Sam had no clue what he was doing here. The loud, booming voices of his fellow highschoolers made him want to rush back home and climb into bed with a good book. He’d be able to immerse himself in a whole new world. One without smelly teenagers and gum all over the bleacher seat’s underside. As he was shoved and pushed around by others who were excited to get to their seats, Sam really debated leaving. 

Unfortunately he had already promised Treyvon that he would show up for his first game of the season. Well it was still technically pre-season, but there were a couple of informal games, today’s being one of them, that were meant to attract students to show school support and to get the teams ready for the actual games. 

Sam found a seat on the other team’s side of the court as it was much less populated. Just a few students here or there and a bunch of parents. Treyvon’s team wasn’t out of the locker room yet, but the other team was and they seemed pretty skilled. Sam didn’t really know how this game would pan out, but he was excited to see Treyvon in action. When the home team finally came out and were announced, the gym lit up with cheers. Sam thought that they looked really cool, not that he would ever admit it, he also thought that Treyvon looked really handsome and cute in his jersey. 

Treyvon met Sam’s gaze and waved excitedly, to which Sam waved back a little more reserved but excited nonetheless. Sam watched tensely as the game started, and Treyvon was one of the starting five along with his best friend Darius. Sam had been introduced to Darius briefly, but Sam still hadn’t wracked up the courage to talk to him yet. He was nice, but had a much more intimidating demeanor than Treyvon’s easy going one. Darius was the point guard, which Sam found out was the person who dribbled the ball up and called out the plays the team was going to run. Sam couldn’t imagine being able to dribble or pass half as well as Darius could. 

Sam couldn’t really tell who was doing better other than what the scoreboard said. He knew that Treyvon had scored quite a lot though. In the end, Treyvon’s team won by 5 points making it a pretty close game, but not necessarily one that had people on the edge of their seats. Sam waited until the gym had pretty much cleared out and the players finally escaped the clutches of Coach Boone. He shyly approached Treyvon who had a big smile on his face. 

“Sammie! I’m so happy you came” Treyvon pulled him into a hug which may or may not have made Sam squeak in surprise. 

“You did good,” Sam praised Treyvon who smiled even brighter. 

“Thanks, it means a lot. Couldn’t have done it without Darius though. Darius come say hi to Sammie!” Treyvon looked over his shoulder to shout at his best friend. 

“Hey Sam! I didn’t know you came to the basketball games'' Darius smiled at Sam who smiled back and gave a slight wave from under Treyvon’s arm. 

“He doesn’t usually, but he came to see our elite skills in action. Isn’t that right, Sammie?” Treyvon asked hopefully. 

Sam shook his head and Treyvon gave him a confused look, “Only came for Darius” 

Darius and Treyvon burst into laughter while Sam giggles softly, “Thanks Sam. I knew you were just pretending to be friends with Trey in order to get close to me this whole time” 

“I didn’t realise you were so fake, Sammie. I don’t know if I can tutor you anymore” Treyvon pretended to cry which made Sam’s smile bigger. Is this what it was like to have friends? If so, Sam really enjoyed it. 

Sam was about to ask Treyvon if he wanted to go somewhere which would have been a big thing for him, but he was stopped by a pretty girl, “Hi, sorry to interrupt. Are you ready to go, Treyvon?” 

“Oh shoot, sorry Imani. I lost track of time, I’ll meet you at the car” Treyvon said sweetly before turning back to Sam, “Sorry Sammie, I guess that’s my cue to go. I’m so happy that you came. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m so happy it’ll be Friday” 

Sam waved at Treyvon and Darius as they exited the gym. He quickly left feeling a little disappointed. He should have known that Treyvon would have other plans. He’s a popular guy that everyone likes, it’s no wonder that he would rather hang out with stunning girls like Imani. Sam tried to deny it for days now, but he couldn’t help the jealousy that he felt towards Imani. His crush on Treyvon would forever be a secret and his feelings were always one sided. It was a sad thought, but a realistic one at most. He couldn’t help that he developed a crush on Treyvon either when he was always there for him recently, and is so cuddly. 

Sam returned home quietly, took a shower, laid in bed, and cuddled with his teddy bear that he’s had since he was born. The outside fabric was pilling from all the times that it had been washed and it’s stuffing was all lumpy, but it was the item that brought him the most comfort. Maybe Treyvon would like him if he was as pretty as Imani. She was thin, with larger breasts considering her size, smooth umber skin, and she had nice eyelashes and long braids that seemed to go on for days. Oh who was he kidding, Treyvon would never like Sam because Treyvon wasn’t gay. 

Sam tried not to cry, as he didn’t want Emily to be right in calling him a cry baby. It was also such a pathetic thing to cry about, or at least that’s what he was always told. He couldn’t help it if a tear or two escaped. Mr. Buttons would be there to catch the tears for him like he always has. Sam tried with all his might not to fall asleep to visions of him and Treyvon in a happy and affectionate relationship. 

⯀

“It’s Friday! I’m so happy I could sing!” Treyvon shouted in the crowded hallways. 

“Please don’t. You would make the whole school deaf with your ratchet ass voice” Darius deadpanned making Treyvon glare at his friend. 

