Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:39:05 +0000 From: Jon Snow Subject: Northern Town: Chapter 2, Double Decker Tent "Hurry the fuck up, we're gonna miss the bus man!" Nav shouted back as he pelted down the corridor. I increased my speed, trying to stuff the rest of my rugby kit into my rucksack and close the zip, all the while avoiding knocking people over in my haste. "Mr. Karim! No running in the corridors." "Oh, shit" he gasped, skidding to a halt. "I beg your pardon?!" Ugh, Middlesworth. Chemistry teacher with some sort of superiority complex - managed to publish some minor paper before he found his calling as a teacher, as he was fond of boasting. "You may come join me in the detention room for half an hour for your rudeness." "Oh come ON, you can't be serious!" "Deadly. This way." `What the fuck,' he mouthed at me. All I could do was shrug and mouth back `Bitch!' Nav sighed and walks after Middlesworth, stopping to tell me he'd see me later. I hated teachers like Middlesworth. When they realised your respect wasn't obligatory, they turned evil in an attempt to force some respect into you. Which made you hate them even more, and so on it went in a vicious cycle. Though I doubted her being nice to us would stop us from wanting to get out of school as soon as humanly possible once that bell rang! I hurried off through the main doors, joining the throng of students heading down the drive and out to the main road outside, where I would find my bus stop. I finally managed to tug the zip most of the way round and slung my rucksack onto one shoulder, reaching into my blazer for my ipod and threading my earphones up under my shirt. The bus had already pulled up as I jogged the last hundred metres or so, flipping my bus pass and headed straight for the stairs and to the second floor. I glanced up, still busy trying to pick a song on my ipod and saw only one empty seat which I dropped into, just as the bus started moving. I finally gave up trying to pick the perfect song and just queued the Arctic Monkeys. Only then did I look up to see who I'd sat next to, and froze. Jake fucking Sleat. Hair still damp from the shower, cheeks still ruddy from the game of rugby, smelling of lynx like almost every single other lad. I whipped my head back around and stared resolutely at the back of the girl's head sitting in front, but it was too late. He'd seen me. The slight widening of his eyes as he turned back towards the window was proof enough. My earphones were now my last hope, hopefully he'd just ignore me for the rest of the way, and that would be that. I just knew that if I was forced to make conversation with him, I would make a complete tit out of myself. And I had to avoid that at all costs. Becoming a social pariah because of golden boy was not on my agenda. A tap on my shoulder told me I was all out of luck. "What you listening to?" he asked as I pulled my earphones out. Once again I was caught in his eyes, his dark lashes making them all the more enthralling, and from this close up I could even see a faint smattering of freckles across his nose. "Um... Arctic Monkeys." "Oh cool, I went to see them the other week! They were playing at the Academy." "Yeah, I know. I was there too." "You were? I didn't see you." "Yeah. Didn't see you either." "Right." The silence lengthened until it was well beyond awkward. The bus rocked, and immediately I was aware of our shoulders jostling, and our legs touching, his freshly showered smell mixing with the earthiness of my muddy rugby kit from the rucksack at my feet. My earphones swayed gently from the top of my shirt as I turned back to the front and he turned back to the window. Was that it? Was I safe? Just as I made to put my earphones back in, he whipped his head back round. `Do you mind if I ask a question?' he blurted out. Why would he ask me if he could ask a question? Exactly what kind of question did he have in mind? "Do you think my bum looks fat in my rugby shorts?" he grinned cheekily. "W... what?!" I managed to gasp, drawing in a breath I didn't realise I'd held. I'm lost in his dimples, and his straight, white teeth and red, red lips and flawless skin, literally golden as the evening sun casts an orange glow from over the rooftops. "Do you think my bum looks fat in my rugby shorts?" he repeats. "You know, since you're always looking at it and all." "What? No!" "It doesn't?" "Err... no?" I frown. What did he want? "Ah! So you have noticed my bum!" he smiled, nudging me with it. With his bum. The one I was staring at just minutes ago. On the seat, next to mine. A sudden blush spread up from my neck, and I could feel my ears practically glowing as he kept on grinning at me. He laughed then, and my blush deepened. "Ha, that's cute!" Did he just call me cute? Was me noticing his bum cute? Or is he talking about the blush which I was struggling to control? "I just wanna gobble you up." Suddenly, I'm hard. It came out of nowhere, one moment I'm as limp as can be and the next I'm having to shift my rucksack from the floor to my lap as I pitch an instant tent. Of course he notices, which just leads to more grinning. "Can I ask you another question?" I glanced back at him, his smile fading to something a little more serious. "Do I have a choice?" "Haha, no." His eyes sparkled. "Are you gay?" Does he even realise that we're on a bus? With people within hearing distance? Everyone's busy with their own conversations though, or at least no one stops to turn around and stare. "I wouldn't mind if you are. I just want to know." "What the fuck kind of question is that, I barely know you." He twisted around in his seat so that he's almost sitting sideways, his knee resting against my thigh, and stretched out his hand for me to shake. "Hello. I'm Jake. And you're Sam. Are you gay?" I glanced at his hand and then back at him, clutching my rucksack closer to my chest. By this point I'm slightly pissed off at his arrogance. Just because he's hot doesn't mean he gets to play me like a fiddle. Yes, he has a nice bum, but that doesn't mean I'm about to trust him with one of my closest kept secrets. I returned my gaze to the front and ignore him. He retracts his hand. "I'm sorry man. Didn't mean to offend. But really, if you are I'd be totally cool with it." I looked at him, and I knew he's telling the truth. Not that that changes anything. "Well, anyway. I think this is my stop." He reached across me to press the bell, and the smell of lynx and clean boy rose suddenly. He grabbed his bag as the bus slowed down, and got up. "Can I get past? You can have a feel of my bum if you want," he joked, the grin returning to his face. I couldn't help but smile back, even if he has done nothing but angered me. Ah, those dimples. "Nice talking to you, Sam." I felt his breath on my face as he squeezed past, and my eyes fell to his bum. Well, he did say I could... Suddenly those globes were jiggling side to side as he wiggled his bum at me. He laughed and winked, and then he was off down the stairs just as the bus came to a shuddering halt. I slumped back down into my seat and sighed, hard as ever, almost certainly leaking into my boxers. If only... *** Send me an email at yorkstudent20@hotmail.co.uk.