(Xaviers POV in this chapter)
Xavier's eyes stayed on Jay. The smile was still there. Small. Shy. Real. And for some reason, Xavier couldn't look away.
"God, you're too cute to handle."
The words slipped out before he could stop them. Jay immediately looked down, his ears turning red. That only made Xavier grin. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The room felt strangely quiet despite the sounds downstairs. Xavier opened his mouth, wanting to say something else. Then his phone buzzed. The sudden vibration made him jump. He frowned and pulled it out of his pocket. A text from his mom.
Mom:Where are you? Get home. It's late.
Xavier's eyes widened. "Shoot."
Jay looked up.
"My mom's gonna kill me."
For a second, Jay just stared at him. Then— A laugh escaped him. A real laugh. Not nervous. Not awkward. Not forced. A genuine laugh. Xavier froze. His heart practically stopped. Jay blinked, like he hadn't expected to laugh either. The sound faded quickly, but Xavier was still staring.
"What?" Jay asked quietly.
"...Nothing."
Everything. It was everything. The smile. The laugh. The way his eyes looked when he was happy. Xavier felt like his chest was being squeezed.
"Seriously, I should go."
Jay nodded. "Okay."
But neither of them moved. Eventually Xavier stood.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
A tiny smile appeared on Jay's face again.
"Yeah."
Xavier pointed at him.
"Get some sleep."
Jay rolled his eyes.
"Okay okay."
That earned another laugh from Xavier. Then Jay gave a small wave.
"Goodnight."
"Night."
Xavier turned before he could embarrass himself further and headed downstairs. The second he reached the living room, Jay's brother looked up from his phone. And smirked. Uh oh.
"You're smiling." Jay's brother started teasing.
Xavier immediately pointed at him.
"Don't."
"Don't what?"
"You know exactly what."
Jay's brother laughed.
"I didn't even say anything."
"You were about to."
The older man leaned back against the couch.
"So."
"No."
"So."
"No."
"You're really bad at hiding things."
Xavier groaned.
"Goodnight."
The laughter followed him all the way out the front door. The walk home should have been normal. Usually Xavier thought about sports practice. School, Future plans, Old fights, Random things, but tonight? None of that stuck. Every thought somehow led back to Jay.
Jay smiling. Jay laughing. Jay trying to pretend he was okay when he obviously wasn't. Jay wearing that colorful sweater last weekend. Jay looking up at him. Jay. Jay. Jay. By the time Xavier reached home, he was annoyed. Not at Jay. At himself. Because this was ridiculous.
"Mom, I'm home."
His mother looked up from the kitchen.
Immediately her eyebrows lifted.
"What?"
She smiled.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Mom."
"You seem happy."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You smiled when you walked in."
Xavier immediately stopped smiling.
His mother laughed.
"Oh wow."
"Stop."
"Who is it?"
"There isn't a 'who.'"
"There definitely is a 'who.'"
Xavier groaned.
His mother only looked more amused.
"I haven't seen you smile this much in years."
"That's not true."
"It absolutely is."
Xavier grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. His mom watched him the entire time. The smile never left her face.
"You like someone."
Xavier nearly choked.
"I do not."
"Mmhm."
"I don't."
"Sure."
"Mom."
She laughed again. Xavier pointed toward the stairs.
"I'm going to my room."
"Running away already?"
"Goodnight."
"You didn't answer my question."
"Goodnight."
His mother laughed all the way until he disappeared upstairs. The second Xavier entered his room, he threw himself face-first onto his bed. His phone sat beside him. He stared at it. Picked it up. Unlocked it. Then froze.
He didn't have Jay's number. "...You've got to be kidding me."
He dropped face-first into his pillow.
"What's wrong with me?"
A few minutes later he was still laying there thinking about Jay. Eventually sleep won. The next morning, Xavier arrived at school earlier than usual. He told himself it was because he wanted to be early. That was a lie. His feet somehow carried him toward Jay's classroom. Completely by accident. Totally. Yeah... definitely. He slowed near the door. Jay wasn't there. Xavier frowned. Maybe he was just late. He kept walking. A hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.
Xavier nearly jumped out of his skin. "What the—"
Laughter exploded behind him. Nick was bent over laughing. Andrew was practically crying. Even Ethan was grinning.
