New Kid In School - 45. Chapter 44: "Chapter 44"

Ryan and Sean were already giggling about something in private by the time they came to join Cody and me at the table. In fact, I could have sworn that I saw Ryan blush a little bit from the interaction. Whatever it was that they were talking about...it gave birth to this empty...angry feeling in the pit of my stomach. And the muscles tightened up inside as I tried valiantly to cover it up and keep it from showing in front of them when they sat down.

Cody wasn't so successful in hiding his emotions, though. In fact, his visible distaste for Sean rivaled even the one that he had for the yucky cafeteria slop on his tray. He really just glared at him, and I doubted that he'd be sticking around for much longer, now that his long time nemesis had been invited to the table.

"Hey, Randy." Ryan smiled. And Sean smiled at me for a quick second too.

"Sup, sailor?" He asked, but he obviously didn't care much for an answer. Because he just sent me a polite greeting, and went right back to giggling with Ryan specifically again as though Cody and I weren't even there. "So c'mon, Ryan...admit it. You would right?"

"Hehehe, Sean...dude..."

"No, seriously. Think about it. No commitments, no boyfriend, just a ONE time deal...TELL me that you wouldn't totally sleep with Jason Prince from drama club! You KNOW you would!"

WHAT?!?!?! What the fuck were they talking about THAT for???

Ryan blushed even harder, and he peeked over at me, trying to hold back his grin. He said, "No. No I wouldn't. Not interested."

Sean gave him a weird look as Ryan's eyes bashfully fluttered back down to the table. And he said, "Hehehe, whatever, dude. I get it. I'll ask you again later." And Ryan gave him a playful shove, causing them both to smile.

"And you're gonna get the SAME answer then as you are now! So, quit it!" He giggled, looking me in the eyes again. "Besides, I've already got myself a sweetheart. And he's all I could ever want and more."

God...the emotion that he could express with just a glimpse of those bright hazel eyes of his...the passion he could inspire with the pinkish color of those sweet delectable lips...it was enough to break down your every defense in a matter of seconds. It made me blush just from hearing him say it, and I melted right there on the spot.

So....why is that empty and angry feeling still pulsating in my gut?

Probably because there was a piece of me that wondered whether or not Ryan just said that because I was there at the table. I mean..how could I be sure, you know?

Sean shrugged his shoulders as he opened a can of soda. "It was just a hypothetical. I didn't think anybody would mind." I don't like the way he said that. 'Anybody' seemed to be solely directed at me. Was this Cody's paranoia taking root in my own mind...or was I right in worrying about what was going on here between them. "So...Randy..." Sean asked. "...Are you coming with us to the carnival next week? It's cool if you've got other stuff to do instead." Did I NOT already tell him that I was going? Why would I not go? Why would I let my BOYFRIEND go with him and not be there?

"Yeah...I'm definitely going." I said, staring Sean in the eye, but still trying to wear a decent mask of normality to keep things as civil as possible. Cody didn't say much of anything, he just tried to eat some Fritos out of a bag and try to salvage what he could from his lunch. But I could tell that he was biting his tongue. "I wouldn't miss it for anything."

"Ah, ok. Cool." Sean said softly. "It'll be a good time, I'm sure. Soooo many cute boys out there."

Ryan giggled. "Don't you EVER get enough of cute boys, Sean? Geez!"

"Not when it comes to the REALLY cute ones. If they all looked like you, I'm sure my nuts would have exploded a long time ago. Hehehe!" I think Sean was watching me for a reaction, but I didn't give him one. Not that it stopped him from, what felt like, a full blown assault on the love of my life. "Sorry. I'll shut up now." He said, and then completely clammed up as though *I* was the one 'censoring' the whole lunch table. Cody was right...he IS good at this game. Whether I answer him or not...he's always ready with a back up plan. Then I saw him grab Ryan's shirt and say, "Omigod! Look, it's Scott Becker! Look look! Oh wow...that boy looks like he'd be SUCH a mouthful! Ugh! I WANT him!" Sean giggled, and for some reason, it really hurt me to see Ryan match his excitement. Fidgeting in his seat and hiding his face to laugh and play with his new 'best friend'. I mean, that's what it looked like to ME. Like Ryan was just having the time of his life being...you know...openly 'gay'.

