His Heart: A Young Adult Gay Romance Novella

CHAPTER 1

9th January 2023

Snodland, England

14-year-old (but 15 he said to everyone else) Ethan Gibson started to walk down the long school corridor that all secondary schools just seemed to have so naturally these days with its weird white plastic walls and windows to the typical blue carpet made up of little titles. Ethan had never really understood why or how blue carpet tiles had become a thing in schools, but they just had, even though they were a little tasteless, horrible and just strange.

Ethan had always loved the Homes School, originally set up by some guy called Mr Homes a long time ago and even though Ethan tried to be the good student and tried to know everything about the school’s past, he had actually lost a bit of interest after he learnt that the school was once a pig farm after it was a Church and after the pig farm it was a school to under ten year olds.

Not exactly the sort of material that would give him any conversation starters, not that Ethan exactly met too many people anyway these days.

Sure Ethan had his joyous friends, his amazing parents and a few great teachers who he got on well with. He still wanted something that he wasn’t sure how to grasp exactly.

Ethan just wanted love.

Even though it was slightly before school and the bell would go in the next five minutes, Ethan kept going down the long school corridor with a few thick blue fire doors in his way, because all he really, really wanted to do was go to see his top-secret boyfriend Caleb for a few delightful wonderful minutes before the school day started, and then another agonising wait of unknown when he could see his secret boyfriend again would begin.

As Ethan passed through a large blue fire door, the entire corridor smelt of stale energy drinks, chewing gum and lots of other not-exactly-pleasant things rather attractive boys had left when they were messing around. Ethan had no intention of ever getting any of these things but as he went past a reinforced window, he noticed plenty of stale chewing gum attached to the edges of the window.

As much as it disgusted Ethan he just smiled because that was school, his school community and oddly enough he actually wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ethan past through another blue fire door and just stopped for a few moments as he saw after four little steps there was a thick silver door belonging to a completely empty classroom with the lights off and that was where a beautiful hot boy was meant to meet him.

After the long Christmas break with his amazing family that involved a lot of great gifts (Ethan had gotten a new electronic piano, some new video games and some new books), Ethan was so looking forward to seeing Caleb. It would be wonderful to know what he had been up to, how his family were (that Ethan had never ever met) and just know more about him.

Ethan had tried, really tried to meet up or talk with Caleb over the Christmas break, but he was always busy or concerned about getting caught.

Ethan actually could understand that, it certainly wasn’t easy being gay and it did involve a lot of soul-searching as some people might say. And even though Ethan completely hated that term normally, it was strangely adept at trying to decide what a person’s sexuality was, but he did just want to see beautiful Caleb.

The sound of light footsteps echoed up the corridor behind him, and Ethan just knew that it was a teacher coming so it was now basically now or never, and each second he wasted was another second away from the beautiful boy he really liked.

Ethan quickly went over the four steps and went through the bright silver door only to find no one inside.

Ethan silently shut the door behind him to get a better look in case Caleb was hiding in a corner, but he wasn’t, and Ethan heard the teacher from the corridor walk past the classroom so at least he was never going to get caught.

The lights were completely off and the only thing inside the classroom were rows upon rows of desks, chairs and an empty teacher’s desk tucked away in one corner, looking completely abandoned just like Ethan felt right now.

Ethan took his smartphone out of his blazer pocket, making sure not to mess up any of his perfect school uniform, and he saw exactly what he didn’t want to see. Caleb had texted him two minutes ago cancelling their secret meet up and Ethan just felt so deflated, embarrassed and even a little sick.

After weeks of the Christmas break pining and so badly wanted to see the beautiful boy he really liked, Ethan had just been cancelled on, he was half tempted to see if Caleb wanted to meet up later, at lunchtime or just do something after school together, but from past experience that was so pointless.

Because Caleb never wanted to do anything that wasn’t on his terms, so the waiting game would start again and until then Ethan would continue to pine, want love and just want to see a beautiful guy.

The school bell rang and Ethan just rolled his eyes and went to his new form or tutor room (it was impossible to keep up with the rubbish the school was calling it these days), another bone-headed idea created by the headteacher but Ethan supposed it was possible there would be something in his form room to cheer him up.

But he doubted it. Form was always the worse part of the school day so Ethan doubted this term would be any better.

CHAPTER 2

9th January 2023

Snodland, England

Barely 16-Year-Old Jamie Richards sat in his brand-new form room, which wasn’t quite as bad as he feared. At least his form was a large bright white science classroom with rows upon rows of white desks that were taller than normal class desks (that was great because of Jamie’s height) and at least there were normally cool things left on the row of cabinets on the right-hand side of the classroom.

