Chapter Text
In every high school, there is always one kid everyone knows will be hugely successful, one kid that everyone knows will be a high school dropout, and one kid that flirts with everyone. That kid was George Frederick. Ever since the start of senior year, he had managed to seduce most of the males in the school, only to leave them heartbroken the next day. It was taken as a compliment if he even acknowledged your presence after dumping you.
And to only add to his character, he was gay. This meant that half the female students looked at him with anger and the others wistfully, cursing their bad luck.
He never got attached to anyone he went out with, never went on a second date with anyone, never cared about them, and was never unsuccessful in seducing anyone. If his good looks weren’t enough to persuade them (which was unusual), he was also very rich and could afford to take them on extravagant dates (and he was British, which certainly added to the charm). Even many boys that claimed they were straight agreed to go out with him. He was a total flirt, a male coquette, a gay casanova.
And very late to school. But he didn’t care. His parents had made enough donations to the school that they turned a blind eye to a lot of the stuff he did. Hell, he could probably set one of the science labs on fire and they wouldn’t care! He had arrived just in time for lunch. He slid into the seat reserved for him at the table in the center of the cafeteria. He nodded to his friends there and absentmindedly fixed his dirty blonde hair. He looked around the cafeteria, seeing if there were any other boys he had not yet gone out with.
His eyes caught on a red-headed boy who was all alone at his table in the corner. He was reading a book and not paying attention to anyone else. He’s pretty cute, George thought. I wonder why I haven’t asked him out yet.
“Have you picked your next victim?” Charlotte, his best friend, asked him.
“Yup.” He responded, scrutinizing the boy. She sighed.
“I don’t know why you keep doing this,” She complained. “I think you should find someone you actually like and have a long-term relationship.”
George scoffed, his eyes still not moving from the red-head. “Yeah sure. Like that’s ever going to happen. Anyway, see you.”
He got up and strode over to the boy’s table. Some other kids from the surrounding tables looked up, knowing George was on his way to ask someone new out. The boy didn’t look up from his book, not even when George sat down next to him. He cleared his throat and the boy finally looked up. He’s adorable, George realized. Seriously, how have I not noticed him before? But anyway. Back to the matter at hand.
“Do you want to go out with me?” He asked bluntly. At this point, that was all he had to say to convince someone.
The boy smiled politely. “No thank you.” He turned back to his book.
Wait, what? What just happened? No one had ever rejected George before. He stared at the boy, dumbfound.
“Are you sure?” He asked. He didn’t know what else to say.
The boy turned a page in his book decisively.
“Yes I am. I’m straight.” He explained. George got up and walked over to his own table in a daze. How could he have used that as an excuse? Even straight boys agreed to go out with him. And now he got rejected by a- by a nobody?!
“So how did it go?” Charlotte asked, looking bored.
“I- I got rejected.” He said in almost a whisper. Charlotte’s eyes became wide and she smothered her giggles with her hand.
“That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard today! I can’t believe he rejected you!” Her laughter died down when George glared at her.
“It’s. Not. Funny.” He hissed. “And don’t you dare tell anyone else about this.”
She nodded. “So are you going to try it with someone else?” She asked curiously.
“No. No one has ever rejected me and no one ever will. I’ll convince him to go out with me, just you wait.”
Samuel Seabury was not having a great day. He had missed the bus and had been late to school. His teacher gave him detention for the next day after school even though he had arrived only two minutes late. And then The Incident happened.
He was sitting at a table by the corner, alone, as usual. He didn’t have any friends as his extremely religious family kind of scared them away. But he didn’t really mind. He liked being alone, as it meant he could read in peace without anyone bothering him. He looked up only once, when George Frederick entered the cafeteria.
He had had a crush on George since fifth grade. They had been pretty good friends in elementary school, but he was pretty sure George didn’t even remember his name anymore. This crush of his was heartbreaking, as it made him so upset every time George went out with another boy (which was at least three times a month) and he had to pretend to be straight, as his parents would most likely disown him if they found out he was gay.
He felt someone’s eyes on him, and he stiffened. He knew that it was George. He could tell that George was making his way over to him, and he desperately tried to not look up from his book. He barely succeeded. George sat down next to him and he sucked in a breathe, unable to believe he was sitting so close to his long-time crush. He still didn’t look up from his book, re-reading the same passage over and over again without knowing what the text said. George started coughing loudly and he finally looked up, alarmed, wondering if George was okay.
“Do you want to go out with me?” George asked.
Thoughts rushed through Samuel’s head. Of course, this is what he had always wanted! But George would only take him out once before never talking to him again. But wouldn’t even one day be worth it? Maybe not, he didn’t want to join the line of desperate, broken-hearted boys that trailed after George. But still, how could he say no to this?
“No thank you.” He said, giving a forced smile before turning back to his book, hoping that George would leave.
“Are you sure?” George asked, sounding rather bored. Of course, he could pick just about anyone else in the school, he didn’t care that Sam said no.
“Yes I am. I’m straight.” Samuel said, turning a page in his book so George couldn’t tell that his hands were shaking. He hated pretending he was straight, but he had to. He knew from experience how awful his parents could be if he showed any sign that he was gay…
George got up and left. Samuel could finally breathe normally again. He watched George leave, fighting the urge to call him back and say that, yes, he would love to go out with him. But he didn’t. I should forget about him, he thought. He clearly doesn’t care about me, he didn’t even ask what my name was! I would have been just another boy that he dumped after a day. At least he could feel flattered that George thought he was good enough to be asked out on a date.