The air this morning wasn't as hot as the day before, but it called for it to be hotter later in the day. Soon the mornings would be covered by fog and morning dew. Sky found both pleasant but the cold that came with it not so much. Sky enjoyed his walk to the school but immediately was irritated by just being at school and it was only Tuesday. Since today was going to be one of the hottest he was debating on maybe bathing the horses today. He would have to talk to Alex about it once he saw him at the farm, he didn't dare to text him, he was surprisingly too nervous. Skylar and Chris made their way down the halls and parted when Sky had to go to art. Sky walked into class and went to his usual spot, growing nervous to see Alex. He couldn't be rude and not look at him so he had to prepare himself. Skylar took his usual deep breaths and pulled out his phone to distract himself.

Alex let his blue gaze rest on the road that stretched out in front of him as he walked to school. He took a few bites of his toast as he moved, listening to the sound of the morning birds and of the soles of his shoes meeting the pavement. The weight of the backpack helped to ground him, a solid reminder that there was a long day of school ahead. When he reached the school he popped the last bite of toast in his mouth and brushed his hands together getting rid of any remaining bread crumbs. "Yo, Alex!" He looked up, quickly spotting Rodger and the rest of his friends. "Hey!" He called back with a wave. He smiled as he slowed in front of them. "You got any plans this weekend?" Turning his gaze from Rodger, Alex looked toward Andrew and shook his head. "Nope, what's up?" Hearing this Andrew grinned. "Beverly's throwing a party, Saturday. You've got to make it." Beverly, throwing a party? That wasn't something new. At least not entirely. The last time she'd thrown a party her house had been trashed and her parents had sworn to never allow such a thing to take place in their home again. Had they changed their minds? "Yeah, my parents are gone this weekend. So I've got the place all to myself." Beverly spoke with a wide grin, her eyes holding a thrilled and yet rebellious glint to them. "Ah," Alex hummed. "Sure, I don't see why I wouldn't be able to go." He'd been to plenty of parties, all of them pretty much the same. He didn't much care for them, but he couldn't exactly turn down an offer.

`

For a good couple of minutes, Alex remained with his group of friends, talking over the party, what everyone was going to bring, and how many people were going to be invited. There would be a lot more to discuss but the bell signifying the start of class called them away from their conversation. "I'll catch you all at lunch," Alex said as he turned and hurried into the building. The conversation with his friends had been a wonderful distraction from the thoughts he'd been struggling to ignore since waking. What was he going to do when he saw Skylar? He'd gone with the flow, daring to rebel against the life he was living and be true to himself, even if only for a while. However, he was aware that wasn't exactly the nicest thing to do to Skylar. If he'd sent those compliments to him, said all he had because he was interested... He shook his head, shoving those thoughts away. No, he couldn't entertain such thoughts, questions, or even desires.

`

When he reached art class, Alex moved inside, chewing at his bottom lip nervously as he moved toward the back of the room. His blue gaze was quick to catch sight of Skylar, and while he felt the urge to ignore him he didn't want to seem rude, especially after he'd all but led him on the night before. "Morning, Skylar." He greeted with a smile as he took the open seat next to him.

Skylar continued to scroll on his phone until he was greeted by a familiar voice. "Morning Alex." Skylar said as he looked up. His heart sped up but he knew it was fine, he was talking to him so that was good. Skylar smiled at him as he sat down beside him. Are we friends now? Skylar thought as he looked back down at his phone. He had no clue what to talk about but maybe Alex had something to say since he did decide to sit down beside him. Skylar focused more on his breathing, trying to not overthink the whole interaction. Skylar thought about telling Alex he was thinking about bathing the horses today, but maybe he would save that till they were at the farm. After a moment Skylar looked up, glancing at Alex. He looked good, even though his style was pretty basic. His face made up for his basic style, Sky thought. He found himself staring at the rather charming man beside him, quickly looking away after realizing it. Skylar looked back at his phone and started to text Chris for moral support. He usually would text Chris whenever he was anxious because it would help.

