Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2022 16:24:51 +0000 (UTC)
From: Andy Brown <andybrown3000@yahoo.com>
Subject: Opposites attract, chapter 3

Opposites Attract - Chapter 3


Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction which features romance and
sexual activity between teenage boys.  If you do not want to read such a
story, or it is illegal for you to do so because of your age or where you
live, then I recommend you go read something else instead.

It's always great to hear from readers, and I do make sure I write back.
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**********


Cerys shifted her books to her outside arm and tucked her free hand into
Gethin's, chattering on about the prom decorating committee as he walked
her to class.  His next lesson, DT, was in the opposite direction from
hers, but walking Cerys to class was just what he did.  It wasn't even a
hardship.  Not really.

Gethin liked Cerys.  They'd practically grown up together, and Gethin
thought she was funny and smart and loyal and, yes -- pretty, too.  If
she'd been a guy, he might even have called her his best friend... not that
he'd ever let that little bit of info slip out when Seth was around, of
course.

"So you will be there, Gethin?" Cerys asked, stopping right in the middle
of the corridor to look up at him expectedly.

"Uh," Gethin replied, the question making him realise he must've zoned out.
He had no idea what she was talking about.  She'd been saying something
about prom, but since Cerys obviously knew he was going to be there, she
must be asking him about showing up to something else.

Cerys rolled her eyes.  "You weren't listening. "

Gethin grinned.  She knew him too well.

"Sure I was," he said.

"Quit lying," Cerys laughed and smacked his arm.  "And don't think you're
getting out of helping us decorate, either."

Oh.  That's what she'd been talking about.  The prom decorating committee.
Right.

"Okay," Gethin said, which he figured was less likely to get him in trouble
than the more authentic `shoot me now' response on the tip of his tongue.

Sometimes, always doing the right thing and living up to everyone else's
expectations for him could get a little exhausting.  But Cerys really was a
good friend, so there was no way he was going to let her down about
something that was so important to her.  As far as he could tell, she was
basically running the entire prom committee single-handed.  Given how great
she'd always been about sort of covering for his lack of interest in her,
he figured helping her out was the least he could do.

Cerys narrowed her eyes like she could see right through him and read his
true feelings.  Gethin schooled his face fast, trying to muster up some
enthusiasm for hanging streamers or whatever it was she wanted him to do.

"Um, what am I agreeing to again?" he asked, which got him another eye
roll.  Since it came with Cerys' signature dimpled smile, though, Gethin
figured he wasn't in too much trouble.

"Just show up at my house tomorrow afternoon," Cerys said, looking like she
was trying not to laugh at him.  "There's a load more stuff that's been
delivered this week and I need some help unpacking it all and making sure
everything's okay."

Gethin hit back with a laugh of his own.

Cerys was the most organised person he knew, and he knew her well enough to
guess that it was going to be more than just a matter of unpacking a few
things.  She probably had a colour-coded notebook full of checklists, an
alphabetised inventory of what decorations there should be, and a scale map
of the school hall marked with the exact spot that every last streamer and
strobe light should go.

"I'll be there," Gethin promised.

"Thanks," she said, dimpling up at him again.

And then, poking him in the chest, she added, "You do know prom is only two
weeks away, right?"

Gethin's stomach instantly tightened into a knot, even though there was
absolutely no good reason for him to feel so anxious about it.  Cerys'
eyebrow went up.  Gethin cleared his throat, managing a smile.

"Course I do," he told her, although the truth was that despite everyone
else's obsession with the subject, he'd been doing his best to avoid
thinking about it.  So he hadn't actually realised it was quite that soon.

Cerys was still looking up at him expectantly.  All of a sudden, he
wondered if her comment had been less about actually reminding him of the
date and more of a push to get him to actually ask her... But no, Cerys
wasn't like that.  Besides, Gethin was pretty sure she probably already
assumed they were going together, just like everyone else did.

