Dominic holland only in america

First off the bat, yeah, nothing special happened during the show as you all know. But it was my first BabyMetal concert and I had a blast so I could care less about a surprise that didn't happen.
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I arrived at the venue around noon and it was obvious there were a ton of japanese fans. They sure mobilized quite a crowd. When I got in the VIP merch line, 80% of the people around me were speaking japanese lol. Most Taiwanese fans came at a later time.
The general access line seemed to still have quite some stock left to them after VIP was done but towels still sold out too fast even after they limited purchase to 1 per person. There were also many people handing out self-made goods,and someone brought his BM-painted motorbike for fans to take pictures with.
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Finally came the time for entry, and the venue staff were calling numbers in Japanese first, only when no one answers they switch to mandarin. Well, a lot of us can understand simple japanese numbers so there were not much complaints.
I got my spot 1.5 rows from the barrier, a bit to the right somewhere in the middle of where Su and Moa would stand. The 0.5 row being the barrier had 5 cm high platform and I had to take half a step back to avoid the gap. And why need to mention the gap ? My poor foot was basically pushed hard against the gap most of the show to fight back the compression from behind. There was a girl in front of me and I certainly don't want to crash onto her.
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The show started, Anthony banging those drums so damn loud my eardrum was telling me this is definitely not good but I was headbanging so hard to the beat I could ignore the warning from my body. I had forgot my earplugs in the lockers, oops.
The girls were so close to us I thought I could count Moa's eyelashes and they were astonishingly beautiful/gorgeous/shiny etc., pick whatever adjective you want. NO photo/footage had done them justice.
Going thru the song list:
BMD, The crowd lost their shit from the first note and hype just keeps building. My throat was already all dry by the end. F me for taking the venue notice seriously and not bringing any water.
Megitsune, sore sore sore madness. No hengoa this time, just a small smile between the girls. The crowd on my left pushed so hard when Moa came to the right of the stage almost knocked me off my feet. Everyone wanted their existence to be acknowledged by the angel of love.
iine, hyped from megitsune ? here's more hype. I could be remembering wrong but it was before iine or megitsune they had some tech issue so music didn't start for a while and the crowd was chanting LOUD.
Shanti, a nice break from all the hype train.
Maya, Say my name !
Metalizm, zumu zumu zumu. The front was so crowded I couldn't get my hands up to do the moves.
BxMxC, we must have been loud, Su handed the mic again.
Monochrome, take your phones out !
Distortion, rebuilding that hype
Pa Pa Ya, crowd out of control. Swinging my towel and jumping as high as I can, don't give shxt about whether someone behind me can see or not because I can't either.
GC, still hyped, but in between with PPY and ROR, this slot is considered a break
ROR, The venue was divided into 3 zones by barriers. I think we got quite a good WOD going in all 3 zones. The MUST SEE hilarious fancam is at the beginning the flag accidentally covered Moa's entire face and she had to stand still until the next move. Hightlight moment of the whole show (X). I was at MOMO's side so unfortunately didn't get to see it with my own eyes.
Metal Kingdom, all hail the queens, I don't care if your voice is already horse, you chant
IDZ, WOD part 2, epic closure, during the breakdown where the girls join their thumbs together, a japanese kitsune saw my raised thumb and joined thumbs with me and he didn't let go until the part was over. It was a warm feeling, join your thumbs kitsunes.
Ending
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Overall being at the front in a small venue, I got what I came for, a real close up look at the girls. I really didn't have much effort to spare to look at other elements. The Kami band, the visuals will have to wait for next time. The seating on 2F definitely had the best view. They were close enough to see all the details but also far enough to see the whole picture. I'd go for there if there's ever a 2nd time in the same venue. The sound mix next to the PA according to my friend was quite good.
My voice now completely hoarse, legs sore from all the jumping, and backpack full of merchs. Back in April I said to myself I'll regret if I didn't buy the VIP ticket. I was 100% correct. No regrets diving down the fox hole and attending this great show.
Next stop, tour final in Japan !

Even though Starks are never mentioned to be as rich as Lannisters or Hightowers, still, as Wardens of the North they should have a considerable fortune. Did they store it in some bank, or in the vaults within the castle? If so, what happened to it when Winterfell got captured and sacked? I don't remember Theon mentioning it. Is it possible that the vaults of Winterfell are hidden deep beneath the castle and only Starks can find them?

So this isn't something I've paid a lot of attention to, since most of my time using the site has been me reading and I never had a preference, although I've only gotten into writing on the website around four months ago, andI became curious about this.
I'm curious to know whether readers are more inclined to read short or longer stories, and why? Personally I write am writing a longfic (like 200k words and it's not even close to being done yet), and it had gotten a lot of traction, over 100 comments/kudos and around 10k hits, but just in general, I want to know if people are maybe intimidated by longer word counts and prefer shorter stories, or they love the longer stories with more worldbuilding and lore

So Im a first time home buyer who closed on march 23rd and just not long ago after purchasing my home i noticed bricks and rocks stacked around eachother on a certain section of my roof.I dont know if they were there already before or after the home inspection.The home inspector never mentioned anything about it and said our roof was in good condition.So finally today i got a ladder and went up to check to see and the area of the roof were the rocks and bricks are located looks fine.Is there any reason to why they might be there???The only thing i read online is people put rocks on roof because they absorb heat which keeps the house cooler??? Idk any explanation??
Sorry wont let me post pictures to show and dont even know if this is the right page to post.