Alex set his bag down, leaning it against his leg after he sat down. He leaned over to grab a few pencils and his sketchbook. He put the items on his desk before looking over toward Skylar. The first thing he noticed was the fact that he was on his phone. Before he'd totally realized it he was smiling slightly at the sight. Outside of their work at the ranch, it seemed Skylar was always on his phone. He was tempted to ask what he was doing but decided against it. They'd really only just started to get to know one another, he didn't want to push it or add any more confusion. For a few moments, he was quiet before he let out a quiet sigh. He wanted to invite him to the party that Beverly was holding, though he suspected such an invitation would be turned down based on what he knew of Skylar's personality. How should he pose the question? He looked away and chewed at his bottom lip for a second before leaning back in his seat. He could just ask him if he was busy this weekend... but then wouldn't that sound too much like he's asking him out? No matter how much Alex had ever liked anyone he'd never ever asked them out. Doing so would risk the possibility of his sexuality being exposed to his parents, and quite honestly he'd rather die than let that happen.

`

"Oh, what the hell..." Alex muttered under his breath before he turned back to Skylar. "Hey." He started, pausing for just a second to collect his thoughts. "Are you, doing anything this weekend?" He continued, posing his question and then falling quiet as he both waited for Skylar's response and gauged his reaction. "It's umm... A friend of mine is throwing a party, and if you aren't doing anything it'd be cool if you came." He added after a moment.

As some time went on, Chris helped Sky calm down. Chris told him that everything was fine and he indeed was just overthinking. He also told him to just go with the flow and be normal and Skylar did so. His eyes were pulled away from his phone when Alex spoke again. He listened to Alex, letting him fully finish before speaking. "I'm free so I could probably come. Will there be alcohol?" Skylar said. He would only want to go if there was alcohol, even though he didn't like the thought of becoming a drinker he still liked to do it every once and a while. Nights like that helped him escape from reality, but it always came back to bite him in the ass the morning after. Skylar stayed looking at Alex, awaiting an answer before he would give Alex a yes or no. Skylar hates parties in general but he hasn't been to one in a while, so he guessed it wouldn't hurt to go, plus a cute guy is asking him.

Alex was a bundle of nerves as he waited for Skylar's answer. Why, he wasn't sure. It wasn't like he was asking the guy out, and he'd offered this same thing to plenty of other people. Why was his heart racing as he waited for a response? He was pulled from his confusion and puzzlement over his own emotions when Skylar's eyes met his own and he responded. Forcing himself to relax and consciously reminding himself to breath he chuckled and gave a nod. "Of course, whats a party without some drinks." He said, a playful wink escaping him before he could stop it. "So you down?" He asked, letting his gaze continue to rest on Skylar as he once more waited for a response.

Once Alex responded Sky thought for a moment. "yeah I'll be there." Skylar said looking away. There was a moment of silence but then Sky remembered something. "You're going to have to text me the address at some point." Sky said, looking back at Alex slightly. At this point, Sky was pretty calm, he tried not to overthink. Sky was still a little anxious, but not enough to be a problem. Sky stayed looking away for now, but he didn't go back on his phone in case Alex wanted to talk some more. Sky leaned back in his chair with his legs spread a bit. He then put his hands in his lap since he wasn't holding his phone, he knew he was going to pick it up really soon though.

Alex relaxed and smiled when Skylar answered him, stating that he'd be there. "Great." He said before turning back to his desk and the sketchbook on top. He picked up a pencil and began sketching out a horse's head. He hadn't gotten very far before his attention was drawn back to Skylar when he spoke. He lifted a brow in a brief moment of confusion before he laughed slightly and gave a nod. "Right." Shifting in his seat he reached to grab his phone from his bag. He unlocked it and opened his messages before typing out Beverly's address and sending it to Skylar. "There," He said with a smile as he looked up from his phone and toward Skylar once more.

Skylar grabbed his phone and looked at the message. "Oh, and the time too." Sky then said, laughing slightly after. Skylar set his phone down again on his desk and looked back at Alex again. After the whole interaction with Alex, Sky wanted to leave class, not because of Alex but because he didn't have anything to do. Skylar got up and pushed his chair in a bit before walking away. He went up to the teacher and let her know he was going to the bathroom although he probably wasn't going to be back for a while.

Alex slipped his phone back into his bag once he'd sent the text. He watched as Skylar grabbed his phone and looked at the message containing Beverly's address. "Ah, that, it'll probably start around 7ish." He answered before leaning back in his chair. He'd be lying if he said the thought of Skylar attending the party didn't thrill him, it did. That terrified him, though he didn't let it show. There'd been a few guys he'd been interested in, though he'd never actually gone for it. He knew the feelings that came with talking to them, the emotions that interacting with them brought on and that's why he was uneasy with his conversations with Skylar and his emotional reactions to them. Taking in and holding his breath for a moment he watched as Skylar got up from his desk and approached the teacher before forcing his gaze and his attention back to the sketchbook laying open on his desk.