The time had come, the hour Alec had been killing himself inside over for the past twenty-four. He shakily placed himself in his seat. He was wearing those pants Apollo liked and those flashy earrings Cassandra had picked for him. His usual desk audience was nowhere to be found, but Apollo wasn't sitting too far behind him, which gave him hope that everything would work out.
     Presentations went by, and Alec's doom grew closer. Alec felt himself sweating balls. He knew he'd fooled himself into being good at public speaking a while ago. So why did his world feel like it was ending?
     The next thing he knew, his name came out of the teacher's mouth. She stared at him a little too long, just like everyone else had been all day. He wondered if this was how Apollo had felt all those times. Like a single ant in a world of butterflies.
     "Alec, you're next on the list." Her tone had a nervous edge, and Alec felt angry at it. He swiveled his head toward Apollo, who nodded at him. Apollo had tried that ribbon in his unruly hair, and Alec felt a bloom of pride for the boy start inside of his chest. He rose from his chair slowly, with his legs suddenly seeming to forget any muscle mass they'd possessed previously. Apollo reached the front of the room before he did. His changes were subtle, but his new happiness was not. He didn't look like a scared puppy to Alec anymore because he was Apollo. Alec forced his last step to the front of the room.
       Alec swallowed all of the saliva in his mouth as he turned towards all his classmates. His heart was all he could hear, and he could suddenly feel his pulse in every part of his body. His face tingled, and his thoughts almost got away from him. He whipped his head toward Apollo, panicked.
     Apollo was standing next to him, comically large poster board held by his fragile hands. His lips opened to show his crooked but lovable teeth as he gave his sometimes-friend a reassuring smile. Alec plastered on his bravest face, and he realized that he was out of practice. The fake smile didn't seem so natural anymore.
      "My name is Alec, and my partner is Apollo." The air conditioner buzzed as background noise, and a light flickered at the left of the classroom.
      "For the last year of my life, I hated Apollo's guts. Everything about him annoyed me. His stupid hair, his stupid clothes, his stupid personality. And he learned to hate me too. We seemed to be from different worlds. We just weren't supposed to mix, I guess. And I was too caught up in trying to keep my reputation. And too caught up in my twisted idea of normal. I've learned to hate that word more than any other. I never hated Apollo. I hated that he wasn't normal by the terms of the word. I hated that he was like me," Alec's voice started shaking, and he realized he wasn't even looking at the script. Alec was staring at some "classroom behaviors" poster he'd never seen in the room. Apollo was watching him with conflicting eyes and even dropped the poster. He made no move to pick it up either. It nearly made Alec laugh.
       "There isn't a thing wrong with him. With me, with anyone in this room. Why are we so conditioned to think there is? I've fallen back in love with the people of the world, despite what evil we can make. And out of it, I got to know this sweet kid next to me. I regret everything laced with a judgment that I've ever done to him," Alec turned toward Apollo, his eyes softer and more genuine than the other had ever seen.
      "I don't know how to atone for my actions or the things I've done. But somewhere along the way, I fell in love with this creature. Now, I can't sleep without hearing his voice," Alec tried not to pay attention to the shocked faces of his classmates or look too hard at Apollo's reaction. With blood pounding through his ears, Alec finished his presentation. "Apollo, I've been a real ass crack to you. Because I was scared. People who know who they are scare me," Alec brought himself to study Apollo's flabbergasted face, suddenly worried about the boy's reaction. He continued anyway. "I was always so jealous of you, of your sense of identity. No matter how many times you got insulted, no matter how I tortured you, you never changed," Alec's voice fell to a whisper by the end of his sentence. How long was their presentation now? Alec gulped. "I hated you so deeply for that. I always bent and waned for everyone around me to feel some sense of belonging," Alec didn't realize he was leaning closer to Apollo. "You told me that living a life that is someone else's isn't a life worth living. You're right! You're right, oh, you're right. I can't hide anymore. I'm Alecsander, and I love you!" Alec choked out the words, now gripping the previously greasy boy's shoulders. Apollo's face was terribly red. His mouth lay open but soundless. Alec panted and dropped Apollo's shoulders, stunned by the silence. Then Apollo's voice cracked as he said something.
      "When you can give me a reason why, we can talk again," Apollo repeated his sooner words to Alec carefully. "Jeez, Alec. I'm so mad at you; I'm furious! You've done horrible things to me. And it hurt me so badly because I'd always admired you. I should hate you, but feelings are weird, and I can't ignore them. I can't ignore you." Alec was shaking now. He willed his gaze not to shift to his former friends. He felt their stares and the ghost of all the jokes they'd made about him.
       After the room was quiet for a period, the claps started. The claps. The applause. And then Apollo's chapped lips crashed into his.
       Alec didn't care why they were clapping or what would happen when they came to school the next day. He finally didn't care.

