Sync - 3. Chapter 3

The next morning at school was tough to adjust to, and thankfully it was Friday. Kelly let out a long yawn, wishing the school would sell coffee in the lunch line. Ava shot him a look as she hauled her backpack up onto the table. She pulled out an energy drink and offered it over to him.

“No thanks,” Kelly dismissed it with a hand. He’d heard too many horror stories of athletes drinking those and going temporarily blind and so on. He didn’t even like Ava drinking them… she had had some issues with it.

Sam joined their table next. As usual he kept a somewhat safe distance from Ava, sitting on the other side of the round table. “Has Dexter shown up yet?” he asked as he started going through his backpack. Kelly only shook his head and let out another yawn. Christine’s music had been on until one in the morning,and it hadn’t helped that he was exhausted from football.

Dexter showed up a few minutes later, greeting the three others. He seemed to be the only one as awake as Ava, and the two set off in an animated conversation. Dexter complimented a new pair of boots that Ava showed off—these ones gave her at least a five-inch heel. Kelly stared at them suspiciously, as the heels had spikes on the back of them.

“The school will make you change those…” Kelly warned.

“Oh please, how am I going to hurt someone with these? Kick them backwards?” She held up her leg over the table, continuing to demonstrate how since the spikes were on the back of the shoe they were harmless. Kelly rolled his eyes, and Sam even looked a little surprised by them.

“It’s not like she’s wearing a belt of bullet casings,” Dexter chimed in too. He and Ava started to complain about that, going on about how cool the belt was but they couldn’t wear it. Neither Kelly nor Sam even knew where to buy something like that.

“Hot Topic,” Dexter finally explained.

“But I had to order these online.” Ava held up her new shoes again. “They’re too cool to be sold in a store apparently.”

Kelly rolled his eyes.

Sam loaded things back into his backpack . “I need to go stop by my locker before class.”

Dexter jumped up at that and grabbed his own bag. “Same,” he said. It worked well because their lockers were both in the same general direction.

Sam put some notebooks into his locker while Dexter flipped through the book Kelly had lent him. “That is why I’m not in AP,” Sam said and pointed at the book. Dexter stuck his tongue out and found his bookmark, nearly at the end of the book.

“I’ve been up late the past couple of nights reading it. It’s actually not too bad. A little slow, lots of religion, but some funny stuff in it.”

Sam raised his eyebrows in disbelief, seeing as how Dexter was admitting to liking a book required by school. Dexter caught on easily enough and rolled his eyes. “It’s not that bad. I can show you a few passages out of it where Owen—“

“No thanks.” Sam held up his hands quickly. “I’m not in AP for a reason.”

Dexter chuckled and checked something in the book before closing it again. “So football…” he paused awkwardly. “Do you have a game coming up? Aren’t those on Friday’s?”

Sam swelled happily that Dexter was interested in going. “Not this Friday. The first game is the Homecoming game, and that’s next Friday. Right before the…” Sam trailed off awkwardly, not sure what mentioning the homecoming dance to Dexter.

“We can hang out the night of the dance or something.” Dexter shrugged and put the book back into his backpack. Sam relaxed and sagged a little.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Like I said, after football season I was thinking of—”

“It’s fine,” Dexter interrupted, “There are two other dances after homecoming and football season, and dances aren’t really my thing unless the music is trance or something.” He smiled encouragingly.

“True,” Sam sighed. “But I mean still. It’s senior year. Maybe I could talk Kelly and Ava into coming, and we could call it going in a group.”

Dexter snickered. “I’m not sure Ava’s type of dress would be appropriate for homecoming.” He had some mental image of her wearing something like a corset. Sam chuckled, still a little stuck on Homecoming. Dexter moved the topic back to the football game. “So the game would be here at the school, right?”

“No,” Sam smirked. “Varsity plays at the county stadium. Too big of a crowd to fit on the two bleachers the school has.”

