JC smiled and kissed Justin again. "Do you really want to go to school today?"
Justin laughed. "Are you kidding me? Of course I don't want to go. But I have to."
"Have to? No you don't. I'm not going to make you."
"Are you going to go?" Justin asked JC.
"Are you?"
Justin sighed. JC turned off the shower and climbed out to grab towels as Justin said, softly, "I don't ever want to go back, JC."
JC wrapped a towel around his waist and turned to face Justin, who still stood in the shower, dripping wet and looking defeated. "Why don't you want to go back, J?"
Justin sighed again, this one more piteous than the last. "They won't even talk to me, Josh. Lance told them all what happened between you and me and now my entire team pretends like I don't exist." JC nodded and handed Justin a towel. It was big and fluffy, and Justin wrapped himself up in it, suddenly looking very young. He continued, "I used to be a star, Josh, they all used to want to be my friend. All I had to do was smile and everything was right. But now, because of us, it's all gone."
"Us?" JC asked.
"This. You. Me. The party. Last night. All of this. Us."
"Us." JC looked at Justin, who looked ready to cry. Basketball players don't cry. "I like the sound of 'us', Justin," JC said softly, his fingers on Justin's lips, brushing away the pout. Justin looked up, and JC wrapped him in his arms. "We can be 'us' if you want to, J. Do you want to be 'us'?"
With his head on JC's damp shoulder, Justin whispered, "Yes."
"Me too, Justin," JC echoed, and Justin finally smiled.
"Hey," JC said suddenly, "I just remembered! There was a note in your pocket. Of your jeans. What did it say?"
Justin shook his head. "I don't know," he said, "I didn't read it. I figured it was more of the same crap. 'Go fuck your new boyfriend' or some such thing. Should I read it, ya think?"
"Aren't you curious?"
"Kinda. Yeah. OK, I'ma go read it."
JC smiled. "That, or we should get ready for school. We're already late..." he finished, not all that convincingly.
"Screw school. Kids like us don't need school," Justin pouted.
JC smiled again at Justin's insolence. "Yeah, but what about the basketball team?"
"Fuck them, I don't need their shit. Let's go read that note."
JC shook his head. "You go. I'll call attendance at your school and say you're not coming, then you can call for me."
"Good deal," Justin said. JC gave him a quick kiss, and suddenly Justin's face was all smiles again. JC was halfway out the bathroom door, but Justin stopped him. "Hey, Josh?"
"Yeah?"
"I..." Justin started, then stopped.
"What, J?'
"I... You... Nevermind." Justin turned away from JC, unable to say what he wanted to.
"OK," JC said with a soft smile. He blew Justin a kiss, then shut the door.
"I love you," Justin whispered towards where JC had been.
"I love 'us'."