Midnight Kiss

Edward was sitting in his biology class, barely listening to his teacher, Mrs. Weston.

 He was trying to keep himself busy, to stop staring at the new kid, Xavier.

 Xavier had tan skin, light brown hair, and silver eyes. When Edward first saw him a week ago, he nicknamed him 'Pretty boy.' 

 His friend, Isabella, glanced over at him and smirked. "You're still staring?"

"Shut up, Bella. I was not."

Isabella hummed. "Well, maybe you should ask him out. So you can stop sneaking looks at him during class."

"I'm not staring at him." Edward hissed. 

Isabella was staring past him with a smile on her face. She lifted a hand and waved.

Edward looked up, glanced in Xavier's direction, and saw him looking at them. He waved nervously and went back to doodling in his notebook.

"See? That wasn't so bad, was it?" Isabella said, punching his shoulder. 

Thirty minutes later, the lunch bell rang. Edward jumped out of his seat, ready to bolt out the door when Isabella grabbed his wrist and dragged him toward Xavier's desk.

 Xavier looked up at them with a smile on his face. "Hi."

"Hello, Xavier." Isabella chirped. "I'm Isabella, but feel free to call me Bella. This is my best friend, Ed."

Edward wanted to dig a hole next to his desk, crawl into it and die. He glared over at her, but she ignored him.

"Pleasure." Xavier held his hand out for Edward to shake. 

Edward hesitated for a second before he reached out and shook his hand. Xavier got to his feet, stacking his books on the center of his desk.

Isabella turned toward Edward and smirked. "Do you wanna hang out with us for lunch?"

"I'd love to!"

Edward yanked his arm from Isabella's grip and took a step back. "I..uh..got to go get my lunch," he muttered. He turned and sped from the room.

Xavier stared after Ed as he left the room. 

 He was afraid he'd done something wrong and turned toward Isabella, who looked just as shocked as he did.

"Did I-?"

Isabella laughed. "No. You didn't do anything. He's just...uneasy when he meets new people."

"Oh." 

Isabella hooked her arm through his and led him from the classroom, talking about everything from the weather to the winter ball coming up in two weeks.

 Though Isabella was a nice girl, Xavier thought she was very talkative and a little bothersome.

The lunchroom was as loud as always, with kids arguing, playing games, or throwing food at each other. Xavier dodged a blueberry muffin.

"Our table is in the corner over there." Isabella points. "We like to stay away from all the crazies."

Xavier sat at the table across from Ed, who was staring at his cookie with fake interest. Isabella chuckled nervously. "I'll be back. I got to go get my lunch."

Edward's head shot up, and he glowered at her as she turned and skipped toward the lunch line.

Xavier pulled a notebook from the bag on his shoulder and tossed it onto the table. He flipped it open. "I saw you doodling in class today. I'm guessing you like drawing?"

Edward's mouth opened as though he hadn't expected him to know. "Oh...uh. Yeah. I draw anime. And people."

"I've never liked anime. I'm horrible at it." Xavier flipped to the fifth page, where he'd tried to draw an anime boy sliding down a slide. "I make them look like they've got some disease or something. And their eyes always look creepy."

Ed peered at the drawing, and the corner of his mouth twitched. 

"What? Is it that bad?"

"It's ugly as hell!" Ed laughed. "Excuse my language."

Xavier shrugged. "Meh. That's what my sister said too. You got any drawings on you?"

Ed looked like he was about to say no, but he reached into his lunch bag and pulled out a folded piece of paper. Xavier opened it, and his eyes widened.

The boy had two huge wings on his back and long brown hair. His hands were over his heart. The picture was so large that he only had space to draw from the waist up.

But the more Xavier looked at it, he realized the boy looked a little like him. He looked up at Ed and saw his face was as red as his jacket.

"Well, what do you think?"

 "This looks..." he was about to say cute but instead said, "..Awesome. It looks awesome. Where did you get your inspiration? Was it an anime movie? Was he one of the characters?"

Before Ed could answer, Isabella returned with a tray and a smile on her face. "Well, well, well. Looks like you two are getting along well. What did I miss?"

 "If you wanted the tea, you should have been here, Bella," Ed said, smirking. "I saw you pointing and yelling at someone over in the line. I'm surprised you didn't swing a fist."

Isabella snorted into her juice. "Oh, hush. I only pummel people who deserve it."

