Roomies (boyxboy)

Almost the Sleepover

Diego met him outside math class the next day. Cameron turned the corner, walking as slow as he could, although he detested being late more than anything, wondering how he could step foot in that room. He could just close his eyes and the shame he felt yesterday resurfaced. Not just had he exposed his stupidity in class, but he'd also cried. 

 In class. 

 In front of everyone. 

 He, a seventeen year old boy, had cried because he couldn't do a math problem and his teacher yelled at him. All those other kids, those kids who'd witnessed this spectacle. He just couldn't imagine their disgust and disdain for him.

But then there was Diego. Leaning against the banks of lockers near the door. Today he was only wearing a thin white tank top and oversized jeans, with his boxers hanging out. They were pink. His was facing the other direction. Facing the direction Cameron usually came to class, only today he went the long way around. Diego's foot tapped impatiently. The bell would ring in a minute or so.

Cameron smiled and sighed a little to see him. He felt a little spark below his breastbone; he just knew Diego was waiting for him.

And he was.

Cameron approached him, and bumped his shoulder. Diego whiplashed around, ready to snarl, but his face changed from anger in an instant to bright and cheerful, his white teeth gleaming in a huge smile.

"Ay, Chulo!" Diego said, pushing Cameron away, only to grab him around the neck in a chokehold and pull him close. "I wasn't sure you were going to make it."

Cameron grinned, pulling away. Since yesterday, just being around Diego gave him a sense of belonging. Like somehow he knew Diego had his back. It was a weird feeling.  He'd always felt so alone. And it happened so quickly. Yesterday was one of the worst days of Cameron's life. First world problems, he knew, compared to other people who had horrible life experiences. Being shamed by a teacher wasn't that big of a deal. It's just he had flown under the radar his whole life, and then felt like he was pulled in front of the spotlight to highlight his biggest insecurity. But Diego had swooped in and ended it, and had been so kind. Cameron didn't think he would ever forget that.

The two boys regarded each other for a minute. Diego noticed a change in Cameron, he just seemed so open and really really looked at him. Cameron was kind of short, compared to him.  He only came up to his chin or so. His grey eyes looked at him so trustingly. He liked that Cameron's hair just brushed his shoulders. Today he was wearing a Harry Potter shirt, Ravenclaw, black jeans and white converse. One of his backpack straps was twisted, and Diego reached out and set it right, touching Cameron's shoulder. The Latino boy ducked his head, grinned, blushed a little and pulled Cameron into the classroom.

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It had been fine, thank god. Cameron was so relieved to walk out of math without any drama. Mr. Jefferies had just grimaced when he'd seen Cameron and looked the other way. The other kids...nothing. Like it never happened. And he realized that though it was a big moment to him, it was nothing, not a blip, in the other kids' daily lives. He'd just sat there, scribbling notes as usual, understanding next to nothing, as usual. But that was more than fine with him. He was happy to be ignorant in obscurity. The only difference was Diego.

Every few minutes, Diego would glance over at him and nod, like to say...look, it's cool. You're fine. A couple of times, when Jefferies' back was turned, he'd reach over and draw on Cameron's notes, a heart, a star, a sun. Something quick and stupid. Cameron just grinned but was not in the least tempted to return the favor. No amount of money would cause him to attract the teacher's attention.