:October 7th, XX46; Monday.

:MAJOR EVENT.

•~~~~•

"To end today's lesson off, I'm going to be explaining your homework for tonight."

Joe leaned back in his chair, staring up ahead of him as his English teacher began to write something on the whiteboard. God, he hated English class- which was surprising, because usually gay kids love their English teachers. But his teacher sure didn't seem to like him. So it was just boring.

"You are going to be writing a paragraph map for an in-class essay you'll have to write tomorrow."

The class groaned, Joe included. Essays were one thing, but having to write them in class with everyone else in the room and only having about forty-five minutes to do it? That was just bad. It was stupid.

"I am going to post your topic on Google Classrooms during lunch, if you have any questions about it feel free to email me. You may pack up, don't leave until the bell rings."

Joe got his stuff together just then and hovered by his desk, scrolling through his phone since he only really had acquaintances in that class. At least lunch was next, he could talk to his friends there.

The bell rang and Joe got moving, he had to walk to another building but he got to lunch soon enough. His two friends were at their usual table, Oliver on his phone and Sage literally bouncing up and down in his seat.

"You good, dude?" Joe asked as he sat down. Sage beamed at him.

"Okay, okay- all my horoscopes for the past week and a half have been saying something good was gonna happen to me soon. I know it means today. I know it."

"Why today?"

"The cast list is going up, dumb-ass," Sage began tapping his feet on the ground, looking towards the cafeteria door. "The director is gonna walk right by that door on his way to where he puts the cast list up. I'm waiting to see him so I can follow him over to where it is."

"That's... extra."

Oliver smiled and shook his head, before looking at Joe. "Well, how was English?"

Joe rolled his eyes. "We have an in-class essay tomorrow."

"What? Oh, darn. That's not gonna be fun. What's it on?"

"He said he'd put the topic on Google Classrooms during lunch, so..." Joe's phone suddenly dinged. "Oh, there it is."

After opening the notification, Joe showed his screen to Oliver, knowing Sage was too busy focusing on the door to care about the essay.

"Okay, he gave us four options, uh- oh, no, these are all about Hamlet."

Oliver sighed in relief. "I actually enjoyed that book, maybe this won't be as hard as I thought."

"It was way too boring for me, I've been reading SparkNotes since chapter three."

"What? Joe, we've taken two quizzes on the book, and you said you got an 84 and an 87."

"Yep. I'm just good like that."

"Well I don't think you can write an essay about a book you didn't read."

Joe smirked. "Watch me."

"Holy shit- there he is!"

Sage practically sprang out of his seat as soon as he finished talking, Oliver and Joe immediately making confused eye contact as he began to speed walk to the lunch room door. The two got up to follow him.

They walked to where they knew the cast list was being put up, and saw the director walking away from it, Sage then coming out from behind a corner. As Joe and Oliver got up to where he was, he suddenly gasped, turning to look at the both of them.

"I got Jack!" he beamed, shaking his hands back and forth in excitement a bit. Joe smiled back at him, and so did Oliver.

"Great job, Sage, you deserve it," Joe said.

"Ooo, all of these roles are so well casted, though. Ugh, I'm so excited. And it says at the bottom that we're doing a read-through tomorrow after school... and all rehearsals will be Tuesdays and Thursdays from now on until tech week."

"I don't know what half of those words mean, I'm not used to this stuff," Oliver giggled.

"All of the characters in this play are being played by good people. Tomorrow's rehearsal will just be all the actors reading out loud their parts in the script together in the auditorium and the rest of practices will happen Tuesdays and Thursdays, until the final week before the show where we'll probably have practice every single night. Make sense?" Joe translated. Oliver nodded, and after Sage geeked out about his new theatre roll a bit more, the three began to head on back to their lunch room table.

On the way back in, though, Joe saw someone- Noah. Which wasn't a big deal because he'd seen him everywhere, but him and Oliver brushed shoulders on accident as they were walking in opposite directions, and they both smiled at each other.

...Why did that bother him so much, though?

•~~~~•

"Sage?"

