Alec peeked his head into the classroom. He was dreading going back in there, but he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t go home and pretend he was sick. It would only make his mother worry, and Nick would probably scold him. However, that didn’t really bother him all that much. He actually wanted to see that.

Many of his classmates stared at him, but he ignored them while he searched the room. Nick was already at his desk, but he wasn’t the one Alec was looking for. His eyes finally fell on the person he was looking for. He took a deep breath and finally walked in.

“Hey.” Alec stopped at Kyle's desk.

“Hey.” Kyle smiled.

“I’m really sorry about yesterday.”

“Stop.” Kyle got up from his chair. “You already apologized three times by text. I forgive you.”

“Okay.” Alec still felt bad.

Kyle had his back when everyone else was doubting him because of Felicity.

“Promise me if something’s up, you’ll tell me. Don’t keep it all in and explode like that.”

“Deal.”

Alec was glad that he could patch things up so quickly with Kyle. He didn’t really know what he would do if his mistake destroyed their friendship.

The bell rang, and Mr. Keaton walked in, ready to start class. Alec rushed to his seat and pulled out his books.

He tried to listen to what the teacher was telling him, but his eyes would sometimes wander over to Nick. He wondered when they could be alone again. His cellphone vibrated, pulling his attention away from Nick. He subtly removed it from his pocket and glanced at the message.

Nick: Stop it. Pay attention to the lesson.

Alec smiled. He couldn’t see his face, but Nick’s ears were a little pinkish. He quickly sent him a reply before slipping the device back into his pocket.

Even though it was hard, he waited patiently until lunch. He wanted to eat with Nick. All he wanted to do now was spend time with Nick. Catching up and enjoying the moment.

The bell rang, and Alec sprung from his chair. He walked over to Nick, who was still at his desk.

"Hey."Alec smiled.

"Hey." Nick smiled too as he put his books into his bag.

"Want to go eat lunch together?"

"Sure."

"Cool. I'm gonna get something to eat. Did you bring anything to eat?” Nick shook his head. “Okay, I’ll get you something, and I'll see you in the empty classroom on the third floor?"

"Yeah, sounds good."

Alec's smile widened, and he exited the classroom. He felt as if everyone could tell that he was on cloud nine because he could barely contain his emotions. He didn’t mind, though. He was happy and saw no point in trying to hide it.

On his way to the cafeteria, he bumped into Charlie, waiting in line by himself.

"Hey, Charlie."

"Oh hey, Alec." Charlie turned around.

"You're not with Lukas?"

"No. He told me he had something to do." Charlie smiled nervously. "He's been a little weird recently."

Alec nodded. He had noticed a small change in Lukas. He wanted to ask him about it when he saw him, but he barely got to or was too preoccupied with what was going on with Nick to have the time.

"Well, if you're eating alone, do you wanna join us?"

"Us?"

"Yeah. Me and Nick."

Alec noticed that Charlie knew exactly who he was talking about without having to specify.

"Um...are you sure? I don't want to disturb you guys."

"Of course, I'm sure. You helped me a lot, so I want to thank you."

"Okay."

There was still hesitation in Charlie's face, but that didn't stop Alec. It wouldn't stop him. He paid for Charlie’s lunch, and they went to where Nick was waiting.

Nick was sitting on a desk, waiting patiently. When the door opened, he sprung up with a smile, but the moment he saw Charlie, his smile vanished.

"Nick. This is Charlie."

"Hi." Nick smiled.

"Hi. Alec has told me a lot about you."

"Really?” Nick glanced at Alec. “Like what?"

Alec suddenly got nervous. He had told Charlie a lot of things. Somethings he shouldn't have said at all. Things he wished he hadn't said.

"That you guys grew up together. I'm glad everything worked out between you." Charlie smiled as he sat down. "Though I did think it was going to take a little longer."

"Yeah. I'm surprised too."

"Okay.”Alec smiled nervously and sat down. “Let's eat."

Nick and Charlie joined him, and for a while, they were all silent. The silence was killing Alec. He never thought it would be this awkward, and he suddenly started to feel really bad. He wanted to spend time with Nick, but he also wanted to thank Charlie.

“How do you guys know each other?” Nick asked, breaking the silence at last.

“Um… Charlie is Lukas’ best friend.”

“Who’s Lukas?” Nick stared at him with his eyebrow raised.

“He’s a kid that Josh picked on a lot because he thinks he’s gay. Actually, he still thinks he is gay.”

“Is he?” Nick asked.

“No.” Charlie shook his head. “It’s just me.”

“You’re gay?”

Charlie nodded. He had no shame in saying it. He seemed almost proud to say it, which made Alec respect him even more.

"You have a boyfriend, right?"

"Yeah." Charlie nodded with a smile on his face. "He graduated two years ago."

"Really? What's his name?"

"Hiro Flynn."

Nick suddenly started coughing and banged on his chest.

"Are you okay, Nick?" Alec looked at him, worried.

"You're dating Hiro Flynn?"

"Yeah." Charlie nodded. "We've been together for two years."

"Oh my god."

Alec turned to Nick. He was beaming like a child who was told Christmas was coming early.

"You know him, Nick?"

"I've never talked to him, but yeah, I know him. He was a legend at school. He was so smart that he skipped two grades and graduated early. He was also the first kid to come out at school. No one ever messed with him, though."

"Yeah." Charlie smiled. "He has a way with people." Alec could tell Charlie really loved Hiro. "I can introduce you to him if you want."

"Really?"

"Yeah. We could all hang out at some point. He'll be happy to see I have more friends besides Lukas."

Nick was thrilled by the idea. Alec was just happy to see that Charlie considered him to be a friend.

"Hey, I wanted to ask you. What's going on with Lukas?"

"I don't know." Charlie shrugged. "He's been acting a little strange. I've been trying to get him to open up to me, but he's holding back. It's not like him."

"This is your best friend? The one who's getting bullied?"

"Yeah. He got pushed this morning and cut his hand on a piece of glass."

"What!" Alec got angry. "Was it Josh?"

"I don't want to cause more problems for him." Charlie shook his head. "Lukas already has troubles at school. I don't want to add to them."

Alec understood what he meant. He didn't want Lukas to suffer any more than he had to, but he didn't want him to get picked on either. Alec decided to let it go for now. But he wasn’t going to ignore what he heard.

They changed the subject. They started to discuss when they could all hang out. Charlie pulled out his phone and started to text someone. Alec assumed it was Hiro since they were planning on meeting him soon if his schedule allowed it.

"Well, I'm gonna go back to class." Charlie slid off the desk. "I'll see you guys later."

"Bye, Charlie."

Charlie waved as he walked out of the classroom. He closed the door behind him, leaving Alec and Nick alone together. Alec slipped off the desk and stood between Nick's open legs.

“Sorry I didn’t tell you I invited Charlie.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Alec wrapped his arms around his waist and lowered his head. He didn't kiss him. He just let his forehead rest on Nick's. "We should go back too," Nick mumbled.

"I know." Alec wanted to spend more time with him but knew he would have to wait a little longer. "Can we walk home together?"

"Don't you have practice?" Alec swore as he remembered he had soccer practice after school. "It's okay." Nick gently touched his face. "I'll wait for you at home."

"You'll keep your window open?"

Nick nodded. Alec smiled and closed the gap between them. He wasn't planning on kissing him too long. He just wanted to feel him before he had to go back to class. Nick didn't fight it and wrapped his arms around Alec's neck.