THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE NERD [2]

53

||JACKSON||

It's been almost 3 days later after coming out, both intentionally and accidentally. Damian opened up quite fast and didn't mind at all, well, as long as I didn't do any weird intimate stuff while he slept. That's fine with me. Although, we're getting along pretty nicely actually, he's a chill guy. On the other hand, I've been too scared to contact Ethan, and again, it's been a while since we've messaged either. My hands would always shake just as soon as I saw his number on my contact list.

Perhaps this is just a sign that we aren't meant to be together.

I let out a sigh, sitting down on a bench inside the garden. Rather peaceful in here. It's warm, the sun shined through and glimmered across the flowers and the sprinklers were set on. The sight of colorful plants and the mixture of water sprayed over with a formed rainbow. I stared calmly. Ever since my secret came out, I would visit here more often. Ethan is what makes me so damn happy, but now that we haven't talked for quite some time, I'd visit this place since it's the second thing that kept my sanity. It pains me to even think of him, just to remind the feeling of loneliness. Shaking off the thoughts, I closed my eyes and leaned back on the bench.

-

Classes resumed, and there was an upcoming quarter test. Gazing on my notebook with sentences drought down, I wasn't even taking in the information. I'm in the dorms and Damian is on his bed studying with a book he had borrowed from the library. Occasionally, he would glance up, noticing my bothered expression. At some point, he spoke, "you okay dude?" He said with concern.

"Erm... yeah," that didn't sound convincing at all. Obviously, it wasn't hard to pick up how I felt. Tapping a finger on his chin, it seemed like Damian was thinking for a moment. A few seconds later, he began packing all of his belongings and placed them aside. Getting up, he stretched out his back, letting out a little grunt before turning towards me, "let's get out of here."

Raising a brow, "huh, what do you mean?"

"I mean, let's take a break from this shitty study room. You look depressed man," he grumbles and shuffled his foot, "plus, I can't stand reading quietly when that fridge is buzzing even just the tiniest bit," he grins, walking towards the door and motioned me to follow him. Head perked up, this was an unusual invitation, but it's rather a nice excuse to help me from being gloomy. Nodding, I stood up from my chair and trailed behind him.

Soon, We both get in his car as he starts driving off outside from campus.

-

Damian couldn't think of a spot to hang out, rather we were just having a decent joyride. Eventually, we stumbled near the mall without even thinking. The two of us decided to just walk around in there and go with the flow. What matters is that we get loose and relaxed. We may be wasting precious time and could be preparing for a massive quiz, but I do want to take a break.

Not that surprising, the building isn't that crowded when we arrived. It is the weekdays after all. Damian walked beside me silently, but there wasn't any uncomfortable tension surrounding us. We passed by different shops. At a point, my eyes caught the attention of a particular place from my peripheral. I stopped my tracks, and Damian did so too, "whatcha looking at?" He tilted his head, eyeing my line of sight.

"I wanna check something," I said, jogging over to the same comic book and anime store. Opening the doors, a bell chimes and I walked in, seems that Damian came along as I heard footsteps from behind. My eyes scanned around the numerous display of volumes. The shelves appeared to be organized in a neat fashion and I searched for a specific manga with immense focus. Damian chuckles behind me, "wow Jack, didn't think you'd be a nerd for this too. Got any more secrets I need to know?" He says.

A couple of minutes passed and they didn't really look like they have what I wanted, "what the hell? Swear they had a poster advertising it a while back," A frown makes way to my face.

"Hello sir, do you need help?" The salesperson came up to me. Wondering, I could ask for a bit of assistance. Though, I was about to open my mouth to tell but realized it might be embarrassing to say what it is. Panning from Damian to the clerk, I shook my head with a bashful blush, "a-ahh, it's fine, maybe I'll come back another time," waving my hand to decline with an awkward grin.

-

"Why wouldn't you take their favor?" Damian leered with suspicion, slurping a spoonful of caramel and toffee ice cream. We settled down in a cozy cafe after wandering around.

"Nothing, really, I didn't want to bother them," Laughing it off, but it was disappointing on the inside not gonna lie. Seeing his choice of snack, it was sort of weirding me out. Pointing, "isn't that a bit much for your diet Mr. fitness?"

He grins, "I can go off-coarse once in a while. Plus, it gives me more of a reason to pump iron," flexing his biceps. I rolled my eyes at him. This has been the first time we've spent time together, and it was honestly delightful. It's sort of funny how I haven't had "bro time" for a while. Holding my phone in hand, I was minding my own business and surfed the web. Just then, a notification pops up on my header. Curious I tapped it which sent me to my DMS. "Hm? Who's that?" Damian heard the ring sound, wondering as he asked.

Out of nowhere, Ethan popped up with a text, "hi Jackson, wanna meet up and talk?"