....

       After they'd run out of the classroom, Konner and Cassandra stopped them dead. The unlikely pair really had found their way to each other.   
       "Well?" Apollo's eccentric friend asked expectantly, gripping Konner's arm like it was her last resort.
       "We shit ourselves, and the building caught on fire just like Cash said, Cass." Alec's eyes went wide for effect, and Apollo was quick to kick him in the shin.
       "Anyone with a brain knows that's not what happened, Alec." Alec laughed down at Apollo's strict response.
       "I believed him." Konner shrugged, and Alec could tell again, just like on the night of their final basketball game, that Konner wasn't the same boy he knew just two weeks ago, so caught up in reputation, just as Alec was.
       "Alright, you idiots, we'll leave you alone. But, this is for real? No more blown-out fights or melodramatic snow confessions?" Cassandra looked pointedly at both of them, letting her ring-filled fingers run up and down Konner's toned arm. Apollo smiled.
      "No more blown-out fights or melodramatic snow confessions."
      They walked from the class, Alec's hand still shaking and Apollo's sweating in his. Neither of the two was perfect, but their fingers were intertwined. Apollo's feet moved in uneven, nervous steps, and Alec walked with perfect posture. They greatly contrasted each other, but that wasn't a problem anymore. Apollo smiled at Alec's varsity jacket, where the boy had done a poor job embroidering "sander" to the end of the "Alec" it originally was. Alec noticed and blew into Apollo's face, where his hair did not stick because it was no longer riddled with grease. And best of all, none of the ratpack had a word to say to them.
        "Wanna skip the rest of the day, dearest Asspolo?"

....

       Apollo walked through the door of Alec's house, kicking off his shoes. Alec and his mom were already setting up the table, with a pot of soup making a fine centerpiece. Apollo didn't hate soup anymore. Alec met him in the center of the entrance hall, wrapping him in a large hug.
      "I thought you fell in the toilet or something," Alec said fondly while snatching up one of Apollo's hands.
      "Very funny," Apollo said with a noncommittal frown, and then he turned sheepish. "I was trying to look nice for you since this is my first time having dinner with you guys while we're, you know." Apollo's voice participated it's favorite whisper activity, and Alec kissed his nose.
      "I think you look pretty wonderful." Apollo shook his head and smiled.
      "What good friends you boys are," Alec's mom commented from the other room. "Now come and eat."
      Alec found his chair right next to Apollo, who nudged him under the table. Alec's face resembled a frog with a croak stuck in its throat. In an extremely attractive way, of course.
       "Actually, mom, we're really good lovers." Alec braced himself for impact but needlessly so. His mother simply smiled at her plate in understanding.
       "No more sleepovers, then."
       "I can live with that." Apollo tried, letting out a big breath. That was really all it was, and their meal continued normally. A few questions about their day, and finally, a reminder to check their grade on the project. Apollo almost didn't want to.
       Alec had already opened the tab on his phone and pulled up the class grade book. Fear welled in Apollo's chest. Oh, to let him down now. But Alec had nothing to feel let down over. The dishes were done, and then they were outside, watching a sunset.
       Alec glanced down at Apollo, whose head found a way to rest against his hip. Alec snaked his hands over Apollo's shoulders. Here he was, at the same house, on the same stairs, watching the same sunset. The only difference was that Apollo was in his lap.
      "That's the first hundred mark I've ever gotten, Alec," Apollo said, swerving his head to look back at the taller boy. Alec's mouth twitched, and he started feeling foolish after what came out.
      "The grass isn't any greener for pretty people. But I do think you're pretty. But, yeah." He croaked out. Apollo didn't respond right away, and when Alec leaned forward to peer at Apollo's face, tears were welling in his partner's eyes.
     "I don't give two shits about grass, Alec." Apollo laughed, and Alec's face crunched into guilt.
     "I'm so sorry, Apollo." Apollo smiled, and reached for a strand of Alec's curly hair.
     "I know, Asslec." Finally, Alec could tell that Apollo wasn't crying because he was sad.
     "I really adore you."
     "I know that, too."

END.