Out of the corner of his eye, he saw those same boys just a few steps away.
He wanted to return the lighter—after all, it was not his.
He turned to them. “Hey.” They looked back at him with hostile eyes.
They muttered to each other... “He’s gonna be here any second…” then turned to Will.
“Just wait and see. His friend’s gonna settle the score for yesterday…” one of them spat on the ground.
Will raised an eyebrow and said, “There’s no need for that. I just want to apologize and give back what I took...”
But they did not listen—or believe him. The amused look on his face definitely did not help.
When they started to cheer, Will turned to see who they had been waiting for.
Tall, smiling, and out of his work apron, Brian walked up to him.
"Hey, Will," he said in a smooth, flirtatious tone.
"Hey, Brian," Will replied, a smile playing on his lips.
"You study here? I am surprised—I think I would have remembered you. Eyes like yours are hard to forget," Brian said, making Will blush and laugh awkwardly.
The boys around them stood slack-jawed. They rushed up to Brian and bombarded him with questions. "How do you know him?" "Why are you flirting with him?" "I thought you came to teach him a lesson..."
Brian laughed at all their questions and answered casually, "Guys, this is Will. Remember the story I told you from work? This is him."
One of Brian's friends looked at him with serious eyes. "And this is the guy we told you about..."
“Wow,” Brian said, clearly impressed. “You handled all three of them on your own?”
“I would love to take the credit,” Will replied and turned to look at Brian’s friends, “but I actually wanted to apologize for how I acted yesterday. I was in a bad mood because the wrestling coach would not even give me a chance to try out for the team... He basically waved me out of his office like he was doing me a favor.” Their expressions softened.
“Sounds like it was for the best,” Brian said, and his friends nodded in agreement. “He gives off a really weird energy, and his trainees are not much better,” Brian added in response to Will’s questioning look.
"Still, I am sorry," Will said, holding out his hand with the lighter, offering to return it.
"You have some pretty good moves," said the one closest to him and Brian. "Maybe one day you can teach us."
Will chuckled. "Maybe one day..."
He soon learned their names were Bobby, Ed, and Ted, and that the four of them usually hung out in that same corner. From that day on, Will had a standing invitation to join them there before school and during breaks.


Will entered the classroom. His next lesson was history.
He sat in an empty seat at the front of the room, next to a boy who already had his book open on the desk.
Will smiled at him and said, "Hi, I am Will." The boy looked surprised that Will was talking to him. "Hi… Barney…" he stammered. Will settled into his seat. "I guess we are desk buddies," he said. Barney nodded awkwardly.
The teacher entered the classroom, and surprisingly, he looked young and athletic. All the students stared at him with admiration, even though all he did was explain the curriculum.
Barney was kind enough to help Will follow along in the notebook—it turned out they were continuing from where they had left off the previous year.
After the lesson ended, Will asked Barney for directions, and Barney was happy to show him where the next classroom was.
"It is fine, that is my next class too," Barney said.
Will smiled at him with excitement. "Wait, does that mean we will be desk buddies there too?"
Barney chuckled lightly. "In chemistry, three people share a table. Lucky for you, we are missing one."
Will clapped his hands happily. "I feel like it is my lucky day!"
"But I should warn you," Barney added, "our other lab partner is kind of a perfectionist."
"So am I," Will replied. Barney led him to the table. Their lab partner was already sitting there, hunched over her book, her hair falling like a curtain and hiding her face. "I found us a third partner," Barney said proudly.
She lifted her head, and Will discovered that their lab partner was none other than Megan.
Will saw that Megan looked just as surprised to see him in this class as he was to see her.
"Megan, this is Will. He is in our history class too," Barney said. "Yes, we have already met," she told Barney. "Morgan told me you were here. I guess I had to see it with my own eyes to believe it."
He sat down at the table. The way they were arranged, Megan ended up sitting in the middle.
Will gave her a cautious smile. "We have history together too? How come I have not seen you there?"
She bit her lip and avoided looking him in the eyes, as if trying to figure out how to answer.
“…I was meeting with the counselor,” she said quietly and went back to biting her lower lip.
One of the kids in class made a crude comment about Megan sitting between two boys.
Barney responded innocently, "She handles everything with her hands." He did not realize the double meaning of his words. Half the class burst into laughter, but Megan silenced them with a furious, “Shut up!”
To Will’s surprise, Megan turned out to be very serious about her studies.
Just like in history class, the teacher here went over the curriculum before actually teaching, and Megan took detailed, organized notes in her notebook.

