Chapter 11

 

        Adam was the first to wake up the following morning. The other boy's back was turned to him, but he could tell he was asleep. He slowly took his arm off of Jake before slowly getting out of the bed so he wouldn't wake him up.

        Once he took a shower and got dressed, he left since Jake was still asleep. He got something to eat at the cafeteria before starting to make his way back to the boys' dormitories. Adam didn't really feel like playing basketball with the others, but instead wanted to spend a little more time with Jake. However, before he could make it back to the dorms, Brad ended up running up to him.

        “Hey,” Brad said.

        “Hey,” Adam said back as he continued to walk.

        “How did your date go?” Brad asked as he followed Adam.

        Adam stopped in his tracks, a little surprised by the question. He had actually forgot about the excuse he told Brad. After taking a second to come up with a response, he faked a sigh and turned around to face Brad.

        “It didn't really go too well,” Adam said.

        “Dude, that sucks,” Brad said. “Oh well. She probably wasn't really that great anyway—whoever she was.”

        A second or two after Brad spoke a girl walked up to them. The two looked at her to see that it was Riley. She stood to be a few inches shorter than Adam and she had long brown hair and brown eyes. Riley was probably the most well-known girl in their grade. A lot of guys had asked her out before, but to only get rejected. Whenever she did go on a date with someone, they were pretty lucky.

        “Hey,” she greeted sweetly.

        “Hey, how's it going Riley?” Brad said.

        “Great,” Riley answered before looking at Adam. “How are you Adam?”

        “Good I guess,” the brown-haired boy replied.

        “I was wondering if you would maybe go see a movie with me tonight,” Riley said.

        Brad patted Adam on the back while looking at Riley and saying, “Of course he will.”

        Adam stepped away from Brad to get out of arm's reach. He glanced at the taller boy as if wanting to yell at him for doing that before looking at Riley.

        “Sorry, but I can't,” he said. “I'm busy tonight.”

        Brad looked at Adam as though he was crazy. Adam saw it from the corner of his eye, but he just ignored it for now. Riley looked a little hurt and the smile that was on her face disappeared.

        “Alright,” she said. “I'll see you around sometime.”

        The girl turned around and walked away from the two boys. Adam looked up at Brad, who still continued to stare at him in a shocked manner. A sigh escaped the brown-haired boy's mouth before he turned around and started to walk away himself, not really wanting to deal with Brad. However, Brad didn't let him go. Instead he started to follow him.

        “Dude, what the hell was that all about?” Brad asked.

        “I'm just not interested,” Adam answered.

        “Are you crazy? Riley's like the hottest girl in our entire grade!”

        “I just don't want to date someone else right now.”

        “C'mon dude, think this—“

        “I don't like girls, okay?” Adam snapped.

        The brown-haired boy froze in his place right afterwards, a surprise look on his face now because of what he accidentally said. He slowly turned around to face the other male, who looked at him in a weird and shocked way.

        “What are you talking about dude?” Brad asked.

        Adam hesitated to speak. He then let out a sigh, figuring that there was really no way to hide it now. “I'm gay.”

        Brad's eyes widened a little more after hearing what Adam said. He then slightly shook his head before turning around and starting to walk off. Adam didn't bother chasing after the other boy, but instead watched him walk away for a few seconds before continuing his way back to his dorm.

        “Hey,” Jake greeted when Adam entered the room.

        “Hi,” Adam said.

        The brown-haired boy just crossed the room and plopped down on his bed, letting out a somewhat heavy sigh as he did so. Jake frowned a little when he saw that Adam was a little upset about something.

        “What's wrong?” the blond-haired boy asked as he slowly walked over towards Adam.

        “I came out to Brad,” Adam said.

        “Didn't go too well?”

        “No.”

        Another sigh left Adam's mouth as Jake sat down next to him now. A hand was placed on Adam's shoulder in a comforting way.

        “Sorry to hear that,” Jake said.

        “Not like it's your fault,” Adam said. “I just hope that he doesn't hate me for it.”

        “He might, he might not. It's hard to say. But even if he does, so what? If he can't accept you for who you are, then he isn't a true friend.”

        “I know. It's just that he was my first friend here and we were real good friends. I guess I just don't want to see that friendship die.”

        “I know how that feels.” Jake then smiled a little. “But don't worry, even if he stops being your friend, I'll still be here for you.”

        Adam looked at Jake now, giving a small smile. “Thanks.”

        Jake pulled the other boy into a hug now. The smile on Adam's face grew a little as he wrapped an arm around Jake and rested his chin on his shoulder. He closed his eyes a little as he felt the blond-haired boy's hand gently rub his back.

        After a couple minutes, Adam started to feel a little better. However, the fact that Brad didn't seem to take the news about him being gay too well was still swimming around in his mind. He just hoped that he would still be his friend.