Psychology went by in a flash. Jemma was sweet, chatting to Robin throughout, catching him up with where they were in the syllabus. Luckily, most of what they had covered last year, Robin had also covered in his last school. But he was still a little behind and a few of the case studies he wasn't familiar with. His next period was free, so he thought he'd find a spare classroom to catch up. Jemma had Drama for her next class, so said she would catch up with him at Lunch. She told him to meet her in the playground and she said she would introduce him to her friends.

Robin found himself wandering the empty halls, peering into a few classrooms to see if they were empty to no avail. He gazed around at the walls of the old school, wallpaper peeling from corners, notice boards displaying various flyers for school events and the light sound of students chattering in class filled the empty halls.

He was almost certain he was lost at this point, as the corridors of the school seemed to twist and turn stretching for miles.

He turned a corner and found himself in a short hall which was dimly lit with two doors on either side. A fluorescent light hung from the ceiling flickering ever so slightly, illuminating the hall with each flash.

Creepy...

He sheepishly tried the door to his right, surprised when it easily gave way. The light that flooded out of the room was a stark contrast to the dimly lit hall as he let his eyes adjust to the room. He was relieved to find it empty, fashioned similarly to his Form room, however there were a few computers available at the front facing the window that spanned the length of the room. He was almost certain he could smell the faint whiff of cigarette smoke...

He settled himself in a chair in front of one of the computers which was coated in a thick layer of dust. He was pleased to find the device turned on, clear it hadn't been used for a while. He logged in, got out his notebook, and started to research the case studies he was unfamiliar with from his psychology class.

"Harlow (1958) wanted to study the mechanisms by which newborn rhesus monkeys bond with their mothers. These infants depend highly on their mothers for nutrition, protection, comfort, and socialisation..."

He was thrown off the reading when his phone buzzed in his pocket, as he retrieved it he saw the familiar notification flash on his screen. A text from Ashley.

Ashley was Robin's best friend from his old school. They had met at nursery and he was immediately drawn to her bubbly personality and friendly face. They had been best friends ever since. Ashley was the main reason Robin was sad to be leaving Coventry, and in the past 2 weeks, they had been texting and calling constantly. She was the only person he had 'come out' to... which he immediately regretted as she seemed to be adamant about getting him a boyfriend or at least to have an experience with a boy. She would constantly point out any guys that were even mildly 'gay' looking to Robin when they were together. She knew she meant well by it, but it just wasn't a priority at the moment...

Ashley <3 10:42

Soooooooo.... How's the new school? I hope it's horrible and you haven't made any friends and you run away from home to come live with meeee xxxx

Robin 10:43

hahaha very funny, it's alright, a girl called Jemma has been nice to me and is in my psychology class which is cool. How is it over there? Xxx

Ashley <3 10:45

It's so boring without you :( Who am I supposed to get to peel my oranges at lunchtime now you're not here? xxxx

Robin 10:46

Awww sorry! But you can do it yourself?! Aren't you supposed to be a strong independent woman who don't need no man? ;) xxxxx

Ashley <3 10:47

I am very independent thank you very much! Me and my oranges are just emotionally dependent on you. Xxx

So... any cute boysss? ;) xxxxx

Robin felt his face go flush, and his hands getting sweaty from Ashley's question. Yohan's face immediately entered his mind without thinking...

How the fuck have I already got a crush on the first day of school?!

Robin 10:50

Ehhhhh, no not really, I mean there is this one guy... xxx

Ashley <3 10:51

Go on... xxxx

Robin immediately regretted his text message. Was he really going to tell Ashley about Yohan? His fingers hovered over the keys on his phone.

If he typed it out he was putting it out into the world as a thing. But if he kept it to himself, maybe it would pass in a few days and Yohan would just be another one of the many cute boys Robin occasionally thinks about when he masturbates. But then Ashley is his best friend, and it would be nice to speak to at least one person about it.... His phone buzzed again.

Ashley <3 10:56

Don't leave me hanging! Go on tell me!! xxx

Robin 10:57

Alright alright! So there's this guy I sit next to in Form room, he's called Yohan. He's insanely cute, tall, handsome, and a bit of a bad boy. He's got all these piercings and I wouldn't be surprised if he had tattoos as well? Idk he's almost definitely straight so I'm just getting my hopes up, and he's just an unwanted distraction from my studies so he'll just remain a little fantasy in my gay brain for now. xxx

Ashley <3 10:58

Omg hot!!! You've always had a thing for bad boys. I remember when you wouldn't shut the fuck about Oliver Sykes for weeeekkks when we went to see them live, and all the things you wished you could do to him... xxx

Robin 10:59

Omg Ashley stfu! I don't even like their music I only went because you wanted to and had no one else to go with. But the eye candy did low-key make it worthwhile hahahaha also I told you that in confidence so you better not tell anyone xxx

Ashley <3 11:00

You know me I'm the best at keeping secrets hehehe, now whats this Yohan's full name, I want to stalk this new boy that's stolen my bestie's heart on insta! xxx

