Chapter Thirteen

A Chapter by Chris

The following day didn't go by much faster than the previous ones. However, unlike the past few days, Greg was a little more confident about getting in a relationship with Zach. Even with this small boost of courage though, the Sophomore still struggled to ask the older male out. His fear still tried to prevent him from doing so and it succeeded each time.

Greg walked down the crowded hall at a somewhat slow pace with his head slightly tilted downwards as he reflected on his unsuccessful attempt of asking Zach out during study hall earlier that day. He felt frustrated in these failed tries – even more so than the ones from the past few days. He got so close to asking the Junior male out on a date earlier, but his fear wrapped around him like a noose, cutting off the rest of his words before he had a chance to ask. Greg just wished that he would maybe have one more chance to ask the male out before the school day was over.

And it seemed that his wish was granted too; on his way to his last class of the day, Greg saw Zach just a little ways up the hall. Fear was beginning to wrap its fingers around him, but the brown-haired boy took a small gulp, trying to wash it away. He was going to fight harder this time, wanting to overcome this problem. The Sophomore picked up his pace so that he was practically power walking down the hall, gradually decreasing the distance between him and Zach until he was right next to the taller male.

“Hey Zach,” he greeted.

Zach looked down towards him and smiled. “Hey, what's up?”

“There's something I want to ask you.” Greg thought it probably sounded a little abrupt, and he was a bit worried at that, but he didn't feel like trying to beat around the bush. The sooner he asked, the better.

Zach stopped and turned to face the younger male. “Ask away.”

Greg, who had also stopped, fidgeted with his fingers for a moment as he felt the fear rushing towards him like a tsunami. His heart rate picked up as he shuffled his feet a little. After taking a small gulp, he asked,

“Wanna go see a movie tonight?”

The smile on the Junior's face widened upon hearing the question. “Sure. I'll come pick you up at . . . seven-thirty?”

Greg nodded and said, “Okay.”

“Alright, cool.” He glanced towards a digital clock that protruded from a wall before looking back at Greg. “Well, better head to class. Can't afford another tardy. See ya later dude.”

“Bye,” Greg said with a smile as he felt the older male clap him on the back before walking off. The Sophomore watched the dark-haired male for a moment before heading to his seventh period class.

Greg sat on his couch, fidgeting with his fingers as he stared at the white carpeting underneath his feet. There was hardly a sound other than the ones coming from the television and the sound of his racing heart. Asking Zach out was only half of the task; there was still the fact that he had to go on the date with him, which was almost twice as nerve-racking as asking the question. The fear within him still stirred, poised like a snake that would strike at any given moment. It had struck him several times while he got ready for the date earlier, becoming so bad at one point to where he almost felt like calling the whole thing off. However, he kept himself from doing so, knowing that this was the only way he would get over this problem. Besides, he had came this close and he really didn't feel like letting it all go down the drain now.

After about five agonizingly slow minutes passed, the doorbell rang, almost causing Greg to jump off the couch and fall flat on his face. After turning the television off, the Sophomore sighed, trying to dispel his nervousness and fear, before walking towards the door to see Zach on the other side upon opening it.

“Hey dude, you ready?” Zach asked with a smile on his face.

“Y-yeah,” Greg replied, smiling a little sheepishly.

Greg turned off the lights and closed the door behind him before following Zach towards the car that was parked at the side of the road. The two climbed in and buckled their seat belts before the Junior turned the key in the ignition, causing the car to roar into life. Zach grabbed onto the steering wheel before looking over towards Greg, who was fidgeting with his fingers.

“Nervous?” he asked.

Greg looked towards him and nodded.

“Don't be dude. This'll be awesome, I promise.” He gave a reassuring smile.

The brown-haired boy couldn't help but to smile back, starting to feel a little more confident about this. Zach began driving the car and the two talked while rock music played from the radio. As time progressed, Greg started to feel a little less nervous, and he felt as though the fear was even starting to dissipate too.

When the two arrived at the cinemas, they walked into the large building. After deciding what movie they were going to watch, they walked towards the line to buy their tickets.

“I'll pay,” Zach said when it was almost their turn to pay.

“No, I'll pay,” Greg replied.

“No, it's cool dude, let me.”

“No, you'll have to pay for gas and everything, so let me pay for the tickets and snacks. Besides, it was my idea to come here and it wouldn't seem right to me if you paid instead.”

“Alright, you win,” Zach said with a small chuckle.

The younger male smiled. “Good.”

After getting their tickets, snacks, and sodas, the two headed to the theater in which their movie would be playing. They took a seat in the center of the middle row and briefly talked while they waited for their movie to begin. After a few minutes passed, the lits dimmed down and the previews of future movies began.

During the middle of the movie, Greg shifted in his seat a little as he glanced towards Zach and the hand that rested on the armrest between them. After taking a slow, deep breath, he slowly moved his hand towards the other male's, somewhat ignoring the fear-filled voices in the movie. Every now and then his hand stopped on its slow travel as Greg hesitated a little to continue any further. However, Greg was startled from the scary scene that just started on the movie, causing his hand to lightly grip Zach's.

“Err, sorry,” Greg whispered as he slowly moved his hand off of the other male's.

“It's okay dude, go ahead,” Zach replied in the same tone of voice, smiling as he held out his hand for Greg to take.

The brown-haired boy smiled some as he grabbed the taller boy's hand so that their fingers interlaced. Feeling the nervousness drain from him, he sat more comfortably in his seat as he looked back towards the movie.

When the movie finished, the two left the building and drove off. On their way home, they talked about everything that happened in the movie, quoting things some of the characters said or making fun of some of the bad scenes that took place. After about ten minutes, the car coasted to a stop in front of Greg's house. The Sophomore unbuckled his seat belt before looking at Zach.

“I had a lot of fun tonight,” he said.

“See? I told you it would be awesome,” Zach replied.

“Yeah.”

The two looked at each other for a couple moments, staring into each other's eyes. They soon slowly leaned in towards each other, their eyes beginning to close as their lips got closer and closer towards each other. However, when their lips were only centimeters away from meeting, the snake struck, releasing fear into Greg's system so that it quickly engulfed him. His eyes shot open and he pulled away before he realized what he just did. Zach looked at him, a little puzzled and upset at the same time. Greg sighed.

“Sorry, but I guess I'm just not ready for that yet,” he apologized in a slightly quiet tone of voice. “Sorry.”

Zach smiled a bit weakly. “Don't worry dude, I understand.”

Greg gave a small nod and faintly smiled. After saying bye, he got out of the car and slowly headed up to the front door. Upon reaching it, he looked back towards the car for a brief moment before walking into the house.

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