The Outside Lines (boyxboy) - Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Nathan's POV
"Your car is a pretty long walk away isn't it?" Noah asked, dreading the idea of more walking.
"You're right, with all of that walking we did today it's probably several blocks away." I thought out loud.
"I can carry you, if you want." I said to him with a sort of smirk.
"W-what? No thanks, I'm fine." He mumbled, going a slight shade red.
(Play the song)
We walked back to my car, strolling under the setting sun. It was almost romantic. The orange overcast made place look something like of a painting. Noah seemed to be enjoying it as well. He set his sight on the orange sky any opportunity he got.
"It's a shame to be heading home so soon." A sudden though escaped my lips.
"What do you mean? We were out for the entire day." He responded, looking up at me slightly confused. I was half hoping for him to suggest that we stay out a little longer, guess that didn't work.
"Yeah, well... You spent most of the day with new friends. It felt like Taylor and I were just tagging along." I pointed out, nearly failing to hide my jealousy. He looked down in guilt, probably realizing he kinda put Taylor and I off to the side. Seeing him upset by something I said pained my heart but I wanted to be honest.
"I-is she mad at me?" He asked, meaning Taylor, a worry present in his voice.
"Not sure, you'll have to ask her." I shrugged.
"Are..." He paused for a few solid seconds. "Are you mad at me?"
Our footsteps and the town's ambient sounds  filled the quiet moment in between my response. "No, just a little disappointed we didn't get to hang out more." I answered, a slight smile on my face.
His sight fell to the pavement beneath us once more, This time I couldn't tell what he was thinking.
Noah was silent most of the ride, he'd give me directions and answer the question I'd ask in hopes to make small talk. To be honest I didn't mind his one or two word replies. Just being in his company, one on one was satisfying enough, as pathetic as that may sound.
The dull hum of the car's engine, the sound of the tires against the road beneath us kicking up the occasional piece of gravel and the setting sunlight peeking through the trees on the road sides made this experience all the more relaxing... and romantic.
-
"This is it." Noah announced as we pulled up under a sort of tree archway. I'd never seen anything like it in person before.
I shut off the engine and stepped out of the car, scanning the area. The space was very open and enveloped in a dark green casted by the tall trees looming overhead, giving off a peaceful yet eerie vibe to it.
"Where's your house?" I asked, doing a double take of our surroundings. There were a couple houses barely visible in sight, peeking out of the heavy greenery and aged vines.
"I live just up there." He pointed to a hill just at the edge of the arch, or overhang of trees.
"You sure you don't want me to drive you there?" I asked him.
"I-I'm sure." He scratched his neck, averting his gaze. "I'd invite you up, but you see... my parents, they're... kinda difficult." He tried to find the best way to explain.
"I get it, it's no problem." I assured him, a little disappointed. I'd love to see where he lives, but the last thing I wanted to be was a bother to Noah.
"Alright, well..." I paused leaning against the top of my car. "I'll see you at school tomorrow?" I  asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yeah." He gave a quick wave and turned around, starting his trek home.
I watched his adorable self for a short moment before returning to my car and heading home.
Despite the surrounding neighborhood appearing to be peaceful the people there were quite the opposite. It was like there was a party happening at every other house I drove past. All of the passing locations were extremely varied when compared to the area around my apartment. I made sure to take in all of the sights while still focusing on the road ahead of me.
-
I pulled into the driveway next to the apartment building and shut off the engine, removing the keys. I entered the building noticing my mom on the couch watching TV. I joined her with a piece of the casserole I'd made before leaving this morning. She asked me about my day, making me go into great detail. She seemed a little obsessive, but I could tell she's just been worried about me, and now that I'm getting out making friends like a "normal person" it's easing some of that stress.
Noah's POV (The next morning)
Taylor gave me a lift to school like usual. I was surprised to see she wasn't upset with me after what Nathan told me yesterday. I almost thought I'd be taking the bus to school, but here I was, jamming out to music in her car. She did tell me off a bit, but it was more so in a joking manner.
"You're such a dork." She shook her head at the odd dance I was doing in my seat. I just grinned at her and continued. To my surprise she joined in moments later. We sang at the top of our lungs almost drowning out the music entirely. We've done this so often that we were almost getting good at it.
"Nathan's gotta join us one day." Taylor said, hunching back in her seat, exhausted.
"Nathan?" I asked, confused.