Sometimes, it felt as though all Gethin did was just go through the motions
of living his life, when in reality, he was just following the script
everyone else had for him.  Case in point: even though Gethin didn't
actually remember ever having said yes, Harrison had already rented the
limo he'd been going on about in the changing room the week before with the
idea that he, Gethin, and Seth could all share it with their dates.  The
thing was, technically, Harrison was the only one who currently had a date
lined up.

The rest of the guys were still giving Seth grief over not having asked
anyone yet.  But Seth was a good-looking, popular guy and no one actually
doubted that he'd get a date in time for prom.  Just like no one really
questioned that Gethin and Cerys would be going together.

Gethin sighed, then caught himself and turned it into a cough, mentally
kicking himself for all the internal whining.  He knew Harrison hadn't
meant anything by jumping the gun like that, just like Gethin also knew
that he himself had too much to be grateful for to let himself get away
with bitching and moaning about the few things in life that didn't go his
way.  As far as anyone looking at him was concerned, his life was pretty
charmed, and he needed to remember that.

But, with prom only a couple of weeks away, he also needed to bite the
bullet and actually ask Cerys, just like everyone and their brother
expected him to.

"Cerys," he said, just as she turned away and started walking towards her
class.  He reached out to stop her, mustering a smile when she turned back
and raised that enquiring eyebrow at him again.  "We're going to prom
together, right?" he asked.  "You and me?"

This time, both of Cerys' eyebrows shot up, the teasing little half smile
she gave him making him feel like a fool for having asked.  Of course they
were.  She clearly knew it as well as he did.

"I mean, everyone just assumes we are," Gethin said as a sudden bout of
nerves made him rush to fill the silence when Cerys just kept looking at
him without saying anything.  He could feel his face start to heat up, but
he powered on anyway.  "We haven't actually said... I mean, I know you
already got your dress, and uh, I didn't know if you were expecting me to
actually ask, and... but..."

And... But... What?  Gethin's voice trailed off into nothing, not quite
sure where he'd been going with that.  Honestly, Cerys probably should have
looked offended or something with how bumbling and unenthusiastic Gethin
sounded about the whole thing.  She was too nice for that, though.  In
fact, as she stood there and let him ramble, she almost looked like she was
humouring him.

Gethin sighed, shoving a hand back through his blond hair in frustration.
Cerys was actually pretty great, and she deserved a date who could show her
that.  Instead, it looked like she'd be stuck with him.

"Everyone assumes, do they?" Cerys finally asked after another minute of
silence, dimpling up at him.  "Let me ask you this, Gethin.  Do you want to
take me?"

Gethin blinked at the question, his heart sort of stuttering in his chest.
He liked Cerys way, way too much to actually answer honestly...  And wasn't
it kind of ironic that out of everyone in his life, she was the only one
who'd actually bothered to ask him that?

"Of course I do," Gethin finally managed, realising he'd hesitated just a
bit too long.  He rushed to fill the awkward moment with a question of his
own.  "Do you want to go with me?"

Cerys cocked her head to the side, looking up at him as their fellow
students streamed past them in the corridor.

"Maybe," she said after a minute, giving him a small smile as she reached
out to pat his arm.  "You're a good friend, Gethin, and you're right about
everyone just figuring we'd go together.  I know they all think we'll end
up as prom king and queen, and matching us up sounds too perfect, doesn't
it?  But... well, I'd be lying if I said you were my first choice."

Gethin's mouth fell open in surprise.

"No offence," Cerys rushed to add, resting her perfectly manicured hand on
his arm again.

"None taken," Gethin said quickly, his heart racing with... with something.

With everyone pushing Gethin to ask her this whole time, and the way the
two of them got along so well, he really hadn't considered the idea that
Cerys might actually turn him down.  Still, the heady burst of excitement
that her unexpected answer lit up inside him was soon tempered by a new
realisation.  Even if he didn't end up taking Cerys, he'd still have to go
with a girl like her.  He'd have to go with a girl, period.

Gethin was about to ask who Cerys really wanted to go with when the bell
rang, signalling that they were now both late to class.

