The Dutch Boy [BxB]

T W E N T Y T H R E E

I could barely look at him as he droned on and on about Queen Elizabeth the first. Images of last weeks events were still flashing through my mind. Every now and then, Mr Gabarro would accidentally make eye contact with me and we'd both turn a deep shade of crimson, breaking the link immediately. Once he came to the conclusion that he'd picked on everybody in the class but one, he reluctantly turned his attention onto me, his shoulders tense, his eyes darting around the classroom nervously.

"So, Mr Bakker, why was it so hard-difficult," He corrected with a forced cough, "for people to accept Elizabeth as queen?"

I almost choked on his wording. Did he really have to correct himself? Was that really necessary? "She was a woman." I replied shortly, "And she was illegitimate due to her mother." I grumbled.

He nodded stiffly, hastily turning back to the class as I let out a sigh of relief. Sam nudged me, grabbing my attention. "What the fuck is going on?" She hissed. "Gabarro can barely make eye contact with you."

I shrugged innocently, "I don't know, maybe he's jealous of my beauty. Or maybe he has a little crush on me, I've always thought of him as a bit of a pervert."

She rolled his eyes, "Mr Gabarro isn't a faggot, he has a wife-"

"What?" I snapped, my anger boiling at her words. Maybe I shouldn't have been so offended, but I couldn't help it. That word stung. "W-Why would you say that?" I asked thickly.

She frowned, flicking her eyes briefly back to the teacher to check he hadn't caught us talking. But I think I'd earned a free pass with this guy. I could do whatever I wanted in his lessons from this day forward and he'd probably still feel too awkward to give me detention. "What? That he has a wife...?" Sam queried, confused.

"You shouldn't call people faggots." I was surprised I'd even mustered the courage to confront her about it. Part of me just wanted to blindly agree, but a bigger part of me was fuming. I knew this was dangerous, especially when I was trying so hard to keep Theo hidden, but I wasn't sure I could let this slide.

"I wasn't?" She laughed faintly at my reaction, "I said he's not a faggot. It's a compliment, Luca."

"You shouldn't use that word at all." I snapped. "And how is that compliment? Being gay isn't a bad thing, Sam."

She shrugged, "I didn't say it was, it's just...you know..." She trailed off.

"It's what?" I demanded.

She hesitated, "Dudes fucking dudes, girls fucking girls. I don't know...it doesn't sit right with me."

"It doesn't have to." I hissed, making a conscious effort to keep my voice down in fear of arousing the suspicion of the whole class. "People can do whatever they want, they don't need your approval."

"Jesus, calm the fuck down, you sound like a cocksucker yourself-"

"And that would be bad?" I laughed humourlessly, "I'd somehow be a different person if I liked guys?"

She rose her brows, looking completely stunned and taken aback for a moment, "Do you?"

"No." I spat, a little too harshly. "But you know Theo's my friend, so why would you say something like that?" I questioned sharply. I had been mentioning Theo to my friends more and more. But as far as they were concerned, he was nothing more than that; a friend.

Sam's face fell in guilt, her eyes softening, "Sorry." She mumbled. "So...when can we meet him?" She nudged me playfully, as if trying to make up for her words by changing the subject as quickly as possible.

"I don't know - never?" I suggested.

She opened her mouth to protest but was cut off by the bell blaring above us, ringing in our ears and echoing around the room. After snatching up my stuff, I practically sprinted out of class, eager to put as much distance between Mr Gabarro and I as possible. Sam was faintly calling after me, but I ignored her, bolting down the corridor to head for my locker. Thankfully, it was the end of the day. That meant only a couple of hours of football practice stood between me and going home.