09 | STUPID
The Stupid Effect : Gradual increase of stupidity due to presence of stupid people

Ivan's POV

The weekend's here. And I've come to learn that Hope washes his hair with shampoo and conditioner during weekends and spends all afternoon showering.

Pissed, I decide to use Sebastian's bathroom to shower. Sebastian's a good guy, he showers almost as soon as he wakes up and takes less than ten minutes at that.

Granted, his hair isn't as good as his brother's. But two whole hours to simply wash some puny hair? I bet Rapunzel's baths were shorter.

I spend some time figuring out how the taps work and then strip my clothes, and start washing myself. After I'm done, I wipe myself with the towel the Hopes lent me and wear my usual outfit - a faded t-shirt and comfy shorts.

My hair is wet, slicked back and pressing the ends of my nape. As I exit the washroom and enter the small corridor that separates it from the main body of Sebastian's room, I hear a voice. A girl's voice.

Shit. I hide behind the wall, hoping she doesn't see me. After taking a deep breath, I peek and see Sebastian and the girl sitting on the floor backs against the side of the bed. Their legs are extended. There's a book - not a comic, a book - on Sebastian's lap. The girl's wearing skinny jeans and a purple t-shirt. She's dark-skinned and her face just glows like she just got bathed in honey or something. And when she smiles, a dimple shows up, which makes her already lively face more bright.

She must be Jessica Snow, Sebastian's girlfriend.

At the moment, she's talking to Sebastian about... The LGBT community?

"I'm pansexual, okay. Not straight. Not gay! I can date whoever I want," she says, frustrated.

"I know," Sebastian responds, sounding confused.

"And that means I can date you right?" she goes on.

"Jess, you are dating me," Sebastian reminds her.

I know," there's a smile on her annoyed face.

"What happened?" Sebastian asks, knowingly. His voice is filled with concern. "Did someone ask you if you date pans again?"

She laughs and shakes her head. "They said I'm straight. That I'm saying I'm a part of the LGBT community just to get attention."

Sebastian's jaw clenches. "Who? Who said this shit?"

Jessica shakes her head. "Those Seniors. Cheerleaders."

"That's so fucked up. Are they in your cheerleading squad?"

"No. But we had combined practice yesterday and..."

"Aren't they the same people who said they supported Callum when he came out?"

Jessica nods. "Yeah. They're messed up."

Sebastian huffs. "I think I hate these fake supporters more than non-supporters."

"Me too, I guess. I mean, who cares what my sexuality is? I like - and date and kiss and fucking sleep with - whoever I want to, right?"

"Right."

"It's not... how can someone tell me I'm not pansexual? They know me more than I know myself?"

"They're douches," Sebastian mutters.

Jessica nods. "Big time. My first crush was a girl, you know? I am pansexual. That's a fact, and you don't question it. Like fire. It's so hot, you can't question it."

I find myself nodding even though I'm not a part of their conversation. Her frustration - though I've probably never experienced something like that - is easy to understand. She isn't any less pansexual if she is in a heterosexual relationship.

Sebastian looks like he's about to reply but the door slams open before he can even begin speaking.

A boy walks into the room, wearing a smug smile. His blonde hair is, and his face is full of freckles. I've seen him before.

I groan internally when I recognise him. It's Blake Gilmour, a member of the Falcon's basketball team. He's so humorously stupid that Asshole Hope looks like a genius in front of him.

"You know who else is so hot, you can't question it?" he beams, hands held high. His eyes are sparkly, like always. I almost slap my head.

I found Sebastian and his girlfriend's conversation enlightening. I'll admit it, I don't regret eavesdropping. But Gilmour... why is his timing so bloody terrible?

"Me!" Gilmour shouts, prancing all over the room.

Sebastian rolls his eyes. Jessica snaps back at him. "I'm pretty sure you're the only one who feels that way."

But Gilmour doesn't look like he heard her. "Aww, Sebby, don't be jealous. I won't steal your girl."

"Don't call me that," Sebastian mutters, probably hating Gilmour's presence as much as me. Maybe even more.

My hands ball into fists. I'm hotheaded. He just - what's his problem?

