Just an Excuse to Talk to You

Vinny walked in his English classroom, sitting at his place right as the final bell rang. He sighed in relief as the teacher walked in the classroom, he knew he’d get another detention if he was late once again and he didn’t need that. He quickly got his notebook out of his schoolbag but realized that he didn’t have a pencil. He had probably forgotten his pencil case in his locker in his hurry. He looked to his left, his right being occupied by a wall, and cussed under his breath when he remembered that this desk was occupied by none other than Matt Flyzik, the boy who Vinny had a crush on since the first time he saw him in freshman year. He took a deep breath before whispering the black-haired boy’s name.

“Yeah?” The boy whispered back.

“Can I borrow a pencil? I forgot mine.” Vinny whispered.

“Yeah, sure.” Matt said with a smile, taking one from his pencil case and handing it to Vinny.

“Thanks.” He said, smiling back and turning his eyes to his notebook immediately.

The butterflies in his stomach made him feel like a lovestruck teenage girl and the only thing Matt had done was smile at him. He knew this smile would probably haunt his dreams forever but he needed to see it again, he needed to talk to Matt again. But he didn’t know what to say to him. So that’s how he came with a plan. A shitty plan but a plan nonetheless. The first time he talked to Matt, he needed to borrow a pencil. That could be an excuse to talk to him, to just hear his voice and see him smile.
So, sometimes, he’d purposefully forget something in his locker just to have an excuse to talk to the other boy and see that breathtaking smile. He’d just lean over slightly and ask for an eraser, a pen or even a dictionary. Every time, Matt smiled and the butterflies in Vinny’s stomach went wild. Until that one day where things seemed to change.

The teacher had just announced a new project that would be done in teams of two. Vinny groaned. None of his friends were in this class so he’d probably end up with some kind of loser. Once again, he turned to Matt but this time, the other boy was also looking at him.

“Hey, uh, I’m sorry, I keep forgetting all my stuff but could I borrow a pencil?” He asked.

Matt let out a light laugh. “Sure.” He said, handing Vinny a pencil. “Uh, I was wondering if you have like, a teammate for this project.” The smaller boy asked suddenly seeming shy.

“No, I don’t really have any friends in this class.” Vinny replied, heart pounding in his chest.

“Would you, maybe, like to do it with me?” Matt asked, still shyly.

“Y-yeah, sure.” Vinny said, trying to contain his excitement.

“Great.” Matt smiled.

They worked on this for the rest of the time they had in class and decided to meet at Matt’s house later to continue so they could finish it as fast as possible. After working on the project for over an hour, at Matt’s house, the two boys decided to take a break. Matt was laying down on his bed when he thought of something.

“Vinny?” He said, breaking the silence in the room.

The other boy looked up from his phone. “Yeah?”

“Why do you always forget your stuff in English? I mean, we have maths and biology together too and you never forget your stuff in those classes.” The smaller boy asked.

“I uh… Well, this is weird okay. Don’t hate me please.” Vinny said, a blush spreading over his cheeks.

He looked down at the floor, trying to hide his face from Matt who was now sitting up on his bed instead of lying down. “It kind of gave me an excuse to talk to you. I was just too shy to actually do it like a normal person.” He said, ashamed of himself.

“It’s weird because I had actually been trying to find a way to talk to you for a while.” Matt said, smiling and moving to sit on the edge of the bed next to Vinny. “It’s kinda cute though.” He said, taking his chance and leaning over to peck Vinny’s cheek.

Vinny blushed heavily and opened his mouth to say something but nothing would come out.

“Sorry, it’s been a while that I wanted to do that.” He said. “And maybe more.” He added under his breath but Vinny heard it and turned to Matt, eyes wide. “Shit. You heard that last part right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, I kinda have a crush on you.” He said, thinking that Vinny would hit him or something.

But the blow never came. Instead, he could feel a pair of lips collide with his own and his tensed body relaxed when Vinny’s hand touched his cheek.

“So you don’t hate me?” Matt asked still a little confused when Vinny pulled away.

“Of course I don’t hate you. I’ve had a crush on you for years. That’s why I didn’t know how to talk to you and why I was so awkward.” Vinny explained as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oh. So um, would you want to be my boyfriend?” Matt asked, still a little unsure.

“Do you really have to ask?” Vinny said, before leaning down to kiss the smaller boy. “That’s a yes by the way.” He whispered, his breath ghosting over Matt’s lips.