It's Too Cliché...Right? Ch. 04

"Oh puh-lease, I'll pro Genji your ass so hard," Sam snarled.

"You're a one trick pony," Tim shot back. "Even if your team is losing, you refuse to switch off Genji."

"Because Genji is the new meta."

I looked over at Brian who was shaking his head smiling. "Do we know them?" I asked.

"Nope, I don't think so," he said. "Because everyone knows Mei is bae."

"No, that's where you're wrong. D.va for the win," I countered.

"Oh, my god, will you all stop with all the Overwatch," Melissa cried out. "For your information, not everyone here plays that game. It's not even that good."

We all gasped. "How dare you?" Sam cried out, pointing an accusatory finger at Melissa. "Heretic!"

Melissa rolled her eyes. "Are you sure you guys are popular? I think you're just geeks in popular clothes."

"Yes. Yes, we are," I said. "Proud of it too."

"I'm surrounded by morons," she said, pushing past us towards the school exit, us laughing behind her. For a Monday, we were in pretty good spirits, although it was probably because school was over. We were almost out the door when I heard a familiar voice shouting my name.

"Brad!" Mitch's voice came from behind.

We all turned, seeing Mitch running down the hall, his branded sling bag bouncing against his side. "What's up?" I asked.

"You need to come with me," he said, turning around before I even replied.

"Wait what?" I asked.

"Just follow me. You need to see this," he called back. I raised an eyebrow, looking to the other four around me. They all returned confused looks, so I just shrugged and followed Mitch, although at my normal pace. Apparently, this wasn't satisfactory to Mitch, who repeatedly sped up before stopping and impatiently waiting for us to catch up.

"Oh, my god. Move. Your. Asses. People," he said, clapping his hands between each word.

"What's so important anyway?" Melissa asked, irritation bubbling towards her brother.

"I swear, you'll regret it if you miss this," Mitch continued, completely ignoring his sister.

I rolled my eyes but quickened my pace nonetheless. I would admit that I was actually a little bit curious. I mean, Mitch was practically bouncing. As we followed him, I realized that we were heading towards the gym, or more specifically, the school pool.

"Has this got something to do with Jake?" I asked.

"Not really, but I guess it may in a way," Mitch replied.

Finally, stepping through the doors of the pool I see Jake standing by the side, staring out at the pool.

"Found him," Mitch announced to Jake, who turned to us only briefly before returning his eyes to the pool. I followed his gaze and saw someone shooting through the water, water splashing as he swam with surprising speed. The guy looked relatively well built, although I couldn't really tell with all the water, but I assumed Jake was more interested in the guy's swimming ability because damn that guy could swim. With that, though, I soon lost interest in the unknown swimmer, turning to Mitch.

"So, what's so important?" I asked.

"Him," Jake replied on his behalf, motioning to the swimmer with his head.

"What about him?" Brian asked.

"Take a good look," Jake said. I furrowed my eyebrows but did as he asked, turning back to the swimmer, watching the guy reach the end of the pool before ending his lap.

My eyes went wide with surprise when the guy stood, his upper body just above the surface of the water. I was wrong when I said that the guy was relatively well built because the pecs and abs that were attached to that body was anything but average, their definition alone indicating that the owner was definitely an active person. However, it wasn't the body that caught my eye, but the face attached to said body.

Evan's hair fell over his face before he brought a hand up to sweep them out of his eyes, which only brought my attention to his arms. Thick muscles lined both his biceps and triceps, his deltoids looking oh so ripped as water trailed down his smooth skin.

For a second, I wondered if I had been mistaken, and that this person wasn't Evan Trevorrow. But then again, the Evan Trevorrow I knew wore loose clothes almost all the time, which would have hidden all the goods underneath. Goods that I noticed were anything but average. The dude was cut, definitely giving Brian a run for his money.

"Is that..." Sam muttered trailing off.

"Evan," Jake said, a smirk curling onto his lips.

"Holy shit," Sam said. "I shouldn't ogle, but I'm embarrassed to say I can't help it."

"I'm not," Jake added, which pulled me from my trance as I shot a growl in his direction. "Relax, I'm not going after your boo," he said, not even looking in my direction.

