Knowing Me, Knowing You

Happy New Year

It seemed as though everyone from school was at Brent Wood's house for his New Year party. It didn't matter what clique anyone was part of, everyone was invited. And since Brent lived in the upper east side of town where all the rich folks lived, his house could fit the entire school's population in there and still leave some room.

Obviously, not everyone was at the party. The one most notable absentee was Carter. Since Xander was at the party, as well as Dante and Regina, most people assumed she would show up in all her gothic glory. Yet she was strangely absent with only Dante and Regina knowing why.

Jacob McCoy walked upstairs to get away from the intensity of the party in the parlor and sitting room. As he said 'hey' to the people he walked past, he smirked when he spotted Dante leaning against the wall outside the bathroom, texting on his phone.

"Hey," Jacob said as he strutted up to him.

Dante glanced up and nodded at him. "Hey."

Standing next to him, Jacob leaned against the wall. "It's nice to see you here."

Dante smirked. "Aren't you already in a relationship."

"I'm not here to flirt with you," Jacob promised. "I just wanted to talk."

"About what?" he laughed.

"You know, you and I came out around the same time, and we never talked about it."

"We were in different social circles. You had all your jock friends who were cool with you, and I had my friends who accepted me as well. It wasn't like we had to join forces or anything."

"No, but it would make sense that we would talk and become friends, don't you think?"

"It would have been nice to talk about guys with another guy," Dante smirked. "But if we did become friends, I doubt my life would turn out the way it has. Yours probably wouldn't either. So it's probably a good thing that we didn't actually grow that close."

"I guess you're right. I never would have met my Timmy." Jacob smirked. "And you never would have met Trevor."

"I can guarantee I would have met Trevor. We've always had at least one class together since Freshman year."

"True. I guess you were bound to evolve a crush on him at some point."

"I'm not following."

Jacob leaned in and whispered in Dante's ear, "I know you have a crush on Trevor."

Dante snickered. "What, did you overhear Carter scolding me about it?"

"She's scolding you for it?"

"Thinks it's not healthy for me to have a one-sided relationship with a boy who won't love me back."

Part of Jacob wanted to tell Dante that he was in luck because Trevor was gay, but he refused to ever tell anyone. He understood the importance of keeping it a secret, and he didn't want to violate Trevor's trust. The only reason he wanted to know if Dante liked him was because he wanted Trevor to know that whenever he was ready to come out, there was someone waiting for him. It was what prompted his boyfriend Tim to come out. He wanted to make Trevor feel better about life once he did come out.

"I say that if you're not hurting anyone, there's nothing wrong with it. But I also feel I should tell you that I saw the way you were looking at Trevor after one of our meets. Figured you should know that you're not hiding your crush that well."

Dante shrugged. "Oh, well. It's not like Jessica has anything to be jealous of."

As though she was the Bloody Mary, both boys heard Jessica's cackle as she walked upstairs, dragging Trevor with her. The two talked with some of their friends. As Trevor wrapped his arm around Jessica's waist and kissed the side of her head, Dante quickly looked away and back down at his phone.

"But you do," Jacob murmured, fully understanding the pain Dante experienced.

"Technically, I don't. I have no reason to be jealous. I have no reason to be upset. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to be alone."

Dante walked past Jacob and up to the third floor of the building. There were two guest bedrooms and a storage space up there. Dante entered one of the bedrooms and stormed into the bathroom. He climbed into the bathtub and sat inside, leaning his head back against the wall.

It didn't take five minutes for Trevor to enter the bathroom and lock the door behind him. He sat on the toilet seat and groaned as he buried his head in his hands. "I love Jessica, but she can be so annoying at times."

"You do an excellent job at pretending she doesn't," Dante smirked. "You two always look blissfully in love."

"If I don't look it, people will get suspicious."

"It's going to crush her when you break up."

"I know," he sighed.

"But at least you won't have to keep pretending." Dante reached his hand out, and Trevor instantly grabbed it. "I love you."

"I love you, too." Trevor knelt on the ground and leaned over the tub to kiss Dante. "In college, parties like this will be easier." He held Dante's hand. "We can do this and just be out. It's just a few more months."

Dante cupped Trevor's cheek, running his thumb under his eye and frowned. "There's no need to stress yourself out about it, Angeleyes. I'm still here. Things may suck now, but they will get better. Just try to endure it as best as you can tonight, and if you can't, just say you're not feeling well."

"I'd still rather be here for the night then go home," he chuckled humorlessly.

Perking up, Dante reached into his pocket. "I actually have something that could help you calm down."

"You don't have drugs on you, do you?"

"Technically, yes, but it's okay." Dante pulled out a lighter and placed it on the edge of the tub before pulling out a cigarette carton. He pulled one out before handing the box to Trevor. There was a hemp plant on the carton.

Trevor dropped the box and gawked as Dante lit up the blunt. As he exhaled, Dante handed the blunt to Trevor, who pushed it away and jumped to his feet. "You cannot be serious right now."

"What? It's legal."

"That still doesn't mean you should be smoking it."

"Hon, I can assure you that I am not the only one who's getting high here tonight."

"That's not the issue. You should not be getting high here."

"Why not?" Dante challenged as he inhaled again.

"Because I know these fuckers, and I don't trust them."

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. I just know how they can get when they're on drugs or high or whatever. I know you can handle yourself, but it's going to be harder to fight them off if you're intoxicated, too," he explained. "I'm already worried enough about you being here with them. I don't want you to go through something you shouldn't have to go through."

Dante scoffed. "I love you, baby, but I am not going to be sober at this party. I'm only here because Regina dragged me along since Carter's at her concert tonight. I want to go home, but I can't, because I promised. So if I'm going to enjoy myself, I'm going to get high."

Trevor angrily stared at Dante before storming out of the bathroom. He had no issue with Dante getting high, as it was his decision. He personally would never get high, but that wasn't the issue. People were handsy at this party. He knew people liked to tease Dante and would try to mess with him more while intoxicated. If Dante was high, he wouldn't be able to fend himself off as easily. It scared him to think of him being alone and defenseless. He was just looking out for his partner.

But watching his boyfriend get high was only angering him, and he needed to cool off. It wasn't the smartest idea to storm off, but he didn't want to get into a worse argument with him. He walked back up to Jessica and wrapped his arm around her waist. He intended to keep an eye on Dante tonight. If his boyfriend was going to be high, he was going to have to keep watch.