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‘Uneasy’ was an understatement for what Julian felt in his gut any time he would peer into the window of the janitor’s closet and make out the faint silhouette of a woman sitting upon the desk inside, with Landon obviously sitting in the giant chair gazing up at her in the dim light. ‘Uncomfortable’ didn’t even cover it when Landon would be chatting up with some cheerleader-esque girl at her locker between classes, arm propped up to lean against while looking suave and cool. What he found to be even more difficult: trying to hide it. If anyone were to know anything about Julian Drees, it was that he was about as transparent as glass.
Fortunately for Julian, Landon could be just as dense as the blond was easy to read.
But there was someone who noticed.
Once their fifth period had ended, Julian and Isaiah headed out of class to make their way to the last class of the day. Nothing was out of the ordinary; Juls was talking about an upcoming test with much dread, asking if his friend wanted to study together when they spotted him.
“Do you think we could maybe... I dunno, study together or something? You usually take good notes, and I need to pass this one or else my mom-” Julian cut his words short, catching a glimpse of the redhead from the corner of his eye.
Landon was in front of his “office” with some blonde girl who had curls down to her shoulders, escorting her in with a hand on the small of her back and a smile on his face, talking to her while she giggled faintly. Julian stopped Isaiah and pulled him behind a wall where they could spy on the pair as they disappeared into the closet- Julian felt as if his heart was going to beat straight out of his chest, his cheeks flushing pink with a troubled expression.
Catching on quickly, Isaiah put a hand on the blond’s shoulder.
“Is everything alright, Julian?” He asked, a concerned eyebrow raised. The shorter boy shook his head quickly.
“No! I- I mean... Ugh! I don’t know?” Julian groaned, clutching his head. “That guy is so...” A lump formed in his throat, along with a heat that twisted uncomfortably in his chest, making it feel tight. “I don’t know why, but it makes me so mad when he does stuff like that.” He looked down, almost feeling guilt from admitting this.
All Isaiah could do was blink. Duh, it was so obvious.
“...Wait a minute,” Isaiah pondered. He took a step back, eyeing Julian carefully. “Are you...jealous?”
Julian’s face fell flat for all of two seconds before he went completely red, flailing his arms with eyebrows knit tight. “Wh- Huh!? Why would- Not a chance!!” A couple people in the hallway turned their heads to see what the commotion was about and Isaiah panicked, throwing a hand up in defeat.
“Okay, okay,” he said with a small smile. “That was dumb of me to say. Sorry, Julian.” Isaiah put a hand on Julian’s back, leading him away from the scene. “Let’s just forget about it and go to class, all right? We’re gonna be late if we stay here talking.”
Julian sighed and nodded, allowing Isaiah walk the two of them to their 6th period without more fuss (much to his relief).
“Anyway, we definitely should get together to study this weekend,” Isaiah smiled, changing the subject. “If you’re okay with it you can come over to my place Friday after school.”
Only half listening to Isaiah, Julian turned his head to glance at the janitor’s closet as they passed it, uncertainty fogging his mind. His friend’s words hit the wrong chord and, deep down, he knew Isaiah was right; it definitely was jealousy Julian felt taking him over every time he saw Landon flirting with someone else that wasn’t him. The emotion shamefully brought out a side of himself that he wasn’t fond of at all and part of Julian cursed Landon for bringing it out of him- This is all his damn fault, he thought to himself.
But even thinking that made him feel guilty. It wasn’t right to push blame like that, even if Landon did like to push Julian’s limits and mess with him.
Instead of dwelling on it for the time being, Julian did his best to swallow the lump in his throat, despite still feeling crappy, and did his best to push it to the back of his mind and focus on making plans with Isaiah, leaving Landon behind his closed doors.