"Your face!" Andrew wheezed.
"You idiots."
Nick wiped a tear from his eye.
"Dude, you were so focused you didn't even hear us."
Xavier rolled his eyes. Then looked toward Jay's classroom again. Nick noticed immediately. The smile slowly returned.
"Hey."
Xavier ignored him.
"Hey."
"What?"
Nick tilted his head toward the classroom. Then back toward Xavier. Then toward the classroom again.
A grin spread across his face. "Ah." Xavier immediately knew where this was going. "No."
"Missing someone?"
Andrew's head snapped up.
"Ohhhhh."
Ethan finally caught on.
"No way."
"Shut up."
The three of them exchanged looks. Then all at once— "OHHHHHHHH."
Xavier wanted the floor to swallow him whole. The three idiots stood there grinning at him like they'd just uncovered the biggest secret in school history. Andrew was the worst. He looked like Christmas had come early.
"Oh my God," Andrew said dramatically. "It's true."
"It is not."
"It is."
"It isn't."
"It is."
Nick stepped forward and pointed toward Jay's classroom. "So why were you standing outside his room like a lost puppy?"
"I wasn't."
"You literally were."
"I was walking."
"You stopped."
"I was thinking."
"About him."
"I wasn't."
"You were."
Ethan laughed. For someone who talked the least, he somehow made everything worse.
"He's blushing."
"I am not blushing."
Nick gasped. "HE'S BLUSHING."
"I'm going to hit all of you."
Andrew threw an arm over Xavier's shoulder. "You know what's funny?"
"What?"
"You've never looked at anyone like this before."
Xavier rolled his eyes. "There's nothing to look at."
Three sets of eyebrows immediately lifted. Nick laughed first.
"Oh, you're done."
"What?"
"You said 'nothing to look at' instead of 'I don't like him.'" Andrew grabbed his chest dramatically.
"He's gone."
"Completely gone."
Ethan nodded.
"Cooked."
"I'm surrounded by idiots."
The warning bell finally rang. Students began flooding through the hallways. Xavier took the opportunity to escape. "See you at lunch."
Nick shouted after him. "Tell Jay we said hi."
A notebook nearly hit him in the back of the head. The entire morning dragged. Xavier couldn't focus. His teacher called on him twice. He got the first answer wrong. The second answer wasn't even related to the question. The class laughed. Xavier dropped his head onto the desk. Something was genuinely wrong with him. Every few minutes his eyes drifted toward the clock. Every few minutes he found himself wondering whether Jay was feeling better. Whether his fever had gone down. Whether he was eating. Whether he had slept. Whether the bruise above his lip still hurt. It was annoying. And constant.
By the time lunch arrived, Xavier was halfway convinced he'd lost his mind. The cafeteria was crowded. Students filled nearly every table. The noise echoed off the walls. Nick, Ethan, and Andrew were already sitting down when Xavier arrived. The second he sat, Andrew looked around dramatically.
"Where is he?"
Xavier didn't even look up.
"Who?"
"Jay."
Three seconds. That was how long Xavier lasted before glancing around the cafeteria. The table exploded.
Nick slapped the table. Ethan nearly choked on his drink. Andrew pointed at him.
"HE LOOKED."
"Shut up."
"He looked."
"I hate you."
Nick wiped tears from his eyes.
"You've got it bad."
"I don't have anything."
"You checked the room before you even sat down."
Xavier stabbed his lunch with unnecessary force. The grin never left Nick's face. Then Ethan suddenly looked toward the cafeteria entrance.
"Speaking of the devil."
Everything inside Xavier stopped. He turned. Jay had just walked inside. The bruise was still faintly visible. His usual black clothes had returned. His blond hair was slightly messy. And somehow Xavier immediately relaxed. He was here. Nick saw it happen. The way Xavier's shoulders dropped. The way the tension left his face. The way his eyes followed Jay.
"Oh." For once Nick sounded serious. "Oh wow."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Nick."
"Nothing."
