《22 Letters✓》Chapter 18: The Garden Of...
Advertisement
This is something I would have never done if I didn't have to win the bet.
I approximately have 14 days left till I have to tell Nathan. And so far, I think I'm getting the hang of it.
As I got to the bleachers, I found a place which was not too far away from the grounds where the athletics team were training.
Derek had instructed me to come here, and I was shocked to see Cecelia already there.
I went to Cece and tapped her shoulder lightly. She looked up at me and smiled.
"I thought you weren't coming." She began, patting the seat next to her as I sat, "See? There's Nathan."
I watched him stretch. But what really got me concerned was his face: he looked stressed. I hope he's okay personally.
Nathan and Derek stood aside and began talking. But it didn't look like a good conversation. I saw Derek's face change multiple times, with him looking at me, then back at Nate. Nathan huffed and left Derek standing to get onto the track.
The track team made it to the tracks and Nathan set himself up. Out of nowhere, Derek pushed Nathan and they began arguing. The argument started to get a little heated and they got separated before one of them could strike.
As Derek made his way up the bleachers, Nathan followed hot on his heels. Cece tried to stop Derek but he wasn't hearing it, instead walked away from her and away to the back.
Nathan was trying to go to the back too, but I stopped him.
"Bro, calm down." I placed my hands on his chest.
He slapped my hands away, "Get your hands off me James." He snapped, grabbing his bag and leaving.
I frowned, but didn't follow him. I walked back to Cece and she looked on in shock.
"What the hell was-"
"Where's Derek?"
We both heard yells from the hall, and instinctively we started running to the hall together. There, Nathan had Derek pinned to the wall.
Advertisement
"Derek!" Cece screamed and went to push Nathan off of Derek.
Nathan got off with my help and as I held him apart from Derek, Derek just looked at him without saying another word. He then shot me a gaze and scoffed.
"I'm disappointed." Derek huffed at me.
"Leon come on." Nathan grabbed my hand.
Derek and Cece just looked on, neither of them saying a word. I mouthed a sorry to Derek and went away with Nate.
"Nathan, what the hell happened?" I asked him but he continued to walk away from the school.
"Lee." He sighed and opened the door to his car, "Get in."
"But Derek's supposed to drop me off-"
"Just get in, James." Nathan commanded and I complied.
As Nathan drove, I couldn't help but stare at him. He didn't look like himself. He looked real mad.
"I'd like it if you stopped staring at me." He murmured and I looked away.
"Sorry." I mumbled, "It's not everyday that you drive a person you barely know home."
"I'm not taking you home." He said, "I'm taking you somewhere."
"Where?"
"That damn garden."
I couldn't help but wonder why. Maybe he actually found out that the mysterious writer was me. It was very strange.
This was very bad, not only did I already write him a letter but now I can't deliver it to his locker. My hand held the note deep inside the bag.
He parked and we instinctively got out the car together. It was already the end of a school day, meaning we have another hour till the sun starts setting.
We walked to the garden and I had to pretend I've never been there before. Nathan waited for me and stopped, just staring at me.
I walked up to him slowly, and picked a poppy from the grass and placed it in his hair. He laughed and held my hand and grabbed me into a hug.
Advertisement
Something was definitely up.
After a few seconds of hugging in silence, he finally let go and say on the grass.
"Sit." He said.
I didn't hesitate and I sat besides him. With each growing day, I feel as if I'm getting closer to Nathan, and it made me happy.
"I came here to think, and you're the perfect person to think with." He sighed, "I know you want to know what happened with Derek."
"Yeah." I was quite curious.
"Well....I know I can't go back to the team at all." He looked down, "Derek exposed me."
"What?"
"I'm gay, Leon." Nathan looked away, "Derek happened to notice that and got me kicked off the team so he could be captain."
What a smart man.
I was partly shocked; Derek was my friend and him doing that wasn't right. But at the same time I know how competitive Derek was, and how he would do anything to be at the top.
And apparently he did this. And I don't know why I feel happy about this.
