Cody
"Did I do the right thing with Mason?" I asked Britt, nervously playing with the handle of my bag.
Britt gave my back a pat, and gently took my bag from me, throwing it in the back of the van. "Think about it tomorrow, after the meet," she said gently, but a firm kind of gentle.
"Yes, you're right of course."
I watched her, Benjamin and Dylan also throw their bags in. We'd decided to travel together along with the coach. Luckily, the regionals weren't held too far away. Only an hour drive. My parents would be there too, though, I'm glad they weren't in the van with me. They got twice as nervous as I did, and I don't think I would've liked to listen to my dad babbling or my mom fussing. Besides, coach Carta already had enough nerves for all of us. Although he would never admit it, the vein on his forehead told the story for him.
I wish Mason was here. He was always good company before a race. He made me laugh and relax with his quick remarks and dimpled smile. He was calm and lighthearted, except for when he was cheering me on from the stands when I won. I always listened for his whistling, which I'd recognize out of millions.
I guess I'd have to do without Mace today. Which was my fault. I didn't ask him to come, and I didn't give him a chance to agree on coming by keeping my phone shut off. Still, I'd half expected him to turn up at the pool anyway. He'd been at every major competition I'd ever swam...I'd be weird not to have him there.
Coach Carta clapped his hands. "Alright everyone ready to go? Get in the van."
"Ooh, did you put candy for us in there?" Benjamin asked, hopping in first.
I laughed, about to climb in after him when I heard tires screeching. An extremely old looking, about to fall apart, car came racing onto the parking lot, stopping right next to our van. There was literally smoke coming out of it.
"What the-?" Benjamin asked, poking his head out of the van to get a closer look. He narrowed his eyes. "Aren't those people Mason's friends and brother?"
The doors of the old car opened. Noel, Zoey and Yue stepped out, and they looked really, really mad. Especially Zoey resembled a battering ram, about to bash someone.
"Whoa whoa whoa!"
Coach Carta immediately sprung into action when the three came barging at us, standing in between us and the angry battering rams. "You're going to calm down and leave. Whatever issues you have with my kids, it's going to wait until after the meet."
"Look grandpa," Noel glared at the coach, an odd looking expression on him considering he's usually either smug or cheerful, "I don't care if they're about to win the noble prize or if the queen is waiting for them. He-" Noel pointed at me, "is a piece of shit. Always thought you were dumb and dull as a rock. Now I'm thinking that's an insult to rocks."
"Yeah," Zoey added. "You and your garbage dinkleberg poop nose Sacapuntas friends!"
I didn't know half the words Zoey was yelling, but she looked so intimidating while yelling them that I inched away from her just slightly anyway.
Noel stopped looking pissed for just a second to shoot Zoey a confused look, and then turned back to us. "What she said."
"How dare you treat Mason like this?" Yue snapped. "Like your friendship doesn't even matter anymore in a day after so many years! Because of what? A crush he can't help?"
The coach took a step forward. "Get out of here," he growled more insistent. He meant business, was going to call security if they didn't leave and I knew it. But I didn't want it to come to that. Why were they so mad? I had ignored Mace in the past few days, but that was no reason to drive to the pool in a dirty old car to yell at me, right?
"No coach wait," I said. "I was just taking a rest before the race. I had to focus all my attention on that. I mean, I'll talk to Mace afterward, promise."
"Besides, we figured he'd be too busy feeding you junk food anyway to bother with thinking about Cody," Dylan mixed himself in with a sneer. He always the first in line to join an argument. "You're his girlfriend aren't you?"
"No I'm not his girlfriend," Zoey blurted. Then, her eyes went wide as Yue face palmed. "You weren't supposed to say that!"
"But Cody saw you two kissing and dating and everything!" Britt argued, crossing her arms in her chest.
Whatever Zoey, Noel and Yue were mad about, that anger had suddenly vanished. Now they just looked awkward, exchanging looks as if they were unsure of what to do next.
"So... You're saying Zoey's not dating Mason?" Dylan broke the silence.
"And you're not just a bunch of homophobes?" Zoey shot back. "You didn't avoid Mason because he is--" she trailed off, eyes again wide as if she'd said something she shouldn't have.
"Us? Homophobes?" Benjamin started laughing from inside the van. "What?"
Dylan snorted as well, glancing at me. "Dude and dudettes, I don't know what you got your panties so twisted for, but nobody here's got anything against gays. Not me, not the coach, Britt, Ben, and especially not Cody."
