Andy's Circle - 5. Friends And (Ex) Lovers

(Fall of 2017)

This September came with a pretty big change for me – I started high school. After all of the teen Hollywood movies I’ve seen, I thought it would be much more stressful, or maybe even exciting – if that’s even possible for a school. In reality, it was just as boring as primary school, only this time with older, hormone-crazed teens.

Of course, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous at first, since it was a big change and I’d have to meet new people and find new friends. This turned out to be not a big problem at all, especially compared to how I exaggerated it in my head.

Just a few weeks into the new school year, I was already accustomed to my new schedule and quickly picked up on which students I had several classes with. That way, I had someone to sit next to and talk to in almost every class, which was a good thing. Not just because some classes were so boring, but also because I didn’t like being a lone wolf.

One of those students was Nico, a cute guy, a bit shorter than me, with tanned skin and long-ish black hair. I first noticed him entering the algebra class when I was already sitting at a table, with an empty spot next to me. As he entered and looked around, his eyes connected with mine and he slightly raised his eyebrows, as if to ask ‘Can I sit there?’ I nodded in response and he came over and sat next to me. Just like that, we understood each other without a word. Hmm, could this be the start of a good friendship or what?!

“Hey, I’m Nico,” he extended his hand as he sat down and turned toward me.

“I’m Andy,” I shook his hand and smiled. “How do you like the school so far?”

“It’s ok, I guess,” he shrugged. “I don’t really know a lot of people – or almost any people.”

“Yeah, me too. I think I saw you in the history class as well?”

“Yeah, seems like we share that class, too. We can check our schedules later and see if we’ve got any other classes together?”

“Sure,” I nodded and saw the professor entering the classroom. We turned our attention to him, though we spoke a few more times during class. Nico seemed like a nice enough guy, at least as far as I could tell after knowing him for like half an hour.

After the class, we went out and compared our schedules. We had at least one class together every day, which we both thought was great. We seemed to get along well, which is why it surprised me when after lunch he seemed to be in a hurry, as if he wanted to leave as soon as possible.

“Hey, what’s the rush?” I had to ask him, getting up from the table and following him.

“Uh, it’s just that there’s somewhere I have to be,” he said, seeming a bit nervous.

“Ok… Umm, I didn’t say anything to upset you, did I?”

“No, of course not,” he made a brief pause and sighed. “Look, I might as well tell you now. Uh, the school has an LGBT club and I wanted to go and check it out before my next class, that’s why I was in a hurry.”

“Oh,” I said, a little surprised at first, but then not really. It’s not like Nico was some burly macho guy who you’d never believe to be gay. Still, I wasn’t used to people coming out to me so soon after meeting me. That actually inspired me to be more open as well, so I decided not to hide who I was from Nico.

“Well, I might be interested in that, too.”

“Oh, cool, so you’re…”

“Yeah, I’m gay too,” I nodded and made a crooked smile. “But my next class is in like three minutes, so I’ll have to check it out later.”

“Ok, I’m off to find it now, I’ll let you know if I find any cute guys for you,” Nico winked and went on his way.

Ok, this school year just might be fun after all!

The one thing that worried me was the fact that Mark could find out I was gay if I went to the LGBT club. Sure, he was a junior and I was a freshman, and we had no mutual friends, but you know how it is in high school, word travels fast. Still, I didn’t want the fear of my brother finding out preventing me from meeting other gay kids. I mean, I didn’t have a single gay friend – other than Nico, whom I just met.

Just like that, I decided to come out to Mark as soon as possible. Not gonna lie, the thought of telling him made me nervous, but deep down I hoped he’d react well. I mean, we were pretty much best friends, despite – or maybe thanks to being brothers. In the last two years, whenever Rex would come to visit, Mark would hang out with us more and more. He was now almost like a third member of our little group. Of course, neither of them knew about me being gay. Well, to be more precise, I never told them, and if they suspected anything, they didn’t let on.

Other than the little jerk-off session Rex and I shared years ago, nothing else happened between us. We never even talked about liking boys or girls. I often wondered if he had a girlfriend or boyfriend, but he never said anything and I never asked. If I had to place a bet, I’d say he suspected about me, but he never said anything, not even a casual remark about whether he was ok with gay people or not. I had to hope that if – or when – I decide to come out to him and Mark, they would be accepting.

Later that day, after my next class, I went to the school’s LGBT club and met the professor who was in charge of it – Mrs. Lisa Peters. She was straight, but a big supporter of LGBT rights. I liked her immediately and stayed and chatted with her for several minutes. She told me she had already met Nico that day, and that he seemed like a great guy, which I agreed with.