"Yeah, I'd love to see that big innocent teddy bear make a fool of himself just as we do." She chuckled at the thought. Someone like Nathan dancing and singing like a complete dolt? To be honest I couldn't really picture it.
"He's got a good set of pipes on him too." Taylor praised.
"Really?" My curiosity was piqued.
"Yeah, the man can sing. For a second I thought he was going to steal my heart." She chuckled. The thought alone welled a tinge of jealousy in my stomach for some odd reason.
"I'm sure he'd be more than willing to sing for you." Taylor teased, noticing me deep in thought.
"I'm fine." I declined the idea, pouting in the direction opposite from Taylor. She just laughed and continued teasing me like she often does.
-
Taylor's small car nabbed a space in front of the school's parking lot. I wasn't expecting the place to be so lively this early in the morning. The parking lots have been growing in popularity now that the sun's been cooling down in the fall weather.
Music and bodies filled the lot. Some people sat inside their cars blaring music other hung outside on the ground, on top of cars, pretty much anything with a surface, just chatting away. I spotted Chad, Hailey and a few other popular kids grouped up in the corner of my eye, but did my best not to pay them any attention, unlike the dozens of kids piled around wishing they were them.
Don't focus on negativity. Today I'm just going to try my best to have fun.
On our way inside the building a familiar blue car drove in from the distance, seeking out an empty lot. Many of the students loitering about made way for the on coming vehicle.
It pulled in a couple spaces away from where Taylor parked. The door popped open and out stepped a dreamy stud.
It was Nathan. He wore an ash green t-shirt, a dark pale blue pair of jeans, and perfect styled hair. Watching him step out of the car and approach seemed like it was in slow motion. At the time I hadn't even realized myself drooling and gawking over him.
I don't think he noticed, but several sets of eyes were looking his way, mostly belonging to females. The lustful eyes on Chad had shifted some interest on Nathan.
"You're a real head turner." Taylor complimented, saying exactly what was on my mind.
His follow up side smile wasn't helping me keep the lid on my emotions.
"Hey guys." His deep voice greeted us. My eyes just watched him as he climbed the small set of stone stairs beneath us.
We all entered entered the building after greeting Nathan. We hung out in the halls just goofing off until it was time for class. They went as usual, me wanting to jump out the window more and more with every passing second. I was bored out of my mind.
I met up with Nathan, Taylor and Scott during lunch. Scott had been MIA for awhile. He wouldn't say what he'd been up to, but I already knew he was scheming against Damian as usual.
"The heck is this stuff." Scott's droopy, lazy self asked, sat on top of our table again. He was referring to the lunch food.
"Kassandra said they were ordered to change their lunch menu on short notice, so this is what they managed to come up with." Nathan explained, playing with the bowl of green goop under him.
"B-but where are the chips? The donuts? Where are the cookies?" Scott cried.
"You wont be seeing any of that here, the menu's been wiped. Completely greenified." Taylor said both in amusement and annoyance.
"Yeah, the health complaints the school's been receiving really have them shook." A familiar face with long silky black hair and an early two-thousands pop clothing aesthetic chimed in, walking up to the table.
"Hey Nathan." She greeted, tossing up a small wave.
"Oh hey, I wasn't expecting to see you here. What's up?" Nathan responded, surprised.
He knows her?
"Yeah, I don't come to the cafeteria often, but my friends wanted me to try the new menu with them." The black haired beauty explained, leaning against the table. Scott just sat there and watched her intently as if she were the most interesting movie ever, his mouth slightly agape as his bag ridden eyes studied her.
"They already started without me though so I don't really feel like bothering." She finished.
"Who are you?" Taylor asked bluntly. I've known Taylor long enough to know she didn't mean anything by it, though it could've easily come off as rude.
"Right, sorry. I'm Amber." She introduced realizing she hadn't given her name yet. Hearing it I can confidently say I've met her before. I just don't know where.
"You look more beige to me." Taylor joked, taking a bite of the green bread sandwich in hand. Amber shook her head in response, unable to hold back a smile.
"I made a similar joke." Nathan said, chuckling. The more I heard his laugh the cuter it got, and I didn't want to admit that I liked it.
"I didn't know you and Noah were friends." She said in amusement, noticing my presence at the table.
"Oh you and Noah know each other?" Nathan asked, his eyes widening slightly.
