Chapter 5

I woke up with a miserable sounding whine at the realization that I remembered everything from last night. Obviously I hadn't been as drunk as I'd thought, which only made the situation even worse. There was only one option, I would never leave my dorm room again. After all, there was no way I could look any of my friends in the face after what they witnessed and I definitely couldn't face Chip. I just don't understand how this could have happened. I had never been attracted to guys in my life. In fact I'd crushed on about half the girls in my school back in Dimmsdale. So why the flying fuck had I acted like that last night? Just thinking off it made my face burn up as I buried it into my pillow. Maybe it was just a fluke. I mean I had been drinking and so had he. His accent had come out, which meant he definitely had been under the influence. Hell, he might not even remember what happened. The idea didn't sit well with me at all for some reason. Chip had been so forceful near the end of the kiss. I could still feel his fingers in my hair. Another whine fell from my lips before I sat up in bed. What was I supposed to do in a situation like this? I'd never been in a relationship before so anything to do with kissing was out of my realm of knowledge. Could we just act like it never happened? I highly doubt it considering my face turns into a tomato every time I think about it and I'm pretty sure seeing the singer's face would be a big reminder for me. There's also the problem that I share three classes with the guy. I don't want to even imagine how my art class is going to be now that Sam had solid evidence to support her claim that I liked Chip Skylark more than a friend. Was that even the case? I mean I liked hanging out with him and he was a really nice guy, but was I crushing on him? Should I really be so surprised if I was? I mean the man's perfect. He's smart, has a great smile, bakes like a god and has the voice of an angel. Honestly, there is no question whether he would make a good boyfriend, it's the fact that apparently I suddenly turned gay for the international famous singer. How did this happen? When had this happened? We were just normal friends before last night and I had never even thought of changing that. Did being really comfortable in someones presence count as wanting to date? It wasn't like I could ask anyone for advice considering my options. Tootie and Sam would just say the same things they've been teasing me about for weeks. I don't know how my family would react to finding out their nephew likes a man. Chip is definitely not an option so all that left me with was Danny and something tells me that whatever I tell him with just end up reaching Sam in the end. Running a hand through my bed head, I turned to the other side of the room to see my friend snoring away without a care in the world. I suppose he is the best option from what I had to choose from. The lesser of three evils. Learning my lesson from last time, I made no move to go near my room mate to wake him up and instead threw a pillow at his head.

"Danny, wake up." I urged tossing another pillow at him. The guy grumbled something incoherent before tossing under his blanket. "Come on Danny, I need to talk." I heard him sigh heavily before sitting up with half lidded eyes.

"What time is it?" he yawned sending a glance over to his alarm clock. "What the fuck Timmy, it's only six in the morning. My first class doesn't start for three hours."

"Now you know how I felt when you damn alarm woke me at four on the second day."

"What did you wake me up for?" I bit my lip suddenly feeling like this was a bad idea. Sure we've been friends for years now, but is this really something two men talk about to each other? "Look, I can obviously see you need to talk about something. What is it?"

"Am I gay?" At my outburst Danny's eyes widen, clearly not expecting that to be the first thing out of my mouth, before he raised a questioning brow at me.

"Isn't that something you would know more than me?"

"Yes, No, I don't know! That's why I asked." Danny sighed as he rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

"Have you ever like men sexually before?"

"No."

"Than you're not gay. Happy?" I sent a pitiful look to my friend. "What do you want me to say?"

"I need help. My mind feels so jumbled right now and I have no one to ask but you." I admitted unhappily and this caused him to give me a sympathetic look before he sat up and swung his feet over the side of the bed.

"Even if you liked Chip Skylark is that a bad thing?"

"I don't know. Honestly, I'm just afraid of what's going to happen now. That kiss was a fluke, we were both drunk. How am I supposed to feel about this?"

"What are you feeling right now?" Danny asked and I thought about it for a minute.

"Nauseous, embarrassed, so terrified that it feels like my hearts going to pound out of my chest." I responded.

