"Yea, what's wrong with you?" Someone asked from behind , startling him.
He looked through the mirror and saw Claire's image reflected on it. He turned abruptly and faced her, clearly surprised to see her, "What the fuck are you doing in here !"
"My lady business, what are you doing in here." Claire responded with much curiosity and dry annoyance.
Before he could answer, he decided to take a second to look around and noticed there were no urinals and the toilets looked way cleaner.
"Oh.." was all he managed to say after realizing his mistake.
"Yea, oh! "
"I gotta go," he said shyly and started for the door. What the hell was he doing in the girls' toilets. Was he really that flustered over some random dude to forget his geography?
"Are you hiding from people because of what they're saying about you ?" Claire suddenly asked before he could make a break for it.
He froze on the spot and spun so fast -any harder and he would have gotten whiplash.
"What are people saying about me ?!" He asked, absolutely clueless of the meaning behind Claire's words.
"Come here." He moved closer to her as she pulled out her phone and unlocked it. As soon as she found what she was looking for, she turned the screen so that Austin was able to see it clearly.
Playing right before his eyes was the video that Nicky had taken last night.
"I know what happened at my house, so, why are showing me the video?!" He asked, confused.
"Because everybody in school received it." she answered.
"What are you talking about?!" Words were not registering in his brain through his ears quick enough as they should have been.
"Looks like Nicky Text Blasted it to everyone in school by accident."
"What!"
"Text Blast. It's when you send a text to a lot of people at the same time." She explained to him as if he had no idea what that was.
"I know what that is!" He said , full of impatience and agitation." What did you say Nicky did ?"
"You heard me."
"I'm gonna kill her!" he shouted, reaching for the doorknob but froze for a few seconds before pushing his way outside.
"Austin...." Claire tried to call him back but he was already off.
As soon as he stepped into the halls , every eye was on him. Others were talking shamelessly about him while others just stared. He couldn't believe this was happening. The stares from everyone made him want to curl in on himself.
The realization that this might be the day his life as he knew it was about to end terrified the crap out of him.
The coos, murmurs and some outright sneers sent his way were almost numbing.
He tried to ignore them the best he could and started looking for his sister, roaming the halls, trying to spot her.
"Fag!" Some random guy said to him.
"I'm not a fucking cigarette!" he said simply and continued with his search .
The second he turned a corner on the second floor, he came face to face with Lucy. Her eyes were bloodshot., like she'd been crying. She looked like she was finished crying and now she was just angry.
He rushed to her, so he could explain that it was a stupid mistake before things got worse. As soon as he was at arm's length from her, he started, "Lucy, babe, I can explain. This -" A slap landed right across his face, on the exact same spot that his father had hit the previous night.
"Aahhhh..! Son-of-a-bitch!" he screamed, holding his cheek that was now throbbing from agonizing pain.
"Yea, you can say that again you jerk. How could you use me like that?!" Tears were starting to well in her eyes again. Before he could answer, she was off leaving him in the middle of the hallway,a small audience starting to gather.
He straightened himself and looked straight up ahead, accidentally meeting those green eyes for the second time that day from a distance.
His breath hitched in his throat and he momentarily remained staring before realizing where he was looking -and the number of eyes trained of him other than the green orbs, and quickly darted his eyes elsewhere, "what the fuck!" he muttered under his breath.
He turned around without second thought and went to look for a bathroom or anything that would let him lock himself in. He found the right bathroom this time and made a break for the sink first thing. He started to splash cold water on his stinging cheek when the door opened.
Damn it, he had forgotten to lock it!
"You were right, that was one tight schedule." Came that same gruff voice.
"Aah..shut up!"
"Why am I the only one who wasn't sent the video?!" the guy asked, feigning hurt.
"Then how do you know about it if it wasn't sent to you?!"
"I have eyes, I know how to ask nicely." The new guy said with a smirk.
