Chapter 2: Someone Out And Proud

“Are you even listening to me, JJ?”

It was for the third time that day that he was spacing out. For some unfathomable reason, he kept thinking about the insta-hate thing he got going on with the big man on campus or whatever Ray called Maddox ‘Mad Dawg’ Kingsley. They had almost bumped into each other ever since the classes started a few times around the quad, and each time, Jonathan had felt something like an uncomfortable tension waving off from the other. Almost, because he had made sure to change direction and put as much distance as he could between them, which was ridiculous because it made him seem like a coward, which he usually wasn’t.

He didn’t worry that Maddox might suddenly start a fight. No, his actual problems were closely related to the sudden and overwhelming effect those amazing gray eyes could have on him. He was obviously a sucker for punishment if he couldn’t fend off this type of primal attraction he instantly felt toward that kind of man. After what had happened last year, he should have known better, and yet the moment he saw a typical bad boy, he was up for handing out the leash like a stray puppy looking for an owner.

Quite stubbornly, he had tried not to think of the guy at all. Each time his thoughts strayed there, he tried to convince himself that the resident BMOC was some drug peddler, a gangster, and someone who engaged in underground fights to feed who knew how many addictions, among which women were high on the list.

Maddox Kingsley was everything he didn’t need in his life. What he needed in his life was a nice gay man who was safe and pleasant and could make him forget all about his past ordeals. Definitely not a straight bad boy with an attitude who growled at people instead of talking like a normal person.

“JJ,” Ray called for him, this time a little louder. “What you got next?”

Jonathan consulted his schedule quickly. “Statistics. Did you choose it?”

Ray made a disgusted face. “More math? No, thank you. Hey, do you think we should go to a party this Saturday?”

“It depends. Were we invited?”

Ray made a small gesture like it didn’t matter. “I think we should. And we could, you know, start our search for true love. By the way, I think I have the perfect candidate for you.”

“You do?” Jonathan truly needed a distraction from his insta-hate affair slash forbidden attraction toward the BMOC of Sunny Hill. Great, courtesy of Ray, he was now thinking in acronyms and invented words.

“Connor Simmons,” Ray said with self-importance. “He’s a junior, too, and he’s into green energy and eco-friendly stuff. He’s out and proud, just as you like them, and he’s currently single.”

“All right. He sounds like a great person so far.”

“He also likes parties,” Ray added, “which obviously means that we need to go to some, too, just so that you get to bump into him and make his acquaintance.”

“So, all is just a cunning plan to drag me to some party. I’m afraid I’m not the type to indulge so much in beer-infused shenanigans. Is there any other way for me to meet Connor?”

Ray nodded. He was on his phone, probably checking that horrible digital tabloid. After an evening spent being roped into the gossip vortex of Sunny Hill, Jonathan had promised himself that he would never let Ray do that to him ever again. Even after taking a long hot shower, he still felt dirty.

“Ah, that’s perfect. He also takes Statistics, just like you.”

“Is there something that tabloid doesn’t know?”

Ray shrugged. “I have no idea. I mean, whoever’s behind it, seems to know everything, even about your run in with Mad Dawg.”

Jonathan would have preferred that thing to have remained between him and Maddox, but it looked like the gossip mill had taken that juicy piece of info, chewed it, and vomited it on computer and phone screens everywhere already.

“We barely exchanged a maximum of ten words,” he said. “Talking about blowing things out of proportion. And I bet that Maddox has already forgotten about it.”

“Hey, it made you semi-famous,” Ray countered.

“In a somewhat bad way,” Jonathan said. “It looks to me like people prefer to stay clear of me. Do they think I got rabies from him or something?”

Ray offered him a compassionate look. “They side with him only because he’s been here longer.”

“Side with him? Nothing happened! Anyway, it’s a good thing that I’m being left alone. I’m certainly not chasing fame. How does Connor look like?”

Ray leaned against him and bumped into his elbow while wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Do you want to know if he’s hot?”

“That is not why I’m asking. I just want to be able to recognize him. There are hundreds of students here if you haven’t noticed.”

“Well, you can thank me later because he is hot,” Ray continued unabashed, “and that’s why he’s my first pick for you.”

“How can you tell a guy is hot, straight boy?” Jonathan teased him.

“My long experience with gay-themed shows must be the culprit. Anyway, I don’t have to describe him to you since he’s over there. That man of the jungle with the flowery shirt. Doesn’t he look fit to start saving the planet?”

