Inside Out [BoyxBoy]

Chapter 7 - Bad Encounter

Jace called for the twelfth time while I tried to plot some graphs for class. I stopped myself from tracing the lines—it was hard for me to focus on schoolwork when he kept calling me. I was thinking about him too much and I knew it wasn't good—Jace struggling to get in touch with me kept on invading my thoughts and distracting me.

At the thirteenth call, my heart fluttered again and I decided to pick the phone up this time.

"I'm coming to your house," he said immediately.

"Jace," I sighed, "I'm doing homework."

"Why didn't you tell me that earlier?" he asked.

"Did I need to?"

"Don't answer a question with a question," he said, sarcasm creeping into his voice.

 "What do you want?" I asked.

"I want to see you."

"You will see me, eventually," I said. "We're in the same neighborhood, Jace. I'm not miles away or anything."

"Why did you kiss me?"

I was stunned by the question. I tried to breathe in and calm the stupid butterflies fluttering around in my stomach—how should I answer that question? I didn't want to sound like I was trembling. I had to keep my guard up.

I wanted Jace to think that his actions no longer bothered me.

"I told you I needed it," I answered.

"Don't you need it now?" He let out a flirtatious groan.

"If that can help me complete these motherfucking graphs, yes," I said.

He laughed, and I could visually sketch out his smiles, the way his full set of white teeth were visible behind his plush pink lips . . . suddenly I wanted to feel the press of his body on mine again.

Then I heard a series of beep, signaling me an incoming call.

"Dude, I'll call you back," I said. "Someone's calling."

I turned off the phone and found Adam's number popping up on the phone screen.

"Hello?"

A heavy wheezing came out of the receiver as I picked up the phone.

"Dude, a little help," Adam panted. "I—I'm near your house. I don't know how I'm here, but—but can you come out for a little while?"

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Adam's eyes were heavily bruised like he had just gotten into a fight; under the sunlight, blood gleamed at the corner of his lips.

Panicking, I ran towards him. "What the—"

"I'm fine," Adam groaned.

"What the fuck had happened to you?" I said. "Get inside."

Herding him into my house, I made sure that Mom wasn't there. If she saw Adam hurt she would make such a huge fuss that the whole state would know about it within seconds.

I wasn't really sure what to do with a wounded person, so I went to the kitchen and took an ice pack. I helped Adam put it on his eyes as he sat down on the couch in the hall.

"I was at the secret abandoned basketball court with Marcus and the others," he started. "And then things got shitty."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Well . . . Theo opened up with how . . . well, you got tracked down by the pack leader and shit."

My jaw fell opened. I couldn't believe Adam would be in the know with this whole me-being-a-coward stuff. It felt extremely peculiar and impossible, but he simply said it, like he was there at the gathering.