Being gay is a curse when the homophobia you grew up with was so bad that you're homophobic yourself. Especially when you're into unavailable guys like your roommate, whose girlfriend is everything you're not (though appearances can be deceiving). S...
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I was fairly sure I was one of the very, very few students who had been looking forward to the end of the holidays—if not the only one. All week, everyone (the ones that showed up, at least) sat in their seats like they'd been glued down against their will. Even some of the professors looked like they'd rather be at home. But I was ready to get back to learning. I was in a terribly good mood, though that might be because of one particular person named Carl. Or it might not be. Who knows?
All I knew was that he'd asked me to come to an exhibition that Friday, and he'd refused to tell me what it was. He was trying to surprise me again, to no avail. One quick Google search revealed to me that there was an astronomy photography exhibition in town that weekend. Although I was more into biology and chemistry, I also loved space, so I was fucking stoked.
I'd let Carl know over text that I was onto him.
His reply was a sad face.
I smiled at the memory every time it popped up, and the day breezed past. When I got to my dorm room to return my books and head to the library, Jackson was just heading out. Instead of saying hello and walking on, however, he asked, "Hey, are you going to the library?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I'll join you."
"Uh... why?"
He rolled his eyes with a groan and pushed me into the room. "Do I need a reason? I'm going to join you whether you like it or not."
"Great."
"I just need a book, alright?" he said.
"That's usually why people go to libraries," I informed him as I took my study books out of my backpack and laid them on the desk. I liked having a pile of them there, just lying around, whispering read me. "Why on a Monday, though?"
"Why does the day matter?"
It seemed like I wasn't going to get rid of him anytime soon, so I grabbed my college card with an eye roll and walked out of the room in the direction of the library. Jackson wordlessly followed me for a few minutes before he said, "So you never told me what you did during the holidays."
"Since when do I ever tell you anything?"
"Since today," he decided.
"I went to see my family."
"That all?"
I nodded.
He let out a sigh, but he wasn't giving up just yet. After turning to face me with furrowed brows, he asked, "Hey, would it hurt to talk about yourself? Am I not allowed to know anything or something?"
"Why are you suddenly making such a big deal out of this?" I asked in return, raising an eyebrow at him. He usually didn't get so easily annoyed by how I ignored him relentlessly. It had only been a few minutes and he was already demanding answers.