Robin 11:01

Don't take it that far, just an innocent crush. I'm sure it'll pass hahaha, and I've only spoken to him once and I almost self-imploded, so ofc I don't know his full name xxx

Ashley <3 11:01

:( x

Robin 11:02

You're such a creep x

Ashley <3 11:03

Noooo I'm not! Tbf Yohan's a pretty unique name, I'm sure I'll be able to find him haha. Anyways I better get back to class, I'll speak to you later, love you and miss you! xxxxx

Robin 11:03

Love you and miss you too :) xxx

Robin locked his phone and placed it back in his pocket. He tried to get back to reading the case study and making notes, but he found himself daydreaming and drawing little hearts all over his notepad...

A certain someone had flooded his thoughts. The mop of black curly hair... he thought about how nice it would feel to feel his fingers entwined with those curls, kissing those full lips... touching and caressing his firm chest... letting his hands wander their way down to his...

He was snapped out of his daydream with the door opening. He jumped in his seat and placed his hands in his lap, trying to conceal the slight bulge that was forming in his jeans from his daydreaming. Stood in the doorway was the tall, handsome, rugged boy himself...

Yohan.

"Sorry," Yohan mumbled "This room is usually empty..."

"Ummm no no it's fine" Robin said frantically, waving his hands in the air until he realised why he had them in his lap in the first place and tried to put them back in his lap without making it obvious.

"I can leave if you want?" Robin said, feeling himself get hot as he fumbled in an attempt to collect his belongings on the desk with one hand, the other still attempting to cover his crotch.

"It's fine, I'll just sit over there," Yohan said, his face expressionless as he pointed to the far corner of the room. Robin couldn't help but notice that the seat he was pointing to was the furthest away from him as possible

"Oh... okay"

Robin shuffled a little uncomfortably in his seat as he placed his belongings back on the desk. Allowing his eyes to glance towards Yohan as he strode past him. He couldn't help but dart a look at his behind, which was encased beautifully in his tight jeans, making the curve of his ass prominent...

Just Robin's luck that the guy he was fantasising about walked into the room just as he was starting to get a boner!

"For fucks sake" he muffled under his breath.

"Did you say something?" Yohan turned to look at him, just as he was sinking into his seat, resting his boots up on the desk once more.

"Nothing!" A high-pitched squeak escaped his mouth.

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

Robin wasn't sure if it was all in his head... but the tension he felt in the room for the next 45 minutes of his free period was excruciating. Now and again he sensed eyes looking over in his direction, but each time he looked up from his computer, Yohan had a pair of wired headphones in his ears, deeply engrossed in a book. Soft rock music he was playing seemed to escape his earbuds almost inaudibly, giving a slight noise to the silent room.

The sound of the bell for lunch was a welcomed sound for Robin as he logged off the computer and collected his things. He looked over at Yohan, expecting him to do the same, but he sat there, still, deeply absorbed in his book. The bell did not seem to bother him at all.

Robin tried to get a glance at what Yohan was reading... He saw the Author was Oscar Wilde but the title of the book was covered by Yohan's hand... Robin was pretty sure that Oscar Wild was famously... well... gay? But he was unsure if he was remembering that correctly. He made a mental note to look it up later as he left the classroom. But he was certain it was most likely just a coincidence.

He made his way over to the playground. As he stepped outside he noticed how busy it was. It was a big school, having students from year 7 to year 13, the year he was in. He chuckled to himself watching a group of kids who were clearly year 7's with their oversized school uniforms and massive backpacks. He was surprised their small bodies could stand upright with how big they were.

He thought back to when he started secondary school, small and scrawny, the blazer his mum had bought him completely downing his small frame.

He remembered feeling so relieved when he got onto the bus to school for the first time and saw Ashley sitting down smiling at him, having saved him a seat. She always had this long blond hair and appeared much older than him back then. 

Ashley seemed to hit puberty pretty early, being one of the first girls in their primary school to start wearing a bra. She had all the boy's attention, Robin observing them ogling at her when they walked down the corridor together. Robin didn't get that kind of attention really until he hit puberty himself. Casting his mind back to when he was about to start year 9 and went to put his school trousers on, they were far too short! The cuffs of the trousers were almost halfway up his calf. And when he went to school that week, three girls asked if they could go out with him. He turned them all down and that's when the gay rumours started...

Ashley had even asked him out at one point, however, when he turned her down she questioned him why and he confessed, worried that him turning her down without a reason would ruin their friendship he cared about deeply. Luckily she was accepting and just found it funny at the time, and if anything, that let them grow closer as friends.

She let him "fake" date her for a while to mitigate some of the rumour which she overplayed to the nth degree. Constantly holding his hand, making sure people saw them 'sneak' off to the disabled toilets together and giving him little kisses on his cheek which he didn't mind. This continued for a few weeks until Ashley told Robin she had a crush on some guy called Nathan and they "broke" it off.

