R.J Forever?

Ricky's POV:

OMG OMG OMG!

E.J fricking Caswell is in my apartment!

I've been trying not to freak out about it since he got here but I can't help but feel nervous and excited to just be with him. I keep staring at him and I don't know if he notices it or not.

He's definitely not the guy who I thought he was going to be.

He's not a jock, or popular kid who takes advantage of his status. He's actually a real softy sometimes and just needs someone to talk to. That's why I let him come to my place instead of letting him face his parents to talk about the fight that he started.

I understand why he asked me if he could come over since I've been in a similar situation before when my parents announced that they were getting divorced. I get why he didn't want to face his family or talk to them about the fight he started today at lunch. I understand what it is like being the kid who has secrets but hides them because they are scared of what other people might think of them.

It's tough being in that kind of situation.

But OH MY Fricking Gosh! E.J Caswell is in my apartment.

Like this is a even bigger deal than sitting with him under the bleachers.

This is like another step in our friendship.

He may be embarrassed to talk to me or see me in school because he's a popular lacrosse player but he's not embarrassed to talk to me when we're alone.

Ok, I need to calm down.

I need to stop with this gay panic mode. It's so embarrassing.

He's waiting for me in the kitchen while I've been silently freaking out about him the entire time I've been standing in my bedroom.

"Hey Ricky, are you okay in there?" I notice E.J's head pop in through the black curtain that separated my bedroom from the living room area.

"Uh yeah. I found my Nintendo Switch Controllers," I say while watching him step into my small room to take a look around.

I can't help but stare at his black eye and swollen lip.

I wonder why he started the fight in the cafeteria?

It's none of my business but it seemed like whatever the his friends were talking about was important to him.

"Woah, you have a lot of guitars and that's a cool rainbow bracelet. My friend Jackson has one like that too. He's a sophomore who made the varsity team. Pretty impressive if I say so myself," I notice that he's staring at the rainbow bracelet that Carlos gave me at lunch to promote his LGBTQ club.

"Uh yeah. I have two acoustic guitars and one Electric guitar that is my prized possession. Let's go play Mario Kart," I quickly stutter to him since I'm embarrassed that he even saw my room in the first place.

I really hope that he didn't see Franklin. I tried my best to hide him under my pillows but I don't think that he's hidden well enough for him not to be seen.

His shoes are bright red so it's hard to hide him.

"Here's your controller. I call dibs on Luigi as my character," I quickly exclaim to E.J once we're seated on the couch in my fairly small living room area that is right in front of the kitchen.

"Hey! That's not fair Luigi is my favorite character. Ok, I get to pick which race track we do then," I hear E.J gasp and watch him nudge my shoulder gently.