As I was picking up my stuff and getting ready to leave, Mrs. Peters turned to talk to another student who had just come in. He was tall, lanky and had long blond hair, tied into a ponytail. I’m usually not a fan of long hair, I’d never grow it myself, but it looked good on this guy.

“Thanks, Mrs. Peters, I’ll just leave it here,” the guy said as he was pinning some kind of a poster on a bulletin board.

“No problem, Jackson, I hope you find someone for the little guy,” she replied and went on her way.

I approached the guy and saw he was putting up a poster with an image of a cute little puppy. The text below said that he was giving him away, and there was also his phone number.

“Hey, is that your puppy?” I asked, unintentionally startling him. He turned around surprised, and I chuckled.

“Oh, hey, didn’t notice you there! Yeah, it’s mine, but I already have one and my parents aren’t letting me keep both, so I’m trying to find a good home for this one,” he said with a sad smile.

“I’d love to own a dog, but I’d have to ask my parents first!”

“Cool, let me know what they said. Oh, I’m Jackson, by the way.”

“Andy, nice to meet you,” I shook his hand and gave him a friendly smile. “I’ll copy your phone number so I can text you after I talk to my parents,” I said and entered his number from the poster into my phone, and then sent him a text so he’d know it was me.

“Thanks,” he said, checking his phone to save my number. “I haven’t seen you before, are you a freshman?”

“Yeah, you?”

“I’m a sophomore. If you need any help around the school, just let me know.”

“Thanks, I will!”

As we were chatting about the school and Jackson’s dogs, I saw Nico coming from the hallway.

“Hey, there you are,” he came up to us. “Hi, Jackson. I see you guys have met.”

“Hey! Yeah, we just did,” Jackson replied.

“Oh, you guys know each other?” I asked, a bit surprised.

“Yeah,” Nico said hesitantly, without looking at Jackson.

I could sense the mood suddenly shifting, as if there was some tension in the air. I wasn’t sure what was going on between them so I decided not to ask anything that might make things awkward.

“Well, guys, I gotta go, my class is almost starting. See ya later!” Jackson said and nodded to us, smiling. “And Andy, let me know what your folks said!”

“Sure, I hope they say yes! See ya,” I replied as Jackson left, leaving me with Nico. We headed toward our next class, which we had together.

“What was that all about?” Nico asked.

“He’s giving away a puppy for adoption, and I told him I’d ask my parents if they’d let me take it.”

I’m really hoping they’ll say yes. We only used to have a cat, but since it died a few years back, we didn’t get another pet. I love dogs and I love spending time outside – which may sound surprising, as when I was younger it would take a house fire to get me to leave my room and go play outside. Now that I’m a bit older, I love talking walks and just being outside, so having a dog to take for walks every day would be amazing! Another reason I love spending time outdoors is that I’ve taken up photography, going around with my trusted phone with a really good back camera, snapping photos of buildings, streets, nature, people and whatever else that catches my eye. I’m planning to buy a good camera, but that’ll have to wait for when I have the money.

Nico and I talked about our hobbies, and he revealed to me that he loved reading crime novels, watching comedies and swimming. As he was sharing a story about almost drowning many years ago, before he learned how to properly swim, I was grateful that there was no more awkwardness that I thought I sensed when he came and saw Jackson and me. I decided not to ask anything about it.

Eventually, Nico casually broached the subject himself.

“Jackson and I used to date this past spring.”

“Oh, ok. Are you still speaking?”

“Yeah, we’re friends now,” he reassured me. “I mean, we didn’t date for long – maybe two months. But we agreed to stay friends.”

He tried to sound indifferent, but I sensed that maybe there was more to it than what he was telling me. I didn’t want to press it, though – if he says he’s ok with it, who am I to question it? It makes no difference to our friendship anyway.

As soon as I got home that day, I went to my dad and asked him about Jackson’s puppy. He and mom talked for a bit and agreed that I could get it and needless to say, I was over the moon! After hugging and thanking them, I immediately ran off to my room to get my phone and text Jackson.

“They said yes! I can be the proud new owner of… What’s his name?”

A few minutes later, Jackson replied.

“Awesome! Doesn’t have a name yet, you can name him”

Oh, boy, is that a sweet task to have! I’m about to have my first dog, and I have to come up with a cool name for it! None of those generic names like Spot or Buddy, though. I want something better, but what…? After racking my brain for what seemed like ten hours, I decided I should first go and get the dog. I was hoping I’d come up with a good name when I see it in person.

So, after putting on my shoes and grabbing my phone, I got Jackson’s address and headed to his place to get my new pet.

Afterwards, when I get back, I have a much less pleasant task to do: figure out how to tell my brother I’m gay.