Joke's on You

Alex

I hated fighting with Dawson. We were best friends and we were letting this stupid prank ruin our friendship. Everything was changing, and both of us knew that. I wanted to undo everything, but I knew it was too late for that. We had to keep pretending until the end of the school year. If we stopped now, we would be the biggest losers ever. We would have failed.

I didn’t want that to happen. As much as I disliked the situation right now, I wanted to continue. We just had to talk. We had to discuss the limits. Dawson had to back off in private, but I had some adjusting to do, too.

As much as I hated fighting, I hated the silence more. After what seemed like forever, I cleared my throat. Dawson looked up at me with his puffy, red eyes. It hurt me seeing him like that. My best friend had been crying and it was my fault. I wanted to make things better again, but I didn’t know how. “Do you want to go back home?” I suggested. I didn’t feel like going back to the party at all. I’m sure our friends would understand. Danielle would be pissed though, but I didn’t care. I wanted her out of my life.

Fortunately, he seemed to have the same thoughts. “Yeah, I’d like that,” he answered. I smiled hesitantly at him and we started walking back to school. I crossed my fingers that we wouldn’t run into anyone, and my prayers were heard. The parking lot was deserted. Dawson climbed in without saying a word, and I followed his actions.

The whole drive back was deadly quiet. When we arrived at my place, I realized I couldn’t leave it at that. “I’m sorry,” I told him truthfully. Sorry for ruining our night. Sorry for letting Danielle do that.

“It’s okay,” he smiled. “I’ll see you Monday at school, yeah?”

“Of course. Good night,” I said and stepped out feeling slightly better. I hoped everything would be normal again on Monday, but I doubted it. I was sure Danielle would be furious and do everything to ruin us. But at least Dawson and I had had a proper goodbye – no yelling. This was a good sign, right?

~*~

I woke up with a jerk. My irritating alarm was going off, indicating it was time to get ready for school. I groaned, dreading the day. I had always hated Mondays, but now more than ever. I snoozed it and turned back around. Covered with my warm blankets, I was safe. Getting up and leaving this warm cocoon meant definite Hell. I felt like a little kid, the blankets protecting me from evil demons.

The monster being Danielle.

I dozed off again, only to be horribly woken up again just a few minutes later. I sighed and figured that I couldn’t keep on running away from reality. I got up and got dressed. I checked my phone to discover that I had received a text from Dawson.

I would rather die than going to school today. Wanna skip classes with me?

I was wide-awake instantly. Skipping school? It sounded better than it should. I could pretend to go to school anyway, so my parents wouldn’t get suspicious. But instead, I would go somewhere else with Dawson. I didn’t see any disadvantages. This would create some time to clear our heads and talk things out. And the best thing was, we wouldn’t have to face our friends and Danielle today. We weren’t ready yet to talk this weekend, but it felt like today was the right time.

Sounds like a plan. Meet you at the park in 30

I got a text back almost immediately, saying he was okay with that. I was extremely excited. It had been a long time since we had skipped classes, so it felt like going back to the good old times. I liked that. Today I wouldn’t be gay.

I finished getting ready and did my best to act normal. This was just a normal Monday and I would be going to school. I successfully pulled that act and my parents didn’t suspect a thing, thankfully.

I left with my backpack as usual. I took off in the same direction as any other day, just to be sure. As soon as I was out of our street, and out of sight, I changed directions. Fortunately, I didn’t bump into anyone who could ruin our plan.

It was such a thrill, breaking rules. I saw Dawson sitting on a bench from a distance, tapping his knee while impatiently waiting for me. I wanted to get to him and leave this place as soon as possible.

I knew we would get in trouble, but I didn’t care at all.