"So, let me get this straight. What you're telling me," they pointed at themselves, "is that you," and then at Jericho, "told him you loved him and then dipped?"

Abel drew their eyebrows together and squinted at him while pulling their burgundy locs into a bun. The brown-haired boy paused for a moment and then nodded his head, regretting it as soon as a small hand made contact with the back of his head with an audible "smack." They rolled their eyes and finished applying their chapstick.

"Dumb. Ass."

The pep rally had ended a few minutes ago, and they were sitting in the cafeteria now. Jericho had spilled the beans about his relationship with Joseph during the pep rally to Abel.

It turns out they already knew about half of it, they share a class with Michael and Joseph, and well, those two aren't exactly quiet. So, they unwillingly get the inside scoop on everything, and so does everyone else in there, apparently.

He scooted away from them while covering his nape, "ok, but did you have to hit me?" A few of the nearby students that turned to look at them had already gone back to their conversations or doing whatever task they previously were—nosy.

"Besides, what was I supposed to do? Stand there like a fool and wait for him to say it back? He looked just about as shocked and confused as I did, and it came out of my mouth."

He said plainly, grabbing his phone off the table and scrolling through Twitter for a few minutes until a message came through. It was Joseph, asking where he was. He dismissed the text and turned do not disturb on as fast as he could, pretending he didn't even see it.

"Yes, dumbass."

But, after a few more minutes, their head popped up from their screen, and cedar brown eyes wandered behind him for a moment; they smirked.

"The only white boy at this school finer than Mr. Whitaker, at your six. Now you have another chance."

"What—"

Before he could turn around, a voice he recognized almost too well for his own good mumbled into his ear, "I know you saw my text, 'Cho." the blond's beard gently scratching against the side of his neck.

"Abel."

Joseph nodded in their direction with a genuine smile, and they gave him one in return. There was some sort of hidden agenda unfolding, and he didn't like it.

'Did they—?!'

"You told him I was here?"

The red-head titled their head with wide eyes and a pout, shrugged, and then went back to playing a game on their phone.

"Mm, I texted them first. Figured y'all would be together I just didn't know where and you love ignorin' my messages," he kissed his cheek and then sat down next to him with his back facing the table, "Stop runnin' away from me, and I won't have to ask mutual friends to help hunt you down." And rested an arm on top of it.

Jericho also didn't like how he drawled the word "love" in that sentence, so he pretended not to hear that either. He was still annoyed with Abel for telling the quarterback where they were and scared about Joseph bringing up the other L-word situation.

But, if it was one thing he was reasonably good at, it was not letting a single one of those emotions show on his face. He'd tell him everything later. Right now, he needed to get it together before he says or does something silly again. It wasn't easy, though, at least not with Joseph looking at him like that.

A wide smile and even softer eyes, like Jericho was all his to cherish and protect, his open adoration was both terrifying and the best thing in the world. Joey always spoiled him with attention and affection, he'd probably be miserable without it.

What was more nerve-wracking was that he felt the same way. Probably looked at the blond with the same dopey expression on his face earlier when he said he loved him, too. Joseph never made anything easy for him, but he knew he wasn't the easiest puzzle to solve either.

"I have somethin' for you."

The brown-haired boy just now noticing the Alamance football team's navy blue and cream away Jersey slung over his broad shoulder when he removed it.

"A lot of the guys on the team mentioned they were lettin' their partners wear the away jersey for our first important game of the year. You don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought it'd be... cute; I don't know."

The tips of his ears were red, and he used his free hand to rub the back of his neck; this was the Joseph he adored, shy and considerate. He snatched the big shirt out of his hand immediately.

Pulling it on and over his head carefully so he didn't mess up his hair and then the turtleneck he was wearing. After Jericho finished adjusting it, he laughed. It was a little big in the shoulders but not enough to tell.

"It matches—"

He smiled but before he could look back up, there was a hand on the back of his neck squeezing just where he liked it and soft lips on his. His heart dropped for half a second, but his body moved faster than his mind for once, with no second thoughts or doubts holding him back.

He closed his eyes and returned the kiss, in front of Abel, half of the student body, and God himself because fuck it, why not? He loved this Joseph too. Cocky, bold, and he does whatever the hell he wants.

They parted before things could get too wild in the middle of the cafeteria, though. The quarterback pressed his forehead against his, skin surprisingly cool, and spoke quietly.

"Sorry. I know how you feel about me pullin' shit like this at school, but you're so damn pretty I couldn't help it. And... I know that I can be stubborn and intense and a little crazy, but I'm in love with you, Jericho. And I'm not afraid anymore."

—————————————————

The scene unfolding before his eyes had to have been straight out of a cheesy high-school drama. Alamance and Northview were tied 49-49; Joseph's booming voice could still be heard over all the noise as he called the hike. Sixty-seconds left, he started keeping track after the clock stopped at the five-minute mark.

"Ten twenty, hut!"

There was the sound of a whistle and gear crashing together, and then the game was in motion. It happened fast. Michael successfully intercepted the bob cat's pass and tossed it to the blond, who snatched it out of the air and took off in a mad sprint—dodging one, two, of the opposing team's players and then weaving through the rest of them.

The bleachers were in an absolute frenzy when he slammed the football down in the touchdown zone with mere seconds left. Jericho let out the breath he was holding and laughed quietly when the other boy did a backflip and flexed to celebrate.

His teammates were swarming him at the end of the field afterward. As soon as the referee signaled the end of the game, they started growling and barking at the other team as they walked off the field.

