Bi The Way

A worried look stretched across Rodney's face as he shuffled through the library aisles, his finger tracing the spines as he searched. Derek observed from a stuffed armchair, his legs splayed out, basking in the artificial chill exhaled by the overworked air conditioning unit above.

"Found anything useful yet?" Derek called out watching Rodney search, he was still exhausted from his bike ride over in the first heat wave of the year.

"Maybe," Rodney replied, his voice muffled between the shelves, "There's a ton of weather patterns but none of it is focused on Strathroy. I guess I'm not surprised a small town isn't the focus of any major written works."

"That's true, nothing exciting ever happens here. Maybe we can focus more on the weather balloon part and collect our own data?" Derek suggested, shifting in the chair so the cold air blasted down his back.

The buzz of Derek's phone sliced through the calm and caught both boys' attention as Derek reached for it. The screen lit up with Marcy's name, so Derek tapped ignore.

"Who calls anyone these days?" Rodney asked as he wandered closer, just catching the name.

"A telemarketer," Derek lied smoothly, shifting the phone screen away from Rodney.

Rodney raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the shelf, arms folded. "You know, you'll have to talk to that 'telemarketer' at some point. You can't avoid her forever."

Derek shifted uncomfortably, his gaze slipping from Rodney's earnest face to the silent phone. So far his avoidance technique had been working for him and he didn't feel a reason to stop now.

"I don't have to avoid her forever, just two more months," Derek muttered, pocketing his phone. "Two months we will graduate and then we won't have to see each other in classes anymore."

"You do know she got accepted to UWaterloo too right?" Rodney reminded him, "You could still bump into her on campus or something. I just think you might want to work things out before then. I'm not saying you should start dating again or anything like that. Just get to a point where you can be in the same room together without feeling like you have to leave."

"Well now, look who's the one giving the advice," Derek said with a slight smile as he leaned back in the chair. "I suppose you're right—"

"But it's not like I haven't thought about talking it out with her before." Derek completed his thought. "It's just every time I think about talking to her my mind goes back to the fact she kissed someone else and then all the questions come flooding in. You know like, did she like it? Was he a better kisser than me? and each unanswered question makes me frustrated and sad and confused all at the same time."

"I know the feeling but the only way you can get any of those answers is by talking to her," Rodney explained, knowing all too well what it felt like to have your mind filled with thoughts of uncertainty. "And I do know she cares a lot about you, all she talks about at home is how she can make it up to you."

"Really," Derek said excitedly, still straight up in his chair. It took him a minute to catch himself and resettle. "She's still thinking about me?"

"Of course she does. But if it comes up, you didn't hear it from me." Rodney said, pointing a finger at Derek. Derek let out a small laugh before mimicking zipping his lips and locking them before tossing away the imaginary key.

"Thanks for the help, Rodney," Derek said getting up from the chair, "I guess I should go talk to her now before I lose my nerve."

"Sounds like a plan," Rodney replied, happy to see Derek finally willing to face Marcy. As the library lapsed into silence once more, Derek slipped out the doors and back into the heat with a new goal he intended to accomplish.

Rodney returned to his hunt for a book about weather balloon construction. The shelves seemed to have everything except the books he was looking for. He decided to head to the computers at the back to try and find some answers in the archive.

The back of the library was basically abandoned, except for an elderly gentleman reading a magazine. Rodney took a seat at the dust-covered computer, a fossil from the nineties. It took a couple of minutes to boot up but soon Rodney was browsing the library's vast archive for farming data from Strathroy.

"Don't you have a computer at home?" Hunter's voice came from behind, startling Rodney.

Rodney turned to find him leaning casually against a bookshelf, arms crossed over his chest. Hunter had a series of books tucked under his arm, and Rodney wondered what had brought him to the library.

"Of course, I do," Rodney defensively, it always felt like Hunter was talking down to him whenever they had a conversation. "It just doesn't have access to the more Strathroy-related history and articles that the library archive has."

"Chill out," Hunter raised his arms, stepping closer. His proximity caused Rodney to stiffen up in his chair. "I know about the library archive, I was just messing with you. I take it this is science fair related?"

"You would be right," Rodney said feeling his face turn red, though he wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or something else. He then noticed the books Hunter was holding were all about chemical properties. "Wait are you working on a project for a science fair?"

"Yeah, I decided to sign up after all," Hunter admitted, he shifted the books so Rodney couldn't read the titles, he seemed almost embarrassed to be caught.

"What happened to all that talk about having so many science fair ribbons already?" Rodney asked, poking fun at Hunter.