I looked around the pool and noticed that we weren't the only ones present, and almost everyone was also staring at Evan. Jealousy rose in me, which I hated because I knew I didn't have a right to be jealous. I felt inclined to glare at every single person, but instead turned back to Evan. It seems I wasn't the only one who noticed the stares because I saw him dart his head around, only realizing that he was the new attraction in the pool.

The smallest of blushes painted his cheeks, before he turned to the pool wall, placed both hands on the ledge and hoisted himself out of the water. I swear, that one second happened in slow motion for me.

The muscles across his back flexed as he exerted, twisting as muscle groups stretched while others contracted. Slowly, his body exited the water, revealing more and more of his tantalizing form. My eyes caught the dimples at the base of his back as his waist broke through the surface of the water. Black swim trunks hung low on his hips, encasing a very nice ass, round and looking so...oomph. I groaned as my hormones went into overdrive.

As one leg came up onto the ledge, thick thigh muscles pushed his body upwards and out of the pool, water dripping off his skin in rivulets. In profile, I couldn't help it when my eyes subconsciously drifted towards his crotch, seeing a pretty impressive package in the confines of his skin-tight trunks, accentuating everything in the most delicious way.

A cough broke me from my thoughts, a blush forming on my cheeks at the thought that I had just been caught eye raping the dude. From the corner of my eye, I saw Brian smirking at me, knowing all too well what had just been going through my mind. I ignored him, keeping my eyes on Evan, who had his head down as he made his way towards the locker room, which would have taken him right past where we were standing.

As he approached, I felt the urge to reach out and grab his hand, just to see if he was real, or if this was some weird dream that I was having. Jake immediately put an end to that fantasy when he stepped forward to block Evan's way, a smirk on his lips.

The ugly monster of jealousy came rushing forth and I quickly made my way over to Jake, ready to pull him away and keeping him from even stepping within a yard of Evan. I wasn't fast enough, though, Jake already talking when I reached him.

"Dude, where have you been hiding my whole life?" he started.

"Huh?" Evan asked, confused.

"Man, I want you—" I heard Jake say as I reached the two of them.

"No!" I shouted, feeling betrayed by Jake. He said he wasn't going to go after Evan, and yet here he was openly chasing after the guy.

"—on the swim team," Jake finished the sentence that I had interrupted. It took my brain a few seconds to comprehend what I had just heard. Jake wasn't after Evan in the same way that I had imagined. Definitely not in the same way that I was after him myself.

"No?" Evan questioned, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, Brad, why can't he join the swim team?" Jake asked. I could see him controlling the laugh that wanted to come out, the corners of his lips twitching as he fought the urge to burst out cackling. I blushed, knowing that I had no way out of this.

"It's not your kind of scene," I said, riding on the notion that I was against Evan joining the swim team and not that I didn't want him going out with Jake.

"Excuse me?" Evan said, a slightly offended look on his expression. "Isn't that for me to decide?"

"Yes, Brad. Isn't it his decision?" Jake poked. I wanted to slap him right there, especially with that smug look on his face.

"No...I mean, yes. It's just..." I stuttered, trying my hardest to recover from that horrible...whatever that was. "I'm just gonna shut up now."

I took a few steps back to rejoin my group of friends who were snickering at my expense. Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, go ahead and laugh at my misery. And to think I was doing so well with Evan. Two meetings where I didn't make a fool of myself, and then throw Jake in the picture and I immediately screw up.

"So, as I was saying," Jake continued. "Want to join the swim team? We need a good freestyler and from what I've seen in the pool, you're probably the fastest guy in this school."

"As much as I would like to," Evan replied, turning a momentary frown in my direction. "I've got to decline. I'm not big on sports teams."

"That's a shame, but hey I'm not gonna force you. It's your decision after all," Jake said. In a way, I felt like he was jabbing that at me, telling me that my earlier outburst was definitely not cool.

"Thanks," Evan said before nervously glancing around at all the eyes on him. "So, I'm just gonna go."

Jake smiled and took a step to the left, allowing Evan to continue on to the locker rooms. As I watched him depart, I groaned as I peeked one more time at his butt in his tight swimwear. Of course he had a great ass, why would he not? Just add it to the list of why I was enamored with Evan.

"He hates me now. If he didn't before, he most definitely hates me now," I groaned as Evan disappeared past the locker room door.

"Meh. Angry maybe, but hate?" Sam said.

At this, I turned a glare to Jake. "It's all your fault," I hissed.