Nathan plucked the poppy out of his hair and threw it, "So guess who's not on the team and who's openly gay?"
He let out a bitter laugh, his head falling back to look up at the sky, "I should've known they would notice soon enough. I mean, kissing a lot of girls won't get you off the hook after all?"
I smiled, "It won't. But it's nothing you should be ashamed of."
"Yeah but what about my parents? They will wonder why I'm not on the team anymore."
"Then don't be on the team. Get a club." I rolled my eyes, "Join the chess club."
"You think they'll accept a gay?"
"Everyone can accept people the way they are. I mean, it's not our...I mean your fault that your sexual orientation is not female. Love is love." I shrugged, "The sun is almost setting. Look."
As Nathan gazed at the setting sun, I took it as a moment to reach for the letter. As I threw it a little further from us, I then looked at Nathan. The setting sun reflected on his face and his green eyes illuminated the place. Those eyes lit up my world.
Maybe it is the time to confess.
Before I could say anything, Nathan looked at me, "Leon?"
"Yes?"
"Thanks for being here...means a lot." He murmured, then looked back at the sky.
"You're welcome Nathan...hey look over there." I pointed to the slightly far off letter, pretending as if it wasn't me who wrote it.
He looked at it and laughed, "Wow, so they came and put it here because they couldn't go to my locker? Neat."
"What is it?"
"A letter from my secret admirer." He smiled and I frowned, "Want me to read it for you?"
I didn't want him to read what I had written. Such cheesy shit was on there and I personally didn't need him to say what was there.
But instead, I nodded.
He read the note with the last embers of the dying sun, "It's me again. It will always be me. When I finally tell you who I am, I hope it will be worthwhile. Signing out, J."
I didn't want to look away to hide my embarrassment. I looked into his eyes.
He didn't say a word and I didn't either. He just looked at me.
We stared at each other for a while, until he broke off our gaze by standing.
"You need to get home." He murmured.
I sighed, sad that we couldn't spend enough time with each other. But another part of me was happy that he actually confided in me and no one else.
That's all I wanted.
Advertisement
- In Serial90 Chapters
Sexy Sect Babes
“One in a billion.” Jack kept repeating the mantra in his head. “One in a billion.” That was the number the Omni-Corps liked to cite whenever someone stepped onto one trans-mat pad and then simply… never stepped off the other. “Safer than a car,” he repeated as he slogged through the snow, his mining overalls doing at least a passable job of keeping out the cold as he brushed aside a tree branch. “Safer than a plane. Or a starship. Safest form of transport in the Star League.” He slammed his fist into a nearby tree, exo-empowered strength shattering it into little more than scattered bark and kindling. “Yeah, well I never heard of a car ride stranding some prick in another dimension!” He roared, his voice echoing through the seemingly endless forest around him. Then he kept marching. He’d seen the fire off in the distance. And given all the snow around, he sincerely doubted it was natural. Which left the unnatural. Which meant people. He hoped. Because even if the trans-mat had screwed up, he doubted it had dumped him too far off the central finite curve. The fact that the air was breathable and that he could recognize the trees around him as oak told him that much. And if the dimension he was in had trees native to Earth, chances are it would have animals too. Of which humans would hopefully be no exception. “Because I’ll be damned if I spend the rest of my days talking to goddamn squirrels.” No, if there were humans on this mudball, he was going to find them. One way or another.