"Hehehe, dude, don't STARE at him!" Ryan grinned.

"I can't help it. He looks like he can really work those hips, you know? Work these LIPS is more like it. You think he'd give it a shot. A little experiment while his parents aren't home? He's gotta be at least seven inches long in the succulent meat department. I can tell just by looking at his hands. They're like, massive. Look at his feet too. He's a healthy boy!" Sean said, still holding Ryan's shirt as they both kinda looked over at the boy...who was definitely cute, and tall, and probably just as well hung as they expected. But more than anything...it was Sean's contact with my baby that I focused on most.

"Shit...he's coming this way!" Ryan whispered, and they both giggled as they turned around and pretended to be eating their lunch.

As soon as he passed the table, Ryan lowered his head and just tried not to burst out laughing. But Sean was much bolder. He stared up at Scott and with a flirtatious grin, he said, "Hiiiiiiii, Scott...." In a dreamy tone of voice. Oh GOD!!! I was so EMBARRASSED by the whole thing! He' GOTTA know that Sean is gay. And he's sitting there with us, being so damn blatant about the whole thing. UGH! Why can't he just....be a bit more subtle about the whole thing? It's HUMILIATING.

Sean kinda twirled some of his blond hair around his finger and smiled up at Scott with a flirtatious flip of his head...not hiding his infatuated intentions at all.

"Umm...hey..." Scott replied with a sideways glance, and kept walking to join his friends at another table.

Sean softly mumbled, just above a whisper, "I want you inside me, Scott." It was low enough where Scott wouldn't hear it, of course, but he giggled nonetheless.

Ryan swatted Sean on the arm as the two of them giggled out loud. "STOP! Omigod!" Ryan said, and I just tried to concentrate on my lunch tray before I ended up jumping over that table and strangling them both.

It was then that I actually saw Scott Becker...a boy that I never would have expected to have a gay bone in his body...look back over his shoulder at Sean and Ryan. Not ONCE...but TWICE! As if...s if the idea of hot passionate sex with either one of them had very quickly crossed his mind...and he actually CONSIDERED it. Or at least...that's what my mixed up thoughts made it out to be.

"Oh dude, it is so 'on' right now." Sean said. "Dude...seriously...I bet you that I can get Scott Becker to fuck me HARD! That boy wants some candy. I can just tell. I'm gonna talk to him by the time finals are over, watch."

"No way!" Ryan said. "He's not even gay."

"It doesn't matter. As long as you're discreet about it...he'll screw whatever hole you offer him. Trust me on this, I know."

"Well, at least THAT part's not a boldfaced lie!" Cody said, finally breaking his stubborn silence.

Sean ignored him completely, and that emptiness grew stronger inside of me as I saw a gleam in Ryan's eye as he looked back at Sean with a smirk. It was almost like....this spark of admiration had consumed him, you know? Almost as if Ryan was practicing this low level form of idol worship for Sean's shameless openness about his sexuality. And that only seemed to hurt me more than ever before. Ryan said, "You really think that you can get Scott to switch sides?"

"Oh man...HELL yeah! At LEAST for a sexy weekend. And that's more than enough time for him to pump a gallon of semen in me from both ends and totally USE me like the hot boy I am, baby. Hehehe!" Another round of playful giggles were exchanged between them, and Ryan blushed again.

"I don't think you can pull it off. Seriously."

"What'll you give me if I do?" Sean said with a bit of a dreamy gaze slipping into his eyes.

"I'm not giving you anything, because you're not gonna get him to swing that way."

