Ratbags and Scallywags [bxb]

Chapter 34 - END

It's not like I hadn't brought this on myself, but not being around Aubrey was suffocating. Like putting myself in punishment for some sick crime I might've committed in my past life. But for the first three days of Aubrey-free isolation, I memorized all theory questions for my learner license. Day four, I revised. Day five, I continued revising right up until I sat my test.

And that was outside of sign language classes after school. That was on top of practicing with my SL teacher the words to the poem I'd already written for my assignment. Learning, advancing, and mastering complicated signs before even getting the gist of ordinary everyday language.

It was hectic. And I missed him to the point I thought I'd go insane. Study sessions with the boys helped get through a lot of it. Liam and Jude were both good at PE theory, so they helped me through that a lot. Ben spent some time with us, but he also disappeared a lot and I really had no idea why. Signs pointed to Trey on several occasions though, but I was too busy to ask.

I'd take a moment to catch up with him after this hell was over. Ikeisha and I had paired up for both our Drama and Art and Design assessments, so we go through that easily enough. I kept everything a secret from her in case she let slip to Aubrey. I couldn't let anybody ruin the surprise.

I slept late every night, spending most of afternoons and evenings recording myself performing and playing it back. Some words were sloppy, some were angled incorrectly, some looked different from how my SL teacher described and felt near impossible to get the hang of. It was all so stressful; I wasn't even sure if this was going to be worth it in the end.

If not seeing Aubrey for almost the entire time was worth it. What if I screwed it up? What if Aubrey gave up on me in the meantime? Two things got me through those next two weeks. One, the picture in my head of Aubrey's surprise and happiness when I presented this poem. Even though it'd been a long time since he really delved into poetry, I hoped he'd understand it was for him.

Two, was the moments we got to share whether brief or in passing. Like coming across each other in the locker rooms with nobody else around. Having the chance to pin him against the lockers and kiss him like we were the only two people in school. Reaching my fingers out to touch his whenever we passed each other, watching him turn shy every single time.

What made it better were these silicone heels I stuck inside my shoes to appear taller. It really pulled off the fantasy effect ten times more. I really had no complaints. Dad even promised to let me join the gym if I got a minimum of B's for my overall score, with the allowance of two C's.

Since I was confident in all my classes, this wasn't going to be a problem. My hopes of becoming the absolute best boyfriend I could possibly be for Aubrey was about to become a reality. That may be a little optimistic of me, but after my poetry assessment today in first period, I'd be sure to steal his heart for good. I was sure of it.

No matter what, I had to pull this off.

Time seemed to creep so slowly. I could sense him sitting behind me all through thirty-minute Tutor Group. My skin almost seemed to prickle with hyper-awareness, and my thoughts were filled with the next opportunity to kiss him and run my fingers through his hair. I mean, I always knew I was gay, but I had no idea that I was actually this gay.

I mean, wow.

Mr. Hardy stood at the front of the class and clasped his hands together.

"So, we're on our last day of the year, huh?" he said, looking around the room at each and every student. "And for some of you, this is it. You're graduating and venturing off into the real world. It's no joke, right? It's really happening!"