Yours to Hold

Over the next two days at school, I started to notice subtle changes in Matt's behavior toward me. We were far from buddies, although he was starting to say hey to me in class and when we passed each other in the hallways. Since I was so used to him tormenting me relentlessly, his sudden change in behavior was a very nice surprise for me. I hoped that the changes meant that we could eventually become friends.

While Matt was being a bit friendlier toward me, however, Val's behavior didn't change one bit. If anything, it was actually becoming steadily worse; I caught her in the hallways on a few occasions chatting with her girlfriends about "that faggot Baker". She would also scowl viciously and shake her head if Matt greeted me in the hallway when they were together.

It was obvious that she was beyond pissed and maybe a little suspicious that her boyfriend was paying attention to me all of a sudden.

I have a special PhysEd class every other day because of my scoliosis, so I didn't have eigth period study hall again until Friday. After signing in, I trudged over to an empty table and dropped my messenger bag on the floor. School really tired me out, so I rested my cheek against the table and shut my eyes; I had no work to do, so I figured that I could take a little bit of a nap so I would be ready for tonight.

"Hey, man. You okay?"
I flinched a bit and lifted my head off the table to see Matt drop his bag on the floor and drop into the seat next to me.
I gave the male a small smile and nodded my head. "I'm fine. Just super tired."
Matt nodded his head in understanding. "Thank God its Friday."
"Oh my god, I know."

Matt chuckled a bit before running a hand through his hair.
"So, are you coming tonight?"
"I certainly am," I stated.
Matt smiled a bit. "Awesome! I'm glad you're coming."
"I am, too. I LOVE haunted attractions. Me, Brian and Jimmy make an a trip to Philly for Eastern State's attraction every year, and I took a trip to Pennhurst's new one last year with Billy Martin."

Matt arched an eyebrow. "Billy Martin. Isn't he the tall, skinny dude in our history class sixth period?"
I nodded my head. "That would be him."
"Oh. Are you two...?" Matt's voice trailed off at the end, and I swore that I heard a hint of jealousy in his voice.
"Nah, its not like that. We're just buddies."

"Oh, got it. So, um, was Pennhurst any good?"
"It was pretty amazing," I told him. "Everything was very well-done and the location is perfect, ya know? Eastern State is scary, but it has NOTHING on ol' Pennhurst."
"Are they running that again this year? I know there were a lot of protests and shit last year."
"They are, and it looks AMAZING this year. They turn you loose in one of the buildings with nothing but a flashlight and send you on a ghost hunt."
"Man, that sounds fucking amazing. Have you gone this year?"

"Nah. Only got to Eastern with Bri and Jim," I told him. "But, I read about it online."
Matt's lips turned into a small smile. "Say, would you like to maybe go to Pennhurst with me one Saturday? Like, just you and me? I mean, I'd really like to get to spend some time with you alone and get to know you better. I mean, you don't need to, since I've treated you like shit. But..."
I reached over and put a hand on the male's shoulder, giving him a smile as soon as he turned his attention to me. "I really like that idea. It would certainly be different, since Brian and Jimmy pretty much LIVE at my place. And, I'd like to get to know you, too."

Matt returned my smile. "Awesome. I'll look at my schedule and IM you with a date."
"Sounds like a plan to me."

The two of us spent the rest of the period chatting with each other, so I felt a little bit of sadness as the bell rang; I wanted to chat more and get to know the male better. Matt must have felt the same way, since he turned to me as he swung his backpack over one of his shoulders.
"Mind if I walk with you?"
"Not at all," I replied as I grabbed my messenger bag and slipped the strap over one of my shoulders.

I stared at the floor intently as we walked together; my heart was going a hundred miles an hour and my stomach hurt from all the damn butterflies in it. Feeling Matt's gaze on me, I brought my eyes from the floor to him. The male was quietly gazing at me, which sent another surge of butterflies through my gut. A bashful smile appeared on Matt's lips as he realized I was gazing back at him, and he immediately averted his gaze.