"Everyone knows Noah." She rolled her eyes. She had a point. I made it my mission to get acquainted with as many people as possible, though it was sort of artificial. I did it in hopes of having people who would accept me, my craziness, and my gayness if it ever came out that I was gay, and indeed it did. In the end these people ignored me to keep up appearances, so that was sort of a bust.
"We met outside my classroom. He was running down the hall and collided into me, knocking all of my belongings to the ground." She recalled. The memory suddenly came rushing back.
"Yeah, sorry about that." I apologized, shyly scratching the back of my head.
"It's fine, at least you helped me pick up my stuff. Unlike that meat head Chad and his friends who trampled over it in their meat headed stampede." The memory brought A displeased expression to her face. I'd forgotten Chad was involved. Him, AJ, David and Michael made a mess of the hall that day. They trashed cardboard cutouts, decorations, and even the stands several students worked so hard to make. They tossed them and rammed out of the way as they trampled down the halls. No one had the guts to stand up to them though, me being the desperate boy that I was I blindly tagged along.
"So, how's the new menu, on a scale from one to ten?" Amber asked, taking a seat next to Nathan.
"A five honestly." Taylor answered, lifting her shoulders in a sort of shrug.
"Really? Give me a short review." Amber requested, seemingly interested in our responses.
"The over abundance of vegetables mixed and boiled together is overpowering and throws off the texture, the broth is pretty good though." Taylor's quick summery in response to the soup caught me off guard. It was almost as if she'd been preparing it all day. Amber seemed pleasantly satisfied with Taylor's answer.
"I like Kassandra so I'm going to refrain from giving my opinion." Nathan said hesitantly.
"I don't have to taste it to know I wont like it." Scott finally spoke for the first time since Amber's arrival. His awkward gaze was now set on the soup bowl in front of me. I hadn't tried it yet, but with everyone's responses I was intrigued to say the least.
I lifted the spoon set aside the bowl and scooped out some of its contents. It hovered in front of my face for a short while before I went for it.
It wasn't that bad to be honest. It reminded me of that one time my mom went on a veggie cleanse. She got my father and I involved. She'd stew the vegetables, bake em, and even drink em. Said it was to keep our weight in check and prevent demons from entering our bodies. Just casual things, y'know.
Having Amber and Nathan around almost made me feel invisible for some reason. After what I did yesterday I had no right to complain though. That said, Nathan would go out of his way to include me in conversations, giving me something to respond to. He had a knack for telling when someone felt left out.
There were several eyes on this unlikely group of misfits. Every time someone passed I'd notice them sneaking glances our way. We drew a lot of attention to ourselves. The gay and his popular redheaded friend, the extremely handsome guy previously known as the rugged thug, Damian's weird rival, and the black haired beauty, all hanging out. This odd combination was sure to turn some heads. Scott and I's rowdiness was likely the main reason people had their sights on us though.
"You can have the rest of my food." I said jokingly to Taylor. Her face slightly scrunched in disgust.
"No. Thank. You." She put a pause in between words to emphasize her distaste for the green food.
"C'mon, I know you want it." A devious grin made its way onto my mouth. I quickly stood up, tossing my half eaten sandwich at her face. It bounced right off, but left traces in her hair.
"Oh hell no." She wasn't having it. She grabbed her own sandwich, preparing to toss it my way. Everyone at the table was caught off guard by Taylor and I's sudden food war. This wasn't anything new to us though. We often throw Tic Tacs and M&M's at each other around school. I'm pretty sure the janitor hates us for it. If he suddenly became a killer I think Taylor and I would be first on his hit list. Next would probably be his wife. I'm certain he hates her with the way he's always mumbling vile things about her.
Scott hopped off the table, avoiding the crossfire.
Taylor's sandwich came rocketing towards my torso. I just had enough time to scoot out of the way. I grabbed the dismantled sandwich and chucked it across the table but Taylor used Nathan as her hulking shield. It was too late before I realized I'd sent the mangled sandwich directly into his lap.
A look of shock flashed onto his face before breaking a smile. He stood up from the table, advancing his status from measly shield to sword as he went on the offensive.
"I'm not much for wasting food, but I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to join in on a food fight." He said readying his cup of apple sauce. Taylor made sure to distance herself from her new opponent.
We all stood in separate corners, waiting for each other to strike. The confusion on Amber and Scott's faces were just as apparent as there amusement.