#soft verse

JJ knew that wasn't true. At least not totally. There was an obvious attraction between him and Edgar. He could tell from the way Edgar called him pet names in a tone that was far too flirty to just be Southern charm. Or the way his eyes lingered on JJ when they spoke. Or the way he blushed all the way to the tips of his ears, when JJ picked fights with him during class. That had to mean something. Didn't it?

"I've changed my mind," he announced, "I'm not asking him out. I'll just be alone forever and whither away as he gets a husband and a really cute dog or something. And then I'll die."

"Dramatic," Kie said.

"No, you got this!" John B exclaimed, turning around to face him. "You've been talking about doing it all week, you can't back out now. You already stole that flower from Mrs. Reynolds." JJ glanced down at the orange and purple lily in his hand. He'd picked it because it reminded him of a night he'd shared with Edgar a few weeks ago.

They'd been sitting outside of the church, because JJ was done fixing the wobbly podium and Edgar was done his homework, and neither of them wanted to go home. They sat there, talking about nothing as the sun set. Edgar was hypnotized by the changing colors of the sky, and JJ was hypnotized by the way they reflected off of his skin.

John B continued, pulling him back to the present. "It doesn't take a genius to see that he likes you. There's no way he'll say no."

JJ nodded, biting the inside of his cheek. He could do this. What was the worst that could happen?

+

It was time. The longest time between classes of the day was happening – the bell between second and third period – and Edgar was at his locker.

JJ's hands were sweating so bad that they felt sticky. Nevertheless, he walked towards him.

Edgar glanced over as he stopped beside him. An easy smile took over his face and JJ's heart started breakdancing. "Hiya, JJ," he said, voice warm. He glanced down at the lily. "What's 'at?"

JJ cleared his throat. "It's for you."

"For me?" His suprise was written on his face, with the cute little wrinkle between his eyebrows. He took it from JJ's outstretched hand, tilting his head up at him in confusion. "Why?"

Oh, fuck, now he actually had to do it. "I have, uh, something to ask you." Edgar nodded. "Would you, um, would you, like.. wanna go out with me? Sometime?"

There was a long moment, where Edgar looked at him, the lily, and the people around them.

JJ squirmed, turning his thumb ring around and around and around, as he waited for a response. He glanced over his shoulder, meeting John B and Pope's eyes. Pope sent him a questioning look and John B gave him two thumbs up.

As he turned back to face Edgar, he met eyes with a few guys from the football team, who were watching with rapt attention. A few of them were snickering, amused by the situation. He bit the inside of his cheek.

Finally, Edgar said, "That's not funny." His voice was cold and hard, like the statues inside of a museum.

Oh no. "I'm not tr–"

Edgar handed him back the flower. "'M not gonna let you make fun a me. Definitely not wit' the same joke as Tommy freakin' Walsh."

Oh fuck. Last year, Tommy Walsh had asked Edgar out in front of everyone, dated him "as a joke" for a month and a half, then dumped him in front of everyone.

"Eds, I'm n–"

He kept his head high, but his voice wobbled as he said, "Thought you were better 'an that, JJ."

Then he turned on his heel and walked down the hallway.

JJ stared down at the lily. "What the fuck just happened?"

+

Edgar wasn't in any of the places JJ thought he'd be. It was their lunch period, and he wasn't in the cafeteria. So, he checked the bathroom closest to the gym that no one used because the lock got stuck if you didn't wiggle it right, and he wasn't there. There was only so many places he could be. He didn't have that many hiding spots.

"JJ? Why aren't you in the cafeteria?"

He glanced over and was face to face with Schmitty walking towards him. "Looking for Edgar. You seen him?" He came to a realization. "Is he eating in your room?"

Schmitty crossed his arms over his chest. "Where he is shouldn't concern you. You should be focused on where you're supposed to be, which is the cafeteria."

"I need to talk to him. It's kinda urgent." He needed to clear the situation up as soon as he could. Edgar could reject him all he wanted, but he had to know that JJ was being sincere. If he still didn't want him after that, then so be it, but he couldn't just sit back and let him think JJ didn't actually like him.

Schmitty's expression softened. "Is this about that nasty rumor I heard about you guys? Something that happened this morning?"

"Yeah. I, uh, asked him out and he got the wrong idea. He thought I was making fun of him."

Schmitty frowned. "Why would he think that?" JJ sent him a knowing look. He definitely knew about the Tommy Walsh ordeal because he had Tommy in his class last year, and he was telling anyone who would listen about his so called prank. "Right. Were you?"

JJ scoffed so hard that it hurt a little. "No! I would never do that. You can think I'm the worst guy alive, but I'd never hurt Edgar."

He didn't know how to explain it, but he had an incredibly intense need to protect him. To shield him from the bad things of the world. He wanted to keep him safe. And also kiss the shit out of him.

Schmitty sent him a thoughtful look, then, quietly said, "He's in the library."

+

He was sitting in the middle of a pair of bookshelves, cradling a Stephen King book, squinting at the pages.

"What ya reading?" JJ asked, tapping his foot against his knee.

Without looking up, he replied, "Misery." He averted his eyes from the page, and he glared when he saw who he was speaking to. "Go away. I ain't speaking to you."

JJ sat beside him, sitting closer than what was probably necessary.

"But I need to talk to you. You ran away before I could explain myself."

Eyes back on the book, he grumbled. "You don't need t'splain yourself. I don't wanna talk to you."

JJ snatched the book from his hands, dog-earing the page, and shoving it in his backpack – right next to the wilted lily.

"I was readin' that, you cretin."

JJ snorted. "Not without your glasses. You're blind as shit."

He huffed but didn't argue.

"You gonna let me talk now?"

Crossing his arms over his chest, he grumbled, "If you must."

JJ laughed. Even when he was being a stubborn jerk, he was so goddamn cute. "Okay, well, for starters, I wasn't making fun of you. I wasn't joking. I was being serious. I want to date you and kiss you and shit."

Edgar rolled his eyes. "Oh, how romantic. I'm swoonin'."

JJ swatted his shoulder, earning a kick to the knee. "I mean it. You're, like, my dream boy or something corny like that. I like you. I like that you pretend that you don't need glasses when we both know you can't see shit. You probably can't even see me right now. I like that you're smart as hell and you don't hide it, even though people are dicks to you about it. I like your smile, and your eyes, and, like, your whole face honestly. And that you're the nicest person in all of Kildare, while also being stubborn as fuck."

As he spoke, Edgar's face went through many expressions. Annoyance, surprise, awe. Now he was looking at JJ with the softest expression that everyone had ever given him. His eyes shone and his cheeks flushed as he smiled shyly.

"Okay," he said, quietly.

JJ wrinkled his nose. "Okay, what?"

He laughed. "Okay, I'll go out with you, dumb dumb."

JJ's brain flooded with endorphins, or endolphins, or whatever the fuck they were called. "Really?" He nodded, smile widening. "Yes!"

His outburst got him shushed by five different people. "Okay, cool, cool, cool. Awesome. Um-" The bell rang, signaling the end of their lunch period.

"I'll meet ya at your locker, and we'll talk 'bout it then, sugar plum," Edgar smiled, obviously amused by his babbling, "Go 'fore you're late."

JJ nodded, stumbling to his feet. "Okay. Yeah, uh, I'll see you then."

Edgar stood as well. "Bye, Jay."

"Bye." JJ almost tripped over his own feet, not wanting to look away as he left.

Edgar laughed. "Turn 'round 'fore ya fall."

JJ wasn't into older guys, but he could have kissed him.

Now, he had an excuse to be around Edgar for two whole weeks, and hopefully that was enough time to work up the nerve to ask him out.

+

"Okay, picture this: Romeo and Juliet but one of them is Siri and the other is Alexa."

JJ was nothing if not dedicated to his favorite pastime of getting on Edgar's nerves.

"Now you're just sayin' things that you know are annoyin'," he grumbled, looking up from his notebook. There was a Twizzler hanging from his lips and it shouldn't have been as hot as it was.

They were in Edgar's bedroom, sitting in his bed with a bunch of snacks JJ had pilfered from Heyward and their school shit. It felt dangerous. He half expected Edgar's mom to run in the room at any moment to make sure he wasn't defiling her son.

But she was at work and the rest of Edgar's family was at the church, so it was just the two of them, alone in his room.

Grabbing a handful of M&Ms, he shoved them into his mouth. "I'm just trying to be creative," he argued, around a mouthful of chocolate.

Edgar grimaced. "I've met toddlers wit better table manners 'an you." JJ snorted, then almost choked. "And I ain't got a problem wit creativity. But you haveta take this serious. You may not care about your grades but I care about mine, and I wanna do well."

"Okay, okay. I'll be serious," he said with a nod. Edgar didn't look impressed. "Just for you. I'll be the most serious guy you've ever met."

Edgar took another bite of his Twizzler. "Whatever you say." He paused as he chewed, thinking face on. There was a cute little pout on his lips that JJ wanted to kiss away. He shifted, moving closer so their knees touched. "I think havin' em be gay would be fun, but that might be–"

"Low hanging fruit? Get it?"

Edgar threw the end of his Twizzler at him with an annoyed noise. It smacked him in the chest. "Cheese and crackers, JJ."

He grabbed the Twizzler popping it into his mouth. "Sorry! I can't help myself!" he exclaimed, grinning at Edgar's grumpy little face. "I open my mouth and words just fall out."

"I've noticed."

This was his moment, he realized. They were alone. Edgar was giving him his full attention. There was a tension in the air, that felt like more than annoyance.

"Y'know.." he started, making his voice low and quiet. Edgar responded with a raised eyebrow. "The fastest way to shut me up is to kiss me."

Edgar blinked slowly at him, as if he was trying to process what he was saying. When the words sunk in, his cheeks turned pink. "Yeah?"

Mouth suddenly dry, and his stomach doing backflips, all JJ could do was nod.

"Why y'ain't say that sooner?" he asked.

JJ couldn't come up with some kind of witty comeback because his brain froze like the shitty ancient computers at school.

"C'mere," he instructed, beckoning him over with a bat of his eyelashes.

"W-What?"

"You heard me." He wiggled his fingers, an easy smile taking over his face. "If kissin' ya is what it takes t'get ya t'focus, then so be it."

JJ was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to focus on anything ever again if he kissed him, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Edgar looked at him expectantly. Waiting for him to make a move. He was going to pass out.

Tentatively, he placed his hand on Edgar's knee. When he didn't jerk away, JJ leaned in.

The room was quiet, no sound but their breathing and the creaky spinning of the ancient ceiling fan. JJ's hands were sweating. Edgar curled a hand over his shoulder, fingers twisting into the fabric of his t-shirt.

Their lips were inches apart when Edgar jerked away. He placed a gentle hand on JJ's cheek. "Wait, sugar, I have an idea," he said, with a smile.

JJ was overwhelmed. The touch, the petname, the fact that they'd been so close was making his brain overheat.

"Yeah?" he asked, voice caught in his throat.

Edgar moved away from him, and it took a level of restraint he usually didn't possess to not reach out for him.

"Why don't we save the kissin' til after we finish workin' today?" he said, biting his lip. "I wanna kiss ya real bad," JJ's heart stopped, "but my mama'll be home soon, and if we're not workin' you'll haveta leave."

JJ cleared his throat, shaking his head to try and clear his foggy mind. "Okay. I can, uh, I can wait."