"Yeah-huh?"

Joe fiddled with his fingers as he stared at his best friend- they were now in study hall, with nothing really to do, but since lunch Joe wasn't able to get Oliver and Noah off his mind. Of course, one of those people were always in his thoughts, but the other was a new happening.

"Uh... so, you know that one Noah guy Oliver was talking about?"

"No? When?"

"Like... I can't even remember, a week ago, maybe?"

"Oh, right. Yeah, I remember now. I think. Noah Garcia?"

"Him, yup."

"Ah. What about him?"

Joe gulped. "...You think Oliver has a crush on him?"

Sage blinked and then chuckled. "Oliver and Noah? No way. I know Noah, and I mean, he's a good guy but definitely not Oliver's type. At least not what I'm aware of."

"Yeah, I agree, I'm just kinda... I don't know how to describe my emotions right now." Joe laughed a bit.

"You're probably just jealous, dude. I can ask Oliver if he likes him if that'll make you feel better, we have class together next period."

"Oh, seriously? Thank you so much. Just tell me what he says when we're walking home from school."

"Gotcha."

And so, Joe went throughout the rest of the day anxiously awaiting that walk home with Sage, luckily able to take his mind off of it when he was in science and working with Oliver on their project, which now seemed like it would be pretty much complete by, perhaps, November 4th, which was not an overly specific date for any reason at all.

When the school day did end, Sage and Joe got on their way home pretty quickly.

"So..? What's he say?" Joe asked as soon as he was able to muster up the courage to do so.

"Who?"

"Oliver. About Noah."

"Oh, right. You're good, he said he doesn't like him like that."

Joe blinked and then sighed a huge sigh of relief. "My god- thank you for asking for me."

Sage chuckled. "You're welcome."

"Did he say anything else, or-?"

"Nah. I mean, class started soon after I asked, so if he was gonna he didn't have time to."

"Fair enough."

Eventually, Sage got to his house and Joe was left walking home alone, which felt really odd for a reason he couldn't place.

"Hey, Joseph."

Until his two favorite uncles appeared out of nowhere at his side, of course. Joe jumped a bit at the sudden noise, leading Remy to laugh at him.

"Uh- hi. Wow."

"You're easy to scare, huh? Sorry it took so long for us to get to you, we had, like... seven patients today or something. A shit-ton. I was so bored."

"I thought you liked your job?" Emile asked.

"I love it, because it gives me more time to spend with you, not because I enjoy sitting at a desk for hours at a time."

"Fair enough," Joe mumbled.

"How was school?" Emile asked.

"It was good. Had some good news."

"Ooh, bitch, spill."

Joe chuckled. "Uh, so, remember when I said Oliver might have a crush on this one kid in my class? Well, I got Sage to ask and Oliver doesn't like him."

Remy raised his eyebrows and then smiled, doing some sort of gesture that emphasized him being satisfied with something. "Oh, good, good, my nibbling is one step further away from being a murderer. All is going as I planned."

"I don't know why you keep bringing that up, but uh, yeah, I guess. And rehearsals are starting Tuesdays and Thursdays now, show is still gonna be in the first or second week of November."

"And you and Oliver are doing tech?"

"Yup."

"Oo, yuh, get it, I guess."

"Isn't that an old TikTok trend?"

"All the dead trends come to the ghosts, gurl. But good for you, having more time to spend with your crush."

Joe blushed. "Oh, man, you're right. I'm gonna be alone with him back there a lot... we don't actually have to show up until tech week but I'm gonna show him the ropes early."

"I think you've just sub-consciously found an excuse to hang out with him more, Joe," Emile smiled a bit.

"Awh, damn. You're right."

"Well, we'll both be coming to see it. Since one of Sage's dads is fucking Roman Williams I'm sure he's a good actor. And I wouldn't doubt you have some talent with the tech stuff as well."

Joe smiled. "Awesome, thanks."

•~~~~•
hell yeah. new chapter.

see ya in the next chapter!🎬
~Maxx(SanderShipper)