"Don't let Bella fool you. She'll hit you if you look at her wrong." Ed said, turning to Xavier. His dreamy green eyes glinted mischievously. "Don't get on her bad side."

Xavier chuckled and tucked his notebook in his bag. "I'll keep that in mind. Bella hasn't smuggled anyone in their sleep yet, has she?"

"No.. but now that you mention it." Isabella grinned. "I'll keep that idea on the table."

Ed groaned. "Oh, come on, Xavier. Don't give her any ideas! I was late to her birthday once, and she doused me with the fruit punch!"

"You were an hour late!" Isabella snapped. "And you were responsible for bringing the birthday cake. Of course, it pissed me off. Besides, it was a unanimous decision."

Xavier laughed. 

"So, who are you two taking to the winter ball?" Isabella asked, opening her fruit-flavored bread. "You are going, right?"

Ed nodded. "Yea. But haven't decided who I'm going with."

"Well, you'd better decide fast before your ex comes traipsing over here." Isabella nibbled on her bread. "Can I punch him?"

"No, Bella." Ed shook his head. "You can't punch him unless you want to risk getting detention."

Xavier looked between Isabella and Ed. Ex? He had an ex?

"Xavier over there, looking confused," Isabella muttered. "Ed used to date some nerdy guy from the chess club. They got into this argument, and bam, they broke up. The other guy hasn't really gotten over it, though."

The bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Ed got to his feet, said a hasty goodbye, and walked off.

 "He doesn't like talking about it." Isabella shrugged, picking up her tray.

Xavier trailed behind her, his thoughts spinning.

"Hey, uh, Bella. Do you know if he's been seeing anyone since the breakup?" the question was out of his mouth before he could stop it.

Isabella turned and gasped. "Oh. My. Gosh! You like him, don't you?"

Xavier turned away, face red.

"You do!" she cried. Isabella dumped her tray and threw it up on the shelf with the dirty ones. She grabbed his wrist. "I have an idea."

After school, Edward sped from his last class out to his red jeep. He climbed into the car and started the engine, zooming from the parking lot.

 Edward was still upset that Isabella mentioned his ex-boyfriend, Tyler. She knew how he felt when she brought him up. Why would she think it was a good idea to tell someone that they just met?

Did Xavier think he was weird? Did he even like gay people? Was he homophobic?"

Edward groaned and ran a hand roughly over his face. When he arrived home, he pushed all these thoughts from his head as he unloaded his bags from the car.

 Before he could even lift a hand to knock on the door, it was thrown open by his younger brother, Tristan.

"I thought I heard you out there slamming doors!" Tristan dragged him into the house. "Guess what I did in school today!"

Edward dropped his stuff off in the living room. "What's that, Tris?"

"I kissed someone!"

"Did you?" 

Tristan nodded. "Yea. He was fine with it, though."

Edward's eyebrows went up. Tristan was only in the third grade. It took him a lot longer for him to realize that he liked boys.

"Who is he?"

Tristan skipped into the kitchen. "His name is Joshua. Don't look at me like that! It's not like I kissed him on the lips or anything!"

"Mhm."

While they waited for their parents to get home, they started making dinner, and chatting about their day.

"So you finally talked to your crush?" Tristan asked. "Don't be mad, but I read your diary. I recognized the name. And the pictures you drew were very...detailed."

Edward felt his cheeks heat. "What did I tell you about reading my stuff without my permission?"

"Fear not, brother. Your secrets are safe with me. In return, I'll give you my diary."

"It's not even a diary! It's a notebook." Edward grumbled. 

Tristan went to start setting the table. "It's just a notebook, uh? Is that why you started off every entry with Dear Xavier?" he placed the cups and silverware on the placemats. "I find it cute you name your notebook after this Xavier from your class."

 Twenty minutes later, they heard their parents' car pull into the driveway. The doors slammed, and keys rattled in the doorknob. By then, everything had been put on the table, and the boys were sitting at the island, waiting.

  The front door opened, and their mother poked her head inside and sniffed. "It smells wonderful, boys! Did you cook dinner?"

Their father entered next, took off his coat, and left the room. 

Edward and Tristan exchange a look. 

When they had told their parents they liked boys, their mother had been completely fine with it, but their dad wasn't so supportive of them. Since the boys had told them, their father hardly ever spoke to them except to say good morning and good night.

Their mother stepped into the kitchen and washed her hands. "Don't mind your father. He's had-"

"Another hard day at work?" Tristan snapped. "Why don't you just admit to us that our father can't stand the sight of us anymore?"

