"Go over and talk to him, Jess. He has been checking you out ever since he got here," Hannah laughs, as her best friend glances over her shoulder. "Unless you want me to go talk to him for you?"

"No, definitely not," Jessica laughs. "But what if he's like… super weird or something? He's always on his own at school."

"And you know this how?" Hannah asks, raising an eyebrow. "Have you been checking him out too?"

"No! Maybe… he is cute, right? Or am I just…?"

"Yes, Jess, he is cute. Super cute. So just go and talk to him. It's getting weird, knowing he's sitting there, staring at you."

"He's not staring."

"Ehm, he is, actually."

"Fine, but if he turns out to be a real dick…"

"I'll buy you another drink, I promise," Hannah says, flashing a big smile, before giving her friend a playful shove. "Now go on!"

Jessica gets up, and she takes a deep breath before going over to the teenage boy sitting at a table by himself. He is now reading his book, and she actually wonders if he had been checking her out at all. But even when she first moved here last month, she noticed him, and he has been catching her eye almost every day. So with this being a new place, a fresh start and all that, she decides to just go for it.

"Hi."

"Hi," the boy says, and he flashes an uncomfortable smile.

"I'm Jessica."

"Alex."

"I was wondering if maybe you…," Jessica begins, but she has never actually asked anyone out before, and she wonders if she should just ask him, or if she should try and strike up a conversation first. Because let's be real, they don't even know each other.

"Yes?"

"Do you maybe want to hang out some time?" Jessica blurts out, already imagining Hannah telling her off if she goes back and has to tell her that she was too scared to ask him out. "I mean…"

"Like a date?" Alex asks, looking more confused, and even a little troubled by the suggestion.

"Yeah, I mean… unless you don't want to. That's totally cool."

"No, it's… sure. Why not?" Alex says, and he flashes a small, uncomfortable smile.

"Cool." Jessica smiles, not sure where to go from here. Should she ask him for his number, do they set up a date right now? But before she can think of what to say, she notices Hannah motioning for them to come over. "Do you want to join me and my friend for a drink?"

"Oh, I wouldn't want to interrupt."

"That's fine. Hannah's boyfriend should be here any minute anyway."

"Oh… sure."

They get up, and they go over to the girls' table, where Hannah flashes a big smile.

"Hey, I'm Hannah."

"Alex."

A bit of an awkward silence follows, and the girls show a knowing look, having hoped to get a bit more enthusiasm out of the teenage boy, and not this awkward looking around him.

"So, Alex…," Hannah begins, trying to think of what to say, but when she notices her boyfriend coming over to their table, she breathes a sigh of relief, hoping he will be able to get the conversation going. He and Alex have been going to the same school for longer, so perhaps they even know each other, have something in common?

"I'm sorry I'm late," Zach says, before leaning down to kiss Hannah, and sitting down next to her. "Coach kept going on and on about… oh, hey," he says, only now noticing Alex, and he flashes a friendly smile.

"Do you two know each other?" Jessica asks, but when she sees Alex growing even more uncomfortable, she wishes she wouldn't have brought him over here. Perhaps he is shy, and not one for groups. Perhaps she should have just arranged a date with him and left it at that. But it's too late for that now, isn't it?

"Yeah, we know each other," Alex grumbles.

"Sort of." Zach nods.

"You're friends with Bryce and Monty."

"I wouldn't say we're friends, but…"

"Since when?" Hannah laughs, quickly realizing she has just said the wrong thing, when Alex gets up.

"I should go home."

"Oh, yeah, of course. Do we…," Jessica begins, but Alex cuts her off, growing more agitated by the second.

"I'll see you in school," he says, before walking off, not even saying goodbye to the others.

"Right… what was that about?" Jessica asks. "What is his problem with you?"

"Bryce and Monty, they usually talk shit about him… call him names and stuff like that," Zach explains, a guilty look on his face.

"Why? He seems like a nice guy. A little awkward, but I think he's just shy," Hannah suggests.

"Because he's gay."

"No, he's not," Jessica laughs. "He literally just asked me out."

"Technically you asked him out."

"Fine, but still. He's not gay, and even if he was, what's Bryce and Monty's problem with that?" Jessica asks. "Seriously, the guys in this school are complete and utter…"

"Thanks," Zach chuckles awkwardly, and his girlfriend wraps her arm around his waist, and lays her head on his shoulder, flashing a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, you're an exception."

"Yeah, you're alright. You just need to pick better friends."

"Fair enough," Zach agrees, knowing fully well not to disagree or argue with these girls.

"So… you're going out on a date with Alex?" Hannah asks, a shy smile forming on her best friend's face.

"Yeah, I guess I am."

Alex is standing by his locker the next morning, trying to go by unnoticed as usual, but when he feels a hand on his back, he jumps up, still remembering last week, when Bryce and his friends had slammed him into the wall, leaving him with a back covered in bruises.