"Oh PLEASE!" Sean scoffed. "This is HIGH SCHOOL! The girls here aren't putting out, hormones are at an all time high, and almost EVERY guy in the building is a virgin. Believe me...to them, 'gay' sex is better than 'no' sex. If you blow 'em just right just ONCE...you'll have them coming back three or four times a week for more. NOBODY is off limits! This is truly the time to take advantage of the buffet of cute boys laid out before you. High School and college. After that...you kinda have to worry about families and people accepting themselves and settling down....ugh! Best to do it now, when you can get the really HOT boys to experiment with you and keep it secret where you don't have to worry about all that stuff." Then I noticed that Sean looked at me again...and he grinned. "Or...at least it would be if you weren't already 'locked down', cutie pie." So...I'm, like, his PRISON WARDEN now? is that it? I'm not trying to HANDCUFF Ryan to my wrist and hold him hostage. Just because I love him so much that I wanna be around him as much as possible, and don't want other hot boys CONSTANTLY trying to find an angle that they can use to snatch him away from me....it doesn't mean that I'm some kind of emotionally 'kidnapper'. I just...I just wanna....sighhh....whatever. I honestly think Sean is crossing like a DOZEN lines right now concerning my boyfriend. And that's SO not cool.

"Ok...I've had about all the social 'INFECTION' that I can handle for one day. I'm outta here." Cody said, and stood up from the table.

Sean, naturally, egged him on. "Leaving so soon? Awww, too bad. I was enjoying your 'company' a lot. After all you were contributing SO much to the conversation."

"What, you mean the whole 'I'm a fucking SLUT' speech? Don't worry, I've heard it before. Especially from you. I can practically recite it for memory. Adlibs and all."

"How long are you gonna hold a grudge over the fact that I just don't want you anymore?" Sean said, an especially nasty sense of arsenic in his comment.

"I'd have to give enough of a shit to even THINK about you anymore. What makes you think I've got a grudge?"

"Dude, it's so obvious. I'm not even starting trouble here. You're the one whose all upset."

Cody practically 'growled' at him. "That's always your game, isn't it? It's never Sean's fault. Everybody else around him is just plain crazy, right?" Then Cody put his hands on the table and looked him directly in the eye. "I know what you're doing....and you wanna know what? I think it sucks. YOU...suck! Why don't you just leave them alone?"

Sean looked angry, but only for a split second. Then he let a smirk spread across his face and said, "I don't think I have any idea what you're talking about. But you run along and play now. Find a hole deep enough for you to disappear into."

It seemed incredibly out of line for Sean to 'challenge' him like that, but I tried to play peacemaker, regardless. "Wait...hold on...Cody, you don't really have to leave. K? I want you to stay. You wanna stay and just finish your lunch?"

"I'd rather take a power drill to my fucking NUT SACK, Randy....but thanks for the offer." And with that, Cody took his tray, dumped the contents into the trash, and then he left the cafeteria entirely. There was no matching his utter HATRED for that boy across the table from me. But at least when he was there, my own growing suspicions had some kind of validity. At least Cody's presence didn't make me feel so alone against their rapidly growing friendship. I had a partner in crime. Someone who was aware of that 'ache' in my soul where Ryan loved me best above all others, and I didn't even have to THINK about somebody else sliding into that spot. Now it's all about....THIS jerk!

"He's kinda sensitive, isn't he?" Ryan asked me about Cody.

"He's not sensitive he just...he has issues, I guess." I said.

But Sean had to butt his way into the conversation again, saying, "Ryan, dude...you SAW me being friendly, right? I mean, it's not like I was instigating him to insult me. I didn't do anything to provoke that."

"I know." Ryan agreed immediately. "But Cody's always like that. That's why he's always just ONE step away from getting beat up around here all the time. Why can't he just 'chill out' or something?" Arrrgh!!! STOP FUCKING TAKING SEAN'S SIDE!!!

"Well, I don't think Cody is being all that crazy. I mean...maybe him and Sean just don't get along." I said.

But Ryan defended him. "That's not the point. Sean came here to eat lunch with us and laugh and have a good time. He wasn't starting any bullshit conflicts on purpose. Why can't Cody just sit here with us and be mature about this whole thing? Sean did."

Grrrrrrr...Sean is so this, Sean is so that, Sean is so mature, Sean is so sexy, blah blah blah, meh meh meh...