"You know it's a good thing you aren't so hot, Sebby," he muses. "Ask me why?"

Jessica looks irritated. Sebastian looks offended. They both stay silent.

"Because she's Snow. And snow melts even if there's a little bit of heat" he explains. "Which is good because Jessie is so smitten for you. But if she was with me, an ultra-hot jock -"

I scoff when he says 'ultra-hot jock'. More like 'ultra-stupid clown', but whatever.

Gilmour goes on. "- Snow would vapourize. And nobody wants our favorite cheerleader to disappear into thin air, y'know."

Sebastian groans. "Take your nonsense somewhere else, Blake."

Blake brings his palm to his heart. "How could you do this to me?" he says dramatically, feigning heartbreak. Jessica rolls her eyes.

"But admit it, what I just said made all the sense in the world," he says. Jessica and Sebastian shake their heads. God, I hate this guy.

"I could be a fucking poet when I grow up!" he exclaims. "That shit was so fucking deep, Atticus would be jealous."

Wait, this guy knows Atticus?

"I'm so poetic!" he says in a sing-song voice, running around the room. "I'm a poet!"

"Why don't you tell Coach Silva about your plans of being a poet," Jessica spits, annoyance lacing her tone. "He'll be very happy."

Gilmour doesn't look like he cares. He hops around, thinking about his glorious life as a poet aloud.

I can't take this anymore. He can't just barge into their conversation and then shower himself with praise he is totally not worthy of.

I step out of my hiding spot and glare at him. I don't think he notices. "You just ruined a perfectly good conversation," I hiss.

Gilmour shrugs. "Who cares, I'm still the most poetic soul in the universe!" He continues prancing around.

I don't think he realizes what he's doing. I don't even think I realize what I'm doing. I'm a Wildcat in a Falcon's house in front of a Falcon cheerleader, a Falcon basketball player and a Falcon's brother. What am I going to say if I'm asked what I'm doing here? Oh, nothing much. Just showering.

I'm so stupid. I feel so idiotic. Ugh.

Is stupidity contagious? Because being under the influence of Hope - and now, Gilmour - has led to me making one of the worst decisions of my life.

"Wait a minute..." Blake turns around. He sees me. Of course, he does. I'm... the second biggest idiot in this room right now.

Just then, someone else enters the room. Hope. Of course. All these Falcons have impeccable timing.

"Have you seen Bla--" he starts and then stops mid-sentence. I wonder if it's because he found who he was looking for (Blake) or saw someone he didn't want to (me).

We're all stunned now. Blake is staring at me. I'm looking at Hope. Hope is looking back and forth between me and Blake. Sebastian and Jessica are... I don't know what they're doing; my eyes are fixed on Hope. I screwed up.

"What are you doing here?" Gilmour asks pointedly at me.

My whole body is screaming for help. "I, uh... I?"

"Blake!" Hope cuts in, trying to draw Gilmour's attention away from me. "Wanna play Mario Kart? I'm so gonna beat you this time, dude." He tries to change the mood of the room.

I raise my eyebrows at him. Mario Kart? Seriously?

"Dude, the Wildcats are spying on us and you wanna play Mario Kart?" Gilmour says, still not taking his eyes away from me.

"I'm not spying," I mutter.

"Oh yeah, then what are you doing sneaking up in Sebby's room?"

Showering. "I... um, I was..." I can't think of anything to say. Granted, my creativity has never been something to be proud of. But I thought adrenaline would change something. But nope. I got nothing.

"Apologizing!" Hope says. Is this a red herring? Who the fuck is apologising?

"Apologizing?" Gilmour asks.

"Ivan's here to apologize for... remember what his team did to Bas the other day?"

Oh right! Thank you, Hope. I silently thank him for not being stupid right now.

"This guy?" Gilmour asks, looking at me varily. "He's apologizing for his team?"

"Uh yeah," I say, even though apologizing on behalf of my team is the last thing I'd do for them. "The Wildcats... it wasn't right to attack Sebastian. Or anybody. They were wrong. And this guy deserves an apology."

Blake looks unconvinced. He turns to Hope. "Lex, didn't you get them back? Isn't that why you went to Wildcat territory the other day?"

