6WARNING: This story contains same-sex kissing! If you don't like that sort of thing, go read something else; I have plenty of stuff without it.
* * * * * READ ON * * * * *With Friends Like These?It was warm. It was always warm these days. Jenna's school-skirt stuck to her legs, making her itch. Even here in the shade it felt too warm. She toyed with the idea of dunking her head in a bucket of water, but she knew the teachers wouldn't approve.
Quinn, of course, seemed cool and suave in his uniform, even though his was probably cooking him too. It made him look older, more responsible, less human, somehow, just a handsome image. Man-size in marble. She wondered where she'd heard that phrase.
With a start she realized he was watching her watching him. "What?" she said automatically.
"Would you like it if I kissed you?" he asked, as if he'd been considering it for a while now.
She gaped at him. "What?" she said again.
"If I kissed you," he repeated. "Would you like that? Because I wouldn't do it if you didn't want me to."
"Why?"
"Well, there'd be no point."
She shook her head, "No, I mean, why do you ask?"
He shrugged. "You're a girl. Girls like kissing, or so I thought. And how long have we been friends now? You must like me a little, or you'd have told me off ages ago," he joked.
She stared at him. She had always thought Quinn was a safe one, a boy who wouldn't try to kiss her or stick his hand in her school-blouse. She'd thought that he, at least, was just a friend.
He smiled faintly. "You're looking at me as if I'd sprouted horns. Don't be silly, I was just asking. If you don't want me to I won't try. In fact, let's forget I ever said anything. It's just that Alex was ragging me about never having kissed a girl, and I thought if I was going to do it, I'd rather it was you. At least then I'd know the girl wouldn't turn into a complete idiot afterwards."
Jenna blinked. "Oh," she said.
And they let it go.
"About yesterday," Jenna began when she found Quinn sprawled under a lilac tree in the garden. "Yes."
He looked up at her, closing his book over one finger. "Yes what? Yes, you agree the meals here are prepared by satanic Nazis? Or yes, you think Shannon stuffs her bra?"
"About the kissing," Jenna clarified, turning pink.
Quinn looked surprised. "Oh? Are you sure?" She nodded, feeling very stupid. He put away his book and stood up. "Well, I guess we should go find somewhere a bit less public, then."
She followed him around the back of the school, and into the copse of trees on the oval. It was where everyone went to smoke, or do anything they didn't want to get busted over, and for some reason the teachers had never caught on.
Quinn looked at Jenna, and she looked right back at him. She couldn't help but notice how extremely tall he was, and how big his hands were.
"I can't kiss you if you're all the way over there," he said, smiling slightly. She walked over to him, and tried not to look nervous. "I'm not going to bite you," he teased. "At least, not unless I get carried away."
"Don't get carried away," she told him firmly. He chuckled.
"I'll try," he promised, taking her face in both his hands, and bending down to press his lips against hers for a few heart-stopping seconds.
He pulled away looking thoughtful. "Hmmm," he said.
"Hmmm? What does that mean?" she asked, confused.
"It means I'm not sure," he said, looking rather solemn. "Should I try it again?"
"If you like," she said weakly.
This time he closed his eyes, and opened his mouth. She could feel moisture on his lips, and smell the clean-salt sweatiness rising from his skin.
And then he broke away again, frowning slightly.
"No," he said, sounding disappointed. "Nothing. How about you?"
"Oh, nothing," she agreed, feeling weird.
"Well, so much for that. At least now I can shut Alex up."
"You're not going to tell him, are you?"
"Of course I am," he said with a smile. "But don't worry, I won't say it was you. 'Course, he won't believe me anyway, so it really doesn't matter."
"Oh, alright." She bit her lip, and tried to think of something to say.
"So, did you finish that paper?" he asked, as if nothing had happened. "I'm still stuck on the conclusion. Read it through for me and tell me which bits don't make any sense?"
"Sure," she said, wondering whether she'd just done something really stupid. "What are friends for?"
"I hear Emily's amping to get in your pants," Alex teased. Quinn rolled his eyes and took a drag of his cigarette.
"Emily is a complete slut. I wouldn't touch her if you paid me."
"Probably catch something," Alex agreed. "But then, you'd be too scared to touch her even if she was clean."
"Even if she was, she's still annoying as hell. And for your information, I'm not scared. In fact, I kissed someone just yesterday."
Alex choked, and coughed up a lungful of smoke. "No way! You didn't!" he managed.
"Sure I did," Quinn told him, grinning at the reaction, which was pretty much what he'd expected.
"Yeah, right!" Alex scoffed. Then he glanced at Quinn out of the corner of his eye. "Did you?"
"I'm not telling you again."
"Who was it?"
Quinn shook his head. "Can't say. You'd make fun and she'd die of embarrassment."