"Sounds to me like you and Chip should talk this out. After all you two were the ones who kissed." my friend suggested pointing a finger at me. I turned my gaze away from his and bit my lip once again. Maybe Danny was right, I should speak with Chip to clear the air. Would I even be able to feeling like I am right now though? "Don't worry so much about it Timmy. Everything will be fine." I turned back to Danny's encouraging smile and returned a small one of my own. Then a thought crossed my mind.

"Please don't tell Sam about this. I know you guys tell each other everything, but please just keep this conversation between us." I begged and my friend snickered.

"Fine, I promised I'll keep this a secret as long as I can." the last part wasn't very encouraging, but I suppose that's the best one could promise when dealing with someone like Sam Manson.

"Thank you."

"If you're done talking then I'm going bad to sleep. Not all of us have today off you know." I watched Danny cuddle back under his covers minutes before the familiar sound of snoring came. Knowing I would never get back to sleep being as anxious as I was I laid flat on my pillow-less bed and dug my cell phone out from my jean's pocket. I scrolled down my contacts list and when Chip's name came into view my heart hammered even faster than before.

"You can do this Timmy. You're just sending him a text like you've done countless times before." With a deep breath I opened a text page and typed out a message for us to meet somewhere today. Once finished I just laid there trying to calm myself down, but didn't succeed with how I jumped when the phone buzzed with a reply. I opened the message.

"I'd like that. We could meet at the little coffee shop a couple miles from the school if you wish?" Well he didn't sound unhappy about the meeting, which was a good thing. I agreed to the idea and wrote a time to meet before setting the device on the desk. This was good. We could talk about this like two adults. Everything would be fine. With a yawn I relaxed back into my blankets. Until a few minutes passed and my eyes flew open wide as saucers. Wait, was this a date?

Luckily, I had managed to make it to the small coffee shop without any of my friends knowing. Unluckily, I felt almost on the verge of throwing up. This was definitely a date. I was on a date with Chip Skylark. Boring, uninteresting Timmy Turner was on a date with a famous singer. This is one of those things that people made movies about for adolescent girls. Maybe I was over reacting. After all, Chip hadn't said it was a date. We are just two guys having a talk in a coffee shop. A talk about how we drunkenly made out last night. Oh man this is so weird.

"Excuse me sir, can I get you something to drink." an employee asked softly, grabbing a note pad from her apron pocket.

"A hazel nut coffee please with extra cream." I replied automatically sending her a polite smile with my hand ghosting over my braces. The girl, who's name tag read Jenny, wrote the order down before heading back to behind the counter. I glanced out the large window to my left with a slow release of breath.

"Is this seat taken?" the sound of his voice made me almost fall out of my seat onto the cold tiled floor. I swung my head around and found Chip looking down at me, but his usual smile was not there, but instead a fake one full of worry and uncertainty. This was not an expression I wanted to see on him right now. Or ever.

"No, take a seat." I replied motioning to the chair across from me. He nodded and sat down before we were trapped in an awkward silence. Jenny returned with my order and I gave a quiet thanks. She took my companion's order as well then left once again. I took a sip of my drink for something to do before clearing my throat.

"So, how are you feeling?" The blued eyed singer looked up at me seemingly surprised that I'd broken the ice, but a more real looking small smile touched his lips shortly after.

"Had a little hangover this morning, but other than that I'm feeling fine." Even I could tell that was not the truth, but decided not to say anything about it. After all, I wasn't exactly feeling that great at the moment either.

"That's good." The annoying silence came back at full force and I took another gulp of coffee. This was awful. Never had I ever felt so uncomfortable in Chip's presence before. I didn't like this at all. Jenny dropped off the other order, which gave my friend something to do with his hands.

"We should talk about this." he spoke tracing his finger around the rim of his Styrofoam cup.

"I know." I sighed sitting back in my seat. "I just don't know where to begin."

"Maybe I should start by apologizing." I gazed at Chip in confusion.

"Why are you apologizing?"

"It was just a game and I went overboard. I had no idea I would react like that." he explained a blush coming to his caramel skin. This made my face also flush.