His eyes scanned the playground, looking for Jemma, when he saw a petite girl on the far end of the playground standing up on a bench waving at him.

Ahhh there she is.

He walked over and was greeted by a group of four girls including Jemma, all dressed so... uniquely, was the only word Robin could describe. He felt very plain next to them. He'd wore his best 'straight disguise', blue jeans and a white t-shirt with Converse trainers. He was glad that the sixth-formers didn't have to wear school uniforms, but part of him wished he did as he spent about 3 hours last night deciding what to wear to make sure he didn't stand out too much... at least with a uniform everyone just wore the same and he wouldn't have to stress that he would be dressing 'too gay'.

"Robin!" Jemma embarrassed him with a hug he didn't expect, his arms awkwardly smooshed at his sides as she squeezed him.

"Hi," He said nervously, as he scanned the other girls sitting at the picnic table. Two of them were holding hands... Robin tried to not look too intently at them, fearing he'd give himself away. He feared he already had... not many straight guys hang around with a bunch of alternative, queer girls.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Lucy," said one of them holding the other girl's hand. Their voice was low a soft spoken like butter. They were butch presenting, sporting their brown hair short and slicked back with gel. They were wearing a green tank top with a baggy denim jacket which had a plethora of pins attached to it, several of them LGBTQIA+ relating. One of them read 'They/Them'.  "And this is my girlfriend, Amber"

"Hi Robin, so nice to meet you!" Amber smiled up at him, her hair was a bright pink and piled on top of her head in a messy bun, small ringlets of pink hair framing her face. She had glitter around her eyes and was wearing a pink dress and pink shoes... Now that Robin looked at her, almost everything about her was pink!

"And I'm Isha, the best of the lot of us!" Jemma whacked her on the arm teasingly as she spoke. She wore a light green hijab which she had pinned two white ribbons on either side. She dressed modestly, but also completely fabulous! She wore a beautiful silky long green dress that had little white daisies printed all over it.

"Hey, Isha shut up!" Jemma grinned, she linked arms with Robin and sat down on the bench with him. He felt overwhelmed and flustered by them all as they chatted and bickered amongst themselves. He watched as Lucy and Amber flirted with one another across the table, touching each other softly and giggling as they whispered into each other's ear. He noticed Lucy had their hand rested quite far up Amber's thigh...

He let himself daydream once again for a moment, of him and another boy being able to do the same so proudly, and openly in public. A specific tall, handsome man, kissing his cheek and stroking his hair and... He sighed... who was he kidding, it was never going to happen.

"So..." Lucy turned to him, grinning. "I hear from Jemma you sat next to Yohan in Form, you're a brave boy" they chuckled to themselves.

"Omg, you didn't, did you!?" Isha exclaimed "That boy is such a cliche, quiet and mysterious... he doesn't talk to anyone really, doesn't even like people coming near him! ...Apart from Jemmmaaaa" She said teasingly, nudging Jemma in the side winking.

"Owww!" Jemma squealed "Jesus we made out one time at a party and he's barely spoken to me since unless he has to!" She blushed, and turned to Robin, trying to compose herself "We're in a band together" She explained "He plays the bass and I sing and play guitar. Do you play any instruments, Robin?" She said, clearly trying to change the subject.

Robin felt his heart sink. He knew he didn't have a chance with Yohan, but a small part of him had let himself dream... But he was definitely straight, and no wonder he kissed Jemma, she was objectively beautiful.

"No, I don't" Robin answered, "Unless you count the recorder when I was about 10, but I think I've forgotten how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star"

The girls laughed together in unison. Amber piped up "I heard you two did a little more than just make out..." A cheeky grin across her face.

Jemma went even more red than before "Stop it!" She spluttered "You guys are awful, I introduce you to the new guy and all you do is spill all my secrets!" She covered her face, embarrassed.

Robin tried to ignore the jealousy he felt swirling in his stomach. He couldn't believe that he even allowed himself to think about Yohan in the way he had. Picturing him and Jemma together, it was completely logical. Both beautiful, both in a band, the same band nonetheless! It made so much more sense...

The group continued to speak amongst themselves while they ate their lunch. Robin ate his sandwich as he listened, occasionally answering a question from one of them about how he was finding Bristol, what music he liked, and questions about his family and back home in Coventry. Before he knew it, the bell rang, once again, for the next period... English lit. The same class as Yohan...

"Hey let me get your number," Jemma said, handing her phone to him.

"I'll add you to our group chat" Jemma smiled, it was infectious so Robin smiled back earnestly. "It's hard being new in a new school, I joined here in year 10 and really struggled to make friends until I met these guys" She gestured at the others who were packing up their belongings. "Let's be friends, okay?"

Robin felt a warmth rush through his body. First day and he had already made a friend... He felt so chuffed with himself. "Sounds good" he responded, beaming. His phone buzzed with a notification. When he looked down he saw he had been added to a group chat.

Jemma added you to the group "The girls, the gays and the they"