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“S o, you got home alright then?” Trey is asking as I lace up my basketball shoes at training Sunday morning. I’m taking my time with my laces, avoiding Trey’s questioning eyes as he waits for my response.

“All good,” I assure him.

“Your parents find out?”

“Nope. They don’t know anything,” I say.

“I’m kind of surprised. I didn’t think you’d be wearing that off for a while,” Trey murmurs. “You were pretty messed up, bro.”

“Hmm, well, I didn’t actually get home until late last night and they were still out by then,” I admit, not sure whether I should have told my cousin this news or not. But we both know I am the world’s worst liar.

“Really? Where were you?”

“Um, I was at Quinn’s.” I fixate back on my laces.

“Really? You spent the whole day with him?” Trey asks. I know that if I look up I will find a v creasing the space between his eyes. But I can’t bring myself to look at him just now, certain I will give something away I’m not really prepared to deal with just yet.

“Yeah,” I shrug. “I told you, he’s nice.”

“Yeah, cuz, you said that about twenty times already,” Trey eyerolls. I can’t quite tell if he’s amused or not. “So, what did you do?”

“What did I do?” I repeat.

“With Quinn. All night and all day?”

“Oh, um,” I swallow, definitely picking up on my cousin’s pointed questions now. “Nothing much. Just watched a bit of Netflix. You know.” And went for a walk in the forest behind Quinn’s house and lay in the sun until it set, feeling more at peace than I had ever felt in all my life. Amy was home by the time Quinn and I arrived back from our walk and she had picked up enough takeaway that I ended up staying for dinner too. I wasn’t sure if I had overstayed my welcome by then but Quinn had seemed happy to keep me a little longer.

“You watched Netflix all day?”

“No, not all day. We also went for a walk in the forest,” I tell him, rising to my feet and walking out of the locker room. I am not prepared for a grilling from my cousin. I don’t have the answers to his questions, and I don’t want to talk with him about Quinn anymore. I have enough going on in my head about Quinn and I need this morning’s training session to give myself a break.

Trey leaves me alone, but I can feel his eyes on me through our training session. Coach Vizard is in a mood and he makes us pay for it out on the court. I am admittedly still a little fuzzy from Friday night and I almost feel like throwing up when he finally calls time.

Trey is waiting for me when I slump onto the bench in the locker room, and I really hope he’s not going to start up on more questions about Quinn.

“You want to get some lunch and then hit the gym?” he asks instead. This is a normal line of conversation with my cousin and I’m so relieved that he seems to have dropped the Quinn interrogation that I agree.

Even though the thought of the gym after that gruelling training session makes me feel more than a little queasy.

***

I walk into science class on Monday morning, eyes immediately seeking out Quinn’s. He’s in his usual seat in the front row, his eyes on me too. He sends me a lazy smile as his gaze traces me up and down. A takeaway coffee cup sits on the table as I slide in beside him, while Trey moves to the back row where he and Millie immediately start playing tonsil hockey.

“Hi,” I say, that annoying shyness descending on me like it always does in his presence. I am not a shy, quiet guy but something about Quinn has me turning into this stuttering, incoherent, uncoordinated mess.

“Hi,” he grins, blue eyes alight with something as he fixes his attention on me. “How was your Sunday?”

I like how he only asked about Sunday rather than the weekend. He already knows how half of it went seeing as we spent it together.

“Good,” I smile. “Although Coach tried to kill us at training and then for some mad reason I decided to hit the gym with Trey in the afternoon.”

He huffs a laugh as he takes a sip of his coffee. “Thanks for reminding me why I don’t do sport.”

“I can’t imagine not doing sport. I kind of live for it,” I tell him. I glance up at him but look away again as I feel his eyes scrutinising me.

“Yeah. I can see that about you. It’s good to have a passion.”

“What did you do yesterday?” I ask.

“Nothing as interesting as you. I visited my gran and then spent the rest of the day studying.”

“You’re a good student,” I say.

He just shrugs. “Well, I am planning on getting into law school so I gotta get the grades for that.”

“I’m sure you will. You’re the smartest person I know,” I tell him, realising I sound a little gushing. But it’s true. He is so smart and I am in awe of him.

He just smiles at that as Mr Peters enters the room and moves to the front. He’s still getting his things in order so Quinn leans across to me, speaking low in my ear as I try not to tremble.

“So listen, I asked Mr Peters for a little time in class to go meet with Mr Allan. We’ve got permission for the last forty-five minutes.”

“Serious?” I ask, nerves tightening my stomach. “That’s awesome.”

He smiles and bumps my shoulder as Mr Peters calls the class to order and I try to pay attention.

“I hope everyone had a good weekend,” Mr Peters begins. “If Mr Sterling and Ms Bourke could leave their little lover’s tiff to Jerry Springer, please?”

I stifle a laugh as I spin around to Trey, noting the very self-satisfied smirk on his face as he places his arm over the back of Millie’s chair and sends me a wink. Sometimes I find it hilarious that my parents approve so highly of my friendship with Trey, like he’s this great, shining example to me. Honestly, he is probably the worst example out of all our friends. I secretly love him for it.

I manage to work myself into a bundle of nerves at the thought of spending more time alone with Quinn. I don’t know why. We literally spent half the weekend together but there’s something about him that just magnetises me. I’m not sure if it’s because of his cool sophistication or if it’s because he is so beautiful it sometimes hurts to look at him. Before him, I’d never really thought of a guy as someone who could be described as beautiful. But he just is. I can’t describe him any other way.

Mr Allan is an excellent cover for my nerves with his enthusiasm for our science project. He already has the aquarium set up in his biology classroom and we waste no time filling it with water and nutrient solution and planting the algae culture, documenting each step with photos. Quinn is watching me with a look in his eyes while I concentrate on making sure I get this exactly right. I want this project to go off without a hitch and I think it’s because I want to impress Quinn.

I don’t think it helps that I know what he looks like under his clothes now. Well, at least some parts of him. I can’t claim to have seen everything. But I try to close my mind to that line of thought as we set up the pump in the aquarium and test the temperature of the heat lamps.

I feel strange when we’re done and it’s time to part ways. I can’t help but linger outside the biology classroom, but Quinn seems to be doing the same.

“Well. I guess I’ll see you around,” he finally says. I can think of no other reason to detain him any longer so I just smile and nod and watch as he walks away. And if my eyes do happen to linger on him a little longer, well, I really don’t think it means anything.

***

I can’t make it to Quinn’s on Thursday night. My parents organised a snap family dinner with my grandparents, and they actually organised it around my basketball training for once in their lives so I know I have to go. I actually really love my grandparents, and I’ve missed enough of my life without them already.

Quinn and I haven’t officially organised anything for tonight but I need to find him and tell him anyway. Just in case. I keep my eyes peeled at lunchtime as I line up at the cafeteria for a hotdog. I can’t see him anywhere and I kind of want to tell him in person rather than just send him a text. That feels too impersonal.

Trey comments on my lack of attention but honestly, that’s not anything entirely out of the ordinary for me. Suddenly the cafeteria door swings open and Quinn arrives like a breath of fresh air. I barely even notice the fact he’s with Jace, the two of them sharing a laugh together as Jace holds onto Quinn’s bicep. That I do notice. I quietly grind my teeth as I wait for Quinn to line up at the cafeteria and buy his lunch.

He's just about to leave when I jump up to follow him, grabbing my bag and half eaten lunch and calling out a goodbye to Trey. Jace and Quinn are already outside and I try so hard not to notice the way Jace laughs at something Quinn has said, resting his arm on Quinn’s shoulder. My stomach clenches.

“Quinn?” I call out. He turns instantly, eyes lighting up when he sees me chasing after him.

“Hey, JT,” he says while Jace eyes me warily from beside him.

“Um, have you got a sec?” I ask, glancing quickly at Jace, not missing the hostility coming off him in waves. It’s not that I need to speak with Quinn privately, but I feel weird with Jace staring at me like that.

“Sure,” he replies. “I’ll catch up with you,” he adds to Jace who raises an eyebrow before slowly walking away. I can tell he’s unimpressed but I kind of don’t care about Jace right now. Quinn’s eyes are on me, waiting for me to speak. “What’s up?”

“Oh, um, I just wanted to say that I can’t come around tonight to study,” I tell him, suddenly feeling awkward. This really could have been said in a text. “I have dinner with my grandparents tonight and I haven’t seen them in a while.”

“That’s fine,” Quinn replies. “We’re way ahead on our project so that’s no issue if we skip a night.”

“Oh good,” I sigh. “I didn’t want to let you down or make you think I’m not dedicated to the project.”

“Don’t worry, JT. I don’t think that at all.” He’s smiling that crooked smile at me and part of me thinks he’s amused by me. I always get the feeling he knows something I don’t.

“Cool,” I say, scuffing my shoe on the pavement. I rub the back of my neck, suddenly unsure what to say to him and wondering why I didn’t just hide behind a text.

“Do you want to sit?” Quinn finally asks as the silence expands between us. I look up at him, surprised by his offer but knowing I want to accept. I nod. I grip onto my half-finished hotdog as I follow behind Quinn. My eyes drop to his ass and I can’t help but admire the way he fills out those grey pants so well.

“Here okay?” he asks. I quickly flick my eyes up to his face, hoping he didn’t see me perving. If I had to guess, he seems a little uncertain too — which makes this the first time he hasn’t been completely in control of the situation. I kind of rely on him for that seeing as I act like a lost puppy in his presence. I can’t help but smile to myself.

“Here’s great,” I agree, dropping to the grass beside him. I don’t know where his friends have gone but I feel a little smug that Quinn has chosen to sit with me instead of them. Sorry not sorry, Jace.

It’s only then I notice the overly interested stares from the other students that we seem to be attracting. It hadn’t occurred to me that anyone else would care that Quinn and I decided to break down the school’s unnecessary social barriers and share lunch together.

“So, you have basketball tomorrow night?” Quinn asks, biting into a ham salad roll, completely ignoring the stares of the passersby.

“Yep,” I tell him. “It’s an away game though unfortunately.”

“Ah. That’s a pain.”

“Yeah, bit of a long drive.” I hesitate for half a second before deciding to just say it. “I’m not doing anything Saturday though.” There’s a beat of silence before Quinn looks up at me, a question in that blue gaze.

“No?”

“Nope,” I confirm. “What, um, what about you?”

“Ah, I actually have the guys coming round for pizza and a movie,” he admits. He seems a little regretful and I’m pleased by that even though I’m sad he’s not free.

“Oh. That sounds fun,” I say, aware I sound like he’s just told me he hates puppies.

“You could …” he begins, that hesitation definitely out in full force now. “You could come. If you want.”

Quinn definitely sounds nervous now and I feel emboldened by that even though I’m not entirely sure I want to spend time with Quinn in the presence of his friends. I’m aware that we have created our own little private bubble between our two separate spheres and for some reason I am reluctant to pierce it.

“Are you sure?” I ask. “Your friends won’t mind if I’m there?”

“Course I’m sure,” he replies. “And my friends won’t mind at all.”

Well, that’s not entirely true, something I think we both know but I’m not going to bring it up.

“Okay then,” I reply, biting down on my lip to stop the smile from spreading.

“Alright,” he says, smiling back at me just as brightly. I drop the pretence and smile back properly, heart beating just a little harder in my chest.

Look at me, sharing lunch beside Quinn Dayton, making plans for the future.