"It wasn't just you. I also kissed back."

"You were the first person to ever treat me like a normal person. I really enjoy spending time with you and before I knew it I was looking forward to seeing you every day. I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but I need to let you know that I don't regret what happened last night." By the end of his talking I felt my face grow even hotter. Was he confessing to me? I couldn't deny the fact that this made me sort of happy. A large hand covered my own on the table and I swallowed thickly at the touch. Chip's expression looked so scared that I wanted nothing more then to make his usual smile light up his face. He wasn't Chip Skylark unless he was smiling. Turning my palm over I held his hand back and this made him gaze up me confused, but hopeful.

"I didn't hate it. The kiss." I whispered shyly. Chip's hand tightened against mine in response.

"Would it be too soon for me to say that I like you." Asking that was unfair, especially when his full teeth showing smile finally decided to return to his lips. The was no way to ignore how glad the sight made me feel. Or how my chest thumped.

"I've never been in a relationship before. I don't really know how this works." I informed, but Chip's smile didn't falter as he ran his thumb over my knuckles.

"We can take it slow Timmy. There's no need for us to rush this. I just enjoy being with you." There had to be a limit on how much someone could make you blush in one day. I did like the feeling of his hand in mine though. I had always thought that his body was warm just like everything else about the singer. When we had kissed it was like being pressed against a heated blanket.

"I like being with you too. Even if you do cause riots where ever you go." I joked causing the singer to chuckle before taking a sip of his drink. I couldn't begin to explain how relieved I was that we could still act the same as always. We both finished our coffees in silence, but this time it was a peaceful one, with our hands still connected in the center of the table.

I waited outside the coffee shop while Chip paid inside. He was instant on paying for me and eventual I gave him what he wanted. I was still trying to wrap my head around what had just happened in there. I felt like I was dreaming the whole thing seemed so surreal. So I guess we were dating now? Holy shit, I was dating Chip fucking Skylark! This was a big deal right? Had I really thought this through? I mean being famous means that everyone watches him. If they find out he's with a guy what will that do to his reputation? Not to mention if it's discovered I'm with him then I'd be a dead man. All Chip's fans probably wouldn't be happy if there star was taken by a braces wearing nobody from Dimmsdale. The sound of the door opening behind me snapped me out of my depressing thoughts. Seeing Chip's happy expression instantly improved my mood and threw all doubts out the window. Without a beat his hand was in mine as if it was the most natural reaction in the world. We made our way down the sidewalk while Chip hummed merrily and I stared at the ground with a pink hue to my cheeks. He led me back to his apartment and once inside released his hold on me. I watched the idol remove his black hoodie before he went to the kitchen and began digging out ingredients. Not knowing what else to do I took a seat on one of the bar stools on the outside of the counter to watch him.

"What are you making?"

"Mushroom-Sausage Regu." was his answer as he turned preparing what he needed. His humming from earlier started up again.

"Sounds good." Swiveling in the stool I got up and headed to the couch to turn on the TV. A little mind numbing entertainment sounded good right now. I was in the middle of a very suspenseful episode of Bones when I felt a weight drop down beside me and then a plate of delicious smelling food was placed on the coffee table. I quickly tried a bite and almost died.

"This is amazing!" I mumbled between bites and Chip seemed pleased with my reaction. We ate our food in silence while watching the rest of my show. Once I took the last bite I placed the now empty plate back on the coffee table. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Chip do the same. I went to sit back to get comfortable when a pair of arms grabbed me and pulled me back into Chip's chest. I flushed at the potion but was unable to move with the man's arms wrapped around my torso. He wasn't being rough or anything so I just submitted and leaned back into his hold. I could feel Chip's heartbeat against my back and the feeling was quite nice and relaxing. When the chest started to vibrate I was momentarily confused until I realized Chip was humming again.

"You sure like to hum don't you?" I mused.

"It's better than breaking out into song randomly." I chuckled as I imagined what that would be like.

