the route and the destination: "what took you so long?”
Each time the door to Room 327 opened, Russell couldn't help but get his hopes up.
When the person entering the room inevitably turned out to not have blond hair and a mischievous smile, his heart cracked a little more.
After seeing Russell's eyes light up with hope before dimming for fifth time, Min murmured apologetically, "I think it's about time for us to begin the meeting."
The brunette sighed. They were already fifteen minutes late; there wasn't going to be a last minute miracle.
Russell felt guilty for giving the quarterback an ultimatum, but he refused to remain in a relationship in which he felt like a dirty little secret.
Well, he supposed it was former relationship now. More than a little bitterness tinged the thought.
"Yeah. I just hoped - yeah. I'll start us off," Russell responded, unable to hide the disappointment in his voice.
He was in the midst of agitatedly grabbing the LGBT pamphlets when the door creaked and the entire room seemed to collectively inhale.
"No fucking way," somebody gasped.
Across from him, Gunnar was saying incredulously, "Really, Russell? You go gay, and the first guy you snag is the school quarterback? You goddamn overachiever. Thank god for all the heterosexual males - and lesbians - that you're gay."
It couldn't be true. There was no way.
You won't know what could be or couldn't be until you look, scolded a voice in his head that sounded a lot like Min.
With bated breath, Russell looked.
"Hey." Kevin's eyes were trained directly on Russell. "Sorry I'm late."
The brunette immediately jumped up, knocking his knee into the desk and causing his pamphlets to flutter to the linoleum in the process.
Ow. Okay, now in physical pain as well as emotional turmoil.
"You came. But I - you - football." Russell could hear the breathlessness in his voice. This situation was giving him flashbacks to the awkwardness of their first meeting.
Note to self: try to sound less like the heroine of that bodice-ripper romance novel mom reads.
Luckily, Kevin didn't seem to notice. "Nolan and Jared aren't happy, but I think Troy and the rest of the team probably won't give us too hard of a time."
The blond shrugged, "Besides, I'm the captain and the quarterback. They can go - suck it."
At this, Terese let out a sudden bark of laughter.
Kevin rubbed his neck sheepishly. Glancing at Russell through his eyelashes, he said in a low voice, "I know I messed up - more than a few times - but I really do care about you. Will you forgive me, Russell?"
Russell waited just long enough for the silence to grow awkward. Then he said neutrally, "You're right, you have been a jerk."
He watched as Kevin's face fell.
"But." And Russell had to hide a grin at how quickly the quarterback's head jerked back up.
He stepped towards the front of the room until he found himself face-to-face with Kevin. Taking Kevin's hand in his own, Russell told him softly, "But. You can be really sweet sometimes too. And then I get right back where I started."
Before he could over-think things, he pulled Kevin into a kiss to a background accompaniment of catcalling and applause.
"I am liking this club already!"
"Blatant infidelity! In front of our baby Eliza, how could you, Russell?"
That last one originated from Gunnar, of course. Without opening his eyes, Russell flipped a middle finger in the general direction of his best friend.
Ages or seconds later, Russell realized that he did have to start the club introduction at some point and reluctantly pulled away from the kiss.
Cheeks flushed, lips reddened, and still clasping hands with his boyfriend - that was how Russell Middlebrook began the first meeting of Goodkind High School's newly established Gay-Straight Alliance.