Jonathan stared at a group sitting on the grass. Everyone was enraptured with one young man that was talking loudly and gesticulating. He had long blond hair that ran below his shoulders and wore, indeed, a billowy shirt adorned by a colorful flower pattern. He got why Ray was calling him a man of the jungle. At first glance, it looked like his hair needed a comb, and there was something in how he was pushing his chest out like he was about to launch a loud cry and call all the creatures of the forest. And there was also the beard, a bit of the hippy kind, although it appeared to be quite groomed to fit the rest of the young man’s appearance.

He wasn’t sure about the hot part, though, but he didn’t want to rain on Ray’s parade. His bestie was obviously thinking that he was doing him a favor. From that distance, Jonathan couldn’t help thinking that Connor looked a bit like a poser, moving his arms too much, adjusting the wooden bracelets on his wrists too often, and trying too hard to prove a point, although everyone in his group was already listening. As Connor moved his head and looked at strangers, Jonathan could only think he was interested in enlarging his audience.

But he was not supposed to judge people by a first impression. And he truly needed to take his mind off Maddox and his gorgeous eyes, biceps, and everything else. Yes, he had thought about those arms, too, but he was only twenty years old and couldn’t be blamed for having his hormones running wild now and then. The fact that he didn’t find Connor hot at first sight was a good thing. He wasn’t planning on getting into this hormones-first like before.

“Then I should go listen to his speech. The more I learn about what moves him, the better my chances of making meaningful conversation from the get-go, right?”

“Go ahead, buddy,” Ray said and patted him on the back. “Gotta run, see you later. And JJ?” He stopped him for a moment and flipped up his thumbs. “You totally got this.”

Jonathan smiled as his bestie scurried away.

For the last three days, ever since the incident in the cafeteria, Maddox had felt in a funk of sorts. So, everyone liked him, and there was just this one guy who didn’t. It shouldn’t have annoyed him so much, but it did. He had even let Rusty call dibs on all the new girls on campus until his friend had decreed that it was no longer fun to beat him at that game.

What was even more annoying was how the new transfer avoided him like he had the plague, each time they happened to be in the same one hundred square meters. Maddox was starting to suspect that someone must have badmouthed him, especially since the guy’s first reaction had been so bad, or else he couldn’t see why that kept happening. Also, it appeared that their little exchange hadn’t gone unnoticed, and everyone, with almost no exception, had decided that they had to treat the newcomer as a social pariah and ensure him, Maddox, wherever he went, that they were on his side, like there was some big war going on. The fact that he kept denying that was the case didn’t help either. Everyone loved him that much.

Except for that dude.

At least, the rumor mill had provided him with some facts for a change. The handsome asshole’s name was Jonathan Hamilton, he had transferred from a school up north, he was majoring in chemistry, he was openly gay (Dex had been right, after all), and that was pretty much it. Jonathan seemed to be a mystery, even to the most versed gossipers on campus. He was also there on an academic scholarship, so he had to be sharp as a tack. But there was nothing about his family and why he was staying at the dorms instead of renting some lavish townhouse and living like a king. Maddox wondered if he had mistaken in his assumption that the new transfer stank of old money. He usually was good at evaluating people and their wealth bracket. After all, he was majoring in business for a reason.

“I’m going to make that dude like me,” he announced to his friends as they strolled through the quad.

Everyone waved or tried to talk to them like usual, but he let all social interactions to Rusty, Kane, and Dex, too absorbed as he was in coming out with a plan to get close to Jonathan Hamilton.

“Are you still salty over that thing? So the dude doesn’t like you. Big deal,” Rusty said.

“But everyone likes me,” Maddox protested. “Why doesn’t he?”

Rusty shrugged. Kane seemed keener on explaining. “Maybe he thought you were trying to hit on him.”

Maddox met that with a stricken expression. “Really? And what’s not to like?” He threw his arms to the sides and walked backward in front of his friends, allowing them to take a good look at him.

“Maddox, buddy, you’re not into boys,” Dex intervened. “Why does it matter if he likes you or not?”

“It’s about my reputation, come on,” Maddox complained. “I mean, just look at me, I’m practically candy for gay boys.”

His tirade was met with a snort from Dex, a chuckle from Kane, and a confused look from Rusty.

“I’ll show it to you.” He searched with his eyes until they landed on a boy dressed in a rainbow flag t-shirt who was laughing with a group of girls. “Hey, you,” he called.

The boy stared at him in disbelief and pointed at his chest. “Who, me?”

“Yeah. You’re --” Maddox snapped his fingers while trying to recall the student’s name.

“Cletus,” the boy supplied.

“Right. Cletus, you’re into guys, right?”

Cletus just nodded, while the smile on his face was turning a bit cautious.

