Jacob Andrews always wanted a little brother. He grew up with a sister that was 4 years older than he was so they were never really close. Now 18, it was clear that his parents would never give him the little brother he'd always wanted.
Jacob was a senior in high school and he was exceptionally popular. He was the varsity starting quarterback, standing 6 ft 4 in and 220 pounds of lean muscle. He had dark brown hair and golden brown eyes with a tan complexion he'd received from his mother's Italian family. His eye brows were thick but not bushy, giving them the appearance of being well groomed even though Jacob never did groom himself like that. His perfect teeth, dimples and thin, pink lips gave him a beautiful smile as well. He was the kind of guy that always had a girlfriend under his arm and a group of friends that followed him around.
As you'd expect from a young man that was so genetically gifted and popular, he could be rather arrogant. Not in his behavior though, moreso his demeanor. He knew he was an intelligent, talented and beautiful person. That is partially why he was kind to all people and he surprised unpopular kids all the time by talking to them. It wasn't just because he knew it made people's day to be acknowledged by him but also because it honestly soothed his ego.
People didnt realize how happy they looked talking to him, which is probably a good thing because they would feel pretty silly and mortified if they saw what he saw. He had peak "pretty privilege" and, while it sometimes could be annoying, he couldn't deny that he enjoyed the perks. Even teachers and parents were easily flattered by him.
Because of his desire (some might call borderline obsession if they knew) to have a little brother, he was always looking for that kind of friendship with someone, a dynamic he hadn't been able to find. He was subconsciously aware of how odd it might appear to some people so he kept this part of himself to himself.
He had plenty of friends, several of whom would call themselves his best friend but none of whom he felt more fond of than the next. He liked his friends of course but none of them was someone he'd put on that kind of pedestal.
He felt similarly about his girlfriends. He liked them, but he never saw them as marriage material even when accounting for the years it would be before he was ready to get married. They were just fun to hang out with and sleep with.
His current girlfriend, Kelly, was considered one of the hottest girls in school. She came from a well-to-do family like Jacob did and everybody thought they just made sense together. If Jacob were more typically normal then perhaps they'd be the typical high school sweethearts that go on to get married and start a family together. But Jacob always knew deep down that he was different from most people, in ways that went beyond his physical appearance and natural abilities. He wouldn't admit this to himself but still, he just knew.
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Jacob was sitting in his science class one day early in his senior year, sort of zoned out when his teacher announced a new project they would be doing. They were to partner up with a classmate and create some sort of 3D model of a geological feature.
At the mention of this partner project, Jacob felt several pairs of eyes find him. It was something he was used to, people always wanted him to be their partner and in their group projects. But even though there were several eyes on him, he had his eyes on the back of the head of the boy who was sitting in front of him.
His name was Alex Yates. Alex was a shy, quiet kid. He wasn't popular but he was still well-liked by most students due to his being extremely nice to anyone who ever talked to him. Alex never seemed to notice this or maybe he would have come out of his shell more. He was 5 ft 6 inches tall and only 130 pounds but he was the kind of cute guy that girls would overlook his stature when considering him romantically. Again, Alex seemed oblivious to his cute boy next door looks. He had short dirty blonde hair, green eyes and clear complexion. His lips were rather pouty but in a cute way and his teeth were nice thanks to the braces he'd only just gotten removed that summer.
Alex was a nervous and insecure kid. He grew up with a verbally abusive alcoholic father who loved him but just wasn't capable of being a loving parent after Alex's mother died in a car crash in his 5th grade year. Alex had pretty severe abandonment trauma as a result of both of those things.
Alex was extremely popular in elementary school but when he went to middle school with mostly new kids, his small stature and depression from losing his mother made him susceptible to being bullied. He stuck out to people who looked for victims. It was because of this, along with the abandonment issues, that he mostly kept to himself all throughout high school. He found that it worked well for him, as people seemed to be very nice to him or at least just ignored him this way instead of bullying him. And he also didn't have to risk losing anybody if he didn't make any friends. He had a small group of friends he grew up with but he didn't even interact with them at school.
He was a sweet guy, very intelligent but also a little lazy. He didn't try too hard at most things, once again for fear of somehow making a fool of himself or putting a target on his back. He was actually pretty athletic despite being small and very intelligent despite doing the bare minimum to get through school with decent enough grades to squeak into college.
Alex knew he was gay and, for fear of being bullied again, he stayed in the closet. People didn't suspect he was gay despite his withdrawn nature because he had a rather masculine voice that belied his small size.
Alex had been on Jacob's radar since they first encountered eachother freshman year of high school. He'd heard the stories of how he was treated in middle school and he felt genuinely sorry for the kid. His jock friends, who had also been Alex's middle school tormenters, would sometimes make jokes about Alex but Jacob was always quick to shut it down. Jacob being one of the biggest guys in the school, people tended to listen to him. And obviously, being painfully attractive didn't hurt either. He was never a bully himself and didn't like to see it, even though he knew his friends could be pretty mean.
Alex thought Jacob was gorgeous but he was also incredibly intimidated by him. He was so much bigger than Alex was and he also hung out with his former bullies, which made Alex even more inclined to avoid Jacob.
Alex intrigued Jacob in a way that Jacob didn't truly understand. He had tried to talk to Alex a handful of times but Alex seemed to be the one person who wasn't overly flattered by his attention and it kind of bothered him.
Senior year was the first time they had any classes together since freshman year and this was the very first partnered project of the year. He had already decided the first day of the semester when he saw he had a class with Alex that he was going to figure out what Alex was all about. This project seemed to be the perfect opportunity to do so.
Jacob tapped Alex on the shoulder. Being the nervous kid he was, this made him jump violently. Alex turned around, blushing furiously when he saw it was Jacob.
"Wanna be my partner?" asked Jacob confidently. A couple of girls and even a guy or two looked on, clearly disappointed.
"Uh oh--ok," stammered Alex, eyes darting around at the people watching a little nervously.
Alex was used to being one of the last to always be picked for things like this. He made no effort to find partners and gave no inclination he wanted one. So when Jacob asked him to be his partner, it obviously made him feel good. Everybody knew Jacob was the big man on campus so to speak and could have any partner he wanted.
But Alex also felt a wave of nervousness come over him. "This is the ringleader of my former bullies," he thought to himself. "Could he be planning some sort of cruel joke on me?"
Jacob was clearly oblivious to Alex's mixed feelings about the situation. His ego just led him to assume Alex would only be pleased to be his partner. Or at the least, wouldn't have any negative feelings about it.