Austin grimaced as the cold water touched the sore spot on his face. The guy jumped up onto the sinks and sat there, still looking at Austin. His stupid smirk did something to Austin's insides -and a little to the outsides - that he wasn't ready to deal with at this moment or any time in the near future.
Just then, the bell for fist period rang. Austin saw it as a window to get himself away from this boy and the strange feelings that came with him, so he quickly picked up his backpack and sprinted to the door.
"Saved by the bell, literally!" he heard the guy say from the bathroom but he didn't turn back to acknowledge that he had heard him.
He stepped into class and immediately spotted Sam at his usual seat, right next to where Austin always sat. The girls in the class were all looking at him and giggling at him adorably.
"Girls are weird. They are now more interested in you since they heard you're gay." Sam said after Austin had taken his seat right next to him.
"I'm not gay dude !" Austin said a little too loudly. Everyone in class turned to looked at him briefly before going back to what they were doing, mostly still gossiping about Austin.
"After that video, good luck convincing anyone otherwise."
"What am I going to do ? " Austin turned to his best friend, desperate for help.
"You're asking me ? When's the last time I actually gave you an idea that got you out of trouble ?" Sam asked comically.
"I forgot your useless status in my life for a moment there, sorry." Austin said exasperatedly, slumping back into his seat.
"Not totally," Sam said," What if I tell you I have an idea?"
"What?" Austin jumped in his seat and paid all his attention to Sam, expecting a bright idea to suddenly pop out of Sam for once in his life.
"What if Nicky records you telling your parents tonight that it was just a joke and then she can send it to everyone again!" Sam said, looking a little too proud of himself for his own good.
"Wow, you really are useless!" That was a bust. Austin would have to think of a way to get himself out of this because if there was one thing Austin hated, it was everyone butting into his personal life.
Even though his friends were loud and outgoing, he never let himself be interested in anything beyond the scope of his immediate relationships and interests.
Too much attention exhausted him.
The smile on Sam's face was gone as soon as Austin glared at him, "What did I do?!"
"You think I haven't thought of that?" Austin questioned, "My parents are never gonna buy that 'it was a joke' bit. They'd probably assume I am lying to get out of being mangled by my dad!" He finished, running his fingers through his shoulder length thick locks.
"Well, in that case, you're in deep shit." Sam spoke matter-of-factly.
"I'm gonna kill Nicky ." Austin said.
"Whoa, you really shouldn't say that out loud!" Another voice said from his left and it was definitely not Sam. Austin turned and his eyes fell into those dark green eyes.
You've got to be kidding me. He thought but that did not stop the sudden increase in his heart rate or the way his arms got clammy for some reason.
"What!" He asked, feeling a little annoyed. Just who the hell was this guy and why was he so invasive out of nowhere without Austin even knowing his name?
"You're gonna need reasonable doubt for when you actually do it."
"Huh ?"
"Killing your sister.." the guy said simply, flashing his white teeth at Austin.
What he had just said was not in the least bit funny but his smile sure was something to behold. Austin shook those weird thoughts out of his head and asked, "What are you doing here!"
"Uhh..I go to school here."
"I don't think so.." Yes, he didn't think so.
"Who are you, the principal?" the guy cut in cockily but he was still grinning.
"I mean, up until yesterday, I've not seen you around here."
"Oh, so you've been looking for me !"
What?
Austin just stared at him but this time he wasn't captivated by his godly features -he was downright irritated.Was he some kind of stalker...or creep ?
"Noah."
"Huh?" Austin asked absentmindedly.
"I'm Noah. Noah Byrne."
"Yea, cool." And with that he turned to Sam, who had been watching their whole conversation with an amused look on his face. "What are smiling at!" Austin asked his friend.
"Nothing." Sam said curtly.
"No, say it." Austin demanded, his resent conversation still taking a toll on his mood.
Sam leaned in closer and whispered, "Your first day of being gay and you already have a boyfriend."
"What the fuck are you talking about!"