The bell rang, and Sam closed his locker quickly. “Uh, I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Yeah,” Dexter agreed and took off down the hall towards his English class. Kelly was already there in his seat. Dexter dropped his bag at his desk and made his way over to him. “I almost finished the summer reading book,” Dexter announced. “And I ordered my own copy online so it should be here soon.”

Kelly looked at him like he was crazy. “Why the hell do you care so much about one assignment?”

“Call it that nerd in me.” Dexter sighed dramatically, making Kelly laugh, but that turned into another yawn. “Someone stay up too late?” Dexter teased.

Kelly cringed, frowning slightly. “Nah, my middle step sister plays her music loud and it carries through the vents. It’s really faint, but I always end up trying to focus on it and I don’t get to sleep.”

“So tell her to turn it off,” Dexter answered simply.

“I’ve tried. I was told ‘just put something over the vent’, but I can still hear it.” He raked a hand through his blond hair. “At least it’s Friday.”

Dexter agreed as the late bell rang, and the teacher started to give him looks from the front of the class. Sighing, Dexter dragged his feet on the way back to his seat. He and the teacher went through the same ordeal as the day before of stare downs and warnings.

Kelly got sent out in the hall, this time for sleeping. He was specifically instructed to stand in the hallway, not sit or anything else. It wasn’t two minutes later that Dexter stormed out of the classroom, not to sit in the hall, but he just plain out left.

The teacher was right out there after him, screaming at him to get back in class and so on. Kelly stared after the retreating form, dumbstruck, while the teacher was infuriated. She ordered Kelly back into class so that he couldn’t leave, too.

Dexter didn’t return to class at all that period. Kelly hurried to his second period, sitting down in front of Sam. “Have you heard from Dexter?” Kelly asked instantly.

“No… why?” Sam narrowed his eyes.

“I got sent out of class today for sleeping, and Dexter just straight up left. Teacher was pissed and Dexter never came back.”

Sam snuck out his phone and started to type out a text message. He got no reply until after class started, and it was Dexter saying that he had complained to the office about the teacher for being rude and so on. He said that the office was going to send someone down to talk to the teacher about her behavior and some other kids in the class.

It was half way through math when a pass came down for Kelly. He couldn’t say he was surprised; Dexter had probably mentioned that he had been sent out twice.

Kelly took his things and sent Sam a look before leaving for the front office. There he was taken to one of the vice principals, sitting alone in her office. The woman was familiar from around school, though Kelly didn’t know her name until looking at it on the door—Mrs. Chavez.

She motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs, and Kelly sunk into a plump armchair. “You’re having some trouble with your English teacher, Ms. Ruben?”

Kelly shrugged awkwardly. “She’s really snappy.”

“Does she have any reason to be snappy? Does the class cause problems?” Mrs. Chavez pressed and prepared to write on a clipboard.

“Well… once I was laughing because Dexter and her were bickering, and she kicked me out. Today I admit I was sleeping… but she gets mad at Dexter because he doesn’t take notes, and doesn’t like him because sometimes he forgets to turn off his iPod and she can hear it.”

“So is it mostly him she has a conflict with?” The older woman asked.

Kelly half shrugged, half nodded. “It seems like it, kind of.”

Mrs. Chavez ended it at that and sent Kelly back to class. He returned to his seat and turned around to talk to Sam. “So I guess the admin is looking into it. Pretty quickly, maybe they’ve had problems with this teacher before…”

“Who?” Sam asked.

“Uh, Ruben.” Kelly answered and checked over his shoulder for the teacher, who was ignoring the side conversation.

“I’ve heard a little about her from some friends who graduated last year. They said she’s a bitch.” Sam offered the little bit of knowledge on the woman that he had.

“Yeah, she’s kicked me out twice and has it out for Dexter,” Kelly explained. “Even before he left today.”