But when he turns around, he finds Jessica standing there, a friendly smile on her face.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," Alex quickly says, fully aware that he didn't exactly leave the best impression. "I just…"

"Don't worry, Zach told us, about Bryce and Monty. Those guys are assholes."

"No shit."

"Zach is different though. He's alright," Jessica tries, but Alex just sighs. "When I asked you out yesterday… we don't have to go out if you don't want to. We can just be friends, or…"

"No, I want to."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Why?" Alex asks, not failing to notice the hesitation on her face.

"It's just something Zach said, but it doesn't matter."

"What did he say?" Alex spits out, sick and tired of Bryce and his friends making his life a living hell. He tries his best to ignore it, but with every day that goes by, he feels more and more like one day he will explode.

"Really, it doesn't matter."

"What did he say, Jessica?"

"He told me they bully you because you're gay," Jessica admits, a guilty look on her face. "I told him you're not, but…"

"I'm not," Alex quickly says. "They say that about everyone."

"Yeah, I know."

Jessica flashes a smile, hoping it will show Alex that she believes him, but she can tell that he is still bothered by the whole thing.

"How about we go see a movie tonight?" she asks. "I'm not sure what's on, but…"

"I'd like that," Alex says, flashing a genuine smile, and he can see Jessica's eyes lighting up. "Should I come pick you up, or do we meet there, or…?"

"We'll meet there at seven?"

"Sure." Alex smiles. "I'll see you then?"

"Yeah," Jessica chuckles nervously. "I ehm… I've got to get to class, but… yeah."

Alex can't help but smile to himself as he watches her walk off, but when he notices Bryce and his friends coming into the hallway, he quickly closes his locker, hoping to get away from them before they notice him.

He is too late though, because before he can walk away, Monty shoves him against his locker, hard, and it makes him gasp for air.

"Faggot!" Monty spits out, his friends laughing as they walk on. Alex almost goes after them to fight them, but these are the jocks, and he knows he probably wouldn't even be able to take on one of them, let alone all of them. So he takes a deep breath, and he tries his best to hold down his anger. Again.

"Are they…?" Clay begins, glancing over to Alex and Jessica, who are chatting and laughing over on the other side of the lobby. "Are they on a date?"

"Yeah, why?" Hannah laughs. "Jealous?"

"No, I just thought… you know…"

"Thought what?"

"I thought Alex was gay," Clay whispers.

"Not everyone is gay, Clay," Hannah laughs, rolling her eyes. "I think they look cute together."

"I'm not saying I don't, I just thought…"

"He's not. Disappointed?"

"No!" Clay quickly says, a teasing smile on his friend and colleague's face. "He is definitely not my type."

"No… he looks nothing like Justin, does he?"

"I do not… I mean, yeah, Justin looks nice, but…," Clay tries, but when Hannah raises an eyebrow, he sighs. "It's not like that."

"Of course it isn't," Hannah says, having noticed Clay staring at the young man every time he and his friends come in to see a movie. "There's this party at Jess' next week, why don't you come? Justin will be there too."

"I really shouldn't."

"Come on, it'll be nice! We can dance, have a gossip about who is going to end up with who… you can have a drink and flirt a little with a certain boy…," Hannah teases, but Clay glares at her, and it makes her laugh. "Please, it'll be fun!"

"Yeah, right. You'll be with Zach, and I'll be on my own, trying not to get thrown up on."

"That happened once!"

"Yeah, and that was enough to make me not want to go to one of those parties again."

"Come on," Hannah tries, using her eyes to beg him to change his mind. It seems to work, because he shakes his head, smiling to himself. "That's a yes?"

"Maybe."

"How did it go?" Hannah asks, when she sees Jessica coming into school the next morning. "I was going to text last night, but Zach came over, so…"

"Yeah, I do not need to know more," Jessica laughs. "It was really nice, actually. He was so much more relaxed. I think he was just a little uncomfortable with the whole Zach being friends with Bryce thing. But yeah, it was great."

"So when is the next date?"

"I invited him to my party."

"Oh, speaking of your party. I invited Clay," Hannah says. "Justin will be there too, right?"

"I think so. Zach said he was going to invite the guys, so he'll probably be there. Why?"

"Okay, don't tell him I told you, but I'm pretty sure Clay likes Justin."

"Oh, wow," Jessica laughs. "Yeah, good luck with that. You know Justin is friends with Bryce, right?"

"Yeah, but he seems different." Hannah shrugs, but when her friend raises an eyebrow, she chuckles. "Okay, maybe not that different. But I like to believe that things can work out between them."

"You watch too many movies."

"Maybe. But if we can just get them to spend time together…"

"Oh no, Hannah, there is no 'we' in this. I am not getting involved in setting them up together. That is all on you."