“Ezra,” Jake called after him. “He doesn’t really like you. Before you changed your looks, he said he wouldn’t date you. I should’ve told you before. But I figured this is what you wanted. To be with him.” Jake’s eyes narrowed at Sean. “But he’s an asshole. You deserve better.”
By now, the three of them had gathered an audience. The other guys in the choir were lingering, watching the soap opera unfold. Jake didn’t care. “He doesn’t like you for you, Ezra.” He paused. “But I do.”
A puzzled look on Ezra’s face deepened as he looked from Jake to Sean and back to Jake again.
Jake took a breath. “I really like you. I really,reallylike you, Ezra. Exactly how you are. How you were. I liked you before you did all this makeover stuff. I mean, don’t get me wrong, you look really good. And you’re funny, and you’re really cool, and I really like your shirts and your Sally Jessy Raphael glasses too. You’re amazing just the way you are, Ezra. I’d never want you to change.”
The choir room was suddenly deathly quiet. It was right then that Jake realized he’d outed himself in front of the entire men’s choir. He hadn’t woken up with that plan in mind, but there was nothing he could do about it now.
Sean’s jaw clenched. “Just ignore him.” He tugged on Ezra’s arm again. “Let’s get out of here, okay?”
“Wait a second,” Ezra said to Sean. “Is it true?”
Sean’s face was getting red, including his weird-ass ears, and Jake was happy that it made him look ugly.
“I mean,” Sean said. “We never really said we were exclusive or whatever. And it wasn’t a big deal anyway. I’d just met the guy.”
“And you just… wanted me to write all your papers for you? Is that why you’re going out with me?”
Sean was quiet for a minute, staring angrily at Jake, before he looked at Ezra. “You’re a smart guy. I figured you could help me out. You get to date me, and I get good grades.”
“You sorry sack of shit!” Jake felt his blood boiling.
“Hey, I didn’t ask you for your opinion, Fallon!” Sean dropped his books down on the carpet and strode over to Jake, getting right up in his face. “This was none of your fucking business!”
Ezra looked at the two of them, his face red. “I’m out of here.” He turned and walked briskly out of the choir room.
Jake was ready to go after him, but Sean was blocking him.
“Look what you did,” Sean said. “I told you to fuck off.”
Jake got so close to Sean’s face that they were nose to nose. “How about you make me?”
Sean pushed him. Jake pushed him back.
“Hey, hey!” Pete Petrow and a couple of tenors got in between them, separating them. “Come on, guys. Cool off.”
Sean watched Jake as he backed away, picking up his books and hightailing it out of the room. Jake had been all ready to fight, but it drained out of him as his shoulders slumped. Regret began to settle in.
This had been one of the stupidest and most embarrassing things he could have done. He left the choir room to go to Ezra’s dorm to apologize.
When Jake got there, he knocked on the door. “Ezra? Can I talk to you?”
There was no answer. Jake put his ear to the door. He knocked again. “Ezra?”
No answer. Jake wasn’t exactly sure if Ezra was even in there. He looked up and down the hallway. He was alone. “Hey, if you’re in there,” he said to the closed door. “I’m sorry. For doing that. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or upset you or whatever. I know you really liked Sean.” Jake paused, looking at the drawing on the dry erase board. “But I’m not sorry about what I said. About how I feel. You deserve better than him.” Jake paused again, waiting for any sign of life, but there was none. “Anyway. I’ll leave you alone.”
Jake turned to walk down the hallway. He walked slowly, hoping Ezra would open the door, but he didn’t.
Jake had just finishedlacrosse practice, which didn’t go well for him at all, when he saw the flyer.
It was the one Ezra had been talking about for the LGBTQ club. Jake spotted it in the entry way to the gym, covered in rainbow colors, and stuck to a bulletin board. The dance Ezra had mentioned was tonight.
Ezra definitely wasn’t going to take Sean now, so Jake should be happy about that, right? He’d succeeded in splitting them up. But Jake wasn’t happy about any of this. He’d handled it all wrong. All thecould havesandshould haveswent through his mind.
And it was going to be extra awkward in choir now. Maybe even downright hostile. He was not looking forward to sitting next to Sean tomorrow. Maybe he should skip it.
Jake took the flyer down from the board and put it in his gym bag. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe as some kind of memento; a reminder of a stupid thing he’d done. He thought about thatstupid thing on the walk back to his room in a rainstorm. The weather seemed very appropriate for how he was feeling.