It was the weirdest thing in the world, but it was tradition; their school's mascot was a bulldog, after all. Sure enough, the people in the stands had begun to do the same thing until the entire surrounding area was filled with what sounded like hundreds of wild dogs.

Jericho wasn't a massive fan of the sport, his dad was crazy about it, though and that was probably why he wasn't. The energy in the stadium was exhilarating, though, and he couldn't deny that he wanted to join them at one point. It almost managed to warm him up.

It was only autumn, but it was already freezing, and the wind had to be temperature's best friend because all it managed to do was make it colder. He grew up in Brooklyn, and he'd switched out his turtleneck for a hoodie, cargo pants, and Joseph's jersey, but with this weather combination? It didn't mean jack.

Back when he and joseph were thick as thieves, though, he'd go to nearly every game, the out-of-state tournaments being an exception. Weather be damned. The blond would always beg him to go to those as well, though, offering to drive and everything. He would say something along the lines of "I play my best when I know you're watching me." with a wink and a goofy-ass smile on his face.

He was super corny back then, but it was cute, and so was Joseph, so he didn't joke him about it too much. It made him wonder about the number of times he was serious and thought the other boy was just teasing him. Jericho didn't know how to feel about all the times he'd brushed him off after saying things like that.

But how could he have known? Everybody liked the quarterback in tenth grade, most of them still do. He's a natural flirt, and he loves attention, so it's not like he didn't indulge them either.

But he'd also admitted, unprovoked, that it was nothing more than light-hearted fun, no strings attached. Why Joseph felt the need to tell him that years ago was lost on him up until recently.

The way Joseph looked at him was different. His eyes would linger; he couldn't keep his hands to himself for more than five minutes, even the way he smiled around him. These things were subtle, and it happened so often that he couldn't even tell the difference.

It was either that, or his past self was just in denial because thinking back on it now, it was probably embarrassingly obvious to everyone except for him. It didn't matter now. They exchanged the three magic words in the middle of Alamance high school's not-so-magical cafeteria, and the rest was history.

Joseph still has a little explaining to do about his injuries, and Jericho needs to tell him about Zeke, and then everything would be fine and good. Hopefully.

The brown-haired boy looked around for the quarterback, eventually spotting him near the mob of cheerleaders and a couple of other players. He was talking to Jessica, but it looked more like she was chatting his ear off, and Johanna was laughing at his annoyed expression.

Jericho frowned as he watched the shorter girl wrap her arms around his bicep and glue herself to his side, the blond looked uncomfortable now, but he was trying not to show it. Always the people pleaser. Jealousy was an ugly little thing that settled into his chest and started burning him from the inside out.

More than that, Joseph wasn't a trophy, a decoration, or a thing to be had. So, Jericho stood up, shoved his fists in his pockets, and pulled his hood on over his durag in a half-assed attempt to warm himself up.

Then, made his way down the bleachers and over to where they were. As soon as he was close enough, he cut his eyes at Jessica and mean-mugged her until she noticed. He probably looked more intimidating than he thought because she averted her eyes quickly.

Jericho snickered under his breath, "Must've been the hood." and waited near the fence, he's never liked her, and he knows she doesn't enjoy his presence, either. Joseph was so laser-focused on trying to get away from the twins that he didn't notice Jessica's little freakout or him standing a few feet away.

"Baby."

Jericho pouted and called out to him, his head snapped up, and he jogged over after prying the red-haired girl from his body. Gingerly removing his helmet and holding it against his hip with one arm. Somehow looking even better with all the sweat dripping down his skin, hair plastered to his forehead, and a busted nose.

His smile was contagiously beautiful. Huge, pearly whites biting down on his bottom lip, and eyes glittering in the stadium lights. It was almost too easy to tell that Joseph had nothing but genuine love for the sport, he played others, but football was definitely his favorite.

Jericho probably didn't have the best expression on his face, though, because the other boy's smile dropped, furrowed brows, and concern replacing it.

"What's the matter?"

Jericho missed his giddy smile already. He cursed himself out and tried to fix his face. The team just beat their rivals in one of the toughest games they'll probably play this year. This wasn't about him.

"Nothing, just a little cold. Congratulations on the win, by the way, I'm proud of you."

He grinned, but Joseph didn't look convinced yet. The quarterback hung his helmet on the fence pole and removed his gloves, pointing at the shorter boy's pockets and holding his hands out, palms up.

"Hands."

Jericho looked up, hands still firmly planted where they were, and a "what?" Look on his face. The blond raised an eyebrow, and after a moment, he gave in, yanking his hands out and back into the cold, harsh world. It didn't last long, though, because two larger, warmer ones soon engulfed them, and the heat came back.

"Better?"

He nodded.

"Thank you for comin' out here to watch me in the freezin' cold, your support means the world to me. Now, what's actually botherin' you?"

He ducked his head, it was a stupid thing to be jealous about, and he didn't want to talk about it. Joseph squeezed his hands and spoke softly.

"You're doin' it again, shuttin' down, 'Cho. Talk to me."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm right here, what's on your mind?"

He wanted to explode. It was overwhelming, the blond's affection, his emotions, all of it. Words of affirmation had to be his love language because this had him melting.

"It's nothing. I... didn't like how Jessica was hanging off of you earlier, but I know she's your friend. I'm not trying to isolate you from friends or anything. That sounded better in my head—"

The blond's eyes widened, and he dropped their hands gently. He didn't say a word, just walked back over toward the girls, who seemed to have been watching them the whole time. Jessica had a knowing smirk on her face now. It felt like ice had been shot down his spine.