Opposites Attract

Remember how Mr. Sinclair caught me and Cory making out in his classroom? Yeah, he's still pretty pissed about that. And it has nothing to do with us breaking the "no PDA" rule at school - it's only because he likes Cory. And even though I was beginning to like Mr. Sinclair, I have no reason to be nice to him right now. Before, I would have given up on Cory and I being together, but now that I know Cory really doesn't want me to just quit, I've decided to try harder. I was even willing to face the kids at school if I had to. I did not, however, remember to prepare myself for the wrath of a pissed teacher who just so happens to have a crush on my new boyfriend.

If I came late to class, even as the bell was ringing, it was detention for being tardy. I couldn't swear, let alone say "damn" without him writing me up. And if you thought it was gonna be hard for me to control my temper now, you were wrong, because now if I even think about smacking a guy, I'm suspended for a week. Mr. Sinclair has become Mr. Hard-ass.

Honestly, I feel kinda bad for him since he did help me a lot. But come on, you're a grown man who likes his student. He had less of a chance dating Cory than I did. He needs to stop acting all bitchy and grow a pair. If the roles were switched and he was dating Cory, well sure I'd be pissed. But am I gonna take it out on him? Not if Cory was actually happy being with him. As long as Cory is happy, that's all that matters for me. Are you wondering if Cory is happy with me?

The normally shy and nervous best friend of mine planted a huge kiss on me before going to homeroom. And I didn't even freak out about someone seeing us, which made his smile even bigger. He's been listening to his favorite bands (Matt & Kim, Stereo Skyline, 3OH!3, MIKA) all week, and he has no problem with dancing and belting out the lyrics. It's really entertaining. :) It's been a good week... so far.

Today is Friday. Fridays are typically uneventful for us. But ever since the Friday where we kissed at our sleepover, these days have been anything but dull.

***

"Detention." Mr. Sinclair didn't even look up from his desk when I walked through the door. I sighed and sat down between Cory and Zephrinity at the circular table. Cory smiled at me, brightening my mood slightly. Mr. Sinclair got up and started passing back our essays. Cory = B-, Zephy = C+. Me = D-. I wasn't sure if he did that on purpose, or if I really did suck that badly at my essays. Cory frowned and gave me a sympathetic look, but I just shrugged and shoved it in my backpack. Class was just another lecture that I couldn't focus enough to take notes on, so I just stared at Mr. Sinclair, since he was practically glaring at me. As soon as the bell rang, the rest of the class started to slowly leave the room, but I just sat on my desk and waited for the chance to talk to him. Only, we still had one more student in the room. How was I suppose to tell Cory to leave? He always needs an explanation, and I can't just tell him I need to get our teacher to back off.

"Hey, Cor, I'm gonna talk to our teacher. Meet you in a minute, okay?"
He stood there, looking at as if I was hiding something. Okay, so I kinda was, but what am I supposed to do?
"It's alright, Sean. He can stay."
My eyes shot over to Mr. Sinclair. "Dude, are you fu- freakin' stupid or something? Do you really wanna do this?"
"Do what?" Cory asked, sounding innocent as always.
"I'd rather tell him myself instead of you yelling it at him out of some random moment of rage."
I frowned. I probably would end up doing that.
"Cory, take a seat." Mr. Sinclair sat on his desk and motioned to a seat. Cory sat as I closed the door and stood there. "Well, I'm sure you've noticed the hostility between me and your friend Sean here. It's not because we don't like each other, because I always liked Sean. But I know why he hated me. And I have to say, I'm not too fond of him right now."
"What... are you talking about?" Cory looked at us.
"Just tell him, dude." I sighed.
"Okay, um, Cory, I've kind of found myself becoming attracted to you... for a while. And I know how inappropriate that is, which is why I never said anything. In fact, I tried pushing Sean forward so that I wouldn't be tempting to do anything, but that kind of backfired on me. And for that I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been getting involved at all. This is completely unprofessional of me, and I'd appreciate it if this could stay between us."

Cory looked pale. Very pale. Which is odd because he was bright red a minute ago. I guess it finally sunk in for him.