"There is always room for another," Hunter said trying to act casual but missing the bookshelf he tried to lean against. He caught himself and straightened up, he looked over at Rodney red-faced. "I just thought this year's science fair might be more interesting than the last." He huffed before disappearing amongst the shelves as quickly as he could.

Rodney shook his head, he did understand why Hunter always seemed to be the most embarrassed when he acted like an actual person. Rodney decided he could use a break from his research and texted Ally to meet up.

He found Ally at the basketball courts, sweat dripping down her forehead as she played one-on-one with Luke. Just watching Ally dodge Luke's attempt to take the ball made his heart flutter.

"Hey, Ally!" Rodney waved as he approached, she stopped in the middle of her victory dance to race up to Rodney. The pair embraced before sharing a small kiss. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," She said with a smile.

"I've been meaning to ask how are the plans for Rice Lake going?" Rodney asked, still holding her tight.

Ally looked away for a moment before answering. "We're almost set, just waiting on a couple of people to confirm so I can say for sure how much bedding and towels we will need."

"Who's holding out?" Luke pressed, as he came walking up behind them.

"Don't worry about it," Ally replied, brushing off the question. "I'll have it handled by the end of next week."

"You're the best." Rodney planted a kiss on her cheek, drawing a smile from her.

"I try," she laughed, taking a step back from Rodney.

"Awe aren't you two just the cutest," Luke said, pretending to gag. "Can we please get back to our game? If I wanted to watch people get all couply I would have stayed home and watched reality TV with my mom."

"Well don't you know how to ruin a moment," Rodney said, rolling his eyes.

"Are you that eager to lose to me?" Ally teased, her gaze swiping the ball from under Luke's arm. She dripped it back to the court, making an easy layup before beckoning Luke over. For the rest of the day, the trio played ball and discussed what they were most excited about that summer.

The next day Rodney found himself back in the Middlesex Library, settling on a book about irrigation systems. He heaved it onto the oak table that had become his second home as he prepared for the science fair. Rodney flipped through pages dense with diagrams and text as he tried to figure out how he could apply it to his project.

"Mind if I sit here?" A familiar voice sliced through his concentration, and Rodney glanced up to meet Hunter's hazel eyes.

"I guess," Rodney said, turning back to his book. He tried to find his place, as Hunter set up camp with a sleek laptop.

"Thanks," Hunter said, flashing a grin. "My place is a madhouse tonight."

"Sounds rough?" Rodney said flatly.

"Nah just another dinner party with some people from my dad's firm." Hunter explained not catching Rodney's tone, "The problem is they all end up drinking too much and practically start shouting at each other, which makes it impossible to concentrate."

"That must suck, to have people show up and distract you when you are trying to focus." Rodney gave Hunter a look, before trying yet again to return to his book.

"Right, sorry," Hunter replied, opening his laptop with a soft click.

Silence descended, punctuated only by the occasional shuffle of papers and the soft tapping of keyboards. Rodney couldn't help but steal glances at Hunter, who seemed utterly absorbed in his work. When Hunter was like this, he was almost tolerable.

"Hey, you eat yet?" Hunter's question broke the evening's silence, startling Rodney from his research.

"Uh, no. What time is it?" Rodney blinked as he pressed his phone's power button: six thirty flashed across the screen. "Crap I totally lost track of time." Rodney closed his book and started to gather his things.

"What's the rush? Give me a second to clean up and I'll join you." Hunter closed his laptop with a decisive snap. "It's on me."

Rodney hesitated. Unsure whether to accept the offer and wondering what Hunter was up to. "Alright, sure," he found himself saying as his stomach growled.

As they walked to the nearby diner, Rodney watched as Hunter strolled through the street, he walked with purpose until they reached their destination. Underneath the fluorescents, they settled into their booth and began reading over the menu.

"I'm thinking a chicken salad and water, you?" Hunter asked, handing the menu back to the waitress and looking over to Rodney.

"The bacon western burger and curly fries please," Rodney said, smiling at the waitress. "Oh and a Coke, thank you." The waitress took their menus and disappeared.

"Well that sounds amazing," Hunter said, "have you had it before?"

"Thanks and no I haven't." Rodney shrugged, "You know you could have gotten it too." after the words left his mouth however Rodney could see a defeated look cross Hunter's face.

"Actually I couldn't, I would have to do like a thousand sit-ups after if I did," Hunter said as if it were the law.

Rodney was a little confused by his response. "Why would you have to do that?" he asked innocently.

"Because of the calories, my dad would freak out if he found out," Hunter explained as if this was normal for everyone.

