The Outside Lines (boyxboy) - Chapter 18: Chapter 18

Nathan's POV
My dazed fixation on Noah was suddenly shattered when the table shook. Our attention was redirected to the table top in front of us, or rather the person standing on it, towering above us.
Pale blue sweatpants, a white long sleeve shirt, droopy eyes, silver frames to match, and dark green hair. I scanned him from bottom to top, recognizing him as the guy I bumped into yesterday when I was searching for Noah. The three of us just sat there silently staring at him, him doing the same. His dull, uninterested expression lowered to us as he plopped down on the table top, legs crossed.
"Where do crabs go if they need to travel across the sea in a timely manner?" He greeted with another riddle. None of us answered, as there were already several questions running through our heads. Taylor looked between us with a wtf expression.
"The crustation." He answered his own riddle when it was apparent that none of us would. I noticed a slight smile appear onto Noah's face just as quickly as it disappeared
"Are going to finish this?" He asked, referring to the bag of chips that'd just been opened.
"Why bother asking if you're just going to finish it yourself?" Taylor questioned as he already had his hands in the bag, munching on chips.
"Oh right, I never got your name yesterday." I mentioned, trying to break the tense atmosphere.
"You know him?" Taylor asked wearing a judgmental look.
"Scott. Scott Emerson." He spoke through chip stuffed lips.
"Nathan." I introduced, offering a little smile.
He pointed to Noah, waiting for him to introduce himself.
"That's Noah, I'm Taylor." She did it for him.
"I know who you are." His response seem to catch her off guard.
"We have chemistry together." He snickered to himself.
"What?" Taylor raised a brow.
"Class. Chemistry class." He clarified.
"Noah, huh?" He followed up. "I think we've spoken before if I'm not mistaken." The sound of crunching chips rang out through the nearby vicinity. "I've heard a lot about you." He fixed the frames on his face.
"Are you going to sit there and judge me too?" Noah leered.
"Y'know..." Scott started. "A lot of people here at school aren't actually homophobic. They're just following in the shadows of those at the top who are so they don't look bad."
He paused for a moment. "I'm sitting ON your table, eating YOUR chips, in sweatpants. I think it's safe to say I don't care about appearances." His once flat exterior was now overtaken with color.
"Wow, you're self aware at least." Taylor noted, a little surprised.
"Well it's difficult not to be when you're someone as perceptive as myself." Scott replied. Noah seemed to have relaxed a bit, finally taking a bit of his food.
"That's right, you play chess correct?" I asked, already knowing the answer, just trying to have conversation.
"I do." He closed his legs and set the now empty bag of chips aside. "I've been battling for Damian's crown. I've gotten so close a number of times but that bastard always gets the edge on me. And not only in chess either."
"Damian Sherlock? The genius?" Noah showed interest. Damian is one of popular students, so I'd assume Noah's run into him at some point.
"That's the one." Scott confirmed. "The dude thinks he's hot s**t. I want to cut him down a peg." A sadistic expression possessed him.
"He seemed like an okay guy anytime I spoke to him." Noah said with a little shrug.
"He might be alright. I just want to paint him as the villain in my head so my inevitable victory is all the more sweeter." He admitted in a comical manner.
"You're totally the villain here." Taylor snickered, me following behind not long after, unable to hold back.
"You know what's truly evil?" Scott raised a finger. "Exercise."
"Why's that?" Taylor asked, munching on a fry.
"Cause I suck at it. I have the stamina of an old grandpa." Scott answered.
"So anything you're not good at is evil?" She raised a brow.
"More or less." He shrugged with his shoulders, his green hair falling along the tilt of his head.
"I've heard whispers about PE becoming mandatory here at school." Taylor informed.
"I've heard about that too." Scott sighed in pure disappointment.
"Yeah, apparently some girl's mom threatened to sue the school if they didn't start taking students health more seriously." Taylor explained.