"It was Jenna, wasn't it?" Alex guessed with far too much accuracy for Quinn's liking.
"Seriously," Quinn bluffed, "can you see Jenna letting anyone kiss her? Even someone as hot as me?"
Alex grinned. "No, I guess not." He took a drag, and blew a perfect smoke-ring. "So, how was it?"
"Eh," Quinn said, crushing his cigarette butt with the heel of his school-shoe. "Nothing special."
"You didn't like it?"
"Not particularly. And I don't know why not, she's pretty, and I like her okay. I guess she's just not my type." Quinn privately thought that Jenna was the cutest girl in school, but really, they were just friends. No more, no less.
"Maybe you don't like girls after all. Maybe you'd rather kiss guys." Alex grinned.
Quinn gave him a look. "Yeah, whatever you reckon."
"What? It might be true. You should give it a shot." Alex was grinning like a maniac, which made Quinn rather suspicious. It would be just like Alex to be taping this conversation so he could cut it up on his computer and make it sound like Quinn had said he liked kissing guys, and then mail the mp3 to everyone at school.
"Well, put it this way. You're my best friend, so if I was going to try kissing any guy, it would be you. So I'm not even going to ask."
"Why not?" Alex batted his eyelashes like a drag queen. "Don't you think I'm a hottie?"
"Yeah, you're a hottie," Quinn told him in a bored voice, "but you'd never agree, so it's stupid talking about it."
"You don't know that," Alex retorted. "I might say yes."
"You're taping this conversation, aren't you?" Quinn demanded suspiciously.
"Nope. Scout's honour."
"You're not a scout," Quinn pointed out. Alex shrugged. "Fine," Quinn gave in. "Alex, will you, for the sake of experiment and to determine if I am into guys rather than girls, kiss me?"
"Yes," Alex said, far too quickly.
Quinn blinked at him. "What? Are you stoned?"
Alex shook his head. "Nope. I'm just proving a point, that you're a great big fag."
"Ri-ight. You know, people might think you were also a great big fag, if they caught us."
Alex grinned. "Then make it quick, cake-boy."
Quinn looked at him for a long moment. Alex was his friend. Funnily enough he felt as weird about kissing Alex as he had about kissing Jenna. And no more. Which made him wonder.
He made up his mind and stood up. "Fine. Come over here."
Alex stood up too and came over, grinning like an idiot.
"Stop that," Quinn said crossly, "you're putting me off."
"I can't help it, you look so serious."
"This is serious. Now, hold still." Quinn grabbed Alex by the shoulders and looked at him hard. Alex's grin faded.
"What?" he asked.
"I'm preparing," Quinn said quietly. "Just, try not to drool on me."
And he leaned forward to press his mouth against Alex's, exactly the same way he had with Jenna. It was different, possibly because Alex was a boy, possibly because they were almost the same height, possibly just because it was Alex, the total idiot, his best friend. It was ... nice, somehow. He hadn't expected Alex's mouth to be so soft.
He pulled back a little, and studied Alex's face. Alex swallowed. "Well?" he asked in a near whisper.
"I'm not sure," Quinn murmured.
"Maybe you should try again," Alex suggested, not smiling now. Quinn nodded, and kissed him again.
This time there was no mistaking it. The kiss was warm and soft, and before he knew it Quinn's tongue was in Alex's mouth and Alex's hand was in the hollow of Quinn's back, pulling him close. Quinn thought he was going to faint, and he clung to Alex for support, leaning into him.
Then it was over, and they broke apart, fighting for breath.
"Fag," Alex gasped, his mouth bruised and his cheeks full of colour.
"Other fag," Quinn panted, feeling dizzy. Alex smirked, still breathing hard.
"Yeah, what's your point?"
Quinn stared at him. "This was a set-up, wasn't it?"
Alex just grinned. "You complaining?" Quinn shook his head. "Well, at least now you know you like boys more than girls."
"No," Quinn said solemnly. Alex blinked.
"No?"
"I'm still not completely sure," Quinn deadpanned.
"Oh," Alex said, his smile returning. "Maybe you should try again then."
"Maybe I should," Quinn agreed, reaching for Alex's shirt-collar. "You wanna help me out with that?"
"Sure," Alex grinned. "What are friends for?"
* * * * * THE END * * * * *
Hmmm, not sure what I think of this. Feedback anyone? I realised after I wrote it that even though I have a very strong sense of what all the characters look like I put in absolutely no descriptions of them at all! Lisa wrote this: See? I told you it was her fault. I feel like turning this into a short bishounen manga. What do you think? ~ jing
"For a slash-reader you never write any. Gimme some danger, with cute bishies and fluffiness, and I want you to use the word 'tongue' at least once. But make it original; I don't want any of that Jin/Hwoarang slash you keep threatening!"