If Sean is so goddamn 'special', then why doesn't he just find somebody ELSE to go eat lunch with? Why doesn't he walk over to Scott Becker's table and ask to suck his dick right there in front of everybody? Since he's so pretty and cute and can have anybody he wants. Since he seems to be so keen on spending an inappropriate amount of time with my BOYFRIEND...why doesn't he just go mindlessly 'screw' somebody in a dingy basement somewhere and leave me and Ryan to our committed relationship? You know...the one he LAUGHED at the other day?

"I don't think Cody was being immature, Ryan. He just...he has personal issues with Sean and he doesn't want to be around him, that's all." I looked over at Sean. "No offense. But...I think that's just how he feels."

"None taken. I'm used to it by now. Doesn't bother me as much as he wants it to." Sean said, but I could tell that he was still kinda 'feeling me out', and I didn't like that one bit. "So RYAN...I'll call you later on tonight and we can plot something out for our drama class after Spring Break. We've gotta come up with a skit worth talking about, you know? Hehehe!" Great, now he's ignoring me again. I'm done with this game. And I....I....

Wait a minute...

Did he just say 'I'll CALL you later on tonight'????

He's got Ryan's PHONE NUMBER now???

WHAT THE HELL?????????

Ryan hardly saw it as anything strange, and I watched as he said, "I'm sure we'll come up with something decent. I mean, we can work on it a little bit at the time and still make it awesome. I think I can write up a quick script tonight and then we can see how it all works out." Why did it feel like such an unforgivable betrayal for him to just....be so in TUNE with this other boy? Am I thinking too much again?

"Well, you'll have to read it to me over the phone. I wanna hear your voice." Sean said, and I practically bit my tongue until blood filled my mouth on how disturbing it was to hear all of this. "Maybe we can get together and practice this weekend or something. Just to et the timing and movements right, you know? How about Friday night?" I narrowed my eyes slightly, and I saw Ryan look over at me for a moment. "Unless you two have something planned or something. It's totally cool if you do."

"Actually..." Ryan said, keeping his eye on me to try to assure me that nothing 'bad' was going on. "...Ryan and I were planning on having our first real 'date' this weekend. Sort of a celebration after finals...to commemorate us being together for so long. It seems like it's been forever, you know?"

"Sounds sweet." Sean answered.

Then Ryan asked me, "Are you still babysitting Wilson, though? On Friday, I mean?"

No no NO!!!! Arrgh! "Yeah. But JUST on Friday. And JUST for a little while, so..."

"Awesome. Well, I mean, if Randy's busy and all...what do you say about just you and me getting together then? Movie and popcorn...we can make a night of it." Sean blurted out. And THAT...was almost enough to get me to stand up and smack his bitch ass to the FLOOR in anger!

Luckily for HIM, Ryan spoke up and said, "I don't know. Maybe. It's kinda...'our' weekend, you know? Whether we're together or not. Me and Randy have some catching up to do. Hehehe! Maybe another time." I could have stuck my tongue out at Sean and let him know that I was proud to have Ryan on *MY* side. But instead, I just took that as a silent 'win' at the lunch table for the day. But I'm not an idiot. And I know the difference between a few playful comments, and deliberate flirting done with the intention of looking for a reaction. THAT I won't stand for. Nor should I have to.

Sean will fuck anything that gives him the proper attention. I just wanna make sure my boyfriend isn't one of those 'things'.

That was pretty much how the rest of our lunch hour went. With me trying to ignore the obvious offense, Sean pushing the issue as far as he could without getting caught, and Ryan attempting to play the keeper of the balance between us. By the time the period bell rang, I practically had steam coming out of both ears. I knew Ryan could easily tell when something was wrong with me. He always could. Sean probably could too, but if he noticed, he didn't care enough to mention it. I tried to keep an open mind, but I didn't like this at all. There's only so much I can take.

We left the cafeteria, and walked out to the hall to head off to class. Ryan turned to Sean and said, "Go on, I"ll meet you in drama class."