“If I hit on you, what would you do?” Maddox asked directly.

Cletus blinked a few times. The crew behind Maddox started snickering. “How’s it going, Candy?” Dex teased him.

Maddox placed himself between Cletus and his buddies. “Ignore these assholes. Please, just tell me. It’s for a project, I’m running some statistics,” he added quickly, as he understood why the boy looked so intimidated now. “I’m not actually hitting on you.”

“Well, I guess I’d be flattered?” Cletus said and offered a forced smile.

Maddox groaned. “Seriously? You don’t think I’m hot?” His friends just started to laugh harder.

Cletus shifted nervously from one foot to another. “You are, but I’d totally think you’re pulling a prank on me.”

“What if I wasn’t? You know I totally respect gay people, right?” Maddox was starting to feel a little queasy. Was someone starting some nasty rumors about him? Although that was a good explanation for why Jonathan avoided him everywhere, it made him mad that someone would be spreading that kind of false information.

“Yeah, I know,” Cletus said, and some of his nervousness began to disappear while his good-natured smile returned. “So it wouldn’t be a prank?”

“Surely not. It would be the real thing.”

Cletus shrugged and grinned. He gave Maddox a long and suggestive once-over while biting his lips. “Then I’d say, bring it on, baby.” He then stopped and blushed a little as it was his crew’s turn to burst into laughter.

“Thank you, buddy, that was really helpful,” Maddox said and then turned to his besties. “I’m this close to unfriend you all, fuckers.”

Dex patted him on the back, hard enough to make him take an involuntary extra step. “So, Candy, gay boys want you. What does that prove?”

“Why doesn’t Jonathan Hamilton?” Maddox asked the obvious question.

“Maybe because he’s got his eyes on a different prize,” Kane said and pointed somewhere in front.

Maddox narrowed his eyes when he noticed what Kane was talking about. Jonathan was there, and he was engaged in conversation with that tree hugger Connor. Something about that dude had always irked Maddox, how he was trying too hard with his speech on protecting the environment as it looked like it was the only thing he could talk about, and there was also something shifty in his eyes that he disliked profoundly.

His sour mood only turned sourer as he observed how Jonathan kept angling his body, a clear sign of unspoken language that he was interested in his conversation partner. At the same time, Connor stood with his arms crossed and slightly defensive like he could barely wait to get out of there. Well, the interest was one-sided, and that offered Maddox a slight satisfaction. Not that he could understand how Jonathan would be interested in that greasy monkey and not in him, but that was something he would work on.

“See you later, guys,” he waved at his friends and walked purposefully toward Jonathan and Connor. “Hi, man,” he greeted Connor, who immediately turned toward him, seemingly relieved to be saved from having to talk to his current companion. “How’s it hanging?”

As Connor did his signature handshake and hug, Maddox looked over his shoulder at Jonathan. He was staring at him, and a frown was quickly forming on his face. Yeah, take that; how do you like being the guy who isn’t liked?

“Heading to Statistics,” Connor replied. “You too?”

“Sure.”

Maddox noticed the small hesitation in Jonathan. What was that about? Connor grabbed Maddox by the shoulders and made him walk toward the building where the lecture took place, all the while ignoring Jonathan, which was pretty rude and should have given him satisfaction but didn’t. Jonathan stayed behind, his face clouded, and turned away, and Maddox noticed that because he looked at him over his shoulder.

“What’s with you and the new guy?” Maddox asked.

“Nothing,” Connor said quickly. “Can you believe that he just tried to lecture me on nuclear power?” He tsked like Jonathan must have told him some dim-witted things.

Maddox continued to sneak glances back until he noticed Jonathan moving and heading, surprise, surprise, in the same direction. Was he stalking Connor? That was so embarrassing. The dude should have taken a hint by now. Unless, of course --

“Is Jonathan in Statistics, too?” he asked.

“Who?” Connor said like he hadn’t spoken to him until seconds ago.

Maddox didn’t insist. If they all had the same class, he could see it happening, so he came up with an excuse to saunter off and head over to the lecture hall faster.

Jonathan felt a bit stunned. He was being ostracized, all because of that ridiculous run-in with Maddox. Connor had talked to him in monosyllabic words and then stormed off with Maddox like he wasn’t even there. He pinched the bridge of his nose and willed himself to relax. How had he managed to screw up things so badly from the first day?

Was Maddox that much of a scumbag to tell everyone to stay away from him? He had thought it a bit amusing at first since everyone was a stranger, but now he found himself in the impossible position of not being able to strike a normal conversation with someone he was interested in knowing.