Jamie wasn’t exactly sure what yesterday’s class had done but it looked like they were growing plants for some unknown reason, Jamie wasn’t the best at biology but he had to admit it was fun, and he did enjoy dissecting sheep hearts as much as it caused a fuss amongst others in his biology class, both men and women alike.

But Jamie’s favourite thing about the new form room was that he was at the back of the classroom so if push come to shove, he could just plug in his earphones and listen to some music or a podcast about the latest football game, or soccer as his sister’s boyfriend would insist on him calling it.

As the little year 7 and 8 students that barely came up to Jamie’s chest gingerly walked into the science room and went straight over to Mr Smount, who was a tall middle-aged man with shiny black hair and way too much energy for the first day back, Jamie had a sneaking suspicion that he really wasn’t going to like form time.

In the brilliance of the headteacher, the entire staff had apparently decided it would be simply amazing if the different new years were mixed so the older students would support the new students.

Jamie had never heard so much rubbish in all his life, now he wasn’t against helping people in the slightest. As captain of the football or soccer team, he spent two hours after school teaching the year 7 and 8 students how to play football, and some of them he actually hoped would join the proper football club when they reached years 10 and 11. They were that good.

But these little students with their wide eyes, sheepish looks around the science room and their jokes about some of the reproductive science posters on the white walls, seriously made Jamie question how much patience he had for these young students.

It was even much when a group of five skinny year 7 students thundered over to their desks in the seating plan (come on who the hell has a seating plan for a form room) and they stay in the row in front of Jamie and they smelt of intoxicating amounts of deodorant that made Jamie willing to time how long it would take before he choked to death on their smell.

Next to Jamie Richards at the back there. He’s in year 11, the year above you so he should be able to help you if you’re stuck, Mr Smount said.

Jamie looked over at the large messy teacher’s desk that made Jamie seriously wonder how Mr Smount could ever find anything, much less have productive lessons, and he was surprised to see the back of a tall boy with curly black hair and perfect school uniform, at least it looked like it from the back.

When the boy turned around and started walking over to him, Jamie felt he recognised him from somewhere and there was just something about him. It definitely wasn’t attraction because Jamie was definitely straight, but he really just felt drawn to this random boy.

Like some reason Jamie just instantly knew that he was a great person, kind and generous, and like he had seen him before. It was actually rather annoying, but Jamie couldn’t place it.

Jamie kept looking at the boy walking towards him, and for some reason focused on his perfect school uniform that really made it look like he took pride in the fact that he came to his school (something Jamie would both agree and completely disagree with depending on the week, day or hour) and his face was... wasn’t sweet because Jamie was straight, but kind.

As the boy turned and entered the row that Jamie was sitting on, he quickly looked ahead so the boy wouldn’t know that Jamie had been staring at him. The last thing he wanted was for the boy to think he was weird or liked him or anything else.

Out of the corner of his eye, Jamie watched the boy sit down and then Jamie looked at him and he was smiling. He was actually really smiling at Jamie, and it felt good and nice to have someone smile at you like that.

Jamie had no idea what sort of smile it was, but it was a smile he hadn’t seen before, like... he just didn’t know.

Hi, the boy said.

Hey, Jamie said, grinning for a reason he didn’t know.

Jamie offered his hand like he did with all his mates and the boy seemed hesitant for a moment, but he took it, and Jamie had no clue why he focused on the detail but the boy’s hands were smooth and soft and cool.

I’m Jamie, he said.

I’m Ethan, the boy said.

Jamie nodded slowly, that was where he had seen the boy before. He was the gay boy that came out less term, suffered tons of bullying (mainly from Jamie’s mates) and he had been through a lot.

Jamie felt so bad for him because all that Ethan was was gay at the end of the day. He never deserved to be bullied, hated and nothing should never have been said against him, that was cruel and Jamie really hoped that Ethan had had someone to stand up for him.

Form, Mr Smount said from the front of the classroom like this was some kind of military drill (even though in Smount’s mind it might have actually been). I’ve done the register when you came in, today get to know the people around you because we’ll all be seeing each other a lot over the rest of the year,

Jamie smiled and turned his head at Ethan and for some reason, mainly as he looked at Ethan’s great smile, he just knew that his form was actually going to be great.

Mainly because he was going to get to know the only gay boy in school and for some reason that actually excited him.

CHAPTER 3

9th January 2023

Snodland, England

Of all the forms Ethan had definitely not wanted to be in was Mr Smount’s form room, it totally wasn’t because Mr Smount was a bad teacher (but that was part of it), it wasn’t even that Mr Smount was a horrible messy person, it mainly came down to the fact that when Ethan had been seriously bullied last term, he had always done the natural thing and told his form tutor in an effort to get it sorted. Mr Smount sort of smiled, said he would do something but he never did.

So he was a useless form tutor, and after finally being able to put