“Well that was just rude. Sammie doesn’t make fun of me like that. Maybe I’ll promote him to my best friend” Treyvon remarked. 

Darius just rolled his eyes, “Sam doesn’t make fun of you because he doesn’t ever speak, dipshit. Also I don’t think you want Sam as your best friend, I think you want something else from him” 

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? And stop calling me a dipshit, you’re a dipshit” Treyvon raised an eyebrow at Darius who rather than expanding on what he meant just shrugged. The bell rang and their conversation moved on to one about dreading fourth period. 

Treyvon smiled despite the sweat and exhaustion when he saw a familiar figure sit in his now usual seat on the gym bleachers. Sam looked as adorable as usual in his usual leggings and sweater combo. Treyvon wondered how he never got hot, but before he could really think about it he felt a ball slam against his side. He quickly searched for the culprit and his eyes widened when he realised it was Coach Boone. 

Boone glared at his star player. Why the hell was this kid staring at Olsen with hearts in his eyes. Ugh, he absolutely hated oblivion, “Brown or rather Lover Boy, stop staring at Olsen and get back into the play. Smith had been signaling you to move for the past minute” 

Treyvon blushed and wanted to question the nickname, but quickly thought otherwise after looking at Coach Boone’s scary eyes. Why would the school hire someone so frightening? Darius started the play back up again and Treyvon got back into the swing of things. 

Much to the team’s enjoyment, practice was over before they knew it. Treyvon rushed to the shower. He hated smelling bad and the showers here were fairly decent, so he didn’t mind. He just took a quick one here and then a more thorough one at home after dinner and homework. The water wasn’t nearly hot enough at school anyways. 

Treyvon walked up to Sam with a big smile on his face, still excited that it was Friday, but his smile faded as he saw the small smile on the pale boy’s face. Hopefully he wasn’t as sad as that other day. Treyvon absolutely despised seeing the people he was close to cry, and for whatever reason despised it even more when Sam cried. He felt kind of bad for thinking it, but he thought that Sam looked kind of cute even when he was crying. Who even looks cute when crying? Apparently Sam does. 

Treyvon questions many things about Sammie, like why does he think that he’s so cute? Why is he so shy? Are leggings comfortable? How does he wear leggings without his underwear or bulge showing? Is it because he has a small thing? No bad, Treyvon. Don’t think about other people’s things? Just small questions like that. 

Now Treyvon was wondering why Sammie was so sad, “Hey Sammie, what’s wrong?”

Sam just smiled at him, but Treyvon could tell that it wasn’t genuine, “Nothing”. 

Treyvon decided not to pry, and instead waited for Sammie to pack up all his school supplies. He noticed the cute little dog pencil that Sam put away in his baby blue pencil case. Sam climbed into the car as did Treyvon and they made their way to the library. The librarian actually started recognizing them and would now wave every time she saw them which they thought was sweet. 

Treyvon tried to think of reasons why the other boy would be down in the dumps. He did notice that Sammie had a little frown when they said bye yesterday after the game. Maybe it was because he left so rudely. 

“Sorry for being so rude yesterday. You went out of your way to come watch my game, and I kind of just ditched you. Imani needed to get home, and I was her ride so I couldn’t stay for very long” Treyvon apologized and noticed that Sam was now looking at him with scrunched eyebrows and confused eyes. 

“Don’t worry, she’s pretty” For whatever reason it made Treyvon a little uncomfortable that Sammie found Imani pretty. 

“Yeah she’s got good genes, but you better watch yourself. That’s my little cousin you’re talking about” Sam’s eyes widened and he wanted to shoot himself in the foot for being such an idiot. 

“Oh” was all he said instead. 

“If you promise to treat her nicely, I might put in a good word for you” Treyvon offered even though he really didn’t want to. 

Sam shook his head rapidly, “No thanks, she’s pretty but not for me” 

“Oh okay, what kind of girls are you into?” Treyvon asked curiously. He wouldn’t be surprised if Sam had a whole line of girls who wanted to date him. 

“None” Sam blurted out without thinking about it. He slapped his hand over his mouth as he flushed bright red. How could he say something like that? 

Meanwhile Treyvon was a little confused by the answer, what did he mean by none...Oh!, “I’m sorry for assuming, Sammie. That was wrong of me. In that case what kind of boys are you into?” 

Sam wasn’t surprised that Treyvon didn’t even care that he was gay. Treyvon was the perfect human after all. He blushed at Treyvon’s question and refused to answer it, “Not telling” 

“Fine then do you have a crush?” Treyvon teased him which only made Sammiw turn away so that he could hide from Treyvon’s demandingly curious eyes, “You do!” 

In the very back of his mind Treyvon was hoping for Sam’s crush to be on him. Not that he would act on it, but it would surely boost his ego to know that both females and males found him attractive. Definitely not for any other reason. 

Treyvon decided to stop teasing Sammie and together they demolished Sam’s nightly math homework. Sam was starting to do a little better in his math class, but still relied on Treyvon to be there for him to ask questions. He was like a lifeline. Treyvon didn’t mind the tutoring sessions. Unless Sammie was struggling or asked for help, he worked on his own work and it provided an hour of dedicated time without distractions for him to get stuff done.