Now it's Hope's turn to look disheveled. "Well, I did but..."

"Sebastian's not in the team," I snap. "He isn't part of the rivalry. Showing our hate for him... he deserves an apology and I'm going to give it to him. Alone."

Hope nods. "Yeah, Blake. Let's leave him with his apology."

Gilmour's eyes widen. "What! You're going to leave a Wildcat alone with your brother? Are you out of your head or something?"

"He's not alone," Jessica pipes in. "I'm here, remember. I'll kick him in the balls if he messes with Bas." Then, she smirks at Gilmour. "I'm sure you know what that feels like."

Gilmour winces, probably reliving the moment again, and nods. "Yeah, you're in safe hands, Seb."

"We'll go now, Blake?" Hope suggests. Gilmour nods wordlessly and they both exit the room, closing the door behind them.

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. Then I notice Jessica Snow staring at me. Shit.

I turn to Sebastian. "Yeah, so I'm sorry. What the - my teammates did was not okay. I..." My voice trails off. Why am I so bad at this? "It won't happen again?"

"Stop right there," Jessica inserts.

"What?" Sebastian asks. "Why? He's apologizing. Like a responsible captain!"

I nod, hoping she can't see right through the two of us.

"You don't really expect me to buy all this, do you?" she says, looking at me and Sebastian suspiciously. "I know something's up. It's written on all your faces - especially Lex's. He can't hide how he's feeling, can he?"

Damn, she's smart.

Sebastian chuckles. He then looks at me questioningly.

Sighing, I nod. "It's a long story."

"I'm all ears," she grins. "But you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm not forcing you or anything."

I nod. So I tell her everything - well, almost everything. I tell her about my father throwing me out of the house and Hope's dad finding me on the street.

Jessica doesn't look like she believes the last part, I didn't think she would, but goes along with it anyway.

"Don't tell anyone, please," I finish.

She nods. "We all have our secrets. I'm not... I won't tell anyone."

Sebastian agrees. "She's not that kind of person, Ivan."

For some reason, I trust them. They're easy to talk to. "Okay," I say, believing him.

"You know you can talk to me if you want, right?" she says, out of the blue.

"Why are you saying that?" Sebastian asks, confused.

"Well," she says. "My Bi-Fi signal's been pretty strong ever since I entered your house. I thought it was because of Lex, but..."

"What's a Bi-Fi?" Sebastian asks curiously.

She looks at him the way I look at Hope - like he's hopeless. "How do you not know what a Bi-Fi is? It's a Gaydar, but you know, for Bi people."

Sebastian looks like he understood, but this only confuses me more. "Uh, sorry but what exactly is a gaydar?"

"It's basically a gay radar. Gay people somehow know when another person from the LGBT community is around them," Sebastian explains matter-of-factly.

I nod. That does make sense. Part of me is freaking out - what if she knows I' gay? What if she outs me? What if... she seems like a nice person. Sebastian likes her. And his judgment is trustable. "Your Bi-Fi signal gets strong when you're around Hope?" I ask.

"Well, sometimes," Jessica says. "I mean, I don't know. I could always be wrong but..."

"There's no way Lex is gay, Jess," Sebastian says. "He's so... he's such a douche. And gay people are never douches."

Something about that statement makes me happy.

Sebastian and Jessica get into a light argument in which they're arguing about Hope's sexuality. They're cute, as a couple. They understand each other. And they both look at each other so... differently. Sebastian's so in love with her, you can see it on his face. The best part about it is that he doesn't even try to hide it.

Jessica, on the other hand, also feels the same way about her boyfriend. But it's harder to notice.

I think of how it would be to love and be loved. It must be a great feeling. Imagine being happy all the time. Imagine having someone who'll do anything for you. I always thought that kind of love only belonged to books and fairytales. But after looking at Sebastian and Jessica, I've changed my mind.

My thoughts drift over to Hope. And Jessica's added food for thought to my biggest suspicion: the town's biggest playboy is bisexual. 

xxx

A/N

Jessica's BiFi is strong around Lex, lol... what are your thoughts?