Courageous

CHAPTER NINE

Carter hadn't expected for Noah to make a big fuss out of everything.

He had everything planned out before he could even move a finger and it really creeped him out. The next day -two days before spring break, may he add- he found himself sitting on his roommate's bed after he had finished all his lectures around five o'clock in the afternoon with various of outfits thrown on his bed, making his fingers twitch at his side as he oh-so-badly wanted to just get and place them neatly on it instead for them not to get wrinkly.

But his friend didn't seem to care about that as much.

And neither did his girlfriend.

Jasmine was barking orders to Noah as he continued trying to find the perfect outfit. They were so focused on the outfits that they didn't notice that Carter was basically freaking out about what he was supposed to even say to Max. His outfit or whatever the new couple were discussing didn't really seem important to him. He knew that if he went to talk to Max, he would start saying stupid things, maybe even stutter a little too like he always did when he was nervous.

His breathing started picking up again.

Was all of this worth it? Was asking Max out really worth it?

Even though he really wanted to date the guy, he knew all this anxiety he was causing was not good. However, what annoyed him, even more, was the fact that when he was around him, he felt at ease, like he could conquer the whole world or something. This unease he was feeling before actually meeting up with him disappeared when he was with him.

This was so weird to explain but at the same time, it felt so right too.

Max made him feel things no one has ever done so before and it was somewhat freaking him out but at the same time, he also liked that. He craved those feelings and he has only known the guy for about three months.

It was really weird how quickly you can start liking someone.

But for some reason, Carter liked Max and he really wanted to be with that guy but he was afraid that he wouldn't feel the same and that he would break his heart and he wasn't sure he was quite ready for that.

He wondered how Noah found the guts to even ask Jasmine out. Everyone on campus was slightly afraid of her -mostly because she went to self-defence classes and almost beat up a guy who tried groping her at a party in her first year without her consent. His friend had been brave enough to ask the girl he liked out even though he knew she could beat his ass and have him delivered to the hospital in minutes.

How could he be afraid of asking a simple guy out when Noah could do that? Max was gentle, nice and funny. He loved photography more than anything and he even liked skateboarding like he did (even though he has stopped doing that in a while now due to studying for college). He hated violence and adore puppies. Nothing about him screamed 'I'm gonna humiliate you in front of everyone' or 'I'm gonna break your heart and you won't be able to do anything about that because you will have fallen in love with me'.

Maybe Carter was just exaggerating. Even if Max did say no to him, at least he tried. Those doubts about himself and the fact he was afraid of being embarrassed in front of others were what kept him from asking other boys out in high school (okay, he was also afraid of the bullying he would receive back then because for some f*****g reason, high schoolers are menaces). Yet, he had nothing to worry about in college. Especially, since no one paid attention to him.

In high school, the popular crew loved teasing and hurting others to seem superior because they had nothing else to do. However, in college, no one really paid attention to anyone since their future would be on the line. It was like everyone on the summer before their first year at their university just realised, they should just act childish for a whole three months before they act like actual adults in college (well except a few people who never learn).

No one in campus knew who Carter Mills-Davis was. No one knew that he had two last names because he had two moms. No one knew he was adopted and that so was his brother. Not because Carter was embarrassed to talk about his family but because they didn't care.

He had nothing to worry about and maybe that's why he had to ask Max out. He didn't care that the boy he liked might say no and somewhat injure his heart. He wanted closure about whether or not he liked him and he also wanted to be his boyfriend but it all came down to Max because he would be the one deciding if he would like to spend more time with him and maybe even share a few kisses or more.

All Carter had to do was just ask him out.

He watched as his best friend argued with his girlfriend about the fact that wearing purple and yellow looked stupid on a guy and more. Slowly without making any noise, he got up from his seat on Noah's bed and made his way to his. He grabbed his sneakers which were tucked under his bed and then, grabbed his keys and phone from the small table next to the door.

"Wait a second," Noah spoke, making him stop from opening the door and he looked behind him to see his friend still face-timing his girlfriend about his outfit and such. He rolled his eyes, "Vans or sneakers? I think sneakers he would look more casual and not like he had planned the whole thing,"

"Yeah, but I think he would look good in Vans too. I fell in love with that red pair he has. Ooh and maybe we can –"

The door closed and Carter run to the one place he knew the boy he liked would be.