The sun crept through the windows early the next morning, waking Gabriel earlier than he usually did. His parents had luckily been asleep when he got home the night before, and in an attempt to make the less noise possible, he hadn’t closed his window shutters after climbing in. 

He groaned and stuffed his head deep in the pillows as the memories of yesterday’s party came over. He’d have to talk to Aaron today, and apologize for leaving the party like that. Urghhhh I should have at least explained why I was leaving. Now he’s going to think I was running away from him. The thought of facing the boy made him nauseous. 

His mind drifted to the forest, but he couldn’t remember why. It was something to do with the moon, he thought, absentmindedly. It didn’t really make sense. Maybe he had had a dream about trees and the moon. Yeah, that was probably it.

 Suddenly his alarm rang, making him curse loudly and shove his head back in the pillows. Mondays are the worst. 

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As he walked through the crowded hallways of his school, Gabriel wished he had slept more last night. I don’t even remember staying at the party that late. Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something? Lost in his thoughts, he absentmindedly opened his locker, grabbed his math book and headed towards class B24. Wait. Math class. Didn’t Aaron say we were in the same math class? Shit! I can’t face him now! I didn’t plan anything to say yet! Panicking, he hid in an empty closet room close to class B24. 

From the door’s porthole, he could just make out his classmates entering the classroom. He waited for Aaron to go in, and as he saw him walking through the door with his friends, Gabriel sighed in relief. He waited a few more seconds, and when the bell rang he got out of his hiding place and ran towards the classroom. 

He made it inside just in time. As the teacher closed the door and started her lesson, Gabriel quickly sat at his table, trying his best not to look at Aaron’s table a few rows on his left. don’t look don’t look don’t look- maybe he forgot about me. Gabriel looked to the side, just to check. He was immediately met with emerald green eyes staring right back at him. He felt himself go red and turned away quickly. Fuck. He definitely hasn’t forgotten. 

The rest of the hour, Gabriel had his eyes glued on the board, and on the math formulas, pretending to listen to the teacher. Really, his mind was whirring with what he should say to Aaron, and what Aaron’s reactions might be. This is why I don’t do social interactions. I always get myself in these stupid situations. Maybe I’m overreacting. Or maybe I lost all my chances at making new friends. What if- The bell rang and Gabriel jumped up from his seat, stuffed all his belongings in his backpack at an impressive speed, before running out into the hallways.