Thanks for all this feedback ^_^!! It's such a pick-me-up, you have no idea. Here's the latest part. It takes place after the summer ended, and school resumes. I call it ^_^ Chapter 2: Sophomore Meets Senior!:
It was a crisp fall day, and the pool’s milky water was obscured by its own steam. The leaves crinkled under Gentry's steps. Unlike the other students, who were racing to the school or throwing leaves at each other, Gentry stalked towards the school as slowly as possible. He narrowly avoided the cracks in the pavement, nearly tripping over one when a strong pair of arms wrapped around his torso, and a familiar voice whispered,"Missed me?"
Gentry pulled him into a kiss, feeling Zach relax from his touch.
“Gentry---“ his face flushed, and he pulled away Gentry gave a wry smirk and walked alongside him. The warm hues of fall were illuminated by a hazy sun, and the bare trees stood starkly, proudly against the off-white sky.
“Did you miss me?”
“Of course I did.” Gentry replied, pulling the sophomore into a kiss,"I always miss you when you aren't around."
He smiled at the dark-haired boy, taking his hand.
He tried to speak, but no words came. He tried to think, but no thoughts came. All he had was what he knew, and all he knew was that he loved him. He couldn't remember why, he didn't care why. He didn't have to explain it, he didn't have to justify it.
The plate crashed to the floor, and the dream dissolved. Gentry mumbled as he turned in his bed as the alarm clock faded into view. He winced in pain as he sat up, pushing aside the dirty sheets with heavy disgust. He stumbled to the shower, the bruises along his hips marring pale skin.
The reality wasn’t nearly as wonderful as the dream. The rain fell down, and the lights flashed in the hallway. The wind howled, mercilessly throwing leaves at Gentry’s back. The students ran to their classes, sitting down and looking miserable.
Gentry rushed into the literature classroom like a cat out of the rain, his dull red hair clinging to his face. He took the only empty seat available.
Zach was unpleasantly surprised when Gentry sat in the empty seat next to him, hidden in the back row.
“Why the fuck are you here, Gentry.”
Gentry leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, noticing with mild annoyance that Zach was wearing many heavy layers of clothing, and a heavy black glasses. He had looked cuter in his dream.
“I didn’t have a class and I felt like seeing you.”
Zach took off his new glasses, and rested his head on the table,"You just wanted to get out of the rain."
Gentry nipped at Zach's earlobe, playfully retorting,"If you already made up your mind, then don't ask me why I'm here."
His glance fell on the glasses. It was almost like Zach wanted to look particularly bad, Gentry mused to himself. Those were new glasses, but they looked worse than the previous ones.
Zach sat up and eyed him warily, and Gentry returned the look with an insolent little smirk.
“Romeo & Juliet.” The teacher, a portly man named Mr.Handson, leisurely walked to the board as a he spoke,“is the next book we’re going to read. It’s a quintessential love story, about how hatred can ruin even the most beautiful things. What makes this story particularly tragic is not the ending, which I am sure all of you know. But, it is how the history of the characters poisons their future.”
Zach slowly felt his eyelids fall, and slumped his arms over the desk.
“…to make this book more interesting, in the classic English tradition, we are going to have a “theater” piece. A creative video relating to the themes of Romeo & Juliet. These both count towards the “tests & large projects” grading portion of this semester… we’ll be choosing groups tomorrow.”
“Fucking great.” murmured Zach, already half asleep.
The book crashing down onto his table jolted him awake, staring up at his teacher’s glasses.
The math class was as stuffy and unwelcoming as the literature class, with an ancient teacher with a pot belly and a lazy eye that occasionally glared at a anyone unlucky enough to fall into its view. Zach sat close to the door, alone at the table, while the rest of the class chatted away loudly. Gentry brushed his hand over Zach’s shoulder as he passed.
Zach looked up,“You’re in this class, too? What’s a senior doing taking Geometry?”
“I’m to math what you are to literature.” Came the slick reply, as Gentry eased into his seat two tables away. Kylie walked in, late as usual, and peered at Zach’s paper before bloatedly flopping into her chair.
“Homework on the first day of school!” the heavy concealer that coated her freckles was starting to flake off,”***, and it’s logarithims… logarithms are a bitch.”
Gentry looked away,“Agreed.”
She eyed him expectantly, starting to pull out strands of her stringy ash blond hair.
“Maybe we should go ask Zach.” She suggested with mild annoyance.
“You didn’t invite him to our team, and now you want to steal his answers?” Gentry gave a rueful smirk that wouldn’t have looked as charming on an ugly boy,”Mike, do you understand these ‘logarithms’?”
Mike, the only other boy on the team, was cleaning his nails with the tip of a pencil. His bulging blue eyes stared up blankly.
”Um. Sure.” he crouched over the paper and sweat over the masculinity he would lose if he failed to solve the task.
The table shifted their attention as Zach passed with a completed paper in hand. He was the only boy without a group. Jenny, the fifth and most invisible member of Gentry’s group, who had been quietly and contently cutting her hair’s split ends off with a scissors, spoke up,”Zach! Did you get the answer for number 42?”
Zach averted his eyes,”Yeah.”
“What is it?”
”You didn’t want me in your group. No one did. Solve your own damn problem.”
“I’m sorry.” She drawled,”Now can you solve it? Please?”
Zach eyed her warily,”Just one?”
“Maybe.” She giggled,”This worksheet is so hard, you’re so smart, Zach. Help us?”
Zach grumbled, his black hair falling over his eyes, and he slid her the sheet,”You know what, keep it and give in back to me on Monday. That’s when it’s due.”
Annie chirped,”Thank you, Zach, you are SO cool.”
Kylie popped her bubble gum, holding the paper in front of Gentry with a content, boastful look.
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