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"So, are you ever going to stop being a piece of shit and actually ask him out?"
Gavin whips around to face Barbara, who at some point appeared next to his locker. "Bloody hell, when did you get here?"
She smirks at him, amused. "About a minute ago. You were too busy staring at your boyfriend to notice, but whatever."
"He's not my boyfriend..." Gavin mumbles, turning back to his locker to hide his quickly reddening face.
"Exactly, that's the problem. You're being an idiot and not doing anything." Barbara tilts her head to the side, considering. "Seriously, what's the worst that can happen? Rejection? Yeah, because standing here pining is so much better."
He sighs, pulling a few books out of his locker. "I'd rather be kind of friends with him than nothing at all."
"Okay, first of all, that is the most teenage angst movie thing I've ever heard. Second, I know Michael. He's not a complete asshole. Third, friends? When's the last time you actually talked to him?" Gavin stares at his locker silently, not having a good answer for that. "Yeah, I thought so. You have to get it together."
Gavin turns to her again, biting his lip. "It's not that easy. I have absolutely no clue what say to him."
"Didn't you memorize some dumb conversation starters or something?" she asks, smirking at the instant blush on his face. Glancing behind him, her smirk morphs into an almost evil grin. "Well, looks like you need to figure it out pretty fast. Have fun!"
She turns and walks off, Gavin's expression quickly turning from one of confusion to fear as he processes her words. "Wait, Barb-"
"Hey."
Gavin freezes immediately, eyes going wide. It takes a moment for him to turn around, and when he does, it's all he can do to stutter out a reply. "H-hi."
Michael grins at him, amused. "Everything okay? You seem a bit flustered."
If Gavin had been blushing before, it's nothing compared to now. "Shut up..." he mumbles, looking down at the floor.
"Hey, don't be like that," Michael chuckles, putting a finger under Gavin's chin and forcing him to look up.
His eyes go wide again, cheeks still pink. He turns his head to the side to avoid Michael's gaze. "What do you want?"
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to walk home together, but if you just want me to shut up, then..." The teasing is evident in Michael's voice.
Gavin hesitates for a second, then nods, remembering what Barbara said. As much as he hates to admit it, she's right; he really needs to get it together. "Okay." He pulls away, taking a moment to shut his locker before standing beside Michael. "All ready."
Michael snorts and shoves him lightly, rolling his eyes. "Dork."
Gavin smiles softly at that, a fluttery feeling in his chest. "Idiot."
"Ouch, Gavin, that's hurtful," Michael gasps mockingly, putting a hand to his heart in fake shock.
Now it's Gavin's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm so sorry." The strong sarcasm brings a grin back to Michael's face, followed by a slight ruffling of the younger boy's hair.
"I'll try to get over it."
The huge smile on Gavin's face is probably painfully obvious, but he can't really help it. Michael steps forward, Gavin following close behind. They walk in a (sort of) comfortable silence for a couple minutes, only speaking once they're a little away from the school.
"So, what's up?"
The question startles Gavin out of his thoughts, which definitely weren't about conversation starters and a certain cute curly-haired boy, thank you very much. "Um... Well, currently, walking."
Michael snorts, shaking his head. "Wow, fucking brilliant new development over here." Gavin flushes slightly, and the older boy laughs good-naturedly. "Kidding, but you're still an idiot."
"Rude," Gavin mumbles, the small smile on his face showing exactly how offended he is. "But, uh, there's not much else happening, is there? We're walking. That's what's up. Yeah." He's rambling, and they both know it.
It's met with a raised eyebrow and an amused look. "Well, you're not wrong." Gavin hums in agreement, and they fall into a less awkward quiet.
It's a couple minutes before Michael speaks up again. "You know, I didn't ask you to walk with me purely because I enjoy your idiotic British company."
Gavin both blushes and smirks, caught between being embarrassed and entertained. "Oh yeah?"
The expected sarcastic retort doesn't come. Instead, Michael has a more serious smile on his face, more... Determined. "Yeah." There's a pause, and he takes a deep breath. "I... I really like you, okay? Like... More than a friend."
