A Boy Who Won't Jump

For some reason or another, I always had at least one class in common with Zack Merrick. Freshman year, it was Spanish. Sophomore year, it was European history and English. And this year, it was biology.

And because our last names were so close, we always sat next to each other for at least the first few days. Merrick and Matthews. I came to expect walking into class on the first day of school and finding my name next to his. And then, a few days later, he would always move somewhere else. Not because he didn’t like me, but because for each class we were in together, Zack always had tons of other friends scattered throughout the room. By the second or third day, Zack had vacated his seat, and I was left to sit alone.

I tried not to take it personally, and I knew that I wasn’t the reason he would always move. But yeah, it was difficult.

“Roman?” A voice suddenly said, and I instantly picked my head up from my hand. “Are you paying attention?”

“Yeah, sorry,” I muttered, adjusting my glasses and sitting up in my chair. Biology was impossible to stay awake during. I waited patiently for the period to be over, occasionally feeling my eyes begin to close, but quickly opening them to spare myself the embarrassment of falling asleep yet again.

When the bell finally rang, I stood up slowly and gathered my things. Suddenly, a figure pushed past me, sending all of my papers flying. “Shit, sorry,” muttered Zack, instantly reaching down to help me pick up my poorly-taken biology notes.

“It’s okay,” I said softly as I stood back up. I thanked him when he handed me my papers, and turned towards my binder to put them away. When I turned back around, I nearly jumped when I saw that Zack hadn’t moved, and instead was staring at me with a cocked eyebrow. “Is something wrong?” I asked meekly.

“Doesn’t your dad work for Microsoft? Making video games?” I swallowed thickly, but nodded anyways. He smiled softly, but looked down at the floor. “So… have you played the new Gears of War, yet?”

Christ, have I played the new Gears of War yet? When my dad brought that game home last week, I nearly had a panic attack. It wasn’t supposed to hit shelves until April of next year, but I had been playing it for nearly two hours a day since I got it. “Uh… yeah, I’ve played it once or twice.” Lies. I hadn’t done any homework recently – Gears of War 3 was my entire life.

“So what’s it like?” Zack asked. I didn’t know what exactly was happening, but we began walking; first out the door, then down the hall.

I smiled softly to myself. Amazing, that was what it was like. “It’s pretty cool. The graphics are great.”

“That’s awesome. I can’t wait for it to come out.” We stopped in front of my locker, where I focused my attention on grabbing my books for my next class.

I didn’t know what compelled me to say what I said next. Maybe it was how Zack was finally paying attention to me after three years. Maybe it was that playing video games alone at night didn’t exactly do anything to improve my self-esteem. Maybe it was because Zack just looked so fucking hot in his skinny jeans and gray hoodie. “You can come over after school and try it out, if you want.” I swear, Zack’s smile doubled. And while part of me wondered if it was the prospect of spending time with me, the more rational part of my brain reminded me otherwise. Me, Roman Matthews, a lonely junior who wore glasses and went home to play video games by myself. Yeah, definitely an interest for the most popular guy in school – who was straight.

“Definitely!” He exclaimed. “Is 5:00 okay?”

“Yeah,” I said softly, shutting my locker and turning to face him. “I live on Lakeland Road – like twenty minutes from school.”

“Totally,” responded Zack. “I totally know where that is.”

“Alright, well, I’ll see you then?”

“See you then,” Zack said, giving my shoulder a light punch before going off towards his next class. It didn’t hurt though – it just kind of tingled.

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“Okay, Taylor, here’s the plan,” I said the second I got inside. “We have two and a half hours to make everything presentable.”

“Why?” Taylor, my ten-year-old sister, asked.

“Because I have a friend coming over. And I want to impress him.”

“Oh. That makes sense,” she replied, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“So, once you’re done with your food, I need you to clear the table, okay?” Taylor nodded. “Now, what time is it?”

“12:30,” she replied nonchalantly. I tilted my head. That wasn’t possible. If it were 12:30, I’d still be in school.

“That’s not right,” I mumbled, turning to face the clock on the microwave. Sure enough, the clock was two hours slow. With a sigh, I began to reprogram it. “Okay,” I said once that was all fixed. “Finish your food, and start cleaning, alright?” Taylor nodded, and I nearly sprinted into the family room where the Xbox was. With the upmost care, I began unplugging the console, and slowly carried it up to my room.

I plopped it on my bed, before eyeing the old TV that was stationed in the corner of my room. I didn’t know if I would be able to hook my Xbox up to it, but I really hoped so. First, though, I set out on cleaning my room – boxers needed to be picked up, video games reorganized, and my desk needed to be cleared. My room had to be spick and span before Zack came.

An hour later, I was completely satisfied with the way my room looked. Well, I wasn’t completely satisfied, but I knew this was as good as it was going to get. Finally, it was time to tackle connecting the Xbox to my TV. After cracking my knuckles in preparation, I set out on pushing the dresser that held my TV forward, so that I could crawl behind it and see all the plugs and outlets.

It was dark back there. Dark enough so that even with all the lights on in my room, I still couldn’t see much. Adjusting my glasses, I opened a drawer in my desk and pulled out a flashlight. It wouldn’t turn on. I slapped it across my hand a couple of times, hoping to shock it back to life, but it didn’t work. I groaned.

