Within the musky air of the change rooms, the scent of teenage body odour intermingled with the leftover aroma of deodorant lingering in the air, committing an assault on Alexander’s nostrils as he got changed into his tracksuit for gym class, already dreading the five-kilometre run they’d announced for gym class.

Taking off his shirt, Alexander looked down, eyeing the fat that had accumulated on his stomach and sighed. All those cakes and pastries he had been eating every day for lunch at school courtesy of his father’s café were showing. No number of sacks of flour lifted during his shifts would change that fact.

Why couldn’t he have inherited his father’s genes? Growing up, he never heard the end of it from his Uncle Javier at how buff his father used to be twenty years ago. Even into his forties, his father was quite well-built for somebody that hadn’t stepped foot into a gym ever since opening the café. Life wasn’t fair, he groaned.

All of a sudden, Alexander felt someone rest their hand on his shoulder from behind, and his whole body went rigid. He shoved it away and turned around, only to be met with Byron, who was in the midst of changing into his own tracksuit, towering over him. Blood began to rush to Alexander’s cheeks.

“Hey, Xander, can I put my stuff in your gym locker?” Byron asked, a pile of clothes scrunched up in his hand. “I didn’t think to bring my lock and…”

“Go ahead,” Alexander said, his voice stuttering as he stepped aside. Alexander looked down, refusing to make eye contact with him.

Little by little, however, Alexander couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Byron. He told himself he wasn’t looking, but he was. Looking well into Byron’s direction, he glanced over his lightly-tanned complexion and athletic stature, his eyes scanning over his body as if he were a statue in a museum.

He sighed. Why did Byron have to be blessed with gorgeous looks? Alexander took a quick glance at his own body and deflated. Maybe he should try harder in gym class after all. As he continued to glance in Byron’s direction, he didn’t notice that Byron had caught him looking until it was too late.

“You’re staring,” Byron said bluntly, a smirk growing on his face, as he stared into Alexander’s eyes. Alexander’s face grew red.

“No, I wasn’t,” Alexander stammered. Byron raised his eyebrow and let out a chuckle. He walked over and took his place against the neighbouring locker, leaning against it as he stared Alexander down. Alexander felt himself cower as he looked straight into his own locker, refusing to meet his gaze.

Byron leaned closer. “You know, if you wanted to stare, I wouldn’t have minded.” Alexander slammed the locker shut.

“I said I wasn’t staring,” Alexander said back. Byron let out a laugh.

“Sure,” Byron replied, eying Alexander up and down.. Alexander’s eyes stuck to the track shirt in his hands, fiddling with it as if avoiding the obvious. Byron smiled. “You know, you’re cute when you panic, Xander.”

Byron was about to approach Alexander a little further, but Alexander froze, staring off into space. Byron’s smirk vanished, his posture shifting as an awkward silence filled the room. Byron’s face grew red with embarrassment.

“I-I’m sorry, Xander, I…” Byron said, stuttering as Alexander’s cheeks got redder and redder. “I didn’t make it weird, did I?” Alexander sighed. Good, he was back to normal, Alexander thought.

“A bit,” Alexander said as he finished changing into his tracksuit. He looked back at Byron with a more easy-going look on his face. “It’s fine.”

Alexander saw how the expression in Byron’s face changed from one of confidence to one of fear. It was as if there was something in the room that scared Byron to bits, something that would make Byron change how he carried himself about in front of others. As Byron looked left and right, as if to confirm that nobody was there, he leaned into Alexander and whispered.

“A word of advice. You’ve got to be more subtle, Xander.” Byron told him. “What would others say if they saw you? What would you do then?”

Alexander let out a sigh. He didn’t want to admit that he was admiring Byron from up close, but he decided it would be best to not argue with Byron any further. Alexander let out a soft smile, hoping to reassure the guy.

“Got it, I’ll be careful from now on.” Alexander said, and Byron seemed to calm down for the time being. “And just so you know, I’ll say it like it is. I’ll set the record straight.”  As he finished tying his shoelaces, he stood up and placed his hand on Byron’s shoulder.

Alexander groaned. “Now come on. Let’s get this five-kilometre run over and done with.” He walked ahead of Byron and out the locker room.

Alexander’s heart continued to beat unsteadily against his chest, cheeks flushed the more he thought about what happened just now. He could only feign confidence for so long. He didn’t know what to do with himself, having thought what he thought about his newfound friend.