A/N So it's my college's spring break, and I'll be editing like crazy, since I'm not a good multitasker and I have an idea already for my next book :)

Wednesday's were perhaps his favorite day of his week, because on Wednesdays he didn't have Chemistry. He didn't really understand why and figured it was just because his professor was lazy, and didn't want to come, but either way, he wasn't complaining. It meant he could waste his night away, doing other homework, or procrastinating- which, if he was being honest, was far more likely.

On that particular Wednesday, Lawson was a bit disappointed in the lack of class, since Chemistry was his only opportunity to see Nathan without reaching out to him, and he wanted to know what was going on with Glenn. Surprisingly, Nathan's texts throughout the last two days had been sparse, and the ones he had sent surprisingly didn't mention his boyfriend. It could have just been because Nathan was trying to avoid annoying him, but he highly doubted that, since his friend often seized opportunities to do just that.

Lawson was tempted to text Nathan after class and see if he wanted to talk, but halfway through American Short Stories, his phone buzzed against his thigh with a text from someone else seeking his attention.

He subtly pulled his phone out of his pocket beneath the table to read the message.

Reese:

Kye is getting dinner with a friend and he wont let me come along. Want to come over after class and we can order chinese and keep each other company????

Even though Lawson was positive that he would be going, he responded back with no, and then laughed silently to himself.

Less than a minute later, Reese's lengthy response came through.

Reese:

Bitch, if you dont come over here Im just gonna go to your room and hit on your super hot roommate in front of you.

The rest of the message consistent with Reese's thoughts about Wesley and what he would attempt to do to him with Lawson there, so Lawson didn't bother to read it before typing his actual response.

Then he taped his foot impatiently. It wasn't usually boring for him, but he didn't particularly like the short stories his professor had assigned for the period, and they were spending the entire class discussing them. He offered some input at the period, for his daily participation points, but he had long since zoned out.

His phone buzzed again and he leaned back in his chair to read it, still holding the device below the level of the table so his professor didn't see. Thanks babe! See you soon, Reese had said, along with a winking emoji that had Lawson rolling his eyes. He didn't respond, only tucked his phone into his pocket and watched the clock on the wall above the whiteboard until it read 3:50.

Before going to Reese and Kye's room he went to his own to drop off his backpack, since he doubted Reese would want to do homework, and when he brought it to their room he often left it behind.

Wesley didn't seem too concerned when Lawson entered the room. Actually, if Wesley looked anything, it was smug.

Lawson's eyebrows furrowed as he turned away to shut the door, and when he faced Wesley's desk, the boy had ceased doing his homework in favor of grinning at Lawson with a certain look in his eye. "What?" Lawson demanded, moving past Wesley on the way to his own desk and pretending he couldn't feel his roommates eyes on him the entire way.

"So... I saw you at the coffee shop today laughing with an extremely cute boy," Wes teased, and Lawson whipped back around to look at him, eyes narrowed. "What? I did".

Lawson turned his face away, looking at his cluttered desk. "We're just friends " he insisted, and a second later he heard Wesley hum.

"Is he the one that gave you his phone number?" He asked, and Lawson didn't answer, only continued to stare at him with narrowed eyes. "What's his name?"

"Sean," he answered cautiously. Wesley would use anything careless he said against him.

"Sean," Wesley repeated, and he was nothing if not mischievous. "It didn't look like you and Sean were studying math in the coffee shop today".

Lawson sighed in defeat, realizing he would actually have to talk about it, or his silence would make Wesley think something he didn't want him thinking. "The Calculus exam was this morning, Wes. There was nothing for us to study".

"Ahh". Wesley's brown eyes were unfocused for a second and Lawson figured he was recalling their conversation from the night before, about the exam and Lawson's worries. "How'd that go by the way?"

Shrugging, Lawson leaned against the edge of his desk and crossed his arms. "Good. All thanks to him," he admits, and Wesley's lips twitched. "He really is just a friend. I barely know him". This wasn't actually quite true anymore, after spending the entire day getting to know Sean better, but it still seemed like there were a lot of things he had left to learn.

As if reading his thoughts, Wesley asked, "do you want to know him better?" And Lawson fell silent once more, refusing to meet his roommates eyes. Thankfully, Wes didn't pry. "You never really talk about your sexuality. Why is that?"

"Because it doesn't define who I am"

"So you are gay then," Wesley observed, and Lawson huffed a little and raised his head to meet Wesley's eyes, only to find that his roommate was no longer looking at him, instead studying the screen of his laptop as he had been when Lawson entered the room. Perspective as he was, Wes had probably sensed Lawson's discomfort and didn't want to scare him off of the sensitive topic with his undivided attention.

"I honestly don't know. I mean, probably. I like men... in a sexual way, but I've never had romantic feelings for one until-" until now he had been about to say, but he was sure Wesley knew that, so he skipped it. "I've had crushes on girls before and I've kissed a few but it's been a long time since I found myself looking at a girl in that way". Lawson frowned and uncross his arms to absently trace his fingers over the edges of his desk on either side of his hips. "I've only ever... ever been with a guy before, if you know what I mean".

That got Wesley's attention, and he turned his head to Lawson so fast he feared the boy would suffer from whiplash. "You're not a virgin?" He asked, surprised and Lawson frowned and shook his head. "And you had sex with a man". At Lawson's nod, Wesley turned his chair towards him and leaned forward eagerly. "Oh my god. Who? Does he go to school here? Do I know him? When did it happen?"