"Unh unh, cutie pie! Hehehe! You're coming with me. I like being seen with you. It makes the other cute boys jealous." He said, pulling on Ryan's backpack to try to get him to go with him.

"No, seriously, dude. Just give me a minute. K?" Ryan said, and Sean pouted playfully for a second, and then moved away to wait for him a few steps away. Hardly giving us any privacy, but stepping back far enough to give us the illusion of doing so. Ryan stepped closer to me, and I tried my best to wipe the look of disgust off of my face. "You're not being silly again, are you?"

"Ryan...I'm really trying to be cool about this, but come ON! I mean...why didn't you tell me that he had your phone number?"

"Because I didn't think it was a big deal. Honestly. He's my classmate. He makes me laugh. We talk about stuff. But that's it. We're friends." Ryan said. "Hehehe, I can have friends, right?" He joked.

"Ryan..."

"I know. I know. I'm just...I wanted to tell you that you've got nothing to worry about. Not EVER. I'm not as 'blind' as you think I am. But none of that matters. I ONLY want you. And you KNOW that." He said in a soft voice. God, it was so HARD to think rationally when he talked to me in that voice. Especially when he accompanied it with that unbelievably contagious smile of his. "Listen, you call me after you get home from babysitting Wilson on Friday, no matter how late. And we'll get together on Saturday for our date. We'll make it something really special. Just you and me. K?"

Sean looked at the clock. "Umm...we're gonna be LATE here!"

Ryan looked at me again, and he bushed some of the loose strands of hair off of my forehead with his fingertips. "I've gotta run. But, I'll talk to you SOON, k? I'll see if I can drop by your 7th period class when the bell rings and I'll walk to class with you."

"Mkay...." I smiled. I must admit to being a bit relieved that even with Mr. Super Cute Adonis standing over there waching us...he still seemed to be....totally in love with *ME*. How I managed to get so lucky, so undeniably blessed in life, I'll never know. If only my faith was as strong as it should be...I could stop worrying so damn much.

Good luck on working THAT out anytime in the near future.

I crammed for the next few periods, one last chance before finals tomorrow. But it was hard to concentrate. All I could think about was Ryan and Sean in their fancy little drama class, giggling and flirting and looking at boys. Sean passing on his wise lessons of gay teen sex, and the conquering of as much ass as possible on a weekly basis...putting ideas in Ryan's head and encouraging him to flaunt his sexuality around as much as he did. Basically teaching him all the pleasures and benefits of cheating on.....me. I remember just sitting in my class, trying to take notes...and my mind just COULDN'T stop wandering towards the possibilities. No matter how hard I tried, no matter how badly I wanted to let it go and just trust the person I fell so deeply in love with....the idea of it just kept popping up in the back of my mind. With Ryan and Sean...just having a friendly conversation...and a few jokes and laughs turns into flirting. Harmless at first, sure...but then escalating into something that entices and titillates the senses. Even if just a little bit. The flirting gets more and more bashful as certain lines are crossed...it gets more sexual, and a level of 'courage' seeps into the conversation as hormones begin to take control. And that's the gateway to everything falling apart.

I mean, how long have Ryan and I been together? It's not like we're having sex every single day like we were when we first met. What happens if Ryan gets bored with me? What happens if Sean shakes his cute little ass in front of him enough times, and it ends up really appealing to him? Sean's presence is something new. Something fresh. Something that Ryan might want to be around. What happens if he finds a level of interest in him that he doesn't see in me? What if their little playful and harmless conversations turn into something 'familiar', and intimate, and it brings them closer together...and the next thing I know, I end up being dumped and left in the gutter with a broken heart like Cody was? I mean...am I being totally irrational in thinking this way? Would Ryan think the same thing about me if me and Cody were all giggly and exclusive together the way he and Sean were becoming? Is love so obsessive that the slightest touch or private verbal contact with my boyfriend sends me either into a jealous rage or a deep depression? It's not really something that I've experienced before. Or at least...not dealt with since Tyler first came to visit Ryan for the weekend. God...that seems so long ago. I survived it once...but I don't even remember how I did it.

