Jay's POV:
Other students in the room roared and laughed as their conversations kept going on. The school bell rung again, meaning that first period was just about to start. There were a decent amount of people in the classroom at this point, but the class felt crowded. I felt like the only kid in there since I was surrounded by seniors. Maybe that was just my imagination playing games with me, or just my anxiety spiking again. Even though the room felt crowded, it was too quiet for it to make sense. The room temperature felt warm, which was fine by me at least. I decided to take out my journal and pencil and write about my thoughts inside. I keep it just in case I need to vent or if I'm bored. As for Roy, he was just doing his own thing in his own world. The teacher walked up to the front of the class and introduced himself as Mr.Barley. Judging by his tone, he seemed nice and laidback. He said to look on the board and examine the materials and supplies that the class would need for the school year. I instantly wrote down the list, one by one. Roy on the other hand, just took a picture on his phone and saved it for later. I couldn't blame him for it, I'm sure no one wanted to write anything this early in the morning. It was only 8:05 am and daylight was starting to show in the class. Mr.Barley mentioned another piece of information.
"Oh and I like to use cooperation a lot, so pick a partner. That'll be your partner for the rest of the school year."
My eyes immediately fell on Roy, while he kept his head down. I wanted him to be my partner, not because of him being so nice to me, but because I really didn't know anyone else in the school. I also wasn't in the mood for icebreakers and all that. I felt my paw shaking as thoughts ran through my head.
What if he says no?
What if he doesn't like me?
What if I'm not cool enough?
I quickly realized I was overreacting and took a deep breath. After all, the worst he could do is say no. My paw slowly made it to his shoulder and I tapped it. His gaze locked on me, but the words wouldn't come out my mouth. Instead it felt like I was just embarrassing myself at this point, acting as if my mouth was glued shut. Roy gave me a confused look, asking if I was alright. I felt the need to tell him right then and there because it was going to be more awkward asking him again.
"Y-yea I'm alright. I just w-wanted to know if you'd l-like to-"
That was all I could barely manage to say before he put his index finger on my mouth. His contact with my mouth felt warm.
"Yes, we can be partners." Roy said, looking sort of relieved.
I immediately give off a smile as he moves his finger away. Roy looked away from me, going back to doing his own thing. I looked around at the other students and everyone else seemed to find partners as well. Everyone else was engaging in their conversations while me and Roy were silent. I wanted to get to know him more, but I didn't know what to say. However, it was more so my brain wouldn't let me think of anything to say. For some odd reason, I could keep my eyes off of his buff muscles. They were so tempting to rub, I wanted them to be mine, but why was I thinking like this when I've never been into the same sex? I can't be gay, that's just...wrong, or that's how my dad looked at it. He was never really fond of two people of the same sex being in a relationship. Whenever it was June, he would often ban me and my mom from watching tv since most of the time, it would show pride in the community. I would never really understand why he was against the community, he would often mentioned something about it being a sin and blah blah blah. I would never really understand how it was bad to like the same sex. I often found it pretty respectable like any other human being. I remember when me and my dad fought over it one time, and needless to say, it didn't end so well. I remember seeing things being thrown across rooms, glass being shattered, things were out of order and it was just a mess in general. I could hear his screams and the smell of beer stains on the carpet from the bottles. It sent chills down my spine, but me and my father never really had the best relationship. If anything, we'd only react when we would have to and that was it. I took a deep breath and did something I had never did before in my entire life: start conversation.
"Roy, how long have you been here?" I said, feeling my body start to shiver in fear.
There was a short pause and it seemed like I was talking to myself, which made the conversation more awkward. I was about to give up and slap myself for thinking of a stupid idea before the silence between us broke again.
"Been here since I was a indifferent freshman." He said, not making eye contact.
It honestly shocked me that Roy's been at this school for so long. Although, I'm sure it may not have felt that long to him. Like anyone else who goes through their high school years, it goes by really quickly. I looked at his pink colored shell, which reminded me of a soft, delicate cherry blossom garden. I looked at his pink shades and I was intrigued by them, wondering how he looked without them. Needless to say, my curiosity got the better of me, and I couldn't help myself but ask:
"Does anyone know what you look like without your shades?" I say with deep curiosity, hoping for a no.
This time, the class's volume was a bit lower than before, making our conversation more audible. I knew what Roy was doing. He was waiting, waiting for the nosy classmates to mind their own business. However, the bell rung before Roy could give out a response, so I didn't worry about it anymore. Everyone grabbed their backpacks and walked out the door, going to their different classes. My next class was English and luckily it was right across the hallway. Roy went right over there and looked my way. Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I felt his gaze pouring down on me. He gave me a small smirk before entering the classroom. My heart was feeling mixed emotions. On one hand, I was just glad I had someone to talk to, but on the other, I was jumping with excitement for an unexplainable reason. I decided to play it cool and smile before walking into the classroom myself, excited to see someone who I could call my friend.