"I suppose you're right. Although I don't think people would care that much considering it would be like having a free Chip Skylark performance."

"Just say the word." I smiled at his offer. Maybe dating Chip wouldn't be a bad thing at all. I leaned further into the singer's body, letting my head rest into the crook of his neck. He responded by tightening his embrace and setting his chin on the top of my head. I was unaware how long we stayed in that position. Next thing I knew I was being woken up by a gentle caress to my face. Sitting up slowly, I stretched out my muscles before rubbing my eyes tiredly.

"Sorry to wake you, but it's almost dinner time. You should probably start heading back to school." Chip explained and I nodded before standing from the couch and his warm embrace. I already missed the heat and that worried me because usually I hated hot things. Thankfully though it was the beginning of September so the weather would start cooling down now. This would make it easier to cuddle with him. A blush erupted onto my face at the though so I quickly began walking to the door so the idol wouldn't notice. His footsteps fell right behind mine as we left the apartment to return to the real world. One full of horrible friends I would have to face.

Chip waved goodbye to me as we separated at the front of the school. I waved back before taking a deep breath and heading for the cafeteria. I just had to relax. Maybe they wouldn't be there and I could get in and out with no incidents. Of course good luck had never been a trait of mine. As soon as I walked through the double doors leading to the room my eyes instantly caught a pair of light purple ones. A sense of de-ja-vu occurred when I turned to run away only to be engulfed in Danny's hold.

"You have got to stop trying to run away. You're not that fast." my friend teased while he carried me to the table the other two were sitting.

"It helps when you don't chase after me you lackey." I hissed not happy with the situation at all. I was plopped onto a seat against my will and crossed my arms angrily.

"So Timmy, how was your day?" Sam questioned as soon as her boyfriend was seated next to her.

"Fine."

"No hangover or anything?"

"Nope, but I feel a headache coming on." Sam didn't even blink at my glare.

"So how was it playing tonsil hockey with one of the most famous singers of our time."

"I don't know what you're talking about." I faked ignorance. She had no proof that I remembered anything from last night.

"Oh cut the shit, Danny already told us you guys talked this morning."

"You promised you wouldn't tell!" I growled at my so called friend across the table.

"I promised I wouldn't tell as long as I could. Plus, I didn't tell her what we talked about." Danny explained and it only made me angrier.

"Honestly I'm very surprised you had it in you. Although I'm sure that Chip did most of the work." Tootie smiled.

"Just shut up." I groaned placing my red face into my hands.

"So did you end up talking to him?" Danny questioned and I glanced back up thankful for his friendly tone.

"Yeah, we worked it out." I told him smiling at the memory.

"Based on that smile I'm guessing you two went on a date." Tootie deduced and my head snapped up in surprised.

"What makes you think that?"

"You think I can't tell after knowing you for so long? So how was it? Where did he take you?"

"We just went out for coffee so we could talk." I argued suddenly very self conscious.

"How cute." Sam teased, but her smile wasn't condescending at all. She was actually happy for me. It was moments like that where I remembered that these guys were my best friends. Even if we constantly hounded on each other. A hand placed itself over mine on the table and I looked up to find Tootie the happiest I'd seen her since she and AJ started dating.

"I'm so happy for you. Jealous as fuck, but happy. God, I mean you're dating Chip Skylark!" at her gushing I couldn't help the smile that erupted on my face. It felt like I'd never be upset about anything ever again by how high my mood was.

"No covering those braces. You know Chip scolds you for it every chance he gets." my oldest friend chastised lowing my hand from my face. I blushed knowing that she was completely right.

"Who knew the guy would have a braces fetish." Sam joked causing my face to darken even more.

"Don't make it sound so gross." all three laughed at my humiliated whine.

"Oh please, it's totally true. I bet he even licked them when you two kissed." The goth beamed at whatever my expression I was making. "That's a yes."

"Sometimes I really hate you guys." I groaned hiding my crimson face in my hands.

