Chapter Twenty-Seven
The weekend with Ru flew by. By the time Monday morning rolled around, the incident from Friday night was a minor memory. Hard work, and a long list of activities kept them all focused on distracting Adam, keeping him from sinking into anxiety or depression.
Adam spent a lot of time with Ru, eating with him, Tommy, and his parents, exploring the Twin Cities, and snuggling with Ru in front of a couple of good action movies.
Ru sang to him, sometimes it was fun and playful, silly childhood songs they both knew. Other times it was filled with grunge rock and sweet words. Adam even got a long tour of recording space Ru used, but could only remember a few of the names of the large bits of equipment Ru seemed to know his way around.
Adam finished two new articles for the Northern News, got them back from Michelle with edits, and returned them for publication soon after. But for all the excitement and peace he had over the weekend, he dreaded returning to school. His heart racing, anxiety pouring acid through his veins and making his feet feel like lead weights.
Would Nate be there? What about Jonah and Hank? How much more hate did he have to put up with?
Adam’s parents had taken over most of the discussion about what would happen with Nate. Only consulting him for small things, like Bas’s phone number, and to retrieve the stack of notes Adam had kept from those slipped in his locker. He had no idea what to expect come Monday morning, but Ru took him to school. Adam felt like a baby for wanting to cling, but the sight of the campus and the front edge of where the parking lot joined up to the football field made his heart pound in remembered fear. He had to work really hard to not hyperventilate.
“You call me if you need anything. I’m going to be at the library.” Ru pointed to the college campus across the way, the place they first met. “I’ll even meet you for lunch.”
“Okay. I’m sorry to be such a baby.”
Ru laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “Nothing to be sorry about. I should have been here. I should have warned you. This should be just like any other day for you. It’s my fault it’s not. If I had been here, you wouldn’t have gone to the game. You’d have been home snuggling with me.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Adam insisted. He’d watched Ru struggle with it all weekend. “Not either of our faults. Bad things just sometimes happen. We just have to learn how to get past this bump and on to the next.” He ran his hand down Ru’s cheek, loving the feeling of having him so close. “Kiss me so I can get going.”
“’Kay,” Ru consented, and Adam leaned into the kiss, wishing the moment could last forever. “See you at lunch. Love you.”
Adam smiled as he got out of the car. The cold finally hit him now that he was without Ru’s warmth. “Love you too.” He watched the car move toward the college campus and made his way inside. He’d purposely arrived early so he wouldn’t run into as many people in the halls. Bas, however, was waiting for him just inside the entry.
“You two are so cute!” Bas nearly squealed. “I can’t believe you’re datingtheRyunoski Nakimura. Have you heard him sing? Sets my loins atingling every time.”
“What did you just say?” Adam asked.
Bas blushed. “Sorta just popped out. I’ve been reading a lot of romance novels. Sorry.”
“Forgiven. What are you doing here this early?”
“Getting ready for the assembly.”
“Do I need to ask?” Adam had a feeling it had something to do with him. “Is it about me?”
“It’s actually about bullying. Your article about bullying is already up on the Northern site. I know ’cause I posted it.” Bas grinned. “Michelle hired me as the new web guy since it was taking her forever to do. So I redesigned the site and have it ready for easy updates. She said you have another article about teen responsibility. I can’t wait to read it.”
“I finished the edits late last night and e-mailed it to her. She probably hasn’t gotten to it yet. So tell me more about this assembly. They aren’t going to call me up, are they?” Adam shivered at the thought. He was working on a piece that featured him and Ru coming out together to the school, showing themselves as just a normal couple, despite Ru’s fame. Michelle had already promised it would be front page news the week their interview with Ryan Hart went public.
“Principal O’Brien asked me to talk about bullying and the national suicide rate. Spent all weekend on it. Made it heartbreaking and shocking, as it should be. Everyone is going to called to the assembly by grade. Yours is right after Advisory. Seniors are last because half the upperclassmen are in private meetings with faculty.” Bas walked with him to their lockers. “I want to ask, and not sound like a jerk for doing so, but are you doing okay?”
Adam nodded. “Ru helped a lot. Kept me up and moving so I couldn’t spend a lot of time agonizing over it. We did so much this weekend. Even went shopping at MoA.” The Mall of America was a mecca for those who loved shopping, which Adam did not.
Ru’s disguise worked pretty well, and all he wore was a baseball cap. The things he had bought for Adam were clothes for the photo shoot and interview they had coming up. The bright colors and snug-fitting outfits weren’t things Adam normally wore, but he had to admit he looked good in them. And after staring at himself in the mirror, he realized he felt good about the way he looked. Like that confident kid in the mirror was who he really was.
“Couture is good,” Bas said.
“We spent a while at LegoLand, building stuff. Bought a replica of the Millennium Falcon.” Adam still had sticker shock over the price of the thing, but Ru hadn’t batted an eye. They were still working on it. His mom and dad joining in each night after dinner for an hour or so. “It’s huge.”
“I’d be doing more with that pretty boy than playing with Legos,” Bas teased.
“We do.” Heat flushed his cheeks as he thought about kissing Ru. “It’s just good for my brain to keep busy right now.”
“I understand.”
Adam opened his locker and pulled out just a folder and some paper, since he’d be going to an assembly right away. Maybe he could do some writing in Advisory. “The clothes were important, I guess. I’m going to be in some national magazine. I sorta needed something that didn’t make me look like some high school dork.”