As Lawson considered answering, he tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling. It wasn't exactly like his past relationship was a secret, and Lawson didn't necessarily regret it, but sometimes he worried people would think he was easy because he had sex with Nathan. Then again, Wesley would undoubtedly be surprised that Lawson had sex with who he insisted on referring to as the pretty one, and Lawson kind of wanted to see what look Wesley gave him when he found out.

"Nathan," Lawson answered after the pause, speaking the name casually as his eyes focused on Wesley's face to see his reaction. It was almost amusing, how sparkly brown eyes grew incredibly large, and his perfect mouth parted as he gasped.

"What?" Wesley asked, and Lawson repeated himself, and then his roommate was flying out of his chair. Lawson had no idea what Wesley was about to do, and when the boy slowed to a stop in front of him, eyebrows furrowed, it occurred to him that Wesley didn't know exactly what he was doing either. "Uh, when?"

Lawson made a scoffing noise. "Before him a Glenn got together, of course".

"Oh. So now that him and Glenn are struggling, and you're spending all that time together-"

"No," Lawson interrupted, voice firm. "I would never do that to Glenn, and neither would Nathan". Wes sucked his lower lip into his mouth and nodded in understanding.

They were quiet for a minute, just looking at one another. Wesley blinked, and then his mouth opened. "So, how was it?" Lawson glared, refusing to answer. It wasn't that his answer would be offensive if it had gotten back to Nathan because it had been good- Nathan had extensive experience learning how the male body worked and out it to good use, though he was rather impersonal with it and didn't care to take the time to find the parts of Lawson's body that uniquely made him feel good- but it just was unimportant at this point. Wesley sighed. "How did it end up happening?"

That he would answer. "I'd just been rejected by some girl from Valley and I knew Nathan was easy, and I was upset, and we were at a party and I drank probably too much and I just... I kissed him, and then kissing turned into having sex in the bathroom, and then sex turned into a somewhat common occurrence". Lawson sighed as he thought back on it. "It wasn't romantic or anything. Even as it continued, it never became that. Not the typical friends with benefits who fall in love thing, though I suppose we weren't really friends at that point. It was just... just a way to get the sort of human contact all teenage boys crave. I don't even count it as a past relationship".

Wesley listened to all of this with a look of understanding and sympathy (for some reason) on his face, and it relaxed Lawson knowing he would receive no judgment. "So, you're sexually attracted to men then? For sure?"

"Yeah," Lawson confirmed, voice bored. He shrugged. "I guess that's pretty gay and all, but I've never really had super serious feelings for anyone so I don't know. I don't really want to give myself a label". Wesley nodded.

"And it's not like you need to know right now, right? Just... go with it," Wesley urged, and Lawson looked at him blankly for a minute before sighing heavily.

"You know, I'm at a point in my life where everyone around me is either in love and happy, or really enjoying their single life, and I'm not doing either. I mean, I'm unhappy being alone, and I'm not really looking for someone..." Lawson's mind drifted to Sean for a minute, and then away before he could get any ideas. "I'm just not really out there living it up, you know. That's not me. All I've ever done is fuck around with Nathan, and all I've ever really wanted was someone I could just love. This whole dating thing is really discouraging. You and Delaney are so lucky".

Wesley's lips curled up, and his eyes seemed distant. There was no doubt in Lawson's mind that he was thinking about his boyfriend.

"You're not going to have to wait for love much longer, Lawson," he said after a long pause of heavy silence. "I'm actually surprised that you've had to wait this long already". It was probably the nicest thing Wesley had ever said to him, and he wasn't sure how to respond, so he just looked at him, mouth slightly parted. Luckily, Wesley didn't seem to be expecting a reaction, already back over his desk, searching for something under all the papers. "I'm going to call Laney if that's alright".

"Yeah, of course," Lawson assured, looking over his shoulder at his desk as he tried to remember what he had been doing in the first place. Oh. Reese. "I'm actually going to be gone for a bit".

Wesley's head whipped up, a smile on his face. "Sean?" He asked, and Lawson scoffed.

"No. Reese".

***

Once again, Lawson found himself on the plush bean bag in Reese and Kye's room, listening to his friend go on and on about Kye, the viola, and the next campus party that he was going to get them to attend with him. Lawson didn't have much to say in return, but he never did with Reese, and it never deterred the boy. He always seemed perfectly content to keep up the conversation all by himself.

At the beginning of the year, Lawson was perplexed when Reese had him over when it was just the two of them, wondering why he'd want to spend time with someone he had nothing in common with, but Lawson learned that Reese didn't care if he was bad company, he was company, and that was all that mattered.

"God," Reese was saying, "what am I supposed to do when Kye gets a boyfriend? I'm going to have to sit here and watch them be all gross with one another all the time".

"Why don't you just get your own boyfriend?" Lawson suggested, and Reese sat up on his bed to look down at him, eyebrows raised. "What? I've seen you dance with enough boys at parties to know people are interested in you. Why don't you ask one of them out and see how it goes?"

"Lawson," Reese sighed, as if disappointed. "Dating and I don't get along".

"What does that even mean?"

"It means," Reese began slowly. "That it's not for me".

Lawson didn't know what to say about this, so he said nothing, and Reese began to complain about his sore fingers from practice that afternoon. As he spoke, Lawson's phone buzzed in his pocket, and he was happy to check it and divert his attention.

Nathan:

Glenn agreed to meet me tonight and I'm really nervous.

Lawson:

Why? It's just Glenn

Nathan:

Yeah, but it's distant Glenn

Lawson:

What are you going to say to him?

He had to wait several minutes for an answer, and when he got one it wasn't very informative.

Nathan:

I have an idea... but I'm not sure yet.