Will spent the time until lunch break observing the dynamics between the students at school. He mentally took notes on each one of them. He had not come to any conclusions yet, but something about the atmosphere felt off—like there was something hidden beneath the surface.
He tried once more to talk to the wrestling coach. He still needed extra credits for his academic program. But the coach's attitude had not changed. He gave Will a dismissive look and told him not to waste his time. When Will pointed out that the coach was not giving him a fair chance, the man replied, 'I am the one who decides who is on my team, and you do not have what it takes.'

Will could not understand how someone like that had been chosen to be a school advisor. When he mentioned it during lunch—at the table where Megan had saved him a seat next to Taylor—Megan suggested he switch counselors. “…You might have to cry a little to the emotional guidance counselor,” she said, “but it will get things moving faster.”
“I am seriously considering it,” Will replied. “I should have listened to what Brian told me.” Half the table went quiet when they heard Brian’s name.
“When did you talk to him?” Taylor asked, curiosity clear in his tone.
“This morning. At the school entrance,” Will answered, taking another bite of the food in front of him.
One of the guys sitting across from Will leaned forward and said, half-joking, “Careful with Brian. He swings both ways… if you know what I mean.” Will chuckled. “I know. I swim against the current myself—if you know what I mean.”
Morgan smirked at Taylor and teased, "No need to get jealous, Tay. Will's clearly into you."
Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at Taylor. Taylor froze, eyes wide in disbelief. Morgan, still smiling, had no idea he had just outed his best friend.
Will was clearly amused by everyone's reaction.
He glanced around and noticed that even Megan was trying hard not to laugh at the situation.

~~~~

Taylor tries to catch his breath while walking with his teammates to the locker room. As he enters, he sits on a bench in front of the lockers. He closes his eyes and takes deep breaths to cool his body and stabilize his heart. As a kid, he was never a big fan of sports—any kind of sport—not on screen and not on the playground.
But eventually, that caught up with him, and he had no choice but to start moving. Fortunately for him, he started growing taller. He joined the basketball team mostly because of Morgan, and also because it saved him from doing a workout at home.
For him, home was his safe space, and his family was his supporting pillar. As much as it sounded like a Hallmark series, all of that was true. His father was a hardworking landscape architect — very talented, well-liked, and with a small crew. His mother worked from home as a personal secretary for an international businesswoman. At home, Taylor and his sister got all the love and understanding kids could ask for, and it was hard on him that he did not receive that same kind of understanding from the outside world.
His heart finally calmed, and he opened his eyes to look around. He was always waiting for the locker room to empty out a bit. He had never been confident enough to change his clothes in front of so many people.
“Hey, don’t stare,” one of his teammates said in a joking tone.
The first guy grinned and added, “I just don’t want to be on the wrong side when he gets mad.”
The ones who remained in the locker room let out a slightly nervous laugh, remembering the vibe Will gave off. At first, they had not believed it—but now, they were not so sure.
For a moment, Taylor forgot that Will was supposed to be his boyfriend. He had never expected that one little lie would go so far. He just hoped it would end here, and not turn into a snowball rolling downhill—growing bigger with every turn.
"Don't worry," Taylor said to his friend. "If it ever happens, I'll hold him while you run." Everyone laughed—partly because it was funny, but mostly because they could tell Taylor meant every word. 
"The shower's empty," Morgan said as he came out from behind the lockers.

The locker room was built so that a row of lockers blocked the showers from prying eyes. By now, everyone had figured out that Taylor did not like showering with others. They let him go in first, so he would not feel uncomfortable—and so he would not end up alone in the locker room afterward.

Taylor took a quick shower, having learned from his mother to use her peeling soap for maximum effect. He finished washing in five minutes, stepping out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He went straight to his locker, still holding the towel on him while putting his clothes away. His friends thought it was strange at first, but now they hoped he had overcome his shyness. From their perspective, there was nothing for him to be embarrassed about. Taylor was tall and thin; his muscles weren’t particularly visible, but his strong build was clear thanks to his height and broad shoulders.
From their perspective, Taylor was a tall, attractive basketball player who seemed to have it all. But deep down, they thought, whenever he’s ready… Only his family and Morgan truly understood what went on in his mind, the reasons behind his insecurities. Sometimes, when people took notice of him, he couldn’t help but wonder if they saw him as he really was or just as an image of something else.

Morgan was now ready, waiting patiently for Taylor to finish. He browsed through his phone, but as soon as he saw Taylor's shoes from the corner of his eye, he lifted his head and smiled. They exchanged waves and said goodbye to their teammates before leaving the locker room together.