The next week Oscar walked into the quad and saw just the person he was looking for. It was Kim, sitting on the ground with her back against a tree, and her nose in a book. She was wearing ripped skinny-jeans, paired with a creme-colored knit crop top, and her black Doc Martins. Oscar walked over and sat promptly next to her, causing her to close her book.

"Hey, Os. What's up?" She asked, tentatively. 

"Not much, you?" He replied, wearily.

"Okay, well..." she began.

Oscar spoke again, cutting her off, "Actually, I did want to tell you something."

Kim heard the seriousness in his voice and could tell he was nervous. She comfortingly placed her hand on top of his that was resting on the ground. "What is it, Os?"

"You know how I went to that concert with Jamie and Noah a few weeks ago?" he began.

"Yeah..." said Kim.

"Well," he continued. "We uh, kind of, kissed..."

Kim's mouth hung open. "Oh my god, you and Jamie?! I didn't know you liked her..." She looked at him in dismay.

"What? No! Me and Noah!" he said in a hushed voice. 

"You and Noah? Again?" asked Kim. "But why? I didn't know you liked him either! Wait... are you...ga- "

He cut her off again, "Yeah, I guess. Well... I don't know," he said, and looked away.

"Well, uh, that's great Os. You really like him like that?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, I guess I do," Oscar said, and squeezed her hand that was still in his.

She paused for a moment, as though she was trying to decide what to say. She leaned closer to him and brushed a hair out of her face.

"That's... so sweet. So are you two like, dating now?" she eventually asked.

"Yeah, I think so. I mean, I stayed at his house after the party the other night and we actually talked a lot. About our feelings and shit. I said that I wanted to be more than friends and he does too," Oscar confessed.

"How could he not? You're so amazing, Os." Kim said with a smile. 

"Thanks," Oscar said, as she wrapped her arm around his shoulder in a warm hug.

Their embrace ended after a few seconds and Kim said, "So, I've never really hung out with Noah. What's he like? How'd he seduce my best friend?" she teased playfully.

"Ugh, he didn't seduce me." Oscar laughed. 

"But uh, I just don't know really. We had never really talked until Serenity's party, but he's just been so nice to me. I mean...when he looks at me, it makes me feel like I'm something worth looking at."

"That is, disgustingly sweet," Kim said. "Okay, tell me more."

Oscar began, "Well, you already know this but, he's really cute..."

Oscar spent the next hour telling Kim every stupidly adorable detail about Noah, and the concert, and their night together, and how he felt, and all of his sickly sweet and cheesy, romantic feelings about Noah. Oscar walked away feeling lighter, and more free than he ever had.

Oscar walked down the hall of the school with a goofy grin on his face, still riding a wave of euphoria. He caught a glimpse of unmistakable blond hair in the corner of his eye and felt a warm hand fall on the shoulder of his sweater. He quickly spun around and saw that Noah had begun walking beside him. 

Noah, dressed in a denim jacket over a white t-shirt, and black skinny jeans said, "Hey, babe."

Noah greeted Oscar warmly. This simple gesture was enough to make Oscar melt under his touch.

A sudden burst of anxiety caused Oscar to quickly scan the area around them, and he only relaxed once he realized that they were virtually alone in the hall. Less tense, he said, "Hey, what's up?" and smiled at Noah.

They continued walking side-by-side down the hall. "So I was wondering, what are you doing tonight?" Noah questioned.

"Nothing. Why?" Oscar said.

"There's a trig test tomorrow and I'm definitely going to bomb it. Unless..." he looked at Oscar sweetly, with a pouty expression on his face. 

Oscar playfully sighed, "Ugh, yes I'll help you study."

"Great!" Noah said, in a chipper tone. "Can we do it at your house? My brother is having band practice at mine tonight."

"Uh yeah, sure. My parents will be there though," Oscar said. 

"That's great! I can meet them," Noah said, excitedly. 

Oscar suddenly stopped walking and said "Yeah, but... they don't really know about us. Or me."

"Oh," Noah began, with a disappointed look on his face, "Well, we can go to my house if you want. My parents actually cornered me the other day and asked about us."

He gestured between the two of them.

"I told them. I hope that was okay?"

"Yeah that's fine, I'm glad they know. Your parents seem really nice..." Oscar assured him. 

"But no, that's okay, we can go to my house. They won't mind. Just don't mention it and it'll be fine," Oscar said, looking concerned.

"Of course I won't," Noah said assuredly. 

They began walking again, and came to a fork in the hallway. 

"I'm this way," Oscar said and pointed in one direction. 

"Alright, well I'm going to AP bio. I'll meet you outside later," Noah said and started walking down the opposite hall, but not before tugging the collar of Oscar's shirt to bring him closer, and planting a light kiss on his cheek. 

"Bye," Oscar said, smiling.

Oscar turned to walk down the adjacent hallway, and eventually found himself in his anatomy and physiology class. He heaved his backpack down beside his desk, and sat in his usual seat, directly beside Kim.

About 20 minutes later, Oscar was lost in thought, deeply concentrated on the notes he was taking, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

When he looked over, Kim leaned closer to him and whispered, "Hey, do you wanna hang out after school? Go eat or something?"

Oscar opened his mouth to say yes; he was always happy to spend time with Kim. Then it hit him. He already had plans. 

"Ah man, I'm really sorry, I'm supposed to help Noah study for his trig test tonight. Next week, maybe?" He whispered.

Kim looked taken back and slightly disappointed, but still said "Yeah that's fine, Os," then gave him an apathetic smile, and went back to writing her notes.