"My fault?" Jake said, although the smirk on his face told me that he was anything but innocent.

"You knew I was going to freak out like that, and yet you antagonized me."

"Maybe I did," Jake shrugged. "But I've got to say, man, it's the first time I've ever seen you jealous, about anyone."

"Yeah man, you looked ready to kill Jake," Brian added.

"If I wasn't dying of embarrassment, I would have," I growled. "And what's with you asking him to join the swim team?"

"What? I really do need a good freestyler," Jake defended. "And judging by the eyes on him just now, I'm pretty sure the swim team could use more eye candy like that."

"Shut up. I don't want people ogling at..." I stopped myself.

"What's yours?" Melissa finished, making me blush a deep red as she read my mind.

"But can we all just take a minute to comprehend that that was Evan Trevorrow?" Sam asked. "I mean, I knew he gotten big, but damn that boy is fine."

"Please, everyone just stop," I cried, running my hand down my face in annoyance.

"We know you liked it too. Couldn't keep your eyes off of him," Brian teased, bumping shoulders with me.

"Told you you would regret it if you missed it," Mitch scoffed.

"Fuck, I'm such an idiot. I was doing so well. We had meetings, I didn't make a fool of myself, and what did I do? I made a fool of myself," I cried, dropping down onto the bleachers next to the pool.

"You know, you could probably go in there now and catch a glimpse of something...down south, seeing as how you've doomed yourself anyway," Jake said, dropping down next to me.

"I'm not a pervert, Jake," I spat. "Besides, I'm not talking to you right now."

"You have a meeting with him tomorrow. Maybe you could explain then?" Melissa tried. It was true, I had a meeting with him the next day, but that would mean that he would let his anger fester overnight if he felt any anger that is. Wait, what am I saying? Of course he's angry. I basically tried to tell him what he could and couldn't do with his life. No, if I had to talk to him, it had to be today.

"No, I'll talk to him now," I said, huffing a breath of confidence. I stood up, strutting over towards the locker room doors.

"He totally wants to see Evan naked," Jake said, loud enough for me to hear, but I was on a mission and I ignored him.

Stepping through the doors, humid air brushed against my skin, the sound of showers going on in the background. I made my way over to the rows of lockers, walking by each one and peering down the lane, searching for the crush-worthy boy. I tried keeping my gaze directed upwards, though, not wanting to catch Evan in his naked glory. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to see him, but I needed my brain to be functioning for this.

I peeked into the first lane, seeing it empty and heading to the next. In the second lane, my gaze was met by a pair of blue eyes.

"Hey handsome," Jason remarked, leaning coolly against the locker, water dripping down his tanned body before disappearing into the towel around his waist. Jason was by no means a small guy, but he definitely didn't hold a candle to Evan, even before I knew about his physique. "Looking for me?" he winked.

"Uh...no, Jason," I said, about to continue on when I felt his hand on my arm.

"Oh, come on. We haven't had sex in like what...four months?" he said. Four and a half, but who's counting. Maybe it's because you're kind of a slut?

"Yeah, I just...try not to hook up with guys from school anymore," I said politely. He didn't need to know I wasn't hooking up, period.

"Oh? Guys in school not doing it for you anymore?" Jason asked.

"Uh...something like that."

"I know what you mean," he said dreamily, before snapping back to reality. "But you know, if you ever need a quick lay—"

"I'll be sure to look you up," I said, smiling and walking away. Once out of sight, I rolled my eyes and shook my head. That guy needed a good boyfriend to tie him down. Jason was a nice guy but was notorious for sleeping around. Unlike Jake, where people approach for sex, Jason was on the other end of the spectrum, always offering sex to anything that walked. Something tells me the guy has a case of satyriasis.

Looking into the third lane, I found it also empty. With only one more to go, I knew that if Evan wasn't there, he was probably in the showers, and I was for sure not going to be looking for him in there. I peered into the last lane, already half expecting to see it empty too, like how my unclichéd life would work. To my surprise, there Evan stood in all his glory. Oh no, don't get me wrong, he wasn't naked, a towel rolled tightly around his waist, but still, he was a sight to behold.

"Hey," I called, walking over to him. My greeting caught his attention, bringing his head up to me, only to realize who I was and furrowing his eyebrow.