They weren't the only ones.  The last stragglers in the corridors all
suddenly rushed toward their respective classrooms.  Just as Cerys turned
to do the same, someone knocked into her from behind.  Cerys squealed at
the impact, her arm full of books tumbling down to the floor as she lurched
into Gethin.

"Oh my God."

The breathless exclamation made Gethin's heart starts to race.  As he
steadied Cerys and then set her aside, his whole body thrummed to life with
a sizzling sort of awareness he was starting to get all too familiar with.
Breathless or not, Gethin recognised the voice immediately.  The minute he
turned, his eyes confirmed it.

It was Alex.  Gethin hadn't seen him all day.  Of course, he rarely did
outside of their Tuesday and Thursday tutoring sessions in the library.
Since today was Friday, that was pretty normal.  They weren't in any of the
same classes, and he rarely saw him in the canteen at lunchtime.  He
figured Alex either ate outside or used his lunch time to study in the
library.  And yes, even though he was pretty sure he hid it well, Gethin
always looked.

Gethin grinned as Alex's eyes met his, his chest suddenly feeling
expansive; weird and sort of floaty, like it was full of helium balloons or
something.  Alex, on the other hand, looked like he might throw up... which
for some reason Gethin found adorable.

"I am so sorry, Cerys," Alex said.  His endlessly fascinating hazel eyes,
however, were very much stuck on Gethin.

"Oh, don't worry about it," Cerys said, crouching down to pick up her
books.  "I'll just - "

But Alex apparently had the same idea at the exact same time.  The minute
he knelt down to help, their foreheads cracked together, loud enough to
make Gethin wince.

"Shit, Al, are you okay?" he asked immediately, wrapping a hand around
Alex's arm and pulling him back to his feet.

Alex's eyes darted to Gethin's hand.  "Yeah," he said, even though he
definitely looked a bit dazed.  And he still sounded breathless, too.
Gethin wasn't sure whether or not to believe that he really was okay.

Gethin brushed the floppy bangs off Alex's forehead, frowning at the red
spot he found there.  It was definitely going to turn into a goose egg.  He
skimmed his fingers over it lightly.

"We should get you some ice," he said, letting his fingers trail down the
sides of Alex's face instead of just letting go of him like a normal person
would.  And maybe Alex was one of those guys who just didn't really have to
shave much yet, because his skin was silky soft without even a hint of
stubble.

Feeling a little dazed himself for some reason, Gethin cupped Alex's jaw,
his thumb running back-and-forth across the smooth expanse as Alex stared
back at him.  Alex shivered, which made all the floating feelings in
Gethin's chest ramp up even more.

"Do you want me to walk you to reception for that ice?" Gethin asked, even
though a part of him knew he shouldn't be touching Alex this way, and that
the question was probably the dumbest one on the planet.  After all, it
wasn't like Alex was going to fall over and pass out from a little bump on
the head.  Gethin and his teammates took way harder hits than that on the
rugby field and just walked them off.  Still, Gethin wouldn't mind going
with him, if Alex wanted him to.

And okay, fine.  Maybe it was more than just `wouldn't mind.'  Gethin
wanted to go with him.

Alex flushed, the colour spreading over his skin in a slow, steady wave.
The sight made Gethin want all sorts of things that he was usually good at
pretending he didn't.

"You want to go... with me?" Alex asked, his eyes darting over Gethin's
shoulder.  "Um..."

"Thanks, Gethin.  I'm just fine, too," Cerys said dryly from behind him.
The sound of her voice instantly made Gethin's face flame with
embarrassment.

Shit.  He'd literally forgotten she was there.  He dropped Alex's arm like
a hot potato, turning to find that Cerys had already managed to pick up all
her books.  Clearly, she was going to be sporting a goose egg on her
forehead, too.

Gethin winced all over again.  That wasn't going to look great in her prom
photos, but hopefully she'd be able to get do some kind of girl magic with
make up or something and cover it up.

"We should get you some ice, too, Cerys," Gethin said quickly, feeling like
a total dick.  He nodded toward the books in her arms.  "And, um, sorry
about that.  I should've helped - "

"It's fine, Gethin," she interrupted, sounding sincere.  "And you know what
we were talking about before?  If I'm not your first choice either, it's
really okay."  Her eyes darted to Alex, and her dimples came out when she
looked at Gethin again.  "Really, it is."