"W-What?! What the h-h-hell are you t-talking about?!" Cory shrieked while pulling his hair. He's not good with surprises like this.
"Cory, I understand your shock-"
"You're a teacher! A male teacher!"
"Cory, relax." I tried to quiet him down.
"I can't relax! The other day when you said you knew I kind of liked him, you never said anything about him liking me. I thought that you just giving up and telling me to go talk to him was just your way of running away again! But now you both expect me to believe that in a few months, I've not only realized I'm gay, but have somehow turned two other people gay?! No freakin' way - this is just insane!"
"Cor, please calm down. Let us explain." I put my hand on his shoulder. That didn't relax him at all, but he sat down and pouted anyway. "Me liking you isn't new. It's been this way for years now, I told you that. And Mr. Sinclair was already gay. I don't know when he started to like you, but it wasn't my place to tell you once I found out. You gotta realize this has been hard for all of us, especially Mr. Sinclair since he's the only one with something to lose here. You aren't mad, are you, Cor?"
He huffed and unfolded his arms. "No, I'm not mad. I just somebody could've told me all of this sooner. But... what am I supposed to do now? I mean, Sean and I are sorta-"
"He knows."
"But why did he still confess?"
"Would you rather I keep that bottled up and take it out on your new... boyfriend, Cory?" Mr. Sinclair finally spoke.
"Um... no." Cory shrunk down.

Our teacher sighed and stood up from his desk. He scratched his head, then turned to face Cory.

"How old do you think I am?"
"Huh?"
"Answer the question."
"I don't know, twenty-six or something."
"Do you think it's wrong?"
"Think it's... what are we talking about?"
"Me and you, Cory." He slammed his hands on Cory's desk, making him jump. "I understand you like Sean, but do you think that it's wrong for me to feel this way about you, whether it's because I'm gay or a grown man or a teacher, do you think it's wrong?"
"I-I-I-I-"
"Dude, would you stop it? You're scaring him." I sighed.
"Well, I need an answer, Sean! I need to know what to do! Am I supposed to give up my job and go to another school, or just try to forget this all happened - I don't know what to!"
"You need to calm down. Can't you see this is a lot for him to deal with right now?!"
"He isn't dealing with the possibility of getting fired or going to jail! All he has to do is just pick a guy!!"
"It's not that freakin' easy!"
"Oh sure, it's not easy to decide between two guys who both like you. It's not easy to just pick your best friend, your boyfriend, over some creepy teacher! Don't tell me it's not easy! We already know the goddamn answer! I just want to hear him say it!!!"
"FINE! Cory, give the man your fucking answer!!!!"

Mr. Sinclair and I seethed while glaring lasers through each others skulls. Aside from our labored breathing, it was silent. For a while, we even forgot that Cory was in the room, but once our breathing relaxed, I could hear the faint sounds of hyperventilation. My eyes grew wide; I dashed over to Cory, now crouching on the floor. His face was pale, his hands were clutching his head, and he was trying desperately to bring air into his lungs.

"Come on, Cory, calm down." I fumbled with the spare inhaler in my pocket before putting it to his lips. He quickly grabbed it and took his medicine, and slowly he began to relax. I rubbed his back and brought him close to me. "Good, good. You alright now, Cor?" He nodded before resting his head on my shoulders. I sighed, then remembered our teacher's presence. "He has asthma." I murmured. He nodded and stared at us deep in thought. I shrugged and just sat with Cory until he was okay. When he did feel better, he sat up and bit his lip, something he does when he's at a loss for words. I stood up, pulling him with me, and walked over to confront Mr. Sinclair.

"You do realize that I have a good reason to be pissed right now. We scared the shit out of Cory, and you lost your temper. I know I lose my temper all the time, but you're supposed to be a teacher - surely you've got to be able to handle frustration." I raised an eyebrow at him.
He sighed. "Yes, I know Sean. That was extremely uncalled for. And I'm sorry, Cory. I didn't mean to scare you like that. Are you okay?" Cory nodded. "Well... alright, I think you boys should head to lunch. You probably won't see me on Monday - it's just best for everyone."

He went over to his desk and stared down at his papers as if they held the answers to his problems. I felt bad for him, but I had no idea how to help him, so I was ready to leave the awkward silence. But Cory, being the most amazingly sweet boy that he is, went over to him and gave him a hug. The expression on that man's face was priceless. He was so shocked, and it wasn't until Cory almost pulled away that he finally hugged back. Mr. Sinclair didn't say anything, but you could tell that he meant "thank you" in his eyes and his small grin.