Before Sam could reply, the teacher came in and they had to be silent.
---
At lunch, Austin set out to find his sister so as to rip her a new one. He entered the cafeteria and stood by the entrance, scanning the room with his eyes. She wasn't in the line or at her usual table.
He moved further into the room to look some more. By now, most of the students in the cafeteria were staring at him. From the corner of his eye, he could see something familiar. He turned and froze when he saw Lucy sitting at a table and if looks could kill, Austin would be sprawled on the floor in a matter of seconds.
He wanted to go talk to her but it didn't seem like a good idea. He was gonna wait for her to calm down, when it was a little safer to approach his enraged girlfriend. He had sent her numerous text messages since she stormed off this morning but there had been no reply - he was starting to wonder if she had actually read them.
A familiar bright pink dress and blue denim jacket crossed his vision making him turn left to spot his sister seated in the far corner of the cafeteria with someone whom Austin immediately recognized as his designated stalker for the day.
What was he doing with his sister? Austin wondered.
He approached the table in record speed and stood there, glaring at his sister, letting his eyes and posture tell her how mad he was at her. He completely ignored Noah as he mentally strangled Nicky.
"How could you !" He finally spoke, spitting out venom with every syllable.
Nicky looked nervous. She let out a small shaky chuckle, "Funny story..I -"
"No no no...there's nothing funny about this! Nothing!" He interrupted. A few people were now eavesdropping in their conversation.
"Look, Aussy -"
"Don't call me that!"
"Fine." She finally found her voice, "But, seriously, it was an accident. I didn't mean to broadcast it to the whole school. I would never do that to you. Besides, nobody really cares if you're gay or not."
"I care! My girlfriend hates me now!"
"She's just a little hurt. She'll get over it and learn to accept you."
"Accept what ?! What's there to accept?" He asked, "I'm not gay! How many times do I have to repeat that today?!"
"Hey, don't say it like that!"
"Say what like how !?"
"You make it sound like it's a bad thing. Be a little sensitive."
"To who ?!" He was getting frustrated.
"Austin, meet Noah," she said, gesturing towards Noah who was sitting in front of her," He's my new friend. He's also gay. Noah, meet Austin, my brother that I was telling you about."
Austin now remembered he had been here the whole time. He turned to look at Noah, "What are you doing with my sister?" He asked.
"What do you mean 'what is he doing with me'?" Nicky asked, a little confused.
"Calm down, Aussy, I'm trying to make friends in my new school. Total coincidence that it had to be your sister." Noah said, smirk in place as if on cue.
"Can you refrain from calling me that !?" Austin glared at him.
"Wait, you two have already met?" Nicky asked.
"Yea, we have a coffee date tomorrow evening." Noah said mischievously.
"Excuse me ?" Austin asked, now really looking at Noah to see if the guy was ok.
The strange feelings from earlier this morning had thankfully dissipated. The only feeling he had now when he looked at Noah ranged along the lines of what a creeper! and I need you to stop talking to me.
"Well, if you wanna know how to get out of the situation you're in, you might wanna meet me at Starky's tomorrow after school. I'm buying." Noah said with a knowing grin.
"You must be really out of your mind if you think that's happening," Austin said calmly, both his eyebrows raised to emphasize his point.
"Want your girlfriend back ? And your dad to believe that you were kidding so he won't kill you ?" The last part picked Austin's attention. He wondered why the girlfriend part had not been of much interest to him but he brushed that thought aside almost as soon as he got it.
"How do you know about my dad. That part wasn't in the video! Have you been stalking me ?!"
"Relax man, Nicky told me.!"
"What!" He questioned his sister, who was looking very guilty right about now.
"Sorry, it slipped out."
Austin couldn't take any more of this so he bolted out of the cafeteria and went to the library - at least in there there was a little peace and quiet.
He pulled out his headphones and decided to listen to some music before the end of lunch bell rung. What the hell was going on today!