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Frank awoke to the moist feeling of a wet tongue caressing his face and the pungent smell of dog breath.
“Morning Sweet Pea,” he groaned, gently pushing the small dog away and rolling over to check the time on his phone. The too-bright screen read: 7:00AM. Frank groaned as this was far too early for him to be up and about. But, then he remembered the date. Today was August 26th. Today was the first day of his senior year. Frank had waiting for this for so long and now that it was here he was smiling his ass off.
You see, Frank’s senior year was going to be a breeze. He was taking the easiest core classes he could manage plus one hour each of music and art, and two whole hours of Teacher-aiding for Mr. Way. Frank had had Mr. Way for English both his sophomore and junior year and they had gotten pretty familiar with each other. Frank of course wouldn’t admit it to anyone else, but he had the HUGEST crush on the guy since that first day of sophomore English, so he was definitely looking forward to spending more time with him as an assistant rather than a student. Not to mention he actually really liked English. But, maybe that was just because Mr. Way taught it.
There was just something about him that drove Frank crazy. It wasn’t just his sexy ass, or his gorgeous hazel eyes, or the fact that he shared a lot of interests with the boy. It was something in the way he spoke about his favorite books, the way he always got so caught up in the moment talking about the things that he loved, totally abandoning whatever point he had meant to be making. It was in the way the sunlight reflected off of his dyed-black hair, the way that same raven hair fell into his face sometimes and he would do the cutest little head toss to get it out of the way. The way his--
Frank’s phone buzzed, pulling him out of his thoughts and into the present. It was his best friend, Ray.
“GUESS WHAT FRANKIE?!”
Frank replied with a quick question of what, already knowing the answer. Ray texted back immediately.
“WE’RE SENIORS FRANKIE!! Meet me at my house in ten?”
“lol sure. I’ll be right over,” he replied, just now starting to actually get ready. He would have to rush over to Ray’s. Frank tossed his phone in his school bag, threw on a Black Flag t-shirt, a red plaid flannel, his favorite pair of torn jeans, and quickly lined his eyes with a red pencil (It was the first day of school. He had to at least look semi-decent). Then, he sped out the door to Ray’s and to school, shouting a simple goodbye to his mother on the way.

*

Ray and Frank walked to school together and parted ways to go to their separate classes. Frank was sitting in chemistry listening to Mrs. Armstrong drone on about lab safety when he started doodling. It wasn’t long until he was completely zoned out and in three places at once. His body was in class, his hands were on the pencil, and his mind was somewhere else.
And then the bell rang.
Frank looked down and realized what he had drawn, shoving it in his bag immediately out of embarrassment. It was a drawing of Mr. Way. Frank hadn’t seen him all summer and was starting to get antsy. He just wanted to go to his class and see his beautiful face again. Oh god. What would Ray say if he found out how Frank was feeling? Or worse, who he was feeling it for? Ray had just recently found out about Frank being gay and, although he took it well and tried to be supportive, he really didn’t seem to understand. He still tried setting Frank up with girls (and the occasional guy) every chance he got. Like, at lunch for instance.
“Come on, man. She’s hot!” Ray begged. “Okay, how about that guy over there? Pink hair. Next to the dude with the hat.”
“Pete? He’s in my music class. I’m going to say no, but congratulations. I think he’s the first guy you’ve picked out that’s actually gay.”
Ray rolled his eyes at that comment. But, then his face lit up like my house on Christmas.
“Speaking of being gay,” he began. “I heard that Jessica Lake saw Mr. Way at the mall over the summer with some guy. Word is she saw them kiss and everything. Can you believe that?!”
Frank froze in his seat, unable to respond. Mr. Way? Gay? Could this be true? If it was did that mean this guy at the mall was his boyfriend? Was he taken? Frank had so many questions. He couldn’t believe it. Of course he had always wondered. But, he never really allowed himself to hope. He knew he would be disappointed. Now, however, he was filled with joy and conviction. If Mr. Way was gay, that meant that Frank had a chance with him, however small that chance was. If Ray wanted Frank to find someone so bad, then that’s what he would do. He wasn’t just going to get any boyfriend though. He was going to get Mr. Way.