Hi, I'm visiting Dallas for the weekend from Austin. I love playing the course "Butler pitch n putt" here in Austin, it's a super short super casual par 3 pitch n putt golf course. Is there anything similar to this in Dallas that I could check out while there? A course where I'd only need to bring a wedge and a putter. Can be any number of holes.
Thanks for any help

Started my day teaching chemistry. Send off my cousin brother to work at a new location.
Yesterday, I wasn't productive due to various reasons. Today, I opted to study in the morning. It was good.
1 hr of peaceful study in the morning > 3 hrs of stressful crunch in the afternoon.
Completed 2 modules of the Google Digital Marketing certification course. Plus 3 course are covered out of 7. Tomorrow will start with the 4th.
Hit the gym at 4:30 PM. Targeted muscle was core.
Hanging leg raises 6 reps x 8 Machine Ab crunches 16 reps x 8 sets
Hanging knee raises 8 reps x 8 sets Weighted side bends 16 reps x 8 sets
Study a bit for 30 mins. The aim was to study for 100mins but could do 80 only. I could have forced myself. But, it doesn't make sense to me.
Overall, on track on my plan.

Hi, I drive a 2018 Lexus RC350 F-Sport with only 61,000km. Recently I’ve been having rattle noises from the dash and driver’s door and it’s slowly driving me crazy as I hate any rattles or creeks in the interior of my car.
Any advice or idea as to what might be causing the issue would be appreciated.

I'm honestly about to chuck the fukken thing off a cliff somewhere.. Have had 5-6 grand in service and repairs costs in the past 3 years alone.. (drove about 20k km in that time)
The garage is an official Mini Dealer, but they appear to be all but incompetent and greedy mothertruckers!
About 2 months back, the engine suddenly "failed" and went into limited power mode. The garage charged me 750 bucks (EUUSD equiv.) to replace all 4 spark plugs and all 4 ignition coils.
Ever since, the engine just sounded wrong and too loud, uncomfortably loud!.. (and Im saying that as someone driving a Honda S2000 with cold air intake and Tanabe exhaust, which is LESS loud!)
the mechanic agreed that it sounded very loud when they took it in for a service 3 weeks ago. They learned that an intake tube for the engine was damaged, and wrote me an offer, charging another 300 bucks for the part and to replace it. Since they said that it COULD be the reason for the loud noise, I agreed to have this done and asked if they could check the issue out.
Nobody said anything.. at this point, I'm assuming that they don't even take the frigging pos car for a test drive...
(When I brought it in for the service, I told them to put on summer tires and check various issues.
When I got there to pick it up, they had forgotten about the tires.. And they never bothered to check out why I'm having this really, really annoying constant clinking sound ever since they replaced the discs and pads a year ago... they just flat out ignored it)
So, back to my current issue: "If it doesn't show up as an error, there doesn't appear to be anything wrong." was the answer I got to my question on whether they had found a cause for the engine noise.
so, they fixed the tube and I picked it up, hopeful that the noise would be gone. boy, was I wrong... It sounds just as bad... loud enough to overpower the stereo..
It doesn't depend on the RPM, but it only starts after a minute of driving, or thereabouts.
I was so angry, that after about 10 minutes, I decided to properly fukk the engine, just to see what happens.
So, nobody around.. sports mode, shift down, and floor the bitsh... before the limiter, I lift the foot. strange smell... not clutch burn smell.. not burning plastic smell.. more like oil, maybe?
Try it again, kick the pos into the limiter.. smell comes back, doesn't linger.. more like a cloud passing quickly.
(I had the sun roof open)
I then stopped, opened the hood, but there was no smell...
Does anyone have any idea what I'm dealing with?
P.S.: I want to get the current list of BS issues fixed, then I'm putting that POS up for sale.. I'm so done with that brand!

Hey guys and girls, I 'm building a >1PB cephfs filesystem with billions of files, and I want to back up that filesystem up to a second cluster to protect against user failure or catastrophic failure. But of course I also want to be protected against ransomware: in case the primary cluster is compromised, the adversary should not be able do delete or encrypt data on the second cluster.
Now I can think of a few less-than-perfect ways to do that, but I'm looking for your experiences and suggestions.
I know I can do cephfs snapshot mirroring, but I haven't tested that yet, and how do you protect against ransomware in that scenario? One of the pro's in this setup is that if your primary cluster blows up, you can immediