Hi all, hope you're enjoying this so far and judging by the feedback a few of you are. Don't forget to go to this address http://donate.nifty.org/ and donate to keep the site running. Here's part 3, enjoy!
Chapter 3
It was Monday morning and I had a plan. I was determined to engage Josh as much as possible this week and start to see if I could get him to talk to me. I knew we were in a couple of lessons together but I was also going to ask the twins to keep a lookout for him so I could try to be in the same place he was a few times. It was fool proof!
"No!" Sam stated emphatically.
"Come on, he looks so lonely. Don't you want to help one of you fellow students out?" I replied.
"Who are we helping? You or him?"
"Him of course; don't you think he could use a friend like me?"
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, it's bad enough that we have to suffer you without inflicting you on some other poor boy." Luke chimed in.
"Fuck off; you know you love having me around, and besides, if Josh joins us you might get to see me make a total arse of myself." They both seemed to like that idea.
"Ok we'll do it, but I have full permission to laugh at you when he hands you a restraining order." Luke said, holding out his hand to seal the deal.
We carried on walking to school talking about what they had been doing over the weekend. They had been to see their grandparents as it was their granddad's birthday and we spent most of the walk just talking about our extended families and where they all lived. When we finally got to school I bounded into history a little early only to find Josh already at the back of the room. There were a few other people in the classroom but I pretty much ignored them as I made my way to my desk. Josh was sitting there alone completely engrossed in a book, it was only when I got closer I could see what he was reading.
"Hercules?" I asked as I approached, "I thought we were studying World War Two." He nearly jumped out of his skin and quickly put the book away. "So are you into mythology?"
"Not really," He replied, not looking at me. "Maybe...a little." This could be hard work. I decided to keep it light and not come across as a stalker.
"That's cool. So I was up near your place at the weekend." Ok, change of plans. Let's start the day by freaking him out. "How much land have you got up there anyway? It looked like a big place." I could almost picture his solicitor handing me a restraining order as I said it.
He had an apprehensive look on his face, almost looking like he was deciding how much to tell me. "About ten acres around the house and a few fields further down the lane." He actually looked at me as he said it and for the first time I noticed he had absolutely stunning blue eyes which really complemented his blond, slightly unkempt hair.
"Wow that's a hell of a garden." I replied, impressed. "That little bird house is going to get lost in there."
"Maybe I'll build your little fortress and hang that from a tree." He joked with a smile that was starting to melt me, and then turned away sheepishly.
"So, what other lessons do you have? I only see you in here and CDT, are we in any others together?" Forget the restraining order; here comes a wall the Germans could help me topple. Surprisingly though he pulled out his timetable and I saw we also had chemistry together on Wednesdays, but I didn't remember seeing him in there last week so I asked him about it.
"I wasn't in school last Wednesday," He replied, "I had a bit of a problem at home." He looked a little embarrassed and hunched down again. He seemed to be making a habit of that but it was quite endearing yet slightly annoying at the same time. I wanted him to be comfortable enough around me that he could tell me anything without worrying about being judged.
"Well I was sitting by myself in there last week so if you want to make me feel less lonely I won't stop you." I said, trying to look pitiful, and he agreed which made my heart flutter. The rest of the lesson was pretty uneventful but I did notice Josh glance over my way a couple of times which I just put down to him seeing if I was making notes as much as he was. As the lesson ended there was the general crush of people trying to escape as quick as possible and I noticed Josh had managed to dash out before anyone else. He must have sprinted for the door while I had reached down to grab my bag as I never even saw him leave.
At lunch I sat at our usual table and Luke was the first to join me.
"So how was your history lesson? Was a certain stalking victim in there?" He asked as I could feel my face go flush.
"Where's Sam?" I countered, trying to change the subject.
"Nice dodge. Pity you're not that good when there's a ball flying towards you." He said with a grin, "Now answer the question."
"Ok fine, he was in there." I replied turning into the human equivalent of a tomato.
"And did you get to flirt with him?"
"Is it that obvious?" I asked.
"Is what obvious?" Sam asked as he joined us.
"That he's got the hots for Josh." Luke replied casually as I looked round for a good place to die.
"Oh that?" Sam said, "Totally, why else would you be getting us to look for him? Anyway, I found out where he is right now."
"Where!?!?" I asked a little too eagerly. The twins gave each other a coy smile and Sam replied,
"He's in the library. SIT DOWN!!" He commanded as I started to rise, "Miss Potts, the librarian, said he's always in there outside of lessons. She said he just reads quietly so she lets him stay in there and doesn't disturb him." I wanted to dash off to the library right there and then but Sam warned me that he was obviously there to get away from everyone. The last thing he'd want would be me crashing in on somewhere that gave him sanctuary and I reluctantly agreed. I decided to change the subject to get my mind off Josh. We talked about my little adventure over the weekend but I completely left out the part about the path beyond the tree trunks and stuck to telling them about the main pathway to the left. I was curious to see if they asked me about it but when they never did I just assumed they didn't even know about it.
The last lesson of the day was computer science and the teacher wanted me to say behind briefly as he'd seen I had an aptitude for them. Naturally the best way to reward me for that brilliance would be to give me more work. Bastard!! I left the building later than normal and noticed Josh ahead of me just leaving the school grounds. I called out to him and he turned around with that usual, fearful look which then seemed to mellow as he realised it was me. Clearly he was scared about having to deal with people but maybe he was starting to get used to me being around. He waited as I caught up and I said I'd walk home with him, not really giving him much choice. I wasn't really sure what to talk about and he didn't seem to know either so we were quiet for a minute, then I couldn't stand it anymore and just asked the first thing that came to mind.
"So were you born here?" Came tumbling out with me mentally kicking myself for sounding like a complete dick. He gave me a quizzical `what the fuck?' look so I tried again, "I mean have you lived here all your life?" Well rescued Alex.
"Oh, errr no," He replied. "I moved here when I was about four...after my dad died." He said the last part so quietly I nearly missed it.
"Oh...shit...sorry, so is it just you and your mum now?" I asked, hoping I wasn't stirring up too many bad memories.
"Sort of. We moved to my grandparent's farm as they're pretty well off and mum needed someone to look after me while she went to work." He explained. As we walked Josh told me about various things along the route. I'd been here just under two weeks and I really didn't know much about the place so he filled me in on the details of the various landmarks on the way home. When we arrived at our road I asked if he wanted to come over to mine. At first he seemed like he might say yes but then looked like he'd remembered something and said he'd have to get home. I watched as he trudged away with his head down, almost like he was disappointed.
"Hey Josh!!" I called without thinking. He turned around and had that same panicked face again, he really must be scared of having his name called. "Same time tomorrow, at the school gates?" He relaxed, smiled and nodded then seemed to perk up and bound home.
Tuesday couldn't go fast enough for me. I was tempted to go to the library at lunch but decided to play it cool and eat with the twins as usual, even though it pained me to do it. I told them all about my walk home with Josh and how he'd started to open up slightly to me and they fixed each other with sly grins like they knew what the other was thinking.
"What?" I asked
"You've got it bad mate." Replied Sam, "Next you'll be scribbling little love hearts with Josh and Alex on your books."
"At least you two don't mind me being gay, I was going to tell you guys much later but then all this happened." I blushed.
"What do you mean you're gay?" Asked Luke looking really surprised, "We thought you were a girl and Josh was a boy you were crushing on."
"Yeah, we only sat with you that first day because we thought you were a new girl we could try our moves on." Sam added.
"Fuck off!!" I squeaked in a voice that went high and betrayed me. Both twins laughed their asses off and Sam was the first to comment,
"Well that didn't disprove anything." And they laughed even harder.
"I hate you two." I sighed with a smile.
At the end of school Josh was waiting for me at the gates, well, he was kinda peeking out from behind the concrete gatepost. He looked a little uneasy at first but then as we started walking and talking he seemed to relax, his posture seeming to straighten up more rather than being hunched over. I noticed now that he was an inch or so taller than me and seemed a little bigger everywhere else. I assumed he did some work on the farm which probably toughened him up a bit.
"So how was today then?" I asked, "Anything interesting happen in your lessons?" He seemed to be pondering the question but then just said,
"Not really." I bet dentists have an easier time pulling teeth.
"What subjects do you like anyway?" I asked again trying to fill the void. He seemed to be taking a while with his answers, like he was thinking about the right thing to say or what I'd want to hear.
"I like CDT I suppose or anything where I'm using my hands." Then he added, "I'm not very smart." In a quiet tone which nearly broke my heart as he seemed to hunch back down again. He didn't seem particularly dim, but I had noticed in our history lessons that he didn't seem to want to ask for help and just muddled along. Maybe I should try to pick up on that in the lessons and support him more.
"Smart's overrated," I said hoping to perk him up. "Plenty of people are better with their hands than with the so called smart subjects. Look at you crafting that birdhouse, I'd have broken all my fingers trying to hammer a nail in but you created the best one I've seen by a mile." He smiled at the thought then turned the question round and asked what I liked. "Well, I'm a bit of a nerd so I like science type things and computers, but I hate sports. We tried tennis today and I swear I missed the ball with every swing, I'm sure my racquet didn't have any strings in it." He giggled at that and seemed to get his posture back.
"You're good at drawing too." He said, "That bird house drawing..."
"Bird fortress." I corrected.
"Ok, the bird fortress drawing was really funny." We both smiled at that then before I knew it I was home. I invited him in again, and again he seemed to consider it but then said he'd have to go home, so I told him I'd see him tomorrow and off he went.
The rest of the week flew by. I sat next to Josh in chemistry on Wednesday and helped him out when he struggled with some things; we didn't need to partner up for any experiments, which was a shame as I really wanted to mess about with some chemicals. I saw him again on Thursday in CDT and again I sat there doodling pictures of my imaginary bird house, while also making a caricature of Mr Lomax when he wasn't looking. What I really wanted to do though was a portrait of Josh while he was working. He looked so at ease and so comfortable creating his masterpiece, and again he seemed to be standing prouder than when he was more intimidated. I slipped him the caricature at the end of the lessons and he burst out laughing which surprised the rest of the class. He'd never drawn attention to himself but now all eyes were suddenly on him. He quickly stuffed the drawing in his bag and made a bolt for the door with everyone looking very confused by what had happened. I saw Brandon laughing with his friends as he looked at the door and I could tell that they were saying something mean about Josh but I had to let that go for now.
At the end of school I waited at the gates for Josh but there was no sign of him. I figured he must have been embarrassed about what happened earlier and rushed home before anyone could see him. On Friday I saw no sign of him in school but Sam checked and he was in the library at lunch. It took all my willpower not to go in there but I decided to skip out of my last lesson early and wait for him at the gates before school let out. No sooner had the bell rang than Josh was out the door and making his way to the gates without stopping to look back.
"Hey Josh!! Wait up!!" I called as he got closer. He seemed a little reluctant at first but then seemed resigned to walking with me. "What happened yesterday? I waited here but you never showed up."
"Oh, I had to get home straight after school." He replied sheepishly. I knew he was lying but I didn't want to make a big deal of it so I decided to change the subject as we walked.
"So what have you got planned for the weekend?" I asked.
"Nothing really, probably just working around the farm." He replied.
"Want to come exploring with me?" I asked cheerfully. "You've probably been to most places around here but it'll be fun for me to have a tour guide."
He seemed to think about it for an awfully long time before just saying, "I dunno." But I wasn't going to give up.
"Come on, it'll be good to spend some time together away from that place," I said pointing back towards the school. "I'll bring a picnic." He smiled at my enthusiasm and said ok as long as his grandpa didn't mind. I gave him my phone number and told him to ring me tonight if he could go and then turned towards my house. I still invited him in even though I knew the answer but I wouldn't give up trying.
I spent the next hour switching between doing my homework and pacing around my room, cursing the fact that I stupidly hadn't asked for his number. My parents soon arrived home with some food so I went down and ate with them. I lost track of time with eating and talking about my day but when the phone finally rang I quickly grabbed the cordless and ran up to my room before my parents even had a chance to answer it. I saw a local number on the display and knew it had to be him. Taking a deep breath I tentatively answered it.
"Hi, it's...uh...Josh."
"Hi, what's up?" I asked, trying to sound cool and not like I'd worn a groove in my bedroom floor.
"I checked with my grandpa and he said we could meet up tomorrow." I was trying my hardest to stay calm, even though I wanted to cheer down the phone.
"Cool, what time do you want me to come up to yours?"
"I've got some jobs to do first thing so maybe 10?"
"Sounds good. I'm bringing some sandwiches with me; want me to make you some too?"
"I'll bring my own if that's ok."
"Ok, no worries."
"Good, ok...I'll see you tomorrow then." He hung up without even giving me a chance to say goodbye but I didn't care; I was getting to spend the day with Josh and that was all that mattered.
I could barely contain my excitement but it was mixed with nervousness. How would we be all day together? Would we have enough to talk about? Would we even have anything in common? And then the biggest question, was he even gay and into me or am I just setting myself up for a heartbreak? I tried not to think about it and just did what I always had to take my mind off things; I took out some paper to draw. Without really paying attention or having a plan I just started doodling. At first it was just a random figure but then as I started to add more detail the guy began to look more and more like Josh, even if he was a bit cartoony.
"Who's that?" I nearly screamed as my mum came up behind me and asked that. "Sorry, I came up to see if you'd finished with the phone."
"Oh...yeah, it's by the bed." I said scrambling to put the drawing away. Then she smiled and said,
"What've you got planned for tomorrow? Your father and I are off to the city shopping if you want to come."
"No thanks," I replied, "I'm going out with a friend tomorrow." She looked a little surprised.
"Friend? Singular? Which twin?" She asked knowing I'd mentioned them a few times since school started.
"Neither, it's a guy called Josh from up the road." I replied.
"Is he the one in the picture?" She asked with a smile.
"MUM!!" She put her hands up in surrender.
"Ok, sorry I asked. Don't stay up too late then; if you're yawning all day he'll think he's boring you." She smiled and grabbed the phone before we said our goodnights. I checked the clock and it was nearly 11. I jumped into bed eager to get to sleep so tomorrow would come quicker. After an hour and a half of trying to get comfortable and clock watching I was finally exhausted enough to fall asleep.