Possessive and Political

Marty and Vincent rode to the school in a comfortable silence, but as they pulled up to the building trouble came into view; trouble by the name of Lucas. The soccer player stood on the sidewalk leading to the parking lot. He had a curious look on his face when he came into view. When Marty pulled to a stop Vinny quickly hopped out of the passenger seat.

"Lucas?" Vincent called.

"Marty?"

"Vincent?" Marty chimed in after Lucas, but Vinny ignored the dark haired boy and walked up to Lucas.

"What's up Lu?" Vinny asked trying to smile despite the awkward situation.

"Marty texted me to meet him...Were you just in the car together?" Lucas asked, dumbfounded. "Did you like spend the night with him?"

"No... well maybe-" Vincent began.

"Yeah he did." Marty said with a smug grin, and wrapped his arm around Vincent. "We spent the night in bed."

"Marty!" Vincent shook Marty off and got out of the car, going up to Lucas.

"Why? I thought you hated him." Lucas gave Vinny a strange look.

"I do.. I mean I did. I mean I think I do..." Vincent stuttered. "It wasn't like that, we didn't-"

Is that his hoodie?" Lucas asked looking past Vinny to Marty, who was leaning against his car lazily and pretending not to listen to their conversation, his expression unidentifiable.

"Uh yes."

"So you... you and him?"

"No!" Vincent said firmly. "That's not what happened at all... can we, I think we should talk, away from Marty." Vinny eyed the boy suspiciously. He hadn't said anything for a while but was watching the whole scene with an intrigue.

"Uh... okay." Lucas' brow furrowed. "Would you.. we could walk to class together?" Lucas rolled back and forth on his feet. His blond hair was pushed up and back out his face. He had recently gotten a haircut, and it was close cropped on the sides and back. He had on a blue Henley shirt, with khaki chino pants that stopped at the ankle, and his maroon team jacket over it.

"Yes. That's perfect. Come on." Vincent grabbed Lucas by the arm without looking back, but Lucas shot one more look back at Marty who grinned.

"We're still too early to go to class. We should talk for a minute first?"

"Sure." Vinny replied slightly nervous for what he was going to say.

"Let's go sit down a little." Lucas led Vincent back towards a little bench away from the quad where they couldn't be overheard. "So you.. you didn't do anything with Marty."

"No, absolutely not, I promise.... It was just.."

"It's okay." Lucas ran a hand through his hair. "I believe you, if you say nothing happened, then nothing happened... besides it's not like I should care, you're free to go after whoever you want."

For some reason Vincent found himself disappointed that Lucas didn't care. Lucas on the other hand was using every fiber of self control he had not to rip Marty's hoodie off the boy.

"I just wouldn'tve thought you'd be going after boys.." Lucas whispered quietly. If Vincent was going after boys, and hadn't even considered Lucas, then there was no way... they could ever... that was the end of it. Lucas grimaced. He was reading too much into it.

"I'm not going after anybody." Vincent sighed. "But I think maybe if I did... it would be a boy."

"Oh." Lucas said, voice wrought with disappointment.

"That doesn't bother you, right?"

"No." Lucas lied; it did bother him. His whole life he'd told himself Vincent could never like him back because he wasn't gay, but here he was confessing to being gay, and he still didn't like Lucas back.

"What about you? I heard Sarah was interested, has she said anything?"

"She texted me."

"And?"

"I'm not interested in her." Lucas paused. "Did you talk to her... or tell her to ask me?"

"I told her she could."

"Marty was right." Lucas frowned. "I can't do this anymore."

"Do what?" Vinny asked in confusion.

"Be friends with you. It isn't working. Marty was right it doesn't work for me. I never should have told your mom I'd look out for you."

"What?" Vinny asked, anger rising in his voice. "What do you mean my mom asked you to look out for me?"

"Your mom asked me to make sure you were doing..." Lucas began.

"So you've been just babysitting me this entire time? You didn't even want to be friends? So that's why you kept mentioning my mom? She forced you to talk to me?I don't need you to be my friend just because my mom asked you to be."

"No Vincent! How clueless can you be? I can't do this. I can't deal with this rollercoaster of emotions. You're giving me hope, leading me on, then you're ripping it out from under me. You're talking to me and spending time with me, then sending girls to flirt with me. You're making me think we could... that we could maybe... maybe we could.. and then"

"We could what?" Vincent prodded.

"I'm in love with you Vincent!" Lucas stated in an exhausted tone. "I always have been. I mean you think I'm just talking to you because of your mom? I'm not. I love you, I've always loved you, and... and... if you can't like me back, then this just has to be over. It's too much.. it's just-"

"You... love me?"