I got out of my 7th period class, notebooks full to the margins with new study notes and possible clues for what was going to be on the finals. And I excitedly waited outside of my classroom for Ryan to show up. I didn't even want to MENTION the Sean situation or my personal feelings about it. I just...I wanted to be with my baby for a couple of minutes and share a smile or two between classes. Something to help me get through the rest of the afternoon. I stood against the lockers, watching hundreds of other high school kids walk by, laughing and playing with their friends, holding hands and delivering sweet kisses to their significant others...my neck craning up and trying to catch a glimpse of Ryan's strawberry blond mop of hair and the unnatural glow of those sweet hazel eyes....

...But they were nowhere to be found.

Instantly...his absence sent me right back to those dismal thoughts of him and Sean existing somewhere else in the building, having a super good time together to the point where Ryan had forgotten all about me. Why should he come looking for boring old Randy when he's got this hot new 'Ferrari' of a potential boyfriend that's just itching for a chance to give him all the love, sex, and attention, that he could ever need? And MORE? I KNOW that's what he's thinking! Sean practically tattooed it on my forehead at the lunch table! Am I supposed to ignore that? I'll just bet Sean said something to him today to keep him from meeting me. I'll just BET that he did something to snatch his thoughts away from me and keep them secure in his back pocket.

No...no wait. I'm not gonna do this to myself. I mean...ANYTHING could have happened. He did say 'MAYBE' he'd walk with me to class, didn't he? I mean, maybe it's just my own selfish issues that turned that to a sacred promise written in stone. I can't start getting mad at him for what *I* wanted and needed to happen to feel secure in our relationship. No. It's not his fault. It's my fault. I've just gotta chill out. He said I had nothing to worry about. He loves me. I know he loves me. So what am I stressing about? I trust my Ryan. Without trust...nothing about us can ever hope to work. And I've trusted him in the past. Even with Hailey...I knew that I had someone special. Someone who loved me.

I don't need to be the ONLY person in his life. Just an appreciated part. I've gotta remember that. I'm not gonna be a jerk about this. And I'm not falling for Sean's game either. I'm not gonna make a fool out of myself and drive Ryan further and further away from me and right into the arms of another person. I can be cool. I can be strong. I can be confident. And I can....

...Keep on lying to myself until it at least feels like it's the truth.

As the flow of students in the hallway began to thin out, and hope for seeing Ryan started to do the same...I was EXTREMELY pleased to see Tyler casually walking around the corner, his mind, obviously on other things. I let out a sigh of relief, and called out to him to get his attention.

"Hey, Randy. Dude, I'm sorry, I was totally zoning out there for a second or two. What are you still doing around here? Isn't your next class on the other side of campus?" He asked me.

"Yeah, but I was kinda waiting on Ryan to come and join me." Then I lowered my eyes a bit. "Guess it's not happening. At least not today."

"Well I'll walk with you. Besides, I need a bit of distraction right now, hehehe! I've been over thinking a few things lately."

"Oh...like what?" Tyler looked like he didn't want to answer me, so I just assumed that it had to be the big love of his life. "Let me guess...Ariel, right?"

Tyler blushed instantly. "Yeah. How could you tell?"

"He's the only thing in this world that could make you turn that shade of deep pink, for one thing." I smiled. "You guys are still doing alright....um...right?"

"Oh yeah! We're fine." Tyler snapped back. "It's just...we uhh...." He paused for a second, then he lowered his voice and said, "Listen...if I tell you something...you PROMISE not to say a word about it to ANYONE???"

"Of course." I agreed.

"Well....Ariel and I....we sorta made 'plans' for Wednesday this week." He said.

"I remember. You told me." Then it clicked. "OH!!! You mean...like...*PLANS* plans? Like with each other???"

"Shhhhhh!" Tyler said, now turning from a deep shade of pink to a burgundy blush of red. "We didn't actually SAY that we were gonna do anything...you know...naughty, but..."

"But what?"