The smile on Nick's face said otherwise. Jay looked around the cafeteria. For a moment his eyes landed on Xavier. Immediately they looked away again. A second later they came back. A tiny smile appeared. Small. Almost invisible. But it was there. Xavier felt his heart do something stupid. Again. It was becoming a serious problem. A tiny smile shouldn't have affected him this much. Yet somehow, every time Jay smiled, Xavier felt like he had just won something. Jay made his way toward the table, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder.
Nick watched Xavier. Then watched Jay. Then looked back at Xavier. The grin slowly returned.
"Oh, this is bad."
"Eat your lunch."
"I'm serious."
"I don't care."
"You smiled."
"I didn't."
"You did."
Andrew pointed dramatically. "HE DID."
Ethan sighed. "I don't know why you guys are acting surprised anymore."
Jay finally reached the table. "Hey."
"Hey."
The second Jay sat down, the three idiots became suspiciously quiet. Jay looked between them.
"...Why are they looking at me like that?"
"Don't ask."
"We're not looking at you," Nick lied.
Andrew nodded. "Definitely not."
Jay looked even more confused. Xavier wanted to disappear. Lunch continued. Or at least it tried to. Nick kept kicking Xavier under the table. Andrew kept making faces whenever Jay wasn't looking. Ethan sat there enjoying the chaos. At one point Xavier genuinely considered flipping the table. Then Jay laughed at one of Andrew's stupid jokes. The table went quiet for a second. Not because the joke was funny. Because Jay was laughing. Xavier caught himself staring. Once again. Nick caught him. AGAIN. The grin on Nick's face became unbearable.
By the end of lunch, Xavier was convinced his friends were plotting against him. The bell saved him. Barely. The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. Teachers talked. Students talked. Someone gave a presentation. Xavier couldn't remember a single thing that happened. Every now and then his mind drifted back to lunch. To Jay. To the way he seemed healthier today. Still tired. Still quiet. But better. The bruise above his lip was fading. His smile was appearing more often. That alone made Xavier feel relieved.
The final bell rang. Immediately, students started packing up. Xavier was already standing before his teacher finished speaking. "Wow," Andrew said from behind him.
"You're eager."
"I'm leaving."
"To see who?"
"I'm leaving."
Nick and Ethan nearly fell over laughing. The hallway was packed. Students poured out of classrooms and toward the front gates. Xavier scanned the crowd automatically. Not looking for anyone. Definitely not. A flash of blond hair appeared near the lockers. There. Found him. Wait. No. That wasn't— Actually, yes. That was exactly what he had been doing.
"Wow."
Xavier jumped.
Nick appeared beside him like a ghost.
"You found him in three seconds."
"Go away."
"That's impressive."
"Nick."
"You should join the military."
"I'm serious."
"You'd be great at search-and-rescue."
Andrew nearly walked into a wall because he was laughing so hard. Jay looked up. His eyes found Xavier immediately. The corner of his mouth lifted. Just a little. Xavier hated how much that affected him.
"See?" Nick said.
"What?"
"You smiled at him."
"No I didn't."
"You literally did."
Ethan patted Xavier's shoulder. "You're finished."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You are."
The debate continued all the way to the school gate. Eventually Nick, Ethan, and Andrew split off toward a convenience store. Leaving Xavier and Jay alone. For the first time all day. The sudden silence felt strange. Comfortable. But strange. Jay adjusted his bag.
"You friends are weird."
Xavier laughed. "That's the nicest thing anyone has ever called them."
A small smile appeared on Jay's face. There it was again. That smile. The one Xavier couldn't stop thinking about. The two started walking in the same direction. The afternoon sun painted long shadows across the sidewalk. Neither seemed in a hurry.
"Feeling better?" Xavier asked.
"A little."
"Just a little?"
Jay shrugged. "I'm alive."
"That's not very convincing."
"It should be."
"It isn't."
Jay rolled his eyes. For some reason, that made Xavier smile. The walk continued. Simple. Easy. Neither of them realized how natural it had become. A few weeks ago, silence between them would've been awkward. Now it wasn't. Now it felt normal. Like walking beside each other was something they had always done. And for Xavier, that realization was almost scarier than anything else. Because somewhere between sports practice, lunches, hospital visits, and late-night conversations...
Jay had become important. Really important. More important than Xavier wanted to admit. And judging by the way his heart reacted every time Jay smiled... He was in a lot more trouble than he thought.