Cory came back over to me and handed me my backpack before pulling us both out of the classroom. I stopped him in the hallway once the door had closed.

"Do you realized that you are the most thoughtful boy I have ever met?"
"I know." He smiled with a wink, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.
"God, I love you."
"I know."

His new-found cocky behavior was more than a turn-on. I couldn't resist pulling him into the nearby boys bathroom and immediately crashing my lips onto his, which he eagerly accepted.

We never did go to lunch.

Or seventh period. ;)

***

After our little make-out session, school ended with no more drama. I walked Cory home, only refusing to follow him inside because I figured his mom was still adjusting to the whole 'my son is gay' situation. So I walked home, went up to my room, tossed my bag on the floor, and flopped on my bed. Luckily, my laptop was still on my bed because I was too lazy to get back up. I got on Facebook for a while, but the only people who were on were a bunch of my jock friends, and I was still pissed off at them for making fun of Cory. I don't know how I'm gonna deal with this if they ever find out about me.

I ended up just listening to songs on Youtube by Relient K, Avenged Sevenfold, and my secret guilty pleasure, Adam Lambert. I kept the music playing when my phone range, "Smack My B*tch Up" by Prodigy, and assuming it was Cory, said "Hey babe."

"Since when do you call me babe, Ace?"

I shot up, nearly flipping myself off of the bed. I grabbed a hold of the mattress to keep myself stable, then cleared my throat.

"Dallan! What the - why are you calling me?"
"Can't a guy call his baby brother once in a while?"
"Sure, once in a while is nice. One in three years makes me feel like I'm talking to a ghost."
"Nah, I'm alive and well. I just missed you guys."
I frowned and shifted on the bed. "Even dad?"
He paused. "Yeah, even dad. He really wasn't that bad before I told him I was bi. I guess he just kinda lost it."
"Yeah... speaking of which, are you still dating that guy Tony?"
"Nope, we broke up two months ago."
"Oh man, I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I was so depressed that I drank myself into a stupor. Ending up in threesome with two chicks. Best. Breakup. Ever."
I could practically hear his lips turn up into a grin. I love my bro, but he's a huge man-whore. And he's proud of that title.
"But aren't you a little sad? You and Tony seemed to be really close."
"Yeah, well, all good things must come to an end, I guess. He took all his stuff and left, so now I've got the apartment to myself. It's great, just gets kinda lonely when my hookups leave." He tried to put up a front, but I knew my brother. This was his cry for help.
"Maybe you should sell the apartment. Come back home for a while."
"No way, man. It's great out here! People don't judge you that much, and every hour is happy hour. It's like the sun never stops shining here. It's awesome! Hey, you should come out here! It'll be great! I can take you to the beach, and we can pick up some chicks together, or maybe some dudes if you're into that stuff. Speaking of that, you still hang out with that scrawny kid?"
"His name's Cory, and yeah I do. He's my best friend."

Even though my bro was bi, I still felt uncomfortable coming out to him. I rarely see my brother being serious, and this was definitely a sit-down-and-listen moment that we'd probably have to do face to face.

"Well that's cool. Hey, he's not still scrawny is he?"
"Are you kidding? He's nothing but bones."
"Ha, poor kid. Hey um... how old is he now?"
I tried to control my anger towards my brother. "He's too young for you and you're not his type."
"Whoa whoa, down boy! I was only kidding! I'd just as soon hook up with him as I would that Z girl. Hey, how about-"
"Zephrinity. She's also too young for you. But she's definitely interested." I smirked, remembering the huge crush Zephy always had on my brother.
"Well, I don't wanna go to jail for being a pedo or nothing, so I think I'll leave that alone for a year or two. Anyway, how 'bout you? I have no clue what's going on in your life."
Shitloads of stuff. "A lot. Too much to talk about now."
"Well um... how 'bout I take you up on your offer and come visit you guys? I need a break from the surf and the sun. If I fall asleep tanning one more time, I'm gonna run out of skin to shed." He laughed.
"Sounds good, Dallan."
"Right, well, I guess I'll see you soon."
"Any idea when?"
"Even if I did have a clue, I wouldn't tell you. It takes away the surprise."
I shook my head. "Whatever, Dallan. Love you, man."
"Later, Ace."

