CHAPTER 15 | Teacher

ZACK'S P.O.V.

Talking to Mark so freely had been one of the most fun things that ever happened. Well, it wasn't that freely, because I still felt a bit nervous around him, thinking about if I should say this, or say that, and not knowing how he would react. It went quite well, I even made him laugh, and he told me I was funny. When he said it, I couldn't believe it. It was his very first compliment towards me. HE THINKS I'M FUNNY!

Although I will admit, talking about looking and dating hot girls wasn't my topic of interest, and that's what we talked about the most. But if that's what Mark likes to talk about, then I'll just have to do the same, so he doesn't think I'm boring. Even if it means having to lie and say that I've had plenty of girlfriends and that I have... had sex with them.

The truth is that I'm so single that I haven't even held another person's hand. Not in a romantic way, at least.

I don't regret having offered to help Mark with his Spanish homework. He even asked me to give him my number! Well, he ordered, but still. I had never thought the popular jock would have someone like me in his contacts. I know he just asked for it so I can help him with his homework, but I'm sure we'll be doing something more than just helping.

Mark had looked so cute trying to speak Spanish exactly as I did. His pronunciation was terrible, but he still tried, and he had sounded quite sexy as well, speaking in other language. I should teach him some more phrases.

In the end, being around Mark wasn't that bad now. When he acted friendly and nice like he did a while ago, I didn't feel scared anymore. I just wanted to keep hearing his deep voice, looking at those grey eyes, and hearing that sexy laugh of his.
It's not like I don't like being around my friends. They're fun people too, and very supportive, but with Mark I feel something different. Maybe it's because I like him so much. It's a shame he doesn't feel the same way.

After Mark had left, I was going to leave, noticing that my friends hadn't appeared either. But as soon as I turned the corner, I found them all standing there, scaring the hell out of me. I asked them what they were doing there, and they said they had been eavesdropping. Again.
Amber said that when they saw me and Mark talking so freely, they decided not to interrupt us. On the one hand I was a bit embarrassed that they were listening, but in the other, I was glad they decided not to interrupt. So I just shrugged it off.

Amber continued babbling about how cute me and Mark looked talking and laughing together. She even mentioned something related to a ship. Like, her ship was sailing, or something like that. Is her dad a sailor, or...? Never mind, Amber worries me more every day.

Although then, she said something that didn't sound so crazy. She said that every love story starts with a friendship. But Mark and I don't have a friendship... yet, or I don't know. We've only been talking nicely for a couple of days. I don't know if he considers me a friend. I don't know if I consider him a friend, either.
And if we had a friendship, I don't think we would become... something more in the future, like Amber said.

First, he's straight.

Second, he has a girlfriend.

Third, he probably still is an homophobic.

The thought of us being a couple is just a fantasy. My love towards him is something impossible.

I tried not to think too much about it as my aunt finally parked the car in front of my place after leaving Amber at hers. But I was too lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear my aunt calling for me.

"Zack!"

"Oh, sorry." I said snapping out and opening the car's door.

"You've been very thoughtful lately." She said as I walked towards the house. "What were you thinking about?"

"Uh, nothing. Nothing important." I replied while she unlocked the door.

"You know you can talk to me about anything." She said and we entered.

"I know. I just..." I trailed, not knowing what to say next. As soon as I stepped into the house, I heard a beeping sound coming from my phone. I pulled it out, thinking it was some message from the group. But then I got excited as I saw I had a message from an unknown number. It was from Mark.

I noticed he had a profile picture next to his number. I immediately ran up the stairs with my phone in hand, again hearing my aunt telling me what was the urgency to go to my room.

"Uh, I'll just message someone real quick." I announced before closing my room's door behind me.

As soon as I was alone, I tapped on his pic to have a better look at it. His profile loaded and my eyes were met with the most beautiful sight I had ever seen.

