A couple of days after Kyle finally accepted his possible feelings for Cole, specifically on Wednesday that week, Cole came into the first period like he did every school day. Except unlike most days, where he is usually plain faced or softly smiling, Cole came in with a deep frown.

And it was deep. Kyle was actually shocked and was wondering what was the story behind the expression on Cole's face. His eyebrows were scrunched towards the middle and the middle of his lips was gathered together and pulled up, creating his deep frown which also doubled as a pout.

Kyle wanted to coo over the adorableness of the expression but he was too worried to really enjoy it.

Well, maybe he could.

No, focus on Cole's troubles first, then you can stare at his face. Kyle told himself sternly before he got carried away.

Cole went over to his seat, but instead of dropping his stuff and coming over to talk to Kyle as he always did, Cole just sat down and pulled out his phone.

Cole didn't even turn around to wave. That got Kyle very worried. Cole was never one to not acknowledge someone else. At least, never before.

Kyle wanted to talk to Cole now. Just to make sure that he was okay and nothing was seriously wrong. And with how Cole was acting, he would probably have to wait until lunch to do so.

—————

Lunch rolled around again like it did every day for Kyle and once again Kyle brought food from home. He was actually excited about it too because his mom had made him a burrito.

Kyle never felt more like a child then when his mom packed him food and gave it to him while pinching his cheeks. But the personal embarrassment was worth it when he got her cooking.

Kyle got to his table and was surprised to not only find Neal sitting there but Cole next to him. Cole had never gotten to the table before Kyle because he had to buy lunch, but for some reason, he was here eating a homemade sandwich with spinach sticking out of it.

Kyle sat down and smiled at his friends.

"Hey, guys," The two looked up simultaneously, Neal returning Kyle's smile while Cole only nodded. "Cole, what's up with the sandwich? I have never seen you bring food from home before."

"Thank you!" Neal said, standing up and high-fiving Kyle in the most extra way he could. "That's what I said and he tried to act like it's nothing."

"It is nothing." Cole insisted, rolling his eyes when the boys scoffed. "Why is it a bad thing for me to bring a big, healthy sandwich from home?"

Kyle became suspicious with the way Cole phrased his sentence and tried to subtly push for an answer.

"We never said that it is a bad thing, just unusual, Cole." Kyle went on to explain. "You have never done this before so we have our reasons to be curious."

Neal nodded with every word Kyle said and Cole struggled not to smile for the first time today because of how comical he looked.

Cole shrugged and took another bite from his sandwich.

"Apology accepted. Now sit down so we can eat." Cole ordered softly. His voice was quiet yet stern when he said it and Kyle's mind started to wander to other scenarios where Cole would have to use that tone.

Kyle sat down quickly to hide his new problem and started to unpack his food.

"Well, you're not the only one with healthy and delicious homemade food. My mom made burritos." Kyle bragged, pulling out his thick burrito for his friends to gawk at.

Neal stared at the food in awe and Cole seemed very appreciative of how delicious it looked.

"You know, I haven't been to your house in a while. Maybe I should come for dinner tonight." Neal suddenly suggested, staring at the burrito the whole time that he spoke.

Kyle laughed and shook his head while Cole let a small smile peak out.

"So is that a yes?"

—————

Kyle lent his hands on his knees and started panting. His shirt was off and sweat covered his entire body. Kyle grabbed his T-shirt that he had stuffed into his short's pocket and used the fabric to wipe off his face and chest.

Rugby practice had been killer. They had done their warm-ups and some intense exercises before splitting the team in two and practicing the drills for their games. When they had done everything required for practice, the coach suggested that they play some shirts versus skins games for fun.

It was surprisingly one of the toughest parts of practice and Kyle had the sweat to show for it.

Kyle had ended up on the skins team and was happy to take off his shirt and be able to cool off better as he ran.

The game was now done, Kyle's side losing by two points, and everyone started to head to the showers.

With Kyle's newfound realization of his crush and possible sexuality, he thought it best to not test his body and stay away from the showers for a while. He would just take a long, private shower at home and leave it at that.

Kyle was walking off of the field when he noticed one of his teammates. His teammate had brought his girlfriend to practice and though it was slightly distracting to hear her screaming and cheering in the stands, that was the tiniest bit of what they experienced during games so the guys didn't make any complaints.

His teammate had his arm thrown over the girl's shoulder and the two were talking while looking into each other's eyes. Kyle really respected the girl for dealing with her man's stink on her shoulder, but seeing them together reminded him of Cole, as sad as it sounds.

Kyle grabbed his phone and texted Cole. He told Cole to meet him at his house in 40 minutes and then stuffed it back into his pocket.

He had to find out what was up with Cole or he would never get his mind off of it.

—————

Kyle walked out of the shower, steam billowing out from behind him as he walked to his room. Unfortunately, Kyle didn't have his own bathroom and had to make the five-second treck to his room with only a towel around his waist covering his nudity.

Kyle walked into his bedroom humming a tune the whole time before walking over to his dresser. Kyle had a pretty large room, his bed was placed directly in front of the door so that when others walked in, he could see them immediately. He had a desk for school work to the right side of the bed and his closet and dresser to the left.

Kyle bent over to look through the top drawer for a pair of underwear when he heard a startled yelp.