Second after Cory, Dallan is my best friend. I idolized him as a kid, and when he came out to dad, and kept up his same cool Dallan composure, I wanted nothing more than to be just like him. My bro was the best. He's the guy that would help you get dates, sneak you beers, but only if you had done your homework first. I guess you could say he was a parent-in-training. Unlike Cory, he didn't want to assume the role of our mom after she died. If anything, it felt like he wanted nothing to do with us anymore. He started drifting apart, and like me, he refused to accept help from anyone. Us McLeans are extremely stubborn.

As you know, Zephy was practically in love with him. She always liked the edgy, bad boy who was still really sweet to girls type, and Dallan was the king of them all. She would drool over him every time he walked out of the shower in nothing but a towel, which he started to do on purpose once I told him how much she loved it. Cory never liked my brother for some reason. He always thought he was gonna get us in serious trouble, which he only did once, and we didn't get too badly burned because we were minors, but our parents totally kicked our asses. I guess Cory thought that Dallan would be a bad influence on me. He wasn't completely wrong - my bro has rubbed off on me, but I still think I'm different. I'm not like the other McLeans. Even our mom noticed this, but she loved me just the same. Why did I have to be so different?

"Sean!"
I flinched as my dad slammed the front door. "What is it dad?"
"Get your ass down here now." He bellowed.

Shit.

I jumped up and ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over my backpack. I stopped in front of my terrifying father figure. His eyes were bloodshot, and his stance was slightly wobbly. His fist was shaking, clutching a paper that had my name on it. He was drunk, and he was pissed.

"Y-Y-Yeah, dad?" I swallowed the lump in my throat.
He waved the paper in my face, too rapid and irregular for me to actually read it.
"Uh... what is it dad?"
"The number of detentions you have. How the hell do you have 47 detentions in two weeks? What the hell have you been doing at the school?!"
"I-"
"You've been fucking up, that's what!"
"Dad, I'm trying my best, but this teacher-"
"I don't want to hear it! Dallan didn't make any damn excuses. He did everything like he was supposed to."
I wanted to yell at him how Dallan screwed up ten times more than I did, but I kept my mouth shut and gritted my teeth.
"You've been screwing around, Sean, and I won't stand for this. You better get your head straight and fix this. I wanna see no detentions on your report card, and you better not come home with anything below a C!"
"What does it matter?! You don't really care anyway, you're just looking for another excuse to trash me. You never liked me, and if mom hadn't been around, you would've insulted me since the day I was born. You always loved Dallan more!"
"He was a worthy son! He always made me proud! Do you know how many trophies he won?! Football, track, soccer, baseball - the kid was a god. And what do you do with your strength? You waste it, protecting that skinny faggot-"
"Don't you dare talk about him!!" I screamed, my eyes seeing red.
The drunken bastard chuckled and shoved my shoulder. "Getting might protective of the little faggot, aren't you boy? Something you wanna tell me? Are you a faggot, too?"
"I'm not a fucking faggot! Why do you always call me that? Dallan is just as much as a fag as I would be!"
"Take that back! You disrespectful, little-"
"But he is! He likes guys, too! He said he likes them more than he likes girls! He had a fucking boyfriend, but I don't hear you calling him a fag!"
"Shut your goddamn mouth!"
"Why isn't he a fag, huh? What's the exception? Is he your golden boy or some shit?"
"I mean it, boy. Shut your fucking mouth or I swear-"
"Maybe you're just scared cause you're a faggot yourself. I bet you even have dreams about Dallan."

He wiped the smirk off of my face with his fist. My head collided with the wall and I slid down. My entire head was throbbing, and I didn't know whether to touch my now red and swollen cheek, or the back of my aching head. I blinked away spots as I stared up at him. At first, he showed no remorse. But then his eyes flickered, and his expression softened.

"Wait, Sean... I'm so sorry, son." He reached out for me, but I pulled back immediately. I shot up, pushed him away from me, and ran out the front door, ignoring my name being called by Satan himself. I ran faster than I ever did when I was on track, and I wasn't even sure where I was headed, but somehow I ended up at the last place I expected.

I raised a shaky hand to the door, rapping against the wood. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, noticing that my whole body was shaking while I waited for a reply.

"Sean." His eyes widened.
"Mr. Sinclair. Please... help me."