"Oh, it's you," he said, a little agitation in his voice. Evan had been nothing but sweet to me so far and the anger in his tone took me back a little. Granted, I deserved it all but it was a surprise to hear Evan had the capacity for anger.

"Yeah, it's me. Little old stupid me," I sighed. Evan raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing else. Instead, he crossed his beefy arms over his equally massive chest and turned to face me, leaning against the locker. I clenched my fist, resisting the urge to jump the guy right there.

Taking a deep breath, I spoke again, "Look, about what happened out there, I'm sorry." Evan raised an eyebrow at me but still remained silent. A part of me wanted him to just say something because it felt like my heart was in my throat and I was going to throw up at any time. "I was just being an idiot and...well, basically I'm a fucking idiot."

Evan stared at me for a moment, his brow relaxing just a tiny bit, tilting his head to the side as if contemplating me. "I don't get you, Pearson," he said.

"Trust me, I don't get me either," I replied.

"So, care to explain what that was all about out there?" he asked.

"Not really," I said, to which Evan rolled his eyes, pushing off the locker and about to turn away. "Wait," I called out, stopping him. He turned his gaze back to me, waiting for me to explain. I wondered what I was going to say. Seeing that I had no intention of even stopping him from joining the swim team, I couldn't think of a single excuse to rationalize that, if I had gone with that plot line.

Then again, I could simply tell him the truth that I had thought that Jake was hitting on him, which would only make him suspect that I had a crush on him, and while true, not something I wanted him to know just yet. So, I settled with something in between.

"I thought Jake was going to ask you out, and uh...I mean, we've hung out a few times...okay maybe not hung out, hung out but...he was just curious to know if he had a chance that's all," I finished.

Evan stared at me, an eyebrow seemingly perpetually raised whenever he talked to me. For a second, I wondered if he didn't buy what I was selling, because quite honestly even I wouldn't have believed me. Jake was never one to care about things like this, and almost everyone in school knew this.

"Well, you tell him I'm not sleeping with him," Evan finally said. A part of me was relieved that he had believed my crap of a lie, but a part of me was caught between disappointed and hopeful. Did he mean he wasn't going to sleep with Jake because he wasn't interested in him, and by extension possibly interested in me, or that he wasn't interested in men in general? This question ran through my head momentarily before Evan immediately answered it for me.

I wished this was the part where I say that he leaned forward and kissed me, but you should already know by now that this story isn't like that. No, it didn't go as smoothly as that.

"I'm not gay," he had said.

To say that I was a little bit disappointed was an understatement. No, it felt more like my hope was crushed under a hundred-ton brick, only to have the remains run over by a semi-truck, not once but multiple times. Of course, I couldn't show this to Evan.

"No, of course you're not. I never thought that you were," I laughed, although inside I was wailing in agony. "Jake just wanted to be sure, you know."

"Yeah, I get it," he smiled. It was at this point that I wondered what I was going to do. I mean, Evan and I still had the project to complete and he seemed like a nice guy. Do I try to stay friends with him, which would only cause me more pain in the future, or avoid him now, knowing that he wasn't anywhere near interested in me that way?

"So, I'm not actually invited to join the swim team?" Evan asked, breaking me from my thoughts.

"What?" I asked, still unable to process what he was saying with the number of things buzzing in my head.

"You said Jake just wanted to know if I was interested in him. Does that mean that the swim team invitation was just a ruse?"

"Oh, no I don't think so," I replied, even though I knew it was definitely not. "You were pretty fast out there. I'm sure he's just being swim captain is all."

"Not going to try and stop me from joining?" he smirked, a smile curling onto one side of his lips.

"Right, like I said, I didn't mean to...you know. It's your life, do as you please," I said.

"Yeah well, I'll still have to think about it. I like swimming and all, but I'm not into the whole competitive thing," he replied.

"I've never seen you swim in school before?" I asked, genuinely curious as to why Evan chose now to have a swim in school.

"Oh, yeah I usually swim at home, but my pool is getting cleaned so I decided to have a quick lap here," he said.

"Yeah, you were quick alright," I laughed, making Evan blush a deep red. "You should, though," I found myself saying.

"Should what?"

"Join the swim team. You're good," I said.

"Thanks," he muttered, the blush growing deeper on his cheeks. "So, um...I'm just gonna go shower."