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“You can’t do it,” Waldo said. Negativity wasn’t really his thing but he had no intention of watching Rex choke and die on saltine crackers.
Rex flashed him a cocky grin and said, “Watch me.” Famous last words, Waldo thought as he started the timer on his watch and Rex shoved his first saltine cracker in his mouth.
When the blonde had said he’d needed his help, Waldo thought it would be to pull some prank. He definitely didn’t think that it would be to time him while he tried to eat 6 saltines in under a minute. Rex managed to swallow the first one fairly quickly but he could see complications as Rex put the second cracker in his mouth. Rex tried valiantly to keep chewing but even as he shoved another saltine into his mouth at the 30 second point, Waldo could tell he wasn’t going to make it. Still Rex kept going and with five seconds left on his timer he pushed a fourth cracker into his mouth.
“Stop,” Waldo said and Rex looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. His mouth had cracker crumbs sprinkled across it and he kept chewing to try to rid his mouth of the crumbs so he could speak. One minute and a carton of milk later, Rex flashed him a smile.
“I almost had it,” he said. Waldo rolled his eyes but bit back his usual sassy comment in favor of just nodding at the blonde. “Lunch is almost over and I still need to find Miri. I’ll see you later, Waldo.”
Waldo waved at Rex’s retreating figure until it turned the corner to head back to the cafeteria. He then dropped his hand and sat back on the grass but looked up as someone’s shadow passed across him.
“Alicia?” he asked, squinting up at the girl.
She smirked down at him and asked, “Are you two a thing yet? I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at each other.”
“What?! No. We’re just friends,” Waldo said. He could feel his cheeks heating up and tried to force away his blush but that only seems to make it worse.
Alicia’s smirk only grew at that and she nodded in mock understanding. “Of course. Only friends. Have a good day, Waldo,” she said before walking away. Waldo mentally curses Alicia for bringing up feelings he had finally managed to push down so far inside him he thought he’d never see them again. Yet, here he is, blushing over Rex in the courtyard because no matter how far down he shoved the feeling, it doesn’t stop the fact that he likes him.
It's been 3 months and they had gone for smoothies, coffee, and even a quick lunch and still Rex hadn’t let him pay. Waldo isn’t petty, he isn’t, but just once he’d like to treat Rex. Which is why when Waldo had texted Rex asking him if he was free to grab coffee and Rex had told him that he was stuck studying in the library, Waldo had happily gone to the coffee shop without him.
“Can I have one medium iced white chocolate mocha and one medium hot chocolate?” he asked. The man punched in his order and Waldo paid for it, glad to have been able to pay for something for once. When the coffee was ready, he grabbed the two hot drinks and carried them over to the library. The librarian nodded at him and he spotted Rex with a girl at one of the back tables. Something akin to nervousness clenched in his stomach as he headed over to them and he almost considered turning around.
Rex looked up from his work and when he spotted Waldo, a smile crossed his face. The girl looked at Waldo too however she frowned at the sight of him. “Hey, Waldo. Is that for me?” Rex asked.
Waldo set the iced mocha down in front of him and he gratefully took a sip and then said, “Let me pay you back.”
“Absolutely not. What are you studying for?” he asked, taking a sip of his hot cocoa.
“American Government and Politics. My grades are pretty low in that class and I need to pass it to become a senior. Although, I may need your help in math,” Rex said.
Waldo nodded and said, “Of course. If you need me, just give me a call. I do have to go find JB. She messaged me asking for some help earlier.”
Rex waved a little and returned to his textbook, whispering a question to his study partner, which he had just realized was Anissa. As Waldo searched for JB, he couldn’t help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, Rex liked him too.
Waldo’s original plan on Valentine’s Day was to buy himself a chocolate bar from the school store and eat it while going over his homework so that he wouldn’t have to worry about it over the weekend. He had managed to buy and eat his chocolate bar but the rest of his plan was promptly interrupted when, at around 5 o’clock, there was a knock on his door. He got up from his desk chair and opened it, a grin making its way onto his face when he saw that it was Rex.
“High-low and good tidings,” Waldo said. “Is there something you need help with?”
“Oh, no. Um… can I come in?” Rex asked. Waldo opened the door wider and stepped aside to let Rex in before closing his door.
There was an awkward silence for a moment as both boys avoided the other’s eyes. Eventually, Rex cleared his throat and said, “So I’ve been kind of struggling with this for a while because I never really thought that I’d actually, ya know, like someone, consistently.”
Waldo felt his heart drop and his hands started to sweat a little but he forced himself to stay still and continue to listen to Rex. After all, that’s what friends do, right?
“Anyways. At first it didn’t really make sense to me but after I talked to Alicia because she knows everything about everyone, I found out that the person I like might like me back so I was wondering what you think I should do? I want to tell them today since it’s Valentine’s Day and all. I even bought them chocolates,” Rex said. It’s just then that Waldo noticed the plastic bag in his hand that he can see the large, red, heart shaped box through.
Waldo was kind of impressed with how cheerful he made his voice sound despite the fact that all he wanted to do was curl up into a ball and never come out of his room again. “Oh! Well that’s great news! I’m sure she’ll be happy, whoever she is. As for asking her out, JB told me once that most girls like going out on a date but since it’s a little short notice, maybe go on the date tomorrow or Sunday. If you want to ask her today, just tell her that you like her and give her the chocolates. If she says she likes you back, ask her about going on a date,” he advised.
Rex nodded and looked Waldo in the eye for the first time since he had stepped into his room. Waldo noticed the slight dusting of pink on Rex’s cheeks but told himself that it’s just his imagination. “Well then, Waldo Wilson, I like you and I’d like to go on a date with you sometime.”
A box of chocolates is held out to him and Waldo doesn’t think he knows how to breathe. “I um…” Waldo said, but the smile that slowly crossed his face apparently made up for his lack of words as Rex had a matching grin on his face, though the blush was still there. Waldo was almost certain he had a blush to rival Rex’s as he reached out and accepted the box of chocolates.
They stood there staring at each other with matching grins before Rex broke the silence by asking, “Would you like to go on a date tomorrow? We can get lunch at Fuschia. My treat.”
“I’d love to. And it’ll be my treat,” Waldo said.
“That’s not how that works. The person who asks the other out pays for the food, not the other way around,” Rex complained. Waldo could only shake his head at Rex’s complaint. “You can get the next one,” Rex said, and Waldo had a sneaking suspicion he’d heard that before.