Dirty Little Secret

“How did the project go last night?” Alex asked as he sat down with my friends and I at the lunch table.

Evan laughed, “Oh, right – I forgot that you got partnered up with Merrick. Did he sit there and tease you the whole time?”

“Was he stupid and didn’t know what the project was even about?” Grieco questioned.

“Did he make any comments about the rest of us?” Rian asked, rolling his eyes.

I shrugged, taking a sip of my water before responding, “No, it actually wasn’t too bad. We pissed each other off at first and argued a little, but we got most of our project planned out. He appreciated the Ravens stuff in my room.”

“Well no shit; he is a football player after all,” Evan pointed out.

“Did your mom make you look like an idiot?” Rian asked with a grin.

I groaned, “Yes. Just like she does every single time you guys come over.”

“Aww, if it makes you feel any better, we already think you’re an idiot, so it doesn’t make a difference,” Grieco said, putting his arms around me to hug me.

“Thanks, that means so much,” I said sarcastically.

“So you guys really didn’t fight the whole time? And he didn’t tease you?” Alex asked doubtfully.

“Nope. He’s actually smarter than he acts, too,” I said, shaking my head. Everyone at the table burst out laughing. “What?”

“You’re funny. Did he brainwash you?” Alex said between laughs. I rolled my eyes.

“You guys are dumb. I’m gonna go get some chips from the vending machine,” I said, standing up from the table.

“Get me some Doritos!” Evan called out.

“Get your own Doritos!” I said, glancing back at him while I was walking. I turned back around and immediately bumped into Zack, almost falling. His lunch tray fell, making his food spill all over the floor. Everyone around us in the lunch room started laughing, and my friends’ eyes widened.

“Fuck!” Zack cussed, looking up with a frown as he looked to see who did it. He saw that it was me and a smirk crossed his face, replacing the frown.

“S-sorry!” I squeaked, stepping away from him.

“Damn, Barakat. You’re so gay you can’t even walk straight!” Zack teased, and the lunch room erupted with laughter. I opened and closed my mouth as I tried to say something, but nothing came out. I turned and ran the opposite way, out of the lunch room, feeling upset. I walked into the boys bathroom to hide in there.

I was used to being ridiculed for being gay. The football players always do it. So why did this time make me more upset?

Maybe because Zack hadn’t ever made a gay joke toward me before. Maybe because I just embarrassed myself in addition to being teased. Maybe because I just got laughed at by half the school.

I kicked the wall angrily before sliding down against it. I was hiding around the corner, near the stalls that no one usually uses. At least these ones weren’t all gross.

“Jack, you in here?” I heard Alex call out.

“Of course he’s in here. Where else is he going to go?” Evan scoffed, and I saw him come around the corner and spot me first. “Found him.”

“Zack’s an asshole, Jack. Don’t even listen to him,” Alex said immediately, hugging me.

I sighed, “Kinda hard not to when he said it in front of the entire lunch room.”

“Well, Alex stood up and called him an ‘inconsiderate asshole with nothing better to do than make fun of people’ right after you ran out. He looked offended,” Rian said, and I grinned.

“Aw, really?” I asked. Alex laughed, nodding.

“Of course. I wasn’t going to let that jerk get away with saying that to you,” Alex chuckled.

“And Grieco decided to help by adding, ‘yeah!’ as we walked away,” Evan smirked, mocking Grieco’s high-pitched voice.

“Shut up!” Grieco whined.

I laughed weakly, “You guys are the best.”

--------------------

“So are you still going over to Zack’s house tomorrow to work on your project?” Alex asked, tossing my football back and forth with Rian, Evan, and Grieco. We were sitting in my bedroom after school.

“I guess so. I kind of have to. The quicker we get the project done, the quicker it’s over with,” I replied, flipping through channels on my TV.

“And then you never have to work with him again,” Rian added.

“Exactly.” I continued flipping through channels. I was lying on my stomach on my bed and the others were spread out around the room. I suddenly felt the football hit me in the back, and yelped, “Ouch! Who did that?”

Everyone pointed at Grieco, who held his hands up in defense, “It slipped!”

“You just suck at throwing,” I scoffed, throwing the ball back at him. He didn’t catch it and it hit my desk, bumping a glass off and making it crash to the ground and shatter. “And you can’t catch, either!”

“Sorry...”

My door opened and my mom stood in the doorway with a frown. “What did I just hear break?”

“A glass,” I admitted.

“Grieco broke it!” Evan said, and Grieco chucked the football at his chest. My mom walked over and took the football from Evan, holding it up and looking around at all of us.

“No more football in the house. I’ve told you boys that a million times. You’ve broken way too many things,” she scolded.

“I think it’s been Grieco’s fault at least three times, so...” I trailed off.

“Either way, I don’t want this being thrown around. Now clean up the glass and don’t cut yourselves,” my mom said with a sigh, walking out of the room and taking my football with her.

“I hope you realize you’re cleaning it up,” I told Grieco.

He sighed and stood up, “Where’s the broom and paper towels?”

“Down the hall in the supply closet where they were last time you broke something,” I said, and he trudged out of the room.

“Someone come help me!”

“I will,” Evan offered, jumping up and running out of the room behind him.

Alex turned to Rian and I with a slight grin, “When are they going to admit that they like each other?”

“When we lock them in a room and hope they make out instead of killing each other,” I laughed, finally finding the football game on TV and keeping it on that channel.

“They’ll figure it out some day,” Rian chuckled.

“Who’ll figure what out when?” Evan asked, coming back into my room with a broom and dustpan, Grieco right beside him.

“Nothing!”