"We're all best friends. It's normal for us to brag about our significant others." Danny shrugged not looking the least bit uncomfortable by the topic at hand. "For instance, Sam is one of the best shooters I've ever seen. Hardly ever misses with an ecto gun." At both Tootie's and my baffled expressions Sam cleared her throat.

"When you live in the most haunted place in the world it's stupid to not know how to defend yourself. Doesn't hurt when your boyfriend's parents are professional ghost hunters."

"Wait, you parents are ghost hunters?" I questioned staring at Danny, who rubbed his neck.

"Some of the best actually. Especially my mom. She's terrifying."

"That's really awesome. You must have the most exciting life ever." Tootie was practically bouncing in her seat and I nodded in agreement. Danny's home life sounded like a comic book story. Sam's and Danny's faces showed surprise at our reactions before the later spoke again.

"You guys aren't weirded out by my parents profession?"

"We live in a city where our mayor is best friends with a goat, our teacher in middle school believed in fairies and our sewers are infested with alligators. Not to mention I think Tootie's older sister is a serial killer. You think having your parents be ghost hunters is going to weird us out?" I replied with a chuckle, which Tootie joined in on.

"She is a serial killer. With a chainsaw collection and everything."

"At least she's not a stalker like some one I know." At my comment my friend crossed her arms as if insulted.

"I stopped stalking you when I was ten."

"Only because I finally caved in and agreed to hang out with you." I argued with a smirk and she playfully punched my shoulder.

"I seem to recall a certain boy, who in high school, filled his bully's locker with poisonous scorpions."

"You promised never to tell any one that." I hissed and she responded with a victorious smile.

"What hell hole do you guys come from?" Sam questioned giving us concerned stares.

"You tried to kill your bully in high school with scorpions?" Danny looked just as concerned.

"Don't give me that look. I'm the most normal person in Dimmsdale. Plus they weren't deadly. Just made him puff up a little." I defended myself and Tootie only giggled before turning to the couple.

"There's no need to worry. Timmy-kins was going through a rebellious phase then. He wouldn't hurt a fly now."

"I was not. I just got sick of that asshole beating me up."

"While wearing all black with piercings?" She challenged and my eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"You were goth?" Sam asked clearly amused at trying to picture it. "You wear pink though."

"It's not pink, it's magenta, and I'll have you know I was sexy as hell." Danny and his girlfriend both burst out in laughter at my remark and I felt my eye twitch in irritation. I know I wasn't the best looking person in the world, heck I was pretty nerdy, but they didn't have to be so rude about their obvious disagreement.

"You two shouldn't laugh. He really was pretty good looking. Here I have a picture." Tootie said as she took out her cell phone and began scrolling across the screen. When she found what she was looking for the phone was pushed over to the Amity Park couple. Sam took the devise with disbelief clearly on her face. The two stared down at the small screen before their mouths hung open in shock. The techno goth looked up and down several times before glaring up at me. I squirmed under her spiteful gaze.

"What the hell is this? You actually look really good as a goth! Why do you dress like that?" She motioned to all of me. "When you could look this this?" she gestured to the phone still in her grip.

"Why don't you just tell me straight out how ugly I look all the time." I spat angrily.

"She's not saying that Timmy. Sam just thinks anything that's not black is a bad look." Danny defended his girlfriend. He took the cellphone from Sam's hand and passed it back to Tootie across the table.

"Are you even seeing the same picture? It's obvious which look suits him more."

"People dress the way they like Sam. Just let it go." the look she shot to her boyfriend could melt ice.

"He's right. I've tried for years to get him to go back to that look, but he won't budge." Tootie added with a shrug. Sam didn't look deterred at all. She didn't press the matter any further though.

"You should probably get something to eat." Danny suggested and I glanced at the clock to see that it was almost time for the kitchen to close. I jumped up and headed for the food, now feeling how starving I was. While waiting for my italian sandwich to be made my mind wondered back to earlier in Chip's apartment and a smile graced my lips. Even with my friend's making me feel awkward, I still was overcome with butterflies in my stomach. Was it normal to feel this happy about dating someone? All I knew was I couldn't wait to see him tomorrow.