The complete frozen shock that comes over Gavin is almost comical. Seriously, you'd think he hadn't been there for all of Michael's obvious flirting. All breath just immediately leaves his lungs, and his eyes are even wider than before. Yet somehow, none of that is as ridiculous as his response.
"WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE ANIMAL?"
The sudden shout startles both of them. Really, can it even be called a response? He just screamed a fucking conversation starter. That's not an appropriate reaction to someone saying that they like you. Especially when you happen to have a huge crush on that someone.
Michael looks embarrassed and confused, unsurprisingly. "Uh... A bear, I guess?" His voice is hesitant.
Cringing, Gavin turns to look at him. "Bloody hell, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" Michael cuts him off.
"No, it's okay, I get it. I misread things, you want to change the subject. I get it, it's cool." His nonchalant shrug is currently the most infuriating thing in the world to Gavin.
"No, you idiot! I'm just," the younger boy pauses, trying to get some sort of coherent sentence together, "I really suck at talking when I'm around you." Michael eyes him cautiously, unsure of where this is going. Biting his lip, Gavin continues. "Seriously, when have I ever been around you and not an awkward mess? Isn't it obvious?" He laughs self-depricatingly. "I screamed a bloody conversation starter at you, Michael! If that's not being nervous around your crush, I don't know what is."
Michael tries to hide the rapidly growing grin on his face, but it doesn't really work. "Crush, huh?" They're standing facing each other now, and the distance between them suddenly seems a lot smaller.
Smiling, Gavin steps forward. "Yeah, crush." His expression only gets giddier as he moves even closer, continuing to talk. "It's true. I, Gavin Free, have a crush on Michael Jones."
Michael's eyes sparkle as he looks at Gavin, their faces only inches apart. "Well, that's good news, since I know for a fact that Mr. Jones is pretty fond of Mr. Free."
Gavin legitimately giggles at that, tilting his head towards Michael's. "Is he, now?"
Michael nods. "If Gavin wanted to... Oh, I don't know... Kiss him, he'd definitely be up for that."
Grinning, Gavin reaches out and puts a finger under Michael's chin, not unlike how Michael had before. "Good." And then, finally, he closes the gap, pressing their lips together.
It's not like Gavin hasn't imagined this before - he's a teenager with a crush, of course he has. But really, a vague daydream is nothing compared to the real thing. Fake scenarios can't come close to the feeling of hands in his hair, kisses on his lips, a body pressed against his. It's incredible. It's perfect.
It's over way too quickly.
Michael rests his forehead against Gavin's, a slow grin on his face. "Nerves definitely haven't affected your kissing skills."
The younger boy laughs, giddy and bright. "Yeah, I suppose I've gotten it together a bit." He leans back, standing upright and grabbing Michael's hand. They just stare at each other for a moment, both blushing and happy. After a pause, Gavin bites his lip. "So... What are we?"
Michael chuckles at his choice of words. "Well... Personally, I have a gigantic crush on you, as you've probably figured out, so... If you'd like to be my boyfriend, that'd be pretty cool. It'd be pretty top," he finishes with a mocking accent, making Gavin both pout and giggle.
After a moment, the reality of the words hits him, and Gavin inhales sharply. There's only a second of hesitation before he nods, a smile spreading across his face. "It would be pretty bloody top." Michael snickers teasingly at the exaggerated British-ness, stroking Gavin's hand with his thumb.
"Good. Hey, maybe Barbara will finally stop getting on my case about me not asking you out."
Gavin's eyes nearly bug out of his head. "She's been doing that to you too?"
Michael stares at him for a moment, uncomprehending, before bursting out laughing. "Holy shit, we are both idiots."
Gavin joins in, pure happiness warming his insides. "Yeah, I guess she's right." He smirks, turning to start walking again. "Don't tell her that, though. She'll never let it go."
"Oh, definitely. No way I'm ever telling her she was right. That's pretty much a death wish, and it would be a shame to die so soon after finally asking you out. She'll just have to live with the uncertainty, because I'm not giving this up anytime soon."
Gavin's cheeks heat up again, and there's a fluttering in his chest, and yeah, he's not giving it up, either.