CHAPTER TWO
Nora's crush on Drew began a little into sophomore year, as far as Ryan knew. It happened during the first swimming competition that year when Drew was a junior.
Ryan attended the event with both Nora and Ruxie although it wasn't mandatory for them to do so. He was particularly excited to see Drew swimming but he didn't voice it to either of his friends. How could he tell them that he had a crush on a guy he had never even spoken to?
Ryan wasn't scared of what their reaction would be regarding his liking a guy. They knew he was gay, his entire class did. It wasn't something Ryan tried to hide. He wore his sexuality loud and proud and often showed his support for others as much as he could with stickers and sharing information regarding LGBT+ clubs and such. He was even in the club in their school and was working towards becoming the president once he was a senior.
Being gay wasn't something Ryan detested. He loved himself, as he did others who were like him.
What worried him was how they'd react when he told them he had a crush on a straight guy and so he kept it a secret for a whole year.
And it wasn't going to come out anytime soon once the swimming competition was over that day and he heard Nora cheering loudly for the boy who won for their school, Drew.
For a moment, Ryan thought he heard her wrong. Nora had never mentioned Drew once before so to suddenly hear how happy she was that he won was almost shocking... well, shocking because Drew was all he ever thought about anyway. He turned to his friend to make sure and what she said next to both him and Ruxie made Ryan feel what he was sure was heartbreak.
Oh my god, he is so hot, I think I have a crush on him.
Nora was absolutely smitten by Drew and it only got worse when for some reason, Drew's eyes landed on the three friends and he smiled at them. It wasn't a long gaze, no. But those few seconds where Drew's gaze had been in their direction had Ryan questioning everything in his life.
Was it all a lie? Did his brain make up Drew watching him when in fact he had been watching Nora all this while?
Ryan felt like a total idiot! He should have known that no straight guy would be into him. And since he was usually with Nora, they were practically conjoined at the hip, it made sense that Drew would look their way.
Ryan thought that his crush on him would disappear after he made that discovery. But for some reason, it only got stronger as the days flew by. And so did Nora's crush on him.
Like birds of a feather, Nora was also shy and scared to tell Drew her true feelings so Ryan was the one who had to hear her gush over him while he silently dealt with the guilt that ate him for loving his best friend's crush.
With classes already in full swing, now that they were juniors, Ryan had managed to keep thoughts of Drew at bay. They weren't completely gone but he was more focused on his academics rather than some guy. Having realized that he wanted to study law after high school, Ryan was working on increasing his grades and extracurricular activities and the best time to do that was now.
It also helped that Drew was a senior and Ryan saw him less often even though some juniors and seniors shared classes in Redwood High. He did see him in passing sometimes, especially at the cafeteria, and especially when Nora and Ruxie dragged him to watch the boy's swim meets where Drew was always around.
Ryan wanted to stay back and not attend the event but when Nora questioned his hesitation, he blanked.
I don't want to hear you gushing about your crush, Ryan thought to say. But he knew what the follow-up question would be and he was so not ready to tell her that he was also crushing on the same guy.
What kind of best friend would he be especially knowing that Drew was straight?
So he smiled at them. "I hope there's enough eye candy," he said, wiggling his eyebrows and making his friends laugh.
"Seriously, you need to get a boyfriend," Ruxie stated as they playfully shoved Ryan.
"Why get a boyfriend when I can just ogle all the hot guys here?"
"You're such an idiot," said Nora with an eye roll. She didn't understand why her friend was so averse to getting into a relationship.
There were many gay guys in their school and for some reason, none of them caught Ryan's eye, or so he said. She watched him thoughtfully, wondering if there was something he had his sights on that he hadn't mentioned to either her or Ruxie.
"Do you have a crush on anyone?" She asked him as they entered the swimming pool room.
Ryan's eyes widened slightly at the question, and the tips of his ears burned with the deeply rooted guilt he felt. "Uhh... no," he answered swiftly.
"Are you sure?" Ruxie questioned with a raised brow. "Hell are you even gay?"
"Whoa! Calm the fuck down dude," Ryan stated as he stopped walking to stare at his friends. "I'm gay. I just haven't found someone I really like, and y'all know that I'm not into the whole sleeping around thing," he explained, wishing they would get off his ass about being in a relationship.
"I mean, you could be ace, or aromantic. Have you thought about that?" Nora asked him with genuine concern. While all but one of the trio were currently single, it was only Ryan who had never been in a relationship before.
Nora got her first boyfriend in middle school, but it was just for a short time during summer. She met her second boyfriend in their first year of high school and was her longest relationship by far, but it sadly ended when the boy had to move out of the country.
And sometimes, just sometimes, when Ryan was feeling a little lonely and in his feelings, he cursed the boy for moving away because if he hadn't, maybe Nora wouldn't be so into Drew. Just maybe.
Ruxie on the other hand was currently in a relationship with a boy named Alex. He was also a junior but in another school. They began dating just a little before junior year. Alex was kind of cool and the few times Ryan had hang out with him were all lovely.
Ryan was glad that all his friends had experienced relationships and being in love, but he had to admit he was a bit envious. Not because he didn't know what love was, but because he hadn't been able to experience it with the person he was head over heels for.
"I'm not ace, nor aromantic. I've actually had many crushes," he said. I've been pining for one guy for three years now but whatever, I guess. "If someone catches my eye, you guys will be the first to know and you can set me up or whatever," he said and almost regretted it.
He saw the light that went up in both Nora and Ruxie's eyes and he knew just then that he was in for a world of pain. They were definitely going to try to set him up with a lot of guys in their school.
Satisfied with Ryan's admission, the three of them went ahead to take some seats and watch as the swim team practiced. All the while, Ryan's eyes could only focus on one guy.
He loved how serious Drew looked every time he was in the water. He glided through it as if he was born for it. His body movements were especially graceful and Ryan thought he looked marvelous. He couldn't help it, the man was simply handsome.
There was just something about the way he glided across the water that made Ryan never want to lose focus for fear that he might miss out on something great. It was unnerving but in a good way. Drew just had that thing, and Ryan wanted to know what it was.
What about him made Ryan so smitten? It was a mystery and he liked it.
"He's gonna win, I just know it, oh my god!" Nora screamed, startling Ryan.
Ryan smiled. It was true. Drew was going to win. He always won. Just like he won Ryan's heart without even knowing it.
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