"I'm game." Noah abruptly raised his arm, shaking the seat. "Though... I don't know about sharing the locker room with other guys. It's a scary thought." He visibly shivered.
"You'll have Nathan there to watch over you." The expression Taylor gave off when she spoke was either that of reassurance, or a teasing one. Noah turned to look at me and I smiled at him. It was true, if we share a locker room I'll be sure to look out for him, protect him from any further harm.
"What about me? I'd do the same." Scott chimed in, in an offended tone.
"Suuuure." Taylor dragged the u, looking over Scott's slim body. "We barely even know you." I half expected for him to be offended but he just laughed it off.
We continued chatting for awhile, getting more acquainted with each other. Scott mentioned that Rebbecca apparently published an article going after another student. This time her target was a transfer from Russia named Olga. Rebbecca wrote that she could possibly be working for a Russian spy agency. This article would surely be a hit with the school, despite how reaching and far fetched it was. Sometime during our conversation my leg connected with Noah's thanks to my unconscious manspreading. The heat from his bare leg had began to warm the outside of my jeans. It was so distracting I could hardly pay attention to what everyone was talking about. I started to get the feeling he didn't like me when he noticed and pulled away, his leg abandoning mine.
"C'mon, let's do something fun before this period is over." Taylor suggested, stepping away from the table with a little twirl, her long red hair flowing like an ocean bathed in red.
"What do you have in mind?" Scott invited himself, hopping off the table.
"Maybe we could check out the gymnasium? We haven't hung out there in awhile, and it's likely the place we'll be spending a lot more time in." Noah chimed in.
"Not a bad idea. There are a lot of sizable balls there to play with." Taylor quipped, beginning in the direction of the gym with the three of us following behind.
"Come on." Noah frowned, trying to hold back a laugh.
"I suck when it comes to anything with balls." Scott furthered the joke. "I'm good at strategizing on the field though."
"Are you um... y'know..." Noah struggled to ask his question.
"Gay? No. I enjoy a good genitalia joke from time to time though." He answered with the oddest chuckle I'd ever heard. Scott did have a pretty weird laugh.
"You and Taylor are going to get along well." Noah sighed. "She has a knack for making friends though so that shouldn't surprise me."
"You do too." Taylor raised a brow, turning back to meet him. She's right, not too long ago Noah was known for making friends himself.
"They aren't real friends. Look how quickly they turned on me." He lowered his head. The atmosphere getting a little depressing. Everyone went silent, only our footsteps audible as we trekked the halls.
"Anyway, on the subject of friends. Whatever happened to that large scary looking guy you were hanging out with? What was that about?" Noah interrogated Taylor, breaking the silence. She raised her brow again, confused.
"Y'know, the one with the long messy hair, the scruffy beard." He did a a wavy motion with his hand for the hair and rubbed his chin for the beard. Was he referring to me?
"You mean Nathan?" She asked my unspoken question with her attention landing on me, myself looking between her and Noah.
"Wait... wait." Noah stopped a moment, falling a few steps behind the group as he began piecing it together. His bright eyes watched mine for a second, studying my face. He went noticeably red.
"S-sorry. I didn't..." He began to apologize for his earlier remarks.
"It's fine, I get that a lot." I smiled reassuringly.
"Nathan had quite the glow up and show up. Apparently not that many people recognize him." Taylor shrugged.
"I really hope there aren't any jocks here." Taylor wished as we reached the entrance to the gym.
"That's like expecting there to be a lack of seeds in an apple." Scott doubted. And sure enough, as we stepped inside there were people. Groups, scattered around the room, some racing cross court, some practicing their throws and others just chatting. There weren't very many in each group, but it was still enough to irritate Taylor.
Several eyes met us as we paraded into the room as an eccentric group of our own. I'd never seen much of the school's gym in the near two years I've been here. I studied the high ceiling, the large windows beaming sunlight lining the walls, the bright wooden floor reaching every corner's length, and the many seats and chairs placed along the sides of the room. It surprised me to see a place so different than the rest within the building.