"But...I think I kinda WANT to." He said, much to my surprise. "I mean...he's just....Awwww, Randy...."

Tyler's knees almost buckled right in front of me, his insides turning to warm butter as he tried to keep the love struck emotions from ravaging his eager body from the inside out. "So...you think this is it? For you two, I mean?"

"I don't KNOW! Randy, I don't wanna....UGH!!!"

"You don't wanna what?"

"I don't wanna..." Tyler hesitated, and we stopped walking as he kinda moved to the side of the hallway and brought me with him. Now lowering his voice to a whisper, "...Ariel is...he's the most adorable most amazing thing that has ever happened to me in my whole LIFE, Randy. And I love him so much that it HURTS sometimes to be away from him. Even for a day. Weekends have been HELL on me. I don't think he even knows how much it affects me to think that he's...'out there' somewhere and I can't talk or be with him. But...."

"But WHAT????" I asked.

"I don't want to push him." Tyler said with a whine. "Sometimes, I feel like...I wanna EXPLODE! I want him with every fiber of my being. I want to kiss and hold him and make him feel good...and then...there are those...you know.....OTHER times."

I was confused for a second. "Other times?"

And Tyler sighed out of mild frustration for making him say it out loud. "Time when I wanna...really REALLY 'love' him. I mean, like...*REALLY* love him. We've kissed and made out a few times, and...my body is ACHING to really get a taste of him. You know? Like...all the way?" He said.

I couldn't hold back my mile if I TRIED! "Omigod, Tyler...that is so awesome! I mean...seriously, do you know how LONG I have waited to hear that you guys were ready to progress to that that point???"

"Well...I am. But...most of the time, Ariel doesn't seem...'interested'. You know?" Tyler said. "Do you think it's me?"

I laughed out loud at the very idea of it. "Hahaha! Tyler...I honestly DON'T think it's you! And I DON'T think Ariel's not interested in doing the nasty with you! If anything, he's worrying himself sick about it. But he's head over heels for his super cute, blond angel. There's not going to be a problem there."

"Well he just...he avoids me like the plague sometimes. I don't wanna feel like a 'perv' or anything and keep hitting on him to make him get...you know...'in the mood'. I'm far from being a sex addict, but I feel like I'm pushing poor innocent Ariel into some kind of lewd and lustful act that he doesn't really have any interest in being a part of."

"Hehehe, he wants to be a part of it, Tyler. Trust me on this. Just...you guys need to talk about it. That's all."

"I don't know if I have enough time for that, Randy. It's the day after tomorrow." Tyler told me.

"That's more than enough time. Just...take your final exams tomorrow during the day, and then call Ariel that night. Let him know how you feel."

"I can't do THAT!"

"Yes, you can. Look, you don't have to say EVERYTHING. Just...let Ariel know that you kinda wanna progress a little bit and maybe add some more 'sex' into your relationship. I mean, it's what you want, right?"

"Not if he doesn't. I feel like a 'bully' or something..."

"He will. Just...talk to him about it, k? And when you're done, and you guys agree to have hot freaky sex where you're both completely naked and oiled up and fucking each other CRAZY....I want you to make a video of it and send it to my email at..." I hardly finished my sentence before Tyler hit me in the arm, nearly pushing me against the lockers.

"And I was worried that *I* was being a pervert!" Tyler grinned, which, I think, lightened the mood for us both. And we continued walking to class. "You're such a FREAK, you know that? Hehehe!"

"Yes...that, and much worse. Believe me." I said. I have to admit...I was excited about the situation. I mean...it was inspiring, you know? I can remember when getting Tyler and Ariel to even SPEAK to one another was an ordeal in itself. And now look at them! Planning to get together to swap the most intimate fluids that their bodies can produce. I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't extremely proud of them both. It was inspiring, you know?

If Tyler can have an unshakeable faith in something so precious...if he can believe in his love for Ariel, and Ariel's love for him...then I should be able to do the same, right?

I can do this. The boat was rocked a little bit...but true love always wins in the end.

Doesn't it?