Sam frowned slightly. From what he knew, Dexter didn’t cause trouble in class. He couldn’t offer up anything more so the conversation ended. Class was slow, and Sam tried to track down Dexter in the halls but had no luck.

Sam hated to do it, but he skipped fifth period. He knew Dexter had it off, so Sam told his teacher that he wasn’t feeling well. The teacher was lax enough to not want a pass showing where he had been. Sam wandered around the commons, trying to pick out Dexter in the crowd of freshman having lunch.

He found Dexter off in his own little corner, listening to music and still looking none too happy. Dexter took off his headphones when he saw Sam approaching. “Don’t you have class?”

“I’m in the nurse’s office.” Sam sat next to Dexter on the floor. “What happened in English?”

Dexter scowled and puffed up defensively. “She said she was surprised that I was even in AP,” Dexter looked down at himself. “Pointedly because of how I dress.”

“That’s stupid.” Sam retorted simply. “There are plenty of smart or talented kids that don’t dress the epitome of normal.”

“Yeah well if they think it’s a ‘her’ problem, we might be getting a long term sub… if it’s just me, they might change my schedule to a different teacher.” Dexter sighed and frowned. “Hell, this is like being in a private school all over again.”

“You went to a private school?” Sam asked. He knew Dexter had lived in Southern California for most of his teen years before moving here, but thought everything was normal.

“Yeah it was some Catholic one. Things didn’t go over well there either. I didn’t like to follow the dress code.” Dexter tapped his headphones. “Plus being gay in a catholic private school doesn’t exactly work out. I had plenty problems with the staff and other students.”

Sam checked the people around them before briefly covering Dexter’s hand with his own and giving a quick squeeze.

“That’s part of the reason Jared and I moved out here,” Dexter admitted, watching Sam’s hand as it withdrew. “Plus his work.”

“I can’t imagine they have that many homophobes in California… an entire school?” Sam was awed.

“Either they were openly mean or just didn’t do anything. If they didn’t have a problem with me I didn’t know.” Dexter explained. “I like it here better though. Not like I’m completely out, but the people I have told upfront are cool with it.”

“Just you miss the sun tanned surfer boys,” Sam teased playfully.

Dexter snorted. “Yeah, right, because I totally go out to all the beaches in my full black.”

“Is Kelly coming over today after school?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know… homework isn’t due till Monday, so maybe not.” Dexter paused shyly. “You want to come over again?”

“Yeah,” Sam answered quickly and checked the time on his phone. “Alright, this has been a good ten minute long trip to the nurse’s office. You’ll have to send me back to class now.”

“I’ll walk you.” Dexter hauled himself up from the floor and stumbled for a moment, off balance from his backpack. He followed Sam back to his class and waved goodbye outside the door. Sam explained to his teacher that his parents couldn’t come and pick him up.

It wasn’t really ditching if he only missed ten minutes, he hoped.

Later in the day, Sam met up with Dexter at the front of the school. “We don’t have an excuse for Ava and Kelly not to come,” Dexter informed as Ava skipped up the hall towards them. Sam shrugged helplessly when Ava stopped in front of them.

“Well, Dexter, nothing happened yesterday.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I told you it doesn’t work out. He’s a nice guy, and I like him, but I don’t think I like him enough to date him.”

Dexter just nodded silently as Kelly came up behind them, frowning. “One more person and my car will be at max capacity.” He joked dryly and pulled his car keys out of his pocket. “Well let’s get going. I’m not doing Wendy’s today, it made me feel sick at practice.”

“Oh lame, we shouldn’t have to suffer just because you two decided to play football.” Ava complained and draped her arms over Kelly’s shoulders. Kelly steadied himself as she leaned fully on him.

“Well we need to get going if we want to have time,.” Kelly pointed out and started to drag Ava towards the doors. Dexter and Sam followed out into the parking lot and climbed into Kelly’s car. They drove off campus to a slightly healthier fast food place.

