One of Those Nights (boyxboy)

Chapter 17

"How did you find out you're gay?"

"Well... This one day Ethan went up to me and said 'Dude, my gaydar is going crazy around you.' and then just kissed me. There weren't any romantic feelings but it felt a lot better kissing a dude than when I kissed some girl in middle school for a dare."

Tommy types down my answer and I lean back with a sigh, my eyes trained on the ceiling. He takes a long ass time each time claiming that he wants to use the perfect words to bring out the best of my answers.

Suddenly the bell rings and Tommy curses loudly. He sends me an apologetic look and starts collecting his stuff. "I'm sorry but I've still got a few questions to go, could we continue this after school?" he asks hopefully. I shake my head as I sling my bag over my shoulder. "I've got band pract-" I stop in the middle of my sentence. I have fucking band practice.

I drop my face into the palms of my hands and grown loudly. "What's wrong?" Tommy asks. "I have band practice and I forgot my guitar." I say, my voice a bit muffled by my hands. Tommy just laughs at me and pats my back. "Relax, my brother's in that too and he's been freakishly happy since he finally got the lead guitar cause Roland wanted you to sing or something. So I think it's fine that you forgot your guitar." he tells me.

With furrowed eyebrows I turn towards him. "Seriously? Roland's gonna make me sing? What an asshole." I complain. I don't mind singing in public or anything. But I do mind... Well, actually I don't really mind that much at all.

"I can wait for you until after practice and then we can go get something to drink?" Tommy offers. Damn the deadline for that interview must be very near. "Sure." I tell him. Then I head to my next class.

When I arrive at band practice I immediately head over to Roland. He's our conductor by the way. The guy's still in his early twenties and really easy to get along with. "You really making me sing, Roland?" I ask him with an amused grin. He puts down the coffee he was drinking and nods vigorously. "Yes! You know how we got a new principle this year? She wants to clean up the mess that fight last week left on our school's reputation. So we're doing a little project that will even be recorded semi professionally by the kids from the film club and put on the school website and some social platforms."

I give him a blank stare. "Wow, thanks, no pressure at all. This is nice though cause I actually forgot to bring my guitar." I tell him. Roland just laughs and slaps me on my back. "You'll be fine Reiss. Here's the sheets."

My eyes spot the title and I hand the papers back immediately. "I don't need sheets for this." I tell him and walk up to the microphone stand while the other kids set up their instruments. Drops of Jupiter is my jam! My eyes scan the room until they land on the seat of the lead guitar. The guy sitting there should be Tommy's brother. They have the same light brown hair and dark eyes, but their facial and body structure is very different. I honestly can't tell which one of them is older. And while Tommy kind of resembles a stick, this guy is clearly buff and works out. I hope his grip isn't too strong, I don't want his guitar to get hurt.

Roland taps his conducting stick against his music stand to gather our attention. He gives the first two counts so we get the speed right and the song takes off. I honestly didn't know we had this good of a pianist. Seriously, this girl is nailing the rytm. I close my eyes and start singing.

When the song ends I let out a content sigh and open my eyes again. The other band members actually start clapping for me. I blush slightly at the attention and take a bow. "Thank you!" I yell at them. Roland laughs and shakes his head. We just go over the song a few more times and then we're let off early.

I leave the room and almost walk right into Tommy. I actually almost forgot about him. "You killed it out there!" he exclaims as we start leaving the school. "Thanks." I reply. Then we fall silent until we enter a random coffee shop. I feel like being one of those people and order a hot coco. Tommy seems highly offended by this and I grin smugly at him. "You really order hot chocolate... In a coffee shop." he says. My grin widens. "Yes I do. What you gonna do about it?"

Tommy rolls his eyes and smiles as well now. "I'll come up with something. Just you wait, Reiss, just you wait."

That actually sounds like a scary kind of foreshadowing.

We accept our drinks from the barista and go over to an empty table where Tommy asks me the remaining questions of his interview. When he's done he sighs deeply and packs up his laptop again. "Can I leave already or would that be impolite?" I ask him. Tommy frowns in response. "Am I really such bad company?" he whines. I roll my eyes. "Nah, you're fine. I'm just an ass and don't enjoy sitting still at a table just to drink something." I tell him. He laughs and leans forward on his elbows. "I've noticed. You turn pretty much everything into drums when you have to sit down." he says with an amused twinkle in his eyes. I don't know what to say next so I just awkwardly stare at him and slide my hands off the table since my fingers were restlessly tapping a beat like usual.

"There's just one more thing I need from you before you leave." he says. His entire demeanor just changed and I feel myself tensing up because of the now slightly heavy atmosphere. "And what would that one more thing be?" I ask him with narrowed eyes. He just smiles at me for a moment. Then he leans across the table and pecks me on the lips. I stare at him in disbelief when he sits down in his chair again. What the hell? Another one?

I rest my elbows on the table and hold my head in my hands. A frustrated sigh leaves my lips. Tommy frowns at my reaction. "I'm sorry, did I move too quickly? I didn't mean to startle you or something, I'm sorry..." he rambles but I cut him off. "No you're fine it's just..." I sigh and let go of my head so I can properly look him in the eye. "You're the third guy doing this in pretty much one week and... I don't get why! Why are there suddenly so many guys after me? No one's ever wanted me like that and now there's fucking three of them lining right up one after another like I'm a ferris wheel on a funfair or something. I'm not even attractive, I don't deserve all this attention, Tommy!"

Another sigh leaves my lips and I resume my earlier position. "I'm such a slut." I whisper. "I'm just letting everyone kiss me and do whatever."

Well it's probably not three guys anymore now that I threw this fit at Tommy. I pull my bag off the ground and sling it over my shoulder as I get up to leave. "Reiss wait!" Tommy yells and I pause, turning my head back at him. He walks over to me and grabs a hold of my hands. "Please give me a chance too." he whispers. I feel my eyes going wide. This guy is crazy.

I shake my head and sigh again. "Sure, why not. It's not like I have any dignity left." I drawl. Tommy frowns and suddenly pulls me into a hug. I feel like crying, but I don't. The lack of sleep is taking a serious toll on me. "It's gonna be fine. You've obviously had a rough day so I'm at fault for piling another thing on top of that. But I really like you. I have for a while actually. First day of freshman year. I'm gonna show these two bitches what a real boyfriend is like and steal you away from them." he tells me. I break away from the hug and shake my head. "You're all crazy." I say with a sad smile. Then I leave the coffee shop and head home. Jesus Christ. How many gay guys does this school have to offer?