"Sorry about that," he stated quietly.
"Dude, its fine. I'm a good looking motherfucker, I know."

Matt didn't give me a reply; he simply shifted his backpack strap to his other shoulder as he cotinued walking. I watched him for a minute or two before dropping my eyes back to the floor and taking a deep shaky breath, feeling my head pounding against my ribs. I mentally cursed myself out for making a fool out of myself again, and I realized I really had to learn how to keep my mouth shut.

Matt turned to me as the two of us stepped out of the school.
"So, I'll see you soon," he said.
"Yep."
I gave Matt a smile and started walking toward my bus, but he stopped me.
"Zack!"
"Whats up?"
The male gave me a small smile.
"Honestly? You are the most gorgeous guy I've ever seen."

My eyes widened and I gaped at Matt for a few seconds, causing him to chuckle a bit.
"I'll see you in a bit."
I clamped my mouth shut and nodded my head "Yea, yea. See you soon."
Matt chucked again and walked away, waving at me. I waved back and and watched after him for a second before heading over to my bus and climbing on.

As soon as I got home, I went upstairs to my room to start getting prepared to leave; even though we weren't leaving for Field of Screams until 4:30, I knew that I would never be ready in time if I got on the computer. I hadn't had a shower since Tuesday and I was feeling a little disgusting, so I went into my closet and pulled out a pair of clean skinny jeans and a black United States Navy t-shirt.

After laying the clothes on my bed along with a studded belt, I headed over to the bathroom and grabbed a towel. I then turned on the water and stripped my clothes off as I waited for the water to warm up. When I was okay with the water temperature, I kicked my dirty clothes out of the way and climbed into the shower. I let loose a sigh as I felt the warm water hitting my skin and let my muscles relax for a few minutes before reaching for the soap.

Forty-five minutes later, I climbed out of the shower; I was dripping and a little chilly, but otherwise clean and very content. I grabbed my towel and dried myself off a bit before wrapping the towl around my waist. I scooped up my dirty clothes and headed back to my room, tossing my dirty clothes in the hamper and plopping down on my bed. I tossed my towel in the hamper as well after taking a minute to finish drying off.

I slipped a clean pair of socks on my feet and then pulled on a pair of boxers and my jeans; I grunted as I fastened my jeans since they were getting smug around my waist and belly. After putting on some deodorant, I grabbed my laptop off my desk and plugged it in. I logged onto AIM after booting it up to see if anyone was on. I wasn't surprised to see that everyone was offline, although Matt's status update caught my eye.

Going to Field of Screams with Zack, Val, and my boys soon. So fucking psyched.

Suddenly feeling giddy, I logged off of AIM and shut down the computer. Remembering what Matt told me outside the school earlier, I headed back into the bathroom to fix my hair and apply some eye shadow. After I had gotten my spikes right and put on some eye shadow, I sprayed on some cologne and headed back into my room. The fact that Val was coming with us didn't change the fact that I wanted to impress Matt and catch his eye.

Just because he had a girlfriend didn't mean that I couldn't have a little fun and flirt with him.

Wehn I returned to my room, I looped my studded belt through my belt loops and fastened it up before pulling my t-shirt over my head. I adjusted the hem of my shirt as I stepped over to my endtable and opened the drawer, pulling out my Watchmen chain wallet. I clipped the end of the chain onto one of my belt loops and shoved the wallet into my pocket. I then unplugged my phone from the charger and shoved it into my other pocket.

I then stepped over to the closet again and pulled out out my pull-over school sweatshirt; it was a black sweatshirt with "Kentworth Cardinals" on the front in burgundy lettering with a white outline and the head of a cardinal on the back. I draped it over my shoulder and slipped on my shoes before heading downstairs. I had a few minutes before I was supposed to get picked up, so I stepped outside and sat down on the doorstep.

Tonight was going to be incredibly fun.