"Dude!" The panicked voice blurted. Kyle jumped and turned around, hoping that he hadn't recognized the voice properly. Unfortunately enough, it was in fact Cole, kneeling on the floor on the right side of the bed, covering his eyes.

"What the- Cole? Why are you here?" Kyle asked as calmly as he could manage, resisting the urge to put his hands over his crotch.

"You told me to come, remember?" Cole threw back, his voice still sounding shocked and embarrassed.

"I did, but I didn't know that you would hide in my room." Kyle explained, using the situation to tease Cole.

Cole's cheeks and ears went red, even being seen despite most of his face being covered by his hands. Kyle enjoyed the reaction thoroughly.

"I-I had been looking at your desk and accidentally dropped your pen cup and then I had to go under your desk to get it," Cole explained through his hands. "But then when I came up you were there, naked! So I kind of was surprised."

Kyle rolled his eyes and pulled out a pair of red briefs.

"I wasn't naked, Cole. I have a towel on." Kyle argued, slowly pulling on the underwear while Cole's eyes were still closed.

"Towels don't count as clothes, you are naked." Cole continued to say, stubbornly. Kyle finished pulling on his underwear and finally dropped the towel. Cole heard and tensed considerably.

"Kyle," Cole started lowly, his voice sounding quite worried. "Did you just drop your towel?"

Kyle smirked at Cole's tone.

"Yup."

Cole groaned while Kyle laughed.

"Kyle!"

Kyle continued to laugh but calmed down enough to speak.

"Cole, it's fine. I covered my nakedness." Kyle assured Cole. Cole sighed in relief and removed his hands, only to throw them back on when he saw Kyle.

"Kyle!" Cole yelled again, his face tomato red as Kyle just kept on laughing. "Why didn't you mention that you only covered your ass?!"

"Hey, I covered more than my ass." Kyle frowned. "I covered my crotch too."

Cole just plopped his forehead onto the bed and when Kyle noticed that he wouldn't respond anymore, Kyle went into his closet to finish dressing up.

Only a minute later Kyle was walking back out of his closet with light grey sweatpants and a T-shirt that wrapped his well-built shoulders.

Cole uncovered his hands and was happy to see a fully dressed Kyle once again. "Thank gosh." he muttered under his breath. Kyle decided not to think deeply about why he said that and started to speak.

"Cole, I didn't bring you over here just to hang out." Kyle started, looking at Cole with an extremely serious expression. "I was worried about you, actually if you don't want to talk about it then you don't have to, but I have to at least ask. What's wrong?"

Cole stood up and sat on the bed and Kyle sat down next to him. Cole was looking down at his hands and Kyle didn't say anything else, just letting him collect his thoughts.

"Kyle, I'm not skinny, I don't play any sports and I don't get out much. You would probably never say it but I know that I am pretty big and could use a lot of work." Cole told Kyle, complete honesty and vulnerability in his tone.

Kyle shook his head.

"No, I wouldn't say that because I don't believe that. You aren't big, Cole, why would you think that?" Cole looked away from Kyle and sighed.

"Because it's true?" Kyle was shocked by how convinced Cole was about this idea of his. 

“Cole, whether you need to lose weight or not, why does it matter? In my mind there’s nothing about you that you need to change.”

The corners or Cole’s mouth lifted up slightly at Kyle’s compliments but he still remained upset. Seeing the concerned expression on Kyle’s face as he stared at Cole made the shorter boy sigh. He had to explain.

"I was acting like an asshole today because my mom finally got tired of me not doing anything and being a chubby ass. She told me that if I didn't start shaping up . . . then she would transfer me to a military boarding school where they would force me to."

Kyle thought over the few times that he had met Cole's mom. She hadn't seemed too bad but she did give off the feeling of being controlling. Now Kyle knew that he had been right in that assumption.

"So you have to start exercising then?" Kyle decided to ask, wanting to think of ways to help Cole and lift his mood.

Cole sighed and shrugged.

"I guess I could try but I doubt that I will get very far." Cole said, dejected. Kyle lightly pushed Cole's shoulder and shook his own head.

"Come on Cole. Be more positive, you'll be fine, trust me." Kyle smiled as brightly as he could manage. A thought came to Kyle and he jumped up, standing in front of Cole with the smile stretching even wider than before. "Why don't I help you?"

Cole perked up at the suggestion and looked up at the happy Kyle.

"What do you mean?" Cole asked skeptically.

"I mean that I can help you figure out what sport or exercise that you like. When someone likes their workout they are more likely to stick with them. I love Rugby and cardio so I push myself to make time for it. I can help you figure out what you like and help you stick with it so you can stay here."

Kyle hoped that Cole missed his last sentence or at least didn't understand why he said them because if he did then this would get a little bit complicated.

Cole bit on his lip and looked at Kyle, unsure.

"I don't know Kyle." Cole sighed, turning away.

"Oh, come on Cole. What do you have to lose? It will be fun!" Kyle's hand flapped around as he spoke and Cole found himself smiling.

"Alright, fine. Thank you for helping me." Cole smiled shyly, unaware of how the expression messed with Kyle's heart.

"Of course. What else is a meat-head like me supposed to do?" Kyle asked jokingly, sitting next to Cole again.

Cole giggled and bumped Kyle with his shoulder.

"You're not a meat-head." Cole disagreed warmly. "If you were a meat-head then we would never be friends."