Why was it that even though my dad was a self-proclaimed ‘tech-god’ who worked in a company that led his industry, everything in my house was broken?

After rummaging around some more in my desk for fresh batteries, I was able to now clearly see how I was supposed to plug in the Xbox. I was more than proud of myself a few minutes later when I placed the disk on the holder, and the game sprung to life.

As if right on cue, the doorbell rang. I froze on my bed, my mouth dry and my palms sweaty.

“I’ve got it!” Taylor exclaimed, and I ran downstairs in hopes of blocking her from being the one to greet Zack.

“No, Taylor, don’t answer the door!” I exclaimed, and she stopped inches away from the entrance. I approached her slowly, as if any sudden movements would cause her to panic and immediately open the door. “Wait, what’s all over your fingers?” I eyed the pink, sparkly mess that coated not just her nails, but the skin around her fingers as well.

“Nail polish,” she replied with a ‘duh’ tone to her voice. “You told me to make myself presentable.” I paled instantly. What if Zack, who was standing outside the door, had heard her say that, and thought I was obviously trying too hard?

“J – just go to your room, okay Taylor?” She shrugged, as if her presence would be sorely missed.

I watched her walk dejectedly back to her room, before I sighed and opened the door. Any sense of worry or apprehension faded when I saw Zack standing there with a grin. “You’re still up for playing Gears of War, right?” He asked sheepishly, and I nodded like a moron.

“Yeah, definitely. C’mon in.” I watched as he stepped inside my house nervously, before kicking off his shoes and pushing up the sleeves of his sweatshirt. “My room’s upstairs, and that’s where the Xbox is, so –“

He instantly cut me off as we began walking upstairs. “You have a TV in your room? That’s awesome.”

I blushed, thankful I was in front of him so he couldn’t see me. “It’s cool, I guess. It doesn’t get too many channels or anything, but I have a DVD player, so it kind of makes up for it.”

“Whoa, your room is awesome!” He exclaimed after I opened the door. I blushed furiously. I didn’t think my room was very cool, but maybe it was because I lived there. It was small, dark, and smelled like teenage boy. How was that cool? “You have like, every video game known to man kind!”

“One of the perks of having a dad who’s as into video games as you are,” I replied calmly. I fell back on my bed and gripped the remote, waiting patiently for Zack to join me. I expected him to sit on the edge of the bed with his legs dangling over, but instead he sat down right next to me, his back against the wall and his shoulder touching mine. “You, uh, ready to start?” I asked meekly, my eyes flashing between his face and our brushing shoulders.

“Definitely, let’s do this.”

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We played Gears of War for what felt like forever, but it was the best forever I had ever imagined. And I truly felt like Zack was having fun, too. He was laughing and smiling and cracking jokes, and he even won a round – granted, I let him win, but he didn’t have to know that. Nevertheless, he had gained a substantial amount of confidence, and had even made a bet on this next round.

“I have to do what?” I clarified, wondering if this was a good or bad idea.

“Whatever I want,” he replied, grinning from ear to ear – and not a mishevious, sly grin, but a friendly, excited one. “If I win, of course. If you win, I’ll have to do whatever you want.”

“I don’t know…” I whispered, thinking of what he might ask me on the slim chance he actually pulled out a win of his own. What if he wanted to humiliate me in front of the entire school?

“C’mon, Rome,” I blushed at his new nickname for me. “It won’t be too terrible.” His voice suddenly got serious. “I won’t make you do anything you’ll regret.” I nodded, and we both turned towards the game.

A few seconds into it, I had a clear lead, and I knew that I wouldn’t have to try very hard to keep it up. Out of the corner of my eye, however, I could see Zack, playing as if his life depended on it, and that intrigued me. I instantly slowed, allowed myself to get shot at a couple of times, and soon began to see Zack approaching, “I’m catching up to you,” he muttered, his tongue lightly poking out of the side of his mouth. It was so adorable.

He instantly passed me, and I tore back into the game again. I had to make it look like I was still trying, so he didn’t know I had given him the game. Once the red GAME OVER sign flashed on the screen, I slumped against the wall in false-defeat. “Fuck,” I muttered, and watched Zack throw his hands in the air. “Now what?” I asked, my stomach churning with butterflies.

“We don’t have to continue with the bet if you don’t want,” Zack said softly, toying with his fingers. Was he getting cold feet?

“No, no,” I insisted rapidly. “You won fair and square. What did you, uh, have in mind?”

Zack breathed deeply, and before I could protest (not that I would have) his lips were pressed against mine. My eyes went wide, but I got into it soon after. It was sweet and light, but once he saw that I wasn’t rejecting him, a natural teenage urgency came through – and I loved it just as much. Our kiss was a mash of teeth, of probing tongues.

“I lost on purpose,” I said softly, once Zack had pulled away and began to regain his breath. He smiled gently.

“Yeah, I know. That’s how I figured you’d be okay with… that.” I chuckled.

“So are you ready for round two?”

“Of video games, or kissing?”

I shrugged. “Both.”