8 635 - In Serial10 Chapters
Familiar In Chains
Familiar: A magical beast of one type or another which forms a magical bond with a mage who possesses a similar magical trait. Thus entering into a master-servant contract. Due to their abilities as a familiar, they possess all of the intelligence and knowledge of a human alongside the instincts and nature of a beast. Sourced From: My First Familiar Assigned text for third-year mages For young mages, obtaining their first familiar is a momentous occasion. Their magic forms a symbiotic relationship with their bonded mage, amplifying their's strengths and covering for their weaknesses. Often the strength of one's familiar is a key factor in how far a mage will go in their career. They are considered a necessity in the Empire of Afaron and the surrounding nations. Once familiars were caught in the wild and brought back for training and bonding. Eventually, however, the wild magic beasts were hunted to the point that they could no longer be found. Those that had been bred domestically would often produce magicless offspring. Nowadays the mages of Afaron know nothing of how familiars are bred, raised, and tamed. Once every three years, the Order of Beast Tamers come down from their mountain strongholds with caravans loaded with familiars purchased by noble families and magic academies. The Beast Tamer's generosity hides a dark truth. If you can't find a magic beast, make one. (Warning: Mild Nudity)
8 209 - In Serial56 Chapters
aka
Most people think having powers would be amazing. Not Nate. If he had it his way, he’d never use them and pretend they weren’t there. His powers, though, seem to have other ideas. Uncontrolled powers sound problematic on their own, but when people can destroy entire city blocks with a wayward glance, they become a whole new issue entirely. Nate has always felt like he’s had wary eyes watching him, waiting for him to slip up. So far, he’s managed to just barely keep his head down, but when his powers force him to step into the spotlight, he finds himself caught up in the one life he never wanted; heroism. Now, will he find a way to accept the powers he blames for all his problems, or will he crumble under the pressure? Note: I primarily upload on my website on Sundays . I'll upload here regularly up to a day after the chapters go live on the main site. Vote for aka on TopWebFiction! Feel free to join the aka Discord. In addition to my patreon, you can support aka by buying me a coffee!
8 255 - In Serial14 Chapters
COZplay
Marinette: hey!Marinette: what's upMarinette: Adrien gave me ur numberMarinette: he said u r good in poetryMarinette: and might helpMarinette: we r writing a script for a theater play for school and we want the characters to speak in verseMarinette: i'm Marinette btwMarinette: so could u help me?Marinette: and... is ur name really Coz?Did Adrien really not tell her he was talking about his cousin? And who actually saves his cousin's number with a short 'coz' in their phone and sends the contact like this to someone else?!Then Felix smirked.This was actually a good opportunity for a prank. Especially that Marinette wasn't giving him any chance for it at school - all the while expecting some trick from him and lashing out at him for every little step he took.
8 101 - In Serial56 Chapters
Smitten With Him [Editing]
Needing a favour and an easy way to pass his Physics class, closeted gay Zach Hamilton seeks Jace, the smart ass band geek who has snarky comebacks to everything.Becoming smitten with the tall, skinny, cheeky nerd was pretty easy, but difficulties arise when his clique and his brother toughen down on him, and his best friend, Flynn, holds a secret that can't be forgotten easily.-- -- --Disclaimer: boy x boy, quite a lot of swearing and... This is a PG-13 book, so you know the rules.
8 179 - In Serial69 Chapters
Klepto✔︎
"I'm a psycho at the bottom of the pack, and you're a warrior built to kill. Isn't it a weird mix?" He shrugs, a wicked grin plastered to his face."I think it's the perfect mix." ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀ ✿ ❀*Completed *Klepto is a werewolf, an omega, and exactly as her name says. A kleptomaniac. She's a compulsive stealer. So it's not a surprise that everyone in her pack despises her for her flaw. To distract herself from the constant bullying, she sticks her nose in books, dreaming of fictional worlds. Ezra, on the other hand, is a prideful lycan warrior with a desperate need for an attitude adjustment. When his team is assigned to protect a pack in the mountains of West Virginia, he is anything but thrilled. He wants power, responsibility, respect... things that don't come with being a babysitter.It's when they arrive that Ezra spots the curvy werewolf that happens to be his soul mate. In that moment he finds his entire world shifting.Klepto is a thief, and she knows just how to steal his heart. * Rated PG-13 for mild language, abuse, some adult content * Highest rankings#1 in new adult - 6/29/19#4 in werewolf - 3/18/19#1 in warrior - 6/24/19#3 in lycanthrope - 6/4/18#52 in love - 3/18/19#5 in mates - 4/2/19#63 in alpha - 3/25/19
8 261