"I don't care if my kids would like to hump boys, girls, or trees in their free time, as long as they're good swimmers," coach Carta shrugged. "And they don't injure themselves while practicing their... hobbies."
I kept my mouth shut, as Dylan already did the talking for me. And I didn't trust myself to open my mouth to say anything with the word 'gay' or 'homo' in it and not blush furiously.
The parking lot went dead quiet for just a second.
"Oh bother," Noel then commented, scratching the back of his head the same way Mace did when he felt awkward.
"But what's us supposedly being homophobic got to do with Cody avoiding Mason?"Britt asked, posing a really good question.
I frowned and glanced at Zoey, "What you were saying earlier... You said I was avoiding Mace because he's... what?"
"Well then," Noel grinned at me, back to his happy self. "Maybe you're just a little sharper of a tool than I thought after all. Figure this out next then: what was the question I posed about you and Mason kissing at that party a few nights ago, rock brain?"
"You mean the one where you asked if we wanted to kiss?"
Ding ding ding, and captain oblivious is through to the next round," Noel said like a game show host. "I guess the only remaining question is: have you ever wanted to make out with your best friend?"
I felt myself getting red, beet-red, under Noel's intense gaze and with everyone else also staring at me. "I uh," I stammered, but that seemed to be enough for Noel.
"Hallelujah you do like the smurf!" he exclaimed triumphantly. "Haven't I been saying this from the start: he wants to kiss you, you want to kiss him. So kiss. Problem solved."
"But... I saw him kissing Zoey at that snackbar," I protested. "I know what I saw."
"Oh, for God's sake!" Yue exclaimed. "He was only pretending to date Zoey and kiss her because he's so desperately in love with you, that he thought his life would be over if you found out and you rejected him! He didn't voluntarily blow his entire allowance on feeding King Zoey Kong."
"Hard to believe, I know, but it's true," Zoey said, flipping her long curly hair over her shoulder. "But I suppose I can accept that from a gay guy."
A gay guy. A gay guy. Zoey's words echoed on in my head and my cheeks felt like they were on fire again. He was gay and... in love with me? For real? "He loves me?"
"Uh yeah!" Zoey, Yue and Noel all said simultaneously.
"And I didn't want to talk to Mace because I couldn't handle the thought of him with Zoey." My legs were restless, my stomach fluttered. I started pacing, trying to lose the nervous energy. "I have to see him. Now."
I wanted to walk away, catch the first bus to Mason's house or even run there, but the coach grabbed me by the shirt. "I'm sorry but you can't son," he said, lips pursed in obvious disapproval at all the distractions.
Britt took a step towards me. She looked more sympathetic. "There's no time to go get Mason, Cody. We'll miss the warming up, and you promised to do an interview, remember?"
"It sucks but we have to leave or we'll be late," Dylan said with a glance at his watch.
"Please," I pleaded, "I need to do something now."
"Call him?" Benjamin dryly suggested.
....Why didn't I think of that?
Coach Carta let out an irritated sigh at my continued stalling, but allowed me to hastily open the back of the van, take my phone out of my bag, and dial Mason's number.
I got a taste of my own bitter medicine of the last few days, when I immediately got Mason's voicemail. "He's not picking up." I shot coach Carta, who's brows were furrowed in a very unfriendly way, another pleading look. "I really, really need to see Mace."
"You after me pal," Zoey replied instead, "Since I can bitch on him again: idiot left us walking to the pool at like way too early in the morning but is at home himself!"
"Luckily I'm always around to pick up some ladies in need. I'll give you a ride back too if you'd like," Noel smoothly remarked.
"Oh hell no," Yue shook her head. "I got up early for this so now I'm going to that stupid swimming competition too."
"You said it," Zoey agreed.
"I need to--" I wanted to try again, but this time coach Carta cut me off. "No Cody," he snapped, clearly at the end of his patience, "We can't. Mason will still be around when we're done."
"You could of course deliver the message to the smurf in an... alternative way," Noel said, stroking his chin. "Better than a phone call, even better than just face to face. I have an idea. Maybe."
"You do?" I asked, after which Noel slid an arm around my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'll fix everything - Cody-Wody, trust me. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to making an impressive, extravagant I love you statement. I'll get my little brother to your competition. So... you said an interview huh? What kind?"
"Well, it's an on camera interview for an online live stream of the regionals," I replied, and Noel grinned widely.
"Excellent."