Chapter One - The Note

Bryce grabbed his geometry textbook from his locker and looked around for his chemistry book which should've been directly next to it. He pauses, wondering if he made the common mistake of leaving it under his desk before shrugging and closing the door. He looked around the hallway in hopes of spotting at least one of his friends and with luck he did, he passed a small smile to Johnathan. The slender man gave a slight wave before going back to looking through the crowd of students who had just been let out of class in hopes of finding one particular man, Evan.

As much as Bryce tried to inform Johnathan to lay off the man you'd think he'd listen out of pure annoyance. Wrong. Every day he'd wait for him to come out of class so he could walk to the next one with him and if Bryce was honest he hated it—it mostly resulted in fights between Evan and his girlfriend as well as Evan and Johnathan. Then it'd circle around the group and shit would get wild. Bryce always thought it was a shame he didn't just move on to someone new and stop trying with a dude who was taken already.

With a shrug he pulled his backpack upright on his shoulders and began making his way down the long, crowded hallways to his class where he'd have to sit and listen to his teacher ramble about something that genuinely didn't matter nor bring anything to the table of geometry. Someone would get him on a completely different subject and there it would stay for the rest of class, not that Bryce minded though. It still passed his time in the class and he still got credit for it.

"LOOK OUT!"

Bryce was snapped back to reality when a tall man smacked into him and sent him tumbling to the floor. His first reaction was apologize and scramble to pull himself together but he stopped himself immediately. Why're you apologizing? He ran into you! Be mad at him! He thought to himself as he blinked repeatedly in both confusion and somewhat anger.

"Sorry man I didn't see you there! That's completely my fault." A male voice chuckled out, "Let me help you up."

Bryce looked up at the hand that was held out before swallowing the lump in his throat and taking it, "T-Thanks." In that moment the stranger and him both locked eyes and he found himself mute to everything around him except his beating heart. Hazel eyes seemed to pour their way into his soul and though he could see the man's lips moving he had no idea what he was saying. He only knew one thing in that moment and it was that this man, this clumsy man, was hot.

As the man got distant from him he came back to reality and realized he had been holding the man's gaze since the incident and now the guy was leaving him standing there with his mouth open slightly and his face red with embarrassment, he quickly turned away from the man who was now shaking his head with a smile.

Bryce approached his class to which he was now three minutes late for and ran a hand through his golden locks, a flustered sigh leaving his thin lips. His heart was still beating like crazy and his mind seemed to be doing fast laps in circles because it felt fried with both embarrassment and aggravation. With a shake of his head he grabbed the doorknob and took a deep breath before stepping inside, the class going silent at his entrance.

"Ah McQuaid," the teacher called with a small grin, "how nice of you to finally join us. I knew my favorite student wouldn't be late."

Bryce just gave an awkward wave before taking his seat behind a girl with short pastel pink hair, she looked behind her for a moment before looking back at the board. As his teacher began to ramble on Bryce closed his eyes and laid his head on the open textbook, closing his eyes for a moment. It was the moment where you're asleep but you're really not. He could hear everything being said and one thing caught his attention.

"So lets use an example that relates to today. Some people have different sexual wants or needs. Some like the same sex, others the opposite, and some can't decide so they go both ways. Just like this line here, it is different and depending on how you approach it's difficult...like my last relationship." The teacher explained jokingly. This topic made Bryce uneasy and he could feel people begin to move their gazes towards him. Everyone knew he was gay but for some reason people chose to pick on him for it. Maybe it was him lying repeatedly throughout middle school about it.

For Johnathan and others it had never been a problem but for Bryce, it had always been the same. Not being great friends with Johnathan's crush put him at a major disadvantage and he knew it. Before meeting Johnathan he'd always be sent to the nurses office and it had gotten to the point where the principal had a discussion with his mother, which didn't end well. She got him bullied more for saying something but whenever he met Johnathan his life changed. Maybe it was because of popularity or maybe it was because he had someone other than himself for once—he couldn't tell you if you asked.

Bryce got a tap on the shoulder which caused him to awaken from his slumber and look up where he was met with green eyes. The girl in front of him was there by his side pointing at the clock which indicated it was time to leave. He gave her a small thanks before pulling himself up and out of the chair, making his way to the door.

As soon as he passed the door he hurried down the hallways before nearly bumping into someone causing him to fix his gaze forward. Ok I need to not bump into anyone else again.

He continued his way to the lunchroom before stopping to pick up Jon who rambled on about how how cute his teacher was and how the assignment he had gotten was ridiculous because no one even passed the test on the subject. Once they were in the cafeteria Bryce and Jon took their casual seats which were facing each other, a small smirk appearing on his lips as he thought of teasing the man.

"So Jon," he calls, "plan on going against me again in Golf with your friends?"

Jonathan's eyes went wide and he shook his head, "Hell no! You know all tha tricks man!"

Bryce snickered in response but as soon as their friends started to arrive the chatting between them came to almost a complete stop. It always fascinated Bryce how close the boys were when no one was around but as soon as others came around they were very distant. Almost like he was just being used.

"Hey man, why ta fock is that dude o'ere staring at ye Bryce?" David said, glaring at the man across the table. "Ya know ta one with ta grey hoodie."

Bryce almost wished he hadn't followed the man's gaze because now his eyes were warped into another demotion. Ocean eyes locked with hazel ones in a mixture of both embarrassment and curiosity, sending Bryce's train of thought spinning. With a quick gesture of his hand to his face he choked out the words, "I-I don't know..."

David just smirked wickedly and elbowed his arm lightly, "Oh I think he likes ye Bryce." He gave a wiggle to his eyebrows as those words slipped out.

Bryce shook his head with a wild grin, "No he doesn't I don't even know him.."

"Oh hell I know who that is," Cartoonz said, glancing at Ryan. His gaze sending a shockingly strong glare to the man nibbling on his sandwich while staring heavily at Bryce.