Kelly covered Ava’s meal, and Sam did the same for Dexter. They snagged an easy four-person table and sat down to eat. Kelly and Sam got off to talking about practice and the homecoming game for the next week.

“You coming over after school, Kelly?” Dexter spoke up, interrupting their conversation.

“I could… or I could come over Sunday or something. Sam, are you going?” Kelly looked up at his friend expectantly.

“Just to hang out. I don’t feel like doing my homework,.” Sam mumbled as he fiddled with the straw of his soda. Hopefully Kelly wouldn’t join either—they had to wait even later if Kelly stayed over after practice.

“I don’t think so then. I just wanna relax after practice today,” Kelly admitted, building up plans of his own.

Ava started to babble on through lunch about her mother and some of her teachers. Dexter shared a few vague stories between him and Jared, including the awkward situation where Jared found out Dexter’s sexuality.

“His boss back in California is gay,” Dexter paused, trying to stall, “and I got a fake ID and snuck into a gay bar. Well his boss recognized me and took me home, and then I got the whole ‘are you sure’ talk and ‘practicing safe same-sex’ talk from Jared’s boss. The guy was like fifty, and I’d only met him on a few formal occasions. Now he’s trying to be my e-mail buddy, asking me how I’m adjusting and if I’m seeing anyone.”

“Sounds more like a creeper,” Ava chimed in. “Are you seeing anyone?”

“No,” Dexter answered easily, waiting a few seconds before sending a surreptitious glance at Sam.

“Well, there’s this other senior named Sean—” Ava began excitedly, but stopped when Dexter groaned in agitation.

“Don’t even try. Kelly already mentioned that guy. I’m not dating him as a last resort,” Dexter growled. Ava shrugged and went back to her meal.

They finished eating and stuffed back into Kelly’s car for the short ride back to school. Ava tried to steal Dexter’s headphones along the way, resulting in a few scratches between the two. Sam tried not to laugh at the whole scene of Dexter trying to protect his headphones from her, while Ava tried to crawl in his lap—seatbelt still on—and nearly kneed him in the groin.

“Ava, sit!” Kelly barked, scowling at them in the rearview mirror. Ava dropped back into her seat, giving Kelly a deer in the headlights look. Dexter muttered something under his breath and started to hug to the car door.

Ava and Dexter headed off to class together when they got back, and Kelly walked with Sam to their lockers. “Are you going to Dexter’s after school?” Kelly asked on the way.

Sam shifted his backpack over his shoulder, inching away a little. “Uh, yeah. But just to hang out. I don’t want to do homework either.”

“And to think, I thought you two would become mortal enemies after the first meeting!” Kelly joked. Sam smiled stiffly but didn’t reply. Telling Kelly that they were dating was on the tip of his tongue, but he held it back out of shyness and fear.

Yeah, Kelly was his friend and he wouldn’t mean any harm if he told but… Sam didn’t exactly want Ava knowing. She was nice, but she didn’t seem like the person to keep her mouth shut. Sighing, Sam went his separate way from Kelly and went to class.

The rest of the day past without any event. Practice was clouded over and a little bit cooler, but it didn’t rain. Sam was the first one in the locker rooms afterward and sped through a quick shower. He hurried out to his car and drove over to Dexter’s house.

Jared opened the door and let Sam in. “You just missed that girl,” Jared commented.

“Ava?” Sam asked, trying not to look thankful that she had just left.

“Yeah. And know, should I choose to come downstairs, I won’t be knocking,” Jared warned seriously and wandered back into the living room. Sam nodded and ducked down into the basement. Dexter was curled up on the couch with another Law and Order episode playing out on the TV.

“You missed Ava,” Dexter teased from the couch.

“Oh, I’m so disappointed,” Sam grumbled and planted himself next to Dexter on the couch—arms, sides, and thighs touching.

“Are you going to turn off the TV again?” Dexter asked sourly.