After our little tour we took a seat on the bleachers. I laid back, sprawling across two seats. I pulled out my phone and popped an airbud in offering the other one to Noah. He look at it, then back at me, weirded out. Maybe I was coming on too strong?
"Hey, can I listen?" Scott asked, scooting over next to me with an extended hand.
"Sure." I smiled and handed the airbud to him and laid back, listening to the music.
After a few songs had come and gone on the playlist I looked over to see that Scott seemed to be enjoying it. Everyone was preoccupied except for Noah. Taylor was on her phone, Scott and I were listening to music while Noah seemed pretty bored, picking at the seat under him.
"Let's do something." I proposed. "We're already at the gym, so let's do something fun." I sat up.
"I wanted to play catch." Taylor mentioned. "There aren't any footballs here though."
"Let's play with one of those." Noah pointed to a basket full of colorful blowup balls. "It's not like I'm in any condition to catch a solid ball anyways." he chuckled dryly.
"You're right. Sorry, I hadn't though about that." Taylor apologized to him, leaning over and wrapping an arm around his shoulder.
"I can't promise I'll return your throws, but I'm in." Scott decided, standing up and hopping from seat to seat, all the way down to the floor. I followed along, but instead of seat hopping I used the stairs, heading over to large basket of balls. I removed a yellow one and threw it over to Scott who was already in position. Taylor and Noah join us soon after.
The game started off pretty tame. But the longer we played the more extreme things got. I was spiking the ball into Taylor and Scott's faces, them doing the same. I had the power behind my throws, while Taylor had the accuracy to receive them. It appeared Scott didn't have either though, as he warned. I made sure to look out for Noah. I didn't want him to feel intimidated or excluded so I put just enough force behind my passes not to knock him off balance. I watched his eyes light up zoned in on the ball, as his shirt would lift ever so slightly as he extended his arms to the sky, as he'd bite his lip trying his best to focus. It was all so enthralling to me. I still had trouble believing I was even hanging out with him.
I bet my fascination with Noah makes me look like such a dork.
Classes would be starting again soon, so I made note to keep that in mind. Snapping my attention away from our chaotic ball slinging I noticed all of the bystanders watching in intrigue. There were people sharing the court with us, and people hanging out in the bleachers all witnessing our tomfoolery.
"Go long." Taylor raised her voice to Scott. He backed up in a slothful manner creating distance between each other. After a few seconds had passed Taylor chucked the ball and it flying way past Scott. He gave her an odd. look.
"You weren't fast enough." She smirked with a little raise of her shoulders.
"You know I can't run to save my life." Scott barely managed to speak through his winded breaths.
"I know, I was just testing you." She chuckled.
"I'm beat." Noah stretched. "And I don't that mean literally." He joked. Taylor and I couldn't resist a laugh, despite how cruel his situation was. It's what he intended though, so I didn't think much of it.
"I need something to drink, preferably something with sugar." Scott plead, falling backwards to meet the solid wooden floor, his baggy clothes breaking his fall. As he tilted his mossy head backwards his eyes fell upon a group sitting across the court. He flipped over and peeled himself from the ground, making his way to their side. I didn't know what for.
"Are you going to finish this?" He asked the guy, lifting up his can of soda from the floor.
"Uh, no, go for it." The guy told him. The girl beside him didn't think he'd actually do it. How wrong she was. The way he evaporated the contents of that can I half expected him to drink the can as liquid its self.
"Eeewww." The girl exclaimed with laughter following. Scott crushed the can and threw it towards the nearest trash bin, it missing of course.
"I tried." His dimples furrowed with an awkward grin. "Thanks for the soda." Scott waved returning over to our side.
"Sure." The guy returned the wave with a raised brow of amusement.
Taylor and Noah were distracted. She was helping Noah back to the bleachers to get his crutch. I wanted to be of use too, but all I could do for now was watch.
The bells sang their song, calling for us to return to class. The group split up, going our own separate ways.