Out of a Dream - 2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The next morning I got up and trudged my way to the bathroom. Looking in the mirror, I noticed my hair fading a bit from dark to light blue, so I made a mental note to re-dye it soon. After I shaved and showered, I picked adidas cologne and deodorant, and my usual khaki pants and navy polo. God, uniforms fucking blow.

I couldn't get Wyatt off my mind. The way he acted, the way he looked-- WOW! I couldn't wait to see him again. He was just, amazing. Everything about him seemed to embody exactly what I thought of as perfect. Every move he made was graceful, even if it was tripping and falling on his face. Wyatt could do no wrong.

And I had one hell of a crush.

As soon as fourth block rolled around, I actually HURRIED to class and took my seat, waiting for him to come in the door. I squirmed in my seat, tapping one foot, then the other. My fingernails clicked against the desk with nervous anticipation. Forever passed twice over before I saw his face and grinned to myself. I couldn't believe I missed him that much when I only met him the day before, but it seemed like we'd known each other longer.

I’d always understood what people meant when they said they had chemistry with someone, but experiencing it firsthand this way was so much different than simple understanding. It's just that he was the only person I've ever met who seemed to understand me. I just wondered HOW MUCH he understood about me. A cold pang raced through my chest, threatening to destroy the magic of Wyatt’s entry. Why did I have to be such a closet case?

“Oh my God” I thought to myself. If it was at all possible, he was even cuter than yesterday! I loved just seeing his face. Wyatt walked through the door and took his seat behind me.

"What's goin' on, Josh?" Wyatt said with a smile that almost seemed embarassed. Nick gave us that weird look again, but Coach Woody started talking, so that broke up the conversation before it had a chance to betray me.

"Okay everybody; we're gonna go take a stress quiz today. I thought this would be really interesting to do a little mini-unit on the effects of stress on health. Somebody's gonna have to use the computer in here 'cause there aren't enough in the library. Josh, do you mind using the one in here?"

"Sure, Coach" I said. I’m sure if anyone had taken the time to notice, they would’ve noticed my entire posture sagging just a little at that. Coach Woody sure did have a way of fucking things up for me. Damn him (what’s that, three times?).

"Alright, go to colorquiz.com and take the quiz. Print the results and hold on to them. Let's go." he said. Everyone else left to go to the library, and I sat in front of the computer in the corner of the room sneaking a last glance at Wyatt as he walked out. I logged on, pulled up the browser, and went to colorquiz.com. I started the quiz, and was instructed to pick the color that I want until all are chosen once. I went through the process and looked at my results.

"Your Existing Situation: You feel misunderstood, and this hampers your unique personality. This has lead to a lack of self-confidence. You long for a sensitive, serious relationship, a lifetime partner."

A computer could understand in three minutes what no one in three years had. My eyes started tearing up then. My lips quivered; I felt that familiar tightness in my chest and tried to fight it away. Before I could, Wyatt walked back into the room.

"Hey man, just came back to get my--hey, are you alright?" he asked, walking toward me with a concerned look.

“Great, now I just look like a pussy.” I thought.

I did the only thing I could. I sniffled, blinked back the tears, and forced a grin.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said. I don’t think I was convincing since my voice cracked an octave when I tried to talk. Wyatt laid a hand on my shoulder. I don’t think Jesus himself could’ve done a better job of making me feel better.

"Do you by any chance have some papers and a lighter?" he asked with a mischievous smile.

"Yeah.” I said, sniffing to keep my nose from running. I felt my cheeks burn for a moment, but that passed quickly as I kept my eyes on Wyatt’s smile.

"Wanna skip next block and hit the park to inhale some ganja?" he asked with an even more huge, toothy grin.

"Hell yeah, let's go!" I said.

"I thought that might cheer you up some." he said.

"Well, let's go." This boy really did know the way to cheer somebody up.

We walked the halls to get to the best place to leave from. The outside door right beside the office, ain't that some shit? They never thought anyone would have enough balls to try skipping from there. We waltzed right outside and took a left towards the park across the street. After we were across, we were home free.

There was a slide that had an enclosed little room underneath it in the park. The “gator slide”, we called it, since it was a giant plastic alligator. We scampered in and sat side-by-side on a little bench.
“You can roll, right?” he asked. I nodded.

He handed me the weed and I rolled two perfect joints. I handed them to Wyatt and he fired up the first one and passed it to me. The sound of coughing filled the air from time to time, and we giggled as quietly as we could while a city worker passed not fifty feet from us.

After both were gone, and conversation died down a little, he put a hand on my leg and looked at me. His eyes were more direct than usual, but maintained that soft, welcoming look I loved.

"Josh, I need to ask you something really important, and please be honest, and don't be afraid to tell me the truth." he said, those blue eyes locked with mine.

Wyatt's hand tightened, but his features remained soft.

"Josh", he started, "Are you gay? As in, you like guys I mean.”

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't breathe; I had to get away from there, NOW! Jerking my leg from under Wyatt’s grip, I scrambled out from under the slide and made a run for it. He wouldn't want to hang out with me if he knew the truth. A distraught but determined Wyatt shadowed me. I ran all the way down the street, almost a mile before I stopped. I collapsed with my back against the wall of a little white building and my knees up to my chest.

Wyatt caught up seconds later. I was sobbing, and he sunk down beside me, chest heaving. He had the presence of mind to lay an arm over my shoulders, and squeeze just a little.

"Shh", he whispered. "Everything's okay."

"B-but wh-what about me being, you know?" I asked him.

"Gay?" he asked, eyes theatrically wide. "I don't give a damn. I am, too".

"Really!?"

"Whoa, good job concealing your excitement!" he said, dripping sarcasm all over me. "Come on, buddy, let's go back to the park".

Wyatt leaned down and kissed me beneath the curls spilling over my forehead.

"I love blue hair." he whispered in my ear, almost giggling.

We walked back to the park. His hand tentatively found mine somewhere along the way, and squeezed experimentally. We went back to the little room under the slide, and I was finally calm. I pulled out my pack of Newports, handing one to Wyatt and lighting one up for myself. My nerves still felt shot, but I was okay. Okay enough to ask Wyatt exactly what was on my mind.

"Umm, since you told me you're gay, and I told you I'm gay, does that mean that maybe we could be more than just friends?" I asked. The notion that maybe this was moving too fast did indeed occur to me, but I didn’t care. I was a teenage boy, Wyatt was a teenage boy, and in that moment my world hung on his answer.

"Do you mean boyfriend and boyfriend?" Wyatt asked.

"Well, yeah. I was sort of hoping for it ever since I first saw you.” I said. I took a deep breath, trying to keep the tremble out of my voice. Saying things like this always seemed so easy when I saw it in movies or read it in books, but real life was something totally different. “So, do you want to be my boyfriend?"

Wyatt looked at me and smirked. He took my chin, raised it up so my face was level with his. His easy confidence always amazed me, and it reinforced my own resolve.

"Of course." Wyatt kissed me tenderly, gently on the lips, caressing my mouth with his. The kiss broke slowly.

I looked up at him, smiled, and for the second time that day asked the same question. "Really?”