“Nah, we’re just hanging out today.” Sam snaked an arm around Dexter’s waist and tugged him closer. Dexter made some sort of feline-like growl in the back of his throat while pulling his face into a sneer. Sam gave him a confused look before they both broke into laughter.

They settled back onto the couch, Dexter snuggled up against Sam’s side, and set to watching the usual Law and Order reruns.

“What time is the game on Friday?” Dexter spoke up during commercials.

“Eight. I’d drive you, but they require we all ride a bus together for team bonding.” Sam explained unhappily. “It’s at the Jeffco stadium… and you can’t drive yet, can you?”

“I can, I think. My license is still California registered though, so I don’t know how that works. So I should be able to drive myself to the game, if I get the car from Jared or something.” Dexter lifted his butt off the couch and pulled his wallet from his back pocket, showing off his California license.

“You never told me you got that.” Sam plucked the card away and tilted it under the lights, seeing the official reflections on it.

“I haven’t been using it so much, even after I got it. Just did a few clubs, and well, we know how that ended.” Dexter snickered.

“You turn eighteen in five months though.” Sam held up the ID card before handing it back to Dexter. “And I turn eighteen in a couple of weeks,” Sam boasted happily.

Dexter only elbowed him in reply as the show started back up. A couple hours and episodes went by before it changed into a different show—wrestling. Dexter turned it off quickly and chucked the remote away. “I do not want to watch that bullshit.”

Sam chuckled and hauled Dexter into his lap. Dexter squirmed and straddled the other teen’s waist, wrapping his arms around Sam’s shoulders. “What?” Dexter narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

Sam just grinned and leaned up to steal a quick kiss. Dexter dipped down to return it, darting his tongue out over Sam’s lips. Sam chuckled breathlessly and opened up his mouth. Dexter ran the piercing of his tongue over the inside of Sam’s mouth, tickling.

Sam slipped his hands up under Dexter’s shirt, feeling up to his shoulder blades. Dexter shivered and arched at the ticklish touch, moaning slightly into the kiss.

Only a throat clearing interrupted them.

“Fucking seriously, Jared?” Dexter snapped, glaring over Sam’s shoulder. Sam tried to sink down into the couch and hide himself as Jared crossed his arms over his chest.

“Seriously, Dexter. I even warned him I would not be knocking. It’s after nine.” Jared warned.

“Oh it’s Friday! Come on!” Dexter complained. “It’s not like I’m getting pregnant any time soon!”

An awkward pause followed that before Jared spoke up again. “At least get out of the basement if you aren’t calling it a night yet. Go out and do something. Movie. Public.”

Dexter groaned and climbed off of Sam’s lap. “Give me money for a movie, then.” Dexter demanded and held his hand out, palm up. Jared scowled and handed over a twenty-dollar bill. Dexter looked over his shoulder in triumph to Sam, who was still trying to become one with the couch.

After looking up some movie times online, Sam and Dexter were out the door and in a car.

“You know I can pay for tickets,” Sam offered hopefully.

“Oh I know. Jared doesn’t need to know that. I just got twenty bucks. That will cover new gauges.” Dexter grinned widely and pocketed the bill. “Maybe we can stop at the mall, too. I was thinking of getting some glow in the dark ones.”

“We have time to get them if we hurry,” Sam said after turning on the car and seeing the time.

They drove out to the mall and Sam followed Dexter into a darkly lit store selling some body jewelry. Dexter mulled over the new gauges for a couple of minutes before calling an attendant over to get them out. He put them in on the two-block drive to the movie theaters, trying to look at himself in the visor mirror.

“Think I’ll glow enough to bother some people?” Dexter tucked some of his hair back to show off the faintly glowing circles.

Sam just laughed and sought out a parking spot. Sam paid for the tickets while Dexter fiddled with his new gauges, all the way into the theater. The two took a seat up towards the top, high back in a corner, waiting until the lights dimmed before entangling hands.