grips the straps on his backpack a bit tighter. "Would you like to introduce yourself, Jackson?"

The boy softly shakes his head 'yes' and Mrs. Lewis lets go of his shoulder, walking back to her desk. At least the slimy snake is gone.

"Uhm, Im Jackson, Jackson dyer. I'm from Australia and I just moved here to America." His voice carries a heavy accent and I now feel plain and boring in comparison to him.

"Very well then. Go ahead and put your bookbag in one of the cubbies in the back and take a seat next to..." Mrs. Lewis's eyes scan the room until her eyes land on an empty seat. The seat next to me. "Sit in that open seat over there. Now everyone else please get out your history book and turn to page 46."

The new kid hangs his bag in the back and quickly walks towards me, not wanting to miss any of the lesson. He sits down and lets out a small breath before looking at me, locking our eyes.

"I'm Jackson." He says with a warming smile, sticking his hand out for me to shake.

"I'm Seth," I reply with a laugh, slapping his formal handshake away. His face fills with a blush as he looks around the room at everyone else reading the history book. He turns back towards me and I crack a small smile.

"Wanna share a textbook?" I question with a smirk. Jackson softly shakes his head 'yes' and I let out a small laugh. "Fine, but its gonna cost you!"

"What do you want I'll do anything," he quickly responds causing me to laugh again.

"Nothing at the moment, but in the future when I'm in dire need of something, you'll give it to me, no questions asked," I reply smoothly, patting him on the back.

"Were gonna be friends, aren't we?" He replies with a big smile.

~~~

Present day~

This bitch fell asleep on me.

I look down at Jackson who lied his fat ass head on my shoulder and decided to go to sleep.

He does look quite cute though. Cute, but hurt. Even in his sleep he looks hurt. Fuck Liam, he's putting Jackson through hell and he doesn't even know about it. First, he went and caused Jackson to be confused about his sexuality. And now, he's tearing Jackson apart.

I don't blame Liam. I know he's not meaning to hurt Jackson. But Jackson is my best friend and I can't stand seeing him hurt the way he is.

I slowly get off the wall, holding Jackson's body in place so he doesn't fall on the floor, even though that would be fucking hilarious, I don't want him hurt. How does he even fall asleep standing up in the first place? What the hell is wrong with him.

I softly pick Jackson up bridal style, being careful not to wake him. Hardest task Ive ever performed, he owes me. I softly place him on the ground and take one last look at my best friend before exiting the bathroom and attempt to walk to the library.

Thing is, I have no fucking clue where the god damn library is.

You can't blame me, Ive never been there. I don't think the high school library contains children's books, which is basically as high as my reading level goes.

I aimlessly walk around the school, looking for the library with no success. I should probably just go back to Jackson and drive him home anyways, his mother is probably worried.

"Seth?" A small voice calls out behind me. I instantly turn around and I can't help the anger that fills me when I see Liam. I don't hate Liam, I just hate the way he made Jackson feel.

"Hey Liam," I respond, calmly walking towards him with my hands in my jacket pockets. Liam shifts uncomfortably as I get closer and you can feel the awkward tension between us.

I stop when I'm standing next to him and I look straight into his frightened eyes.

"Okay, calm your balls," I state, lightly shoving his arm, making him stumble back a bit. Damn that kid weighs nothing.

Liam's face fills with a blush as he lowers his head and lets his hair fall in front of his face. I begin walking forward and Liam quickly trails behind.

"Wait, why are you here? If you're looking for Jackson he kind of stormed out a long time ago." His small voice says with a tone of hurt prevalent, as his small legs rush to try and catch up.

I understand why Jackson likes Liam. He's cute. I just can't understand how Jackson 'loves' Liam. He just met the kid. How can he fall in love with someone he just met, yet he can't even like me after knowing me for nine years.

"No, I know where Jackson is," I reply, my fists clenching in my pockets as Liam replies with a simple 'oh'.

Eventually, Liams steps fall into pace with mine, and I take this time to talk to the boy who broke my best friend.

"What's his name?" I say plainly, looking straight ahead down the hallway. I can sense Liam's discomfort, and I hear him take in a short, quick breath.

"How do you know about him?" He replies quietly, pulling at the sleeves of his hoodie. I turn my head and look at the small boy and give him an "are-you-kidding-me" look, which deepened his blush.

"Francis." He replies with no emotion. "Does Jackson hate me because Im gay?" He quickly blurts out, his eyes holding a few, glossy tears.

I can't help but choke up. This isn't my story to tell. This needs to come from Jackson, not me. I don't even know what im doing talking to him. I didn't realize I stopped walking until Liam lightly clears his throat.

"Look, he doesn't hate you. He's just hurting right now, and you put him through a lot, even if you didn't do it intentionally. Just give him some space and come back to him in a few weeks, he'll gladly be your friend again." I keep my voice calm in order to keep myself under control.

It hurts saying something like that. Saying that Jackson will eventually go back to Liam, but it's true, I can tell. Even if I don't want it to be true, it is. And I'm not gonna go cry about it and be a little bitch. I just have to grow up and move on and let Jackson be happy.

I quickly walk away, leaving Liam in the hallway, but I quickly stop when he calls out my name once more. I don't bother to turn around and instead just listen to his words.

"Seth. There's more to the story than Francis just being my 'boyfriend'."