"Tristan. It's not like that!" their mother insisted.

Edward reached forward to comfort him, but Tristan pulled away. "It's not? Then what is it?"

Before their mother could answer, Tristan, stormed from the room toward his bedroom, slamming the door closed.

Edward called after him. "Tristan!"

A sob turned his attention back to his mother who was standing over the sink, tears falling down her cheeks. 

"Mother, is everything alright?"

"I can sense Tristan is hurting." she sniffles. "I don't like seeing him this way, Ed. Your father loves you both dearly, but he had plans for you two. He's having trouble adjusting to the changes in you. He'll come through, I know he will."

His mother left the room, and Edward stared after her. 

Edward ended up eating dinner alone tonight. He washed his dishes and fixed up some plates for his family. He then put away the food and headed to his room.

 Since he'd done his homework two weeks early, he was free to play video games.

After playing Five nights at Freddy, Luigi's Mansion, and The Witcher. He went to take a shower, and afterward, he checked his phone.

 Three text messages from an unknown number popped up on his screen.

Roses are red. Violets are blue. Sugar is sweet, and so are you! 

I can't tell you my name. You'll have to guess, but I like you...a lot. I'd like to meet up with you later today at midnight. At Willow's Garden.

Once you've guessed my name, text it to this number.

Edward sat down on his bed and had to reread the messages about three times before their words sank in. 

Who was this person, and how did he get his number? 

It couldn't be Tyler because he deleted his number. Did he know this person?

Edward typed: Can you give me a hint? Who gave you my number?

Hmm. PB. That's my hint. Can't tell you who gave me the number, though. I was sworn to secrecy.

Do I know you?

You should.

What kind of hint is PB?

;) You'll figure it out. Gtg.

No, wait!

Are you there?

Edward groaned and tossed the phone on his bed. PB?

 There were plenty of boys at his school with that initial. 

Paul Bates.

Philip Brown.

Parker Brat.

Peter Butler.

The list could go on. But some of these people Edward tried to stay away from. Paul Bates was a jockey. Peter was a friendless kid who picked his nose. Parker was a soccer player. 

He was able to eliminate everyone but Potter Bets and PB.

Potter Bets was in the chess club with Tyler, and he met him a few times when he had gone to Tyler's tournaments. PB was this muscular guy on the weightlifting team. He'd said hello a couple of times in the hallway.

But even those two didn't seem right.

Can you give me another hint? Please?

Come on, don't disappear on me!

Edward started pacing in his room. PB. PB. PB. 

 He'd made a mental list of all the guys in the school with those initials. Had he missed someone? 

PB?

Suddenly Edward gasped and stumbled back into his bed. Now he recognized those letters. PB. Pretty Boy. Xavier Hart.

But how the hell did he get my number? Isabella.

Edward whipped out his phone and typed in his name.

Xavier Hart.

;)

Xavier chuckled and flopped backward onto his bed. 

 Finally, he got it. Took him long enough. He came up with the silly nickname.

He turned his head to check his clock. It was 11:45. 

Xavier got his feet and pulled on a black jogger outfit. He slipped into his worn Nikes' and stepped out into the hallway. 

Almost everyone was in bed. His sister was sitting in the living room watching some drama show on TV.

She looked up when he entered the room. "Where are you going? It's almost midnight!"

"I'm going to meet a friend, Riley."

Riley smirked. "Is he your SL?"

Xavier ignored her question. "I'll be back in a few, ok?"

"Alright. Have fun."

Xavier left his house, closing the door behind him. He jumped into his car and zoomed toward the park, hoping to beat Edward there.

 He arrived around ten minutes later at an empty parking lot. He shut off the engine and jumped out of his vehicle.

Xavier walked toward a bench and waited.

Hopefully, he decides to come. He thought nervously.

Four minutes after midnight, he saw a red jeep pull up, and Edward jump out.

"What the hell, Xavier! How did you even know about PB?" Edward paused, seeming to know this was a stupid question. "Isabella."

Xavier nodded.

"She gave you my number, too, didn't she?"

"Yeah. Don't be upset, though. I asked."

Edward shifted nervously. "I read the first three messages. I wasn't sure if you were-"

Xavier turned toward him and without thinking, crushed his mouth against his. Edward hesitated a moment before responding. He cupped his face in his hands.

When they seperated they were breathing hard.

Xavier smiled up at him. "This is what I call a Midnight Kiss."