Chapter 2 : Mysteria at the Cafeteria

In most high school movies, something always happens in the cafeteria. One might think it's just the movies trying to be funny, but they got that idea from real life. At my lovely school's cafeteria, something happens every day—from eating contests to food fights.

As I walked into the cafeteria with Frankie, I wondered what the students would present us with this Monday. Who knows, maybe today would be the usual, and someone would try eating pasta through their nose. Note the fact I said that was the usual.

Frankie and I take a seat in our usual spot, but everything seems silent. Not literally silent, because there's a lot of noise, but no one is doing anything out of the ordinary. Maybe they—my train of thought is interrupted by the chatter coming from the hallway. It's gradually getting louder and is definitely drawing everyone's attention... as in everybody, because even the chefs have stopped serving.

"...you will apologize to him!!"

Hearing that got people gasping and murmuring. Eventually, the source of the argument walks into the cafeteria. It's Oliver and Joseph. They are now whispering because they noticed the attention they were drawing, but I happen to be a pro at reading lips.

"I'm not gonna do that shit. He's gay, and I simply mentioned it. You didn't seem bothered when he rubbed that fact in everyone's face," Joseph whispers defensively. "I don't care what you think, you will apologize to Nikola—"

WAIT...

My name is Nikola, and I'm the only one with that name in this school. So he's definitely talking about me. Why would he want Joseph to apologize to me? I thought they were in it together. I mean, assholes of a feather flock toge—my train of thought is once again interrupted when Joseph sits down beside me. Frankie's drink starts to leak from her mouth, and that would probably happen to me too if I had a drink in my mouth because I can bet my jaw is currently hanging loose.

"I apologize for the shit I said to you this morning..." He pauses and looks back, probably at Oliver. "...can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

I can sense how much he doesn't want to do this in his voice. I should probably accept the fact that he's apologizing even though it's not genuine, but since the world already ruined my Monday, I might as well match its flow and be a bit of a bitch.

"I know you're not sorry, so just leave. Your presence isn't welcome here," I say, feeling confident. Unfortunately, my confidence blinds me to the fact that Joseph has snapped. He slams his hand on the table, rattling it, and yells at me.

"You should be fucking grateful that I apologized. People like you don't deserve any respect. You'll literally bend over for anyone who wants to rail your stupid gay ass." He's about to continue when his nose meets its first love: a fist.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone move so fast. Oliver was the one who punched Joseph, if you didn't already know. One moment Joseph is standing, the next he's on the floor, and then he's being pulled up by the collar and taking another punch straight to his nose. People gather around in an instant to watch the fight... more like a beat-up, actually. As people start bringing out their phones, I quickly drag Oliver away from Joseph, which gets me an elbow in the nose by mistake. He lets me pull him out of the cafeteria to the nearest classroom.

As we enter the class, I help him rest against a table so he can cool down a bit. While trying to peep outside to see how things are going, hands wrap around me from the back into a tight hug, and Oliver buries his head into my neck... inhaling me.

WTF!?!?

Why on earth is he doing that? I try to remove his hands, but he's way stronger than me, so that doesn't work out.

"Oliver...?" I pause, hoping he'll answer me.

He's silent. He literally doesn't make a single move. "Are you okay?" I ask while trying harder to remove his hands from around my torso.

He finally says something, but I can't hear him well.

"What did you say?"

"Please let me stay like this a little longer."

Noticing he's not in his right mind right now, I let him be and drop my hands. He notices that and pulls me closer until I'm so close that I can feel the bump of a small locket he always keeps inside his shirt.

We are in the class for a while, and yes, he's still hugging me. His breath is warm, and he smells like citrus. His chest is well-toned. I can actually feel his six-pack on my back, and it's kinda ho—

This time I stop myself from thinking. I was checking him out. No... I won't deny the fact that he's good-looking, but he can never be ho—

The word even refuses to come out of me.

He finally releases me with a long sigh, like he just finished charging, but doesn't step away. I turn to look at him... correction... to look up at him. Now he has a very different look in his eyes from when we first got into the class. A smile slowly forms on his face.

He's pretty ⁠♡

I can try to suppress the thought, but it's way too prominent for any form of denial. The look on his face is similar to a golden retriever puppy whose owner finally got back from a 12-hour shift.

I'm literally just staring at him right now. I'm not even sure what face I'm making, but I know I'm shamelessly staring when he's so close to my face. He lowers his head a bit, and that just shuts my air supply. As he gradually closes the gap between our faces, I cringe at the fact that he'll increase his pace, ruining my escape plan.

Now he is centimeters away from my face, and I know he's trying to kiss me, so I close my eyes and...