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Michael groaned on his way out the door, glancing down at the green watch on his left wrist. He had to meet Ray in 2 minutes and he was on the other side of the school. Michael winced at the thought of being late, Ray was being really feisty lately and Michael assumed it was because his ex-boyfriend just got into a new relationship.
He pulled his backpack straps onto both shoulders and dodged crowds of people flooding the hallway. “‘Scuse me. Oh-uh sorry. Pardon. Fuckin’ move, jesus christ.” He ignored the dirty look the girl with the plaid sweater gave him as he finally shoved past her. Michael all but ran down the steps, completely out of breath when he got to the red car, noticing a very unhappy Ray standing by the passenger door. He shot the other man a glance that read I-fucked-up-I-know-I’m-sorry as he fumbled with his keys. In a blur Michael, very ungracefully; unlocked the car, threw his stuff in the back, and flopped down in the drivers seat. The other man did the same but slower and more gracefully, which showed Michael how angry Ray actually was. After Ray sat in the passenger seat Michael immediately started his apology. “Look Ray I don’t know why you’ve been so upset lately but I-” Michael faltered at the Puerto Rican’s glare. He closed his mouth which seemed to satisfy Ray because he turned head back to stare out the window.
Michael couldn’t help but notice how the sun reflected off his black hair and how nice the bedhead style looked on him.
Ray turned his back the the redhead, who was still staring. “Are we going or?”
“What? Oh oh y-yeah sorry let me just.” He jiggled his keys, breaking Ray’s stare when he finally pulled out of the parking lot. The tires on his peice of shit car squealed as they turned onto the main road. Ray didn’t seem to be in the talking mood so Michael drummed his fingers on the steering wheel then fiddled with the car radio. He even turned the windshield wipers on and off a few times to try to make the silence in the car a little less awkward.
They have been driving 5 minutes when Michael couldn’t take anymore. “Damn it Ray.” He said, startling himself and the younger man in the passenger seat. He sighed and thought about how he could word this without coming off as a huge asshole. “Look I know you're upset but.... fuck dude.” He scrubbed his hand over his face, effectively knocking his glasses to the left. “Shit. I mean Ray what I’m saying is that... you have to... fuck look I know break ups are hard and when they get with someone knew it hurts like shit but that’s life. I mean dude do you think everyone meets the person they want to spend the rest of their life with in high school? That shit only happens in movies.” Ray was still not looking at Michael so he pulled into an empty parking lot. He needed to talk to his best friend. “Ray look I know you loved Joel but he’s an asshole an-”
Ray hit his fist on the side of the car. “For fucks sake Michael! Joel didn’t break my heart and I’m not angry that he’s in a new relationship. ” He turned to his friend and his watery eyes met Michael’s wide ones. Michael opened his mouth to speak but Ray held up his hand. ‘Sorry I just- Joel didn’t break up with me okay. I broke up with him. And it wasn’t like we were that serious.”
“But I thought you loved him?”
Ray shook his head slightly, “Let me- Let me say this.” He took a deep breath and crossed his tan arms over his black Starbomb shirt. “The real reason I started dating Joel was because of you Michael. I really liked you but I thought you were straight so I figured ‘Hey Joel is hot and he’s really sweet and he likes me’ so I said what the hell and went with it. And it was great okay. I’m not going to deny that I really liked him. But I never loved him. And- And I think on some level he knew that. He knew I would always run back to you whenever something happened. Then you told me that you were bi and I was so... relieved. It was like the weight of the world had been removed from my shoulders, which doesn’t make sense I know but that’s how I felt.” He sighed, “So I told Joel how I felt about you. I told him I was sorry and we talked. He said he knew this was going to happen and he said he was sorry too but that he was happy for me, that I was finally going to tell you. But then I didn’t. I broke up with Joel over a month ago and I never told you how I felt. And that’s the reason I’ve so on edge, I’ve been trying to tell you and it never felt like the right time.” He smiled softly, “Too long didn’t read? I like you Michael. Even though sometimes you’re a huge asshole.”
Ray’s smile faltered when Michael just stared. “Michael...”
Michael stared in disbelief, his brown eye’s holding Ray’s gaze for what seemed like eternity. He shook his head slightly and opened opened his mouth like he was going to say something, only to close it a few seconds later. The longer the silence went on the more foolish Ray felt.
He faced front and put on his seatbelt, “You know what nevermind” he said in a steely voice, “if I made you feel uncomfortable I’m sorry. You can take me back to the school or I can get out now it’s not a long walk back.”
Michael held up his hands, “No no no can you just give me a moment?”
Ray nodded but he was obviously confused. Michael shot him a grateful look as he zipped up his grey jacket. Ray watched as he undid his seatbelt, got out of the car, yelled something, did what looked like a fist pump, then calmly climbed back into the car. “Okay I’m back.” Ray shot him a look and Michael smiled. “You’re such an idiot Ray. When you started going out with Joel you had no idea how much I wished that was me. That’s why when you broke up with Joel I was so happy. I thought to myself ‘This is your chance Jones. You can do this. Just tell him how you feel.” He shrugged, his freckles standing out even more on his red face.
“Really? You were gonna tell me you liked me?” Ray asked.
Michael grinned at him, “Fucking really. But I didn’t want to come off as insensitive. Everyone said you were mourning or what the fuck ever and that you needed time. So I gave you time. And then I chickened out completely like the fucking peice of shit I am. But I’m telling you know Ray Narvaez Jr., I like you.”
They sat in silence for a moment, staring at each other. But the silence was a comfortable silence now not the heavy awkward silence it had been at the beginning of the ride. “So... are we... dating now?” Michael whispered, breaking the silence. Ray nodded and Michael matched Ray’s bright smile as he grabbed his new boyfriend's hand and pulled him as close as he could in the small car.
They sat like that for what seemed like hours until Ray whispered into Michael’s ear. “Hey Michael.” He pointed at the green numbers on the car radio. “JUH BL.”
Michael smacked him on the back of the head for ruining the moment.