“Hey, it’s nice to see you again,” Jamie says, as he stands to hug me.
“You too, how have you been?”
“Great, I’ve finalized my dance piece for the final showcase so now it’s just rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals.”
“Sounds exciting,” I say. “Is that part of your course?”
“Yeah, it’s a way for us to show everything we’ve learned, display our talents,” he chuckles. “It’s a smaller showcase than what you have at Tynerston though.”
“I tried to tell Jamie he should have gone to TU,” Max says, “with his talent he could have done a full Dance major—”
“But I’m happy here,” Jamie interrupts. “Besides, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go down the route of professional dance, and I still don’t, so Exercise Physiology with a Dance minor made more sense.”
“You’re in the same classes as Stephen?”
“Yeah, we knew of each other in high school, so it was nice to see a friendly face, and that’s when we started being friends I guess.”
I nod, happy that they’ve found each other. Other than his family, they’re the only people who know about Stephen’s sexuality, and I like that he has people he trusts. I wonder if he’s told them about me…
Stephen returns with our coffees and sits next to me, keeping plenty of distance between us.
“What have I missed?” he asks.
“Just telling Donovan that I finalized my piece for the showcase,” Jamie says.
“Yes!” Stephen lifts his coffee in a toast. “That’s great news, I told you you’d figure it out. You both celebrating tonight?”
“No, we don’t need to cel—”
“We will be celebrating,” Max says, shushing Jamie. “This is a big deal and I’m proud of you.”
He pulls Jamie into him, nestling him perfectly at his side. Their eyes meet and seeing them have that moment shows me again how in love they are, and they started out as friends. I glance over at Stephen but he’s just smiling at them and sipping his coffee. Is there ever a chance of being able to look at each other like that in front of his friends?
“What about you, Max? That class getting any easier?” Stephen asks.
“Comparative Politics? No, it’s still kicking my ass. But it’s a requirement so I just have to get through it.”
“If anyone can do it, you can, you’re the smartest person I know,” Stephen says.
“Thanks,” he chuckles.
“You’re studying politics?” I ask.
“Yeah, Political Science,” he nods.
“You’re the smartest person I know too then,” I say. “Back at TU, we did some lectures on politics and it was too much for me, like a whole other language.”
“Journalism major, right?” Jamie asks.
“Uh, yeah,” I nod, surprised he remembers, or could even hear me at the club.
“Do you have a plan for after you’ve finished school?” he asks.
“I haven’t got that far yet,” I chuckle. “Honestly, I’m just trying to make it to graduation.”
“Us too,” Jamie says, before his smile drops.
“What’s going on?” Stephen asks.