"What?" Gethin asked, an icy kind of fear shooting through him and making
his stomach cramp.  Shit!  Shit!  Shit!  He was going to be sick.  Cerys
didn't actually think...

She smiled, putting a hand on his arm.  Her eyes darted towards Alex again.
He really did need to get some ice for his forehead, by the looks of it.
Gethin's stomach dropped.

Lowering her voice, Cerys said, "I just mean that if you wanted to ask
someone el - "

Holy shit.  She did think it.

"No," Gethin blurted out, cutting her off before she could finish that
sentence and ruin everything.  He suddenly felt lightheaded, and not in the
nice way he usually did whenever he was around Alex.

"Gethin," Cerys said, looking up at him with concern.  "I don't think it
would be as big a deal as you think if you wanted to - "

Oh, hell no!

Gethin darted a frantic look in Alex's direction, but thankfully, Alex
looked like he had no idea what Cerys was getting at.  Gethin was pretty
damn sure he did, though.

"I'm late to class," he blurted, interrupting her before she could spell
things out any more clearly.  Turning around, he bolted down the corridor,
even though he felt like a total arse for just leaving Alex like that when
he was hurt.

He squeezed his eyes closed, steps faltering as he rounded the corner.  He
meant that he felt like an arse for leaving Alex and Cerys, of course.

Gethin really and truly needed to get his head back in the game and stop
letting himself think about things he knew he shouldn't.  If Cerys had been
about to suggest what he thought she was, she was wrong.  It was a big
deal.  His dad had been grooming him for a life of professional rugby since
Gethin's first tag rugby game back when he was barely bigger than the ball.
And Gethin knew that the "No homos" he heard in Pontardawe were nothing
compared to what he'd find if he actually made it in the Pro 14.  Which
was, as his grades in everything but the hands-on classes like DT proved,
just about the only thing he had a hope of being any good at.

His feet slowed to a stop.  He leaned back against the wall, willing his
heart to slow down as he tried to get a grip, tried to convince himself
that he was mad at Cerys instead of just flat out scared over her almost
outing him like that.  They'd never, ever talked about it.  Gethin had
never talked about it with anyone.  Even if Cerys had somehow guessed,
Gethin had thought they were friends.

A hot prickle started to burn behind his eyes.  Suddenly, a teacher poked
her head out of one of the classrooms and frowned at him.  He straightened
up, willing it away.

"Get to class," the teacher said.  Then she smiled as she realised who it
was.  "Oh!  Gethin Smith.  Good luck at the game later!"

Gethin thanked her automatically, but passed right by the door he should've
gone into as soon as she went back inside her own classroom.  There was no
way he could go to DT now, not with his hands shaking the way they were.
He'd had to fight tooth and nail to get his dad to agree to him taking DT
as an option in the first place.  He'd only wanted to because Seth and some
of his other mates were taking it.  His dad had been sure he'd end up
cutting a finger off or something, which wouldn't be good for his future
career.  If Gethin went to his lesson today, he might just prove the man
right.

Shoving his still shaking hands in his pockets, he headed outside instead,
hoping that a bit of time in the fresh air might calm him down.  He'd hide
behind the bike sheds for the rest of the lesson.  After all, he was good
at hiding, wasn't he?

At least, up until today, he always thought that he was.


**********


Links to my other stories

Short stories:
Looking After Jake - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/looking-after-jake
Meeting With a Trucker - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/meeting-with-a-trucker
Thank God It's Friday - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/thank-god-its-friday
My Stepfather's Secret - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/my-stepfathers-secret
The Hotel Room - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-hotel-room
The Sketch Pad - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/the-sketch-pad
Builder Boy - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/builder-boy

Multi-chapter stories:
Tutoring Dylan - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/tutoring-dylan/
The Hunters - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-hunters/
Everything's Different In The Country - https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/young-friends/everythings-different-in-the-country/