"Well I don't know how she would find out," Rodney said, feeling pity for Hunter. Clearly, his mom was weirdly controlling and for the first time Rodney saw an explanation for Hunter being, well Hunter. "I wouldn't tell anyone." He watched Hunter ease in his chair as he said it.

Their conversation turned to more school-related topics, as the dinner progressed. Rodney still felt weirdly sorry for Hunter, even as Hunter stole a fries or two from his plate.

"Thanks for this," Rodney said, finishing his last bite of his burger.

"It was nothing, really," Hunter smiled, putting his arms behind his head.

"Still, the next one is on me," Rodney said, getting up from his seat. Hunter practically fell out of his chair, eyes wide with surprise.

"Next one?" Hunter asked.

"Yeah, I figure we could keep working on our science fair projects together. Well apart but in the same area... you know what I mean," Rodney stumbled through his thoughts.

"Yeah, that could work," Hunter said, his smile seeming more genuine than his usual smirk.

As Rodney walked away, his mind replayed the night, he wondered why Hunter's dad cared so much about what Hunter ate. Soom Rodney would find out just how many of those get-togethers his father had as his phone buzzed every night that week, each time Rodney would gather his things and meet Hunter at the library. They would work for a few hours before heading to the same diner, Tia's Place. They didn't really get deep into conversation beyond school gossip and current projects but Rodney did find himself enjoying this new routine.

The storm outside raged just like Rodney's feelings about his study sessions with Hunter ending. Rodney stood beside his weather balloon, as he explained how it used wifi signals to send data to the farmers' irrigation systems to ensure crops are watered without wasting. The judges circled like hawks, they analyzed every word he had written and every piece of data he collected—they were impressed as far as Rodney could tell. When they finally announced the winner, Rodney couldn't believe his ears; victory tasted sweet as applause erupted around him.

"Congrats, man," Hunter said, offering a handshake that lingered longer than necessary. "Looks like I will finally have my first second-place ribbon." He laughed.

"Thanks." Rodney grinned, cheeks flushed with triumph and relief. "Honestly if it wasn't for our trips to the library I don't think it would have turned out this well," Rodney admitted.

Neither moved until the announcement that the science fair was over rang out. Rodney released Hunter's hand. "I better clean up."

"Need help?" Hunter asked, "Mine is pretty easy to take down and my parents won't be here to pick me up for a while."

"Sure," Rodney replied, grateful for the assistance but wondering why Hunter always had to find an excuse for being nice.

They worked in tandem, dismantling the display as the storm outside intensified. Thunder rumbled and for a brief moment, the lights flickered.

"Everyone please head to the entrance!" Mr. McAlestor's voice cut through the silence after the lights returned. "It will be pitch black and unsafe in the gym if there is a blackout," The crowd began to file out of the gym as teachers guided them.

"Go ahead," Rodney said to Hunter. "I just need a few more minutes and I can use my cellphone light to get out of here."

The gym slowly emptied out until only Hunter remained, still gathering up Rodney's trifold board. Rodney watched him work, feeling a weird sense of pride for how much Hunter had changed.

"Earth to Rodney," Hunter broke his train of thought, his voice echoing in the empty gym. "I said I would help you, not do it all for you."

"Oh right," Rodney murmured, stealing a glance at Hunter before deflating the balloon. "You know when we first met, I had you pegged as this... spoiled rich kid."

"Ouch," Hunter quipped, placing his hands over his heart.

Rodney chuckled, as he folded up the balloon and placed it in his bag. "I'm just saying I'm sorry for judging you before I really got to know you. You're not half bad."

"Is that an official Rodney Thompson endorsement?" Hunter's voice teased but his eyes seemed to say something different.

The lights chose that moment to plunge them into darkness. A gasp escaped Rodney as he fumbled for his phone's flashlight. Suddenly, warmth brushed against his lips—a touch so unexpected, so gentle, it stole the air from his lungs.

Hunter's kiss was unexpected but at the same time, Rodney didn't push him away. It lingered for a moment as Rodney's thoughts raced—had Hunter thought they were flirting this whole time? Is this how Marcy felt when she kissed that guy at her after-party? And did he just betray Ally in the same way? The was the ought that caused him to pull away.

"Sorry," Hunter whispered, as Rodney pulled away and stayed silent in the darkness. "I don't know what it is but I had to let you know how I feel."

Rodney remained silent, screaming at himself to form a cohesive sentence. He took another step back before almost tripping over his bag.

"Let's just... get this cleaned up," Rodney managed to say, it was all he could think of.

"Right," Hunter agreed, without his usual confidence.

They worked side by side in the dark, without a single word spoken between them. Neither of them knew how to fix what had just happened.