"Of course I do." Lucas admitted bitterly. "I've been in love with you ever since we were children."

"Lucas..."

"I've tried everything... I tried just being friends, I tried having a girlfriend. I tried going away, but you just followed me. You followed me everywhere. I can't move on from you... Its too hard Vincent, too hard to sit here and smile and pretend I'm not hurting."

"Who said I didn't love you back?"

"What?" Lucas turned to Vincent. "What do you mean?"

"Who said I can't like you back? Who said we could never be together?"

"Y-You don't know what you're saying." Lucas sighed turning his head with a tortured expression.

"Yes I do, Lucas. I know exactly what I'm saying." Vincent insisted. "I like you Lucas. I didn't always know how, but I like you as more than a friend."

"You.. do?" Lucas' anger fizzled away like steam off boiled water. "You're not just saying that? You really do?"

"Yes." Vincent agreed. Lucas turned away and sat dumbfounded.

"Huh."

"What?"

"I just never thought it would be this easy." Lucas mumbled.

"What?"

"Nothing...I just didn't think all I'd have to do was tell you how I felt—- I suppose that might have been easier than years of pining." Lucas face was still blank. "Can I... can I kiss you?"

"Yes."

Lucas gingerly closed the gap as if afraid that once their lips touched the allusion would fizzle out into nothing more than a great dream. His hand gently brushed Vincent's cheek and his thumb prodded by his lip. Then their lips touched. At first it was gentle, chaste and kind. Then Lucas pushed against Vincent's lips opening in own mouth in a way that opened Vincent's too, so he could allow his tongue entrance. Lucas kissed like he'd waited 18 years to kiss. He kissed like he'd been holding in for years and it just needed to come out. His hand moved from Vincent's cheek to the back of his head, using it to anchor himself and pull the boy ever closer.

"Wow.." Vincent sighed, breathless and on an adrenaline high. He, Vincent Chance, had just made out with the star soccer player.

"You smell like Marty." Lucas whispered bitterly.

"Sorry."

"Maybe we should go?" Lucas said reluctantly. "Somebody might see us if we stay here."

Vincent reached down and grasped Lucas' hand in his own, offering an affectionate squeeze.

"You like me." Lucas repeated. "You're sure? I don't want.. I don't want you to feel like you have to because you're my friend, or... or because I just told you we couldn't be friends anymore if you didn't." Lucas chuckled sheepishly. His hair was disheveled, and his face a beautiful mess of red and pink.

"I'm sure.. very sure after that kiss." Vincent bumped his shoulder into Lucas.

"We should talk more.. but not now, not here... will you, do you want to come over tonight?"

"Definitely."

"One more thing... Are you... uh.... wearing a shirt under your hoodie?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, why?"

"Would you mind... maybe... wearing my jacket instead? I don't know if that makes me seem crazy, or... or if I'm reading too much into things, or even like I'm trying to make things move too fast... but I just- I want you to wear my jacket...I want to see my name on your back... and I.. really want to get Marty's jacket off of you."

"Sure." Vinny said pulling the hoodie over his head. Lucas grinned and quickly shrugged off his jacket, handing it over to the smaller boy. Vincent pulled it on over his shirt quickly. If Marty's hoodie was big, he was swimming in Lucas' jacket, but it seemed to mean a lot to him, and Vincent didn't want to disappoint. Lucas watched him the entire time he moved. "Won't you miss your jacket?"

"No." He said still grinning.

"What if people talk?"

"Let them." Lucas shuffled slightly. "Can I..." Vincent offered a nod and Lucas pulled him into a hug and buried his face in the boy's hair. "I can't believe you're really here... that this is really happening."

Vincent pulled Lucas head down and kissed him again.

"We should get going." Lucas cleared his throat, but was unable to hide his flushed cheeks. He reached down and offered Vincent his hand pulling the red headed boy up off the bench. Vinny laughed, and Lucas grinned widely, then he stopped with a cough, his eyes going blank, "Shall we?" Vincent and Lucas fell into an easy stride.

Lucas' hand dangled down almost touching the other boy's. "Can I hold your hand?"

Rather than answer the question, Vincent took Lucas' larger hand into his own. Vincent was practically engulfed in Lucas' warmth just from touching his hand. It tingled as if he was on fire, as if he was touching his soulmate.

As Lucas and Vincent walked hand in hand Marty walked up behind them wearing a scowl on his face. He wasn't going to confront them or even talk to them, but he was still angry. Vincent was playing with Lucas' feelings. He knew the boy liked him, he knew he didn't feel the same, yet there he was, feeding into Lucas' crush, giving him hope.

"Well that backfired." He mumbled.