Stuck in the Middle

Chapter 25

I wasn't sure why I was the most nervous out of the three of us when we finally left the classroom. I was suddenly afraid of what people were going to say. Not because we were all into guys, but because there were three of us together. More specifically, Marc and John were together, too.

Everyone knew they hated each other, but now they're dating? With me thrown into the mix? How did we explain that to people?

"What's wrong?" Marc asked me just as we reached the building's main doors.

I shook my head. "You guys really don't mind coming out, right? As the three of us?"

Marc smiled. His teeth were perfectly straight and I briefly wondered if he'd ever had braces. "We wouldn't be here if we didn't," he said.

I leaned into his side and he put his arm around my shoulders. I don't think I'd feel one hundred percent confident that this would work until people actually started finding out.

John pushed open the door, holding it to let Marc and I step through. A sharp breeze cut through my shirt and I shivered, leaning more into Marc's side. He wrapped his arm around me tighter and I appreciated the warmth.

"Marc! Hey!"

We all stopped walking and Marc let go of me just in time for his friend, Taylor, to run up to us. He stopped in front of us, eyeing John carefully.

"Where have you been all day?" he asked Marc. "I texted you."

"Uh, yeah." Marc glanced at me, then John, before looking back at Taylor. "Sorry, I was busy."

I hadn't ever really talked to Taylor all that much. I had only seen him a few times, when I went to the parties after the football games, and the one class we were in together. Other than that, he was practically a stranger. I didn't know how he'd react to finding out Marc was gay, and maybe Marc was a little afraid of that, too.

"Are you coming to practice?" Taylor asked, again, sending a sideways glance at John.

I wasn't sure if John felt as awkward as I did standing there, listening to their conversation. I wanted to stay as support for Marc when he came out to his friend, but I also didn't want to stick around in case he changed his mind. John didn't seem all that bothered, but he might be good at hiding it. He leaned against the side of the building, scrolling through something on his phone.

"Of course," Marc said. "I wouldn't miss a practice."

"Why are you hanging out with John?" Taylor whispered the question, but it was still loud enough for me to hear. And John.

"What?" John asked, pushing himself off the wall. "Can't we all hang out? Nothing wrong with that, right?"

Taylor ignored John, putting his hand on Marc's arm. "Tell me you haven't gone crazy or something. You're not actually friends with him now, are you?"

I saw Marc's shoulders stiffen and his hand balled into a fist. I wanted to reach out and grab his hand, make him relax, but I didn't know if that would stress him out even more. Instead, I glanced at John, who was watching Marc with just as much intensity as I was.

With a deep breath, I watched as Marc relaxed his shoulders. "Actually, there's something I need to tell you." He took another deep breath before reaching out and taking my hand. "I'm gay."

I squeezed his hand a bit as Taylor looked down at our joined hands. "Okay, sure. How does that explain why you're hanging out with John? Don't we hate him?"

John scoffed, raising his hands in defense. "What did I ever do to deserve all that hate?"

"Actually," Marc said, cutting off Taylor from whatever retort he was about to throw back at John. "I'm kinda with him, too."

Taylor crossed his arms over his chest. "That's got to be a joke. If you're gay, fine. I don't care. But John? No way. I don't believe it."

"I'll prove it," John said with a smirk. Without waiting for anyone to say anything else, he crossed the sidewalk, threw his arms around Marc's neck, and kissed him.

Marc kissed him back, letting go of my hand to put both of his on John's waist. They kissed deep and passionately. Right there in the middle of the sidewalk, just outside the main classroom building on campus. With everyone walking by to see.

I couldn't take my eyes off them. They pulled each other closer, seriously getting into the kiss. It was the first time that I'd seen them kiss someone that wasn't me where I didn't feel any kind of pain at the sight.

"Spencer?"

I jumped when Taylor said my name, forcing my gaze away from my two boyfriends as they continued to make out.

"Is this for real?"

I nodded slowly. Part of me still couldn't believe it either. I'd only ever seen them argue with each other, and now they're making out? Well, I did walk in on them during lunch break, but I didn't think that really counted. I was too confused at that moment to think of anything else.

"And you're part of this, too?" Taylor continued.

I nodded again. That, too, was hard to believe. Two boyfriends, who were also dating each other. I felt greedy, but I didn't care. They were mine and they proved that today.

"Hell yeah, he is," John said.

I looked back over at them to see they had finally stopped making out. Marc wore a small smile, which made me smile, too. We could do this. Of course we could.

Taylor shook his head and gestured for Marc to follow him. "We have to go to practice. Come on."

"Am I not invited, too?" John asked. "Last I checked, I was still the best player on the team."

He looked like he was about to fight Taylor, so I grabbed his arm. There was no reason for anyone to fight. And John was still bruised from his fight last night with Marc - they both were. No one else needed to get hurt.

"I'll see you later, Spence," Marc said. He took a step towards Taylor, then stopped and came back to give me a quick kiss. "We can meet up for dinner, maybe?"

He looked at both John and me when he asked that, and we both nodded. I'd never eaten with either of them before, since they always ate with their team members. Today was definitely turning out to be quite an interesting day, not that there was anything wrong with that.

Marc and Taylor walked away, heading for the gym building. John stayed next to me for a second, watching them walk away.

"Well, that was fun," he said, putting an arm over my shoulders. "You should come watch us practice. Maybe you'll even get another show."

"Show?" I asked, confused. When he smirked again, I realized what he meant: another make-out session with Marc, this time, in the middle of the field. "You're going to end up distracting you both if you do. Isn't practice important?"

"Not as important on getting you all hot and bothered, huh?"

I shoved his arm off my shoulder and started walking away. I wasn't really mad at him, but did he have to say stuff like that within earshot of practically all of campus?

He easily caught up to me. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry, Spence. We'll save all that for later." He put his arm around my shoulders again, keeping pace with my steps. "But please come watch practice? It'll be nice to have you there."

I looked up at him and he had such a big, dopey smile on his face, I wouldn't have been able to say no, even if I wanted to. "Okay, sure. Why not?"

"Yay," John said quietly, before planting a big, wet kiss on my cheek. "You're awesome."

I laughed, wiping away his spit that he left behind. I didn't know why he wanted me there so badly, but if it made him happy for me to go, then of course I'd go. Besides, I'd be able to see both of them running around the field, sweating and looking as hot as ever. Maybe they'd even share another one of those kisses again. Who'd want to pass up that opportunity?