Mark was laying on a bed. He was wearing a cap which hid half of his face. But I could still see one of his beautiful grey eyes, a small smile on his lips, and that tattoo on his sexy neck. He was resting his head on his right arm that was behind him. That arm showed another tattoo that went from his elbow to his wrist, and one that I hadn't seen before. Right, because Mark is always wearing long sleeved clothes, but in that photo... he was shirtless.

Sure, I couldn't see how defined his torso or abdomen was, because I could only see from his head to a part of his bare, pale chest. But only looking at his broad shoulders, I knew this guy had with him a very sexy body, and I wanted to see more.

The sight of him, looking so handsome, so cute, so sexy... made my stomach flutter, and my member twitch slightly in desire of having him with me.

I couldn't control my actions right now, as I found myself kissing my phone's screen uncontrollably. I don't know why I was doing this, and I may look ridiculous right now, but I wasn't just kissing my screen, but Mark's picture which was in it. God, the things he made me do.

I wish I could get inside my screen and be there with him in real life. Me on top of him, kissing him, feeling every inch of his body with my own lips. But everything I was feeling was just a plain and dirty glass panel. I sighed in frustration at the realization I couldn't make possible any of that.

During the process, my lips accidentally touched the call icon. When I realized I had done that, my blood ran cold and I stood there, frozen in place, waiting for the calling screen to appear, and readying my finger to slam the cancel icon.

But before that could happen, the blessed message that appeared before a call showed, making me release a sigh of relief.

Do you really want to call?
Yes / No

Very carefully, I moved my finger to tap the No command. The message disappeared and the call didn't get to him. I sighed again. God, that was close. What would have happened if Mark found a call of mine in his calls log? He would think I was a freak or something of the sort. I mentally smacked myself at my stupidity. Never I'm going to do something like that again. Not even if Mark's pics are extremely tempting.

"Zack! Meal's ready!" My aunt called.

Already? That was fast. I looked down at my pants to see my hard was still visible from my earlier thoughts. I tried to hide it with my shirt but that didn't help. So I had to stay like that until my friend decided to calm down and go back to sleep. He's always like this whenever a hot thought arouses him.

I tucked my phone back in my pocket, not even reading Mark's message. Oh well, I'll do it after eating.

I was now sitting at the table, playing with the rice on my plate. Every now and then, Mark's perfect features flooded my mind, not letting me concentrate not even while I was eating. It's like... he had some kind of power on me.

"Zack!"

Again, I shook my head, realizing I was daydreaming for the second time now.

"Sorry, sorry." I said as I grabbed a handful of rice with the spoon and stuffed it in my mouth.

"Zack, you're worrying me." My aunt said with a softer voice. "What's the matter? What is it that is bugging you?"

I shook my head, not sure if I really wanted to talk about this with her. "Well..." I sighed. "It's something... kind of embarrassing."

My aunt's eyes opened in realization and her mouth formed an O. "I think I know what's happening. It must be one of those teenage boys problems. Would you like to talk about it with your cousins? Or with your uncle?"

I raised my brow. What kind of problems was she talking about? "No... It's nothing private or something like that, if that's what you're thinking."

"What is it then?"

I sighed. I know she won't judge me, but it's still embarrassing. "It's... Well... There's a guy at school and... I r-really like him." I stuttered feeling my face burn.

"Oh, I see. But there's nothing wrong with that."

"I know... The problem is that... He is completely straight. And he has a girlfriend."

"Ow, Zack." My aunt said as she put a hand on her chest. "I'm really sorry. I think there are times in which... we can't always have what we want."

"I know. We've only been talking for a couple of days, and it has been nice. I have fell so hard for him. I can't stop thinking about him. But I know that he doesn't feel and will never feel the same way as me. That's just... something impossible. I don't know how to get rid of that thought."

My aunt stayed silent for a while. "What's his name?"

"Mark." I replied, feeling my stomach flutter only at the mention of his name.

She nodded. "You know? I don't think he can be completely straight as you say. Heck, I don't even think anyone can be completely straight." I raised my brow at that. "Look, I've read various articles on Internet where they say... that complete heterosexuality doesn't exist."

I looked at her quite curious now. She continued. "They say that we can't only feel attracted towards the opposite gender. That most people have, at least once in their lives, felt a little bit of attraction towards the same sex. Which means that probably all of us are... well, yes, bisexuals. But I don't really know, it's just something I happened to read in Internet."

My eyes widened in surprise at the information. "Even you, aunt?" I couldn't help but ask.

She looked at me and then laughed. "Zack, I don't know! I think... Maybe that happens when you're still young and, you're starting to discover your sexuality. What you like and what you don't. Us adults have it already clear."

"But... when you were young... did you ever feel attracted towards... another girl? Just asking." I asked a bit nervous that she wouldn't want to answer.

She smiled a bit instead. "When I was around your age, a bit older even, I had always known I liked boys. I was very sure of that. But in the other hand, I kind of felt a bit of curiosity towards some girl who was... well, indeed attractive. That girl was my best friend back then... One day, I was at her house, and she had confessed that she wanted to try something with me. I asked her what was it, and she said, well..." She let out a laugh. "That she wanted to kiss me."

I had my full attention in her, already hooked to her story. "Do you want to know what happened next?" She asked and I nodded immediately.

She chuckled. "Believe it or not, I accepted. Because I kind of wanted to try too. And so we did, we leaned close and... we kissed for a brief moment. After that, we just looked at each other, and started laughing."

I chuckled, still surprised. I had never heard this story from her. "About the kiss, I didn't feel some sort of... how to explain it... special connection between us, you know? Yes, it felt good, but it wasn't what I was really into. I still liked boys. Later after that, I met your uncle. And I did feel something different when we first kissed. Like, we were made for each other, as they call it." She chuckled. "As for my friend, however, she later came out as bisexual."

"Wow." I said after she finished. "I didn't know this about you, aunt. It's... Interesting."

She smiled. "So, that's about it, Zack. There's something between feeling simple attraction, and feeling real love. Who knows if that Mark guy doesn't really love his girlfriend? Does he look like he loves her?"

That made me think about it. "Now that you mention it, it doesn't look like he really loves her. Just today he told me that he would... have sex with other girls if he wasn't with Scarlet, his girlfriend."

"There's the thing." She said. "If he only thinks about having sex with girls, he's not experiencing any serious feelings towards them. What if someday he gets bored of doing that with them and decides to try something with you? What if he ends up liking it?" She said, smirking.

I blushed deeply. "I-I don't know..."

"Anyway, even if that doesn't happen... it's not the end of the world, Zack. Don't just center your attention in one person. You're in plain youth, you still have a lot to look up to. Try new things, meet new people, live your life at maximum. And eventually, you will find someone to love and that will love you back."

I nodded in agreement. She was right. Mark wasn't the only human being in the world. Although he was the most handsome, in my opinion. But still, there was other people who are the same way as me. Someone, anyone, who I can be happy with. No matter appearance, or gender.

"I will." I replied with a smile. She returned it before we went back to eat our now cold meals.

She left after eating, and that's when I noticed I hadn't replied to Mark's message. I sat at the couch and turned on the TV, changing to the music channel. I pulled out my phone and tried my best not to look at Mark's picture for too long. I tapped his chat to read his message.

Mark: Hi you idiot 😜

His greeting startled me a bit, not sure why he had used that word. He could have used pillock, it sounded less mean, even though I didn't know what it meant. The sticking tongue emoji made it look less serious, though.

Me: Hi...

I watched as his status changed from last seen, to online after some seconds. Then, the two grey ticks next to my message turned blue. I knew he was going to reply soon.

Mark: don't take it too seriously dude. I was kidding 😂

Me: ok, haha

Mark: What are you doing??

Me: I'm listening to music, and you?

Mark: Ah nice
I'm talking to u, lol
What are u listening to?

We continued with the small talk for a while until the conversation ended with an oh nice, from him. Then I remembered the reason I gave him my number.

Me: So, do you want me to help you with your homework?

Mark: Uuhhh right
Later, I wanna sleep rn 😝

It wasn't going to be easy. So, after sending tons of messages telling him to move his lazy ass and pull out his notebook, he finally gave up and did it.

Mark: Okay, teacher. I have my notebook and pen in hand. Spill out the sentences.

I smiled at him calling me teacher.

Me: Okay, let's start with the verb ser. Write the first sentence I told you: Yo soy un chico.

Mark: I want to write I am a very handsome guy. 😁

I rolled my eyes. But I chuckled anyway.

Me: Fine. Yo soy un chico muy guapo.

Mark took a bit to reply this time. I assumed he was actually writing the sentences.

Mark: Done
Another one

Me: Write down this one: Eres una persona muy amable.
You are a very kind person.

Mark: I know 😂

Me: THAT'S THE MEANING OF THE PHRASE

Mark: Okay okay, chill out, dude 😂😂😂 I was joking
But hey, why aren't you using soy?

I actually admired him for pointing that out.

Me: Because verbs in Spanish change depending on the pronoun they are with. Yo soy, Tú eres, Él es...

Mark: Damn, that's difficult af

Me: It's not that much

So I continued explaining him some more grammatical rules in Spanish. He also asked that why I wasn't using Tú in the sentence, and I explained that in Spanish, you could omit the verbs and the sentence had the same meaning. He said that was cool.
Halfway through the helping, I was just giving him random sentences and he would write them down. I was getting a bit bored now.

Mark: Last oneee

Me: Soy un estúpido.

Mark: ha ha ha
Very funny
I know what that means

Me: Finally you know something

Mark: Excuse me??
😠😠😠

I laughed at his reaction, but I didn't know if he had really gotten angry or if he was kidding again.

Me: Don't take it too seriously, I was kidding😅

Mark: You better be 😒
How do you say 'Zack is a foolish kid'?

I smirked. I wasn't going to let him get away with it.

Me: Zack es un niño bonito

I just hope he doesn't find out the true meaning, which is 'Zack is a cute kid'.

Mark: Excellent
Done, I've finished 😌

He actually wrote the sentence?

Me: Wait, there are still 10 left with the verb estar

Mark: What?! I thought ser and estar were the same thing?

Me: No, they are two different verbs. You use ser to describe something permanent, that you always are and can't change. Estar is used to describe a current action or feeling. Do you get it?

Mark: Oooh
Nope

I rolled my eyes. I had to give him some more examples that he later wrote down as sentences.

Me: So, in this case, Estoy feliz, which means 'I am happy', uses the verb estar. Because it's currently how you're feeling, but then it can change. You can be sad later, for example, and so it would be Estoy triste.

Mark: Oh I think I get it now

Me: Sure

Mark: No, really. Our teacher explained something similar but I didn't understand.
You should replace my teacher xD
Jk

I giggled. I actually liked the idea. But only to give him private lessons.

Me: hahaha😅
So, we're finished

Mark: Yeah

Me: Did you really do it?

Mark: Of course

Me: ok

Mark: You don't believe me??

Me: No, I do believe you

He didn't say anything for a while when another message appeared. It was a photo. The photo showed his notebook, with two columns. In the first one, his verbs with ser, and in the other with estar. He even added some notes below, which were the grammatical rules I told him. I smiled. He really paid attention.

The last sentence in the ser list, read 'Zack es un niño bonito', and it was the one that Mark thought meant 'Zack is a foolish kid'. I laughed at that. It looks like he's the fool after all.

Something that surprised me was that his handwriting was perfectly readable, and it even looked as if he had written with a typewriter. I guess he could write so well because of his talent at drawing.

Me: Well done. I'm sure you'll get an A+ with that😁

Mark: Yeah, I hope so😍
Fuck wrong emoji
I meant this one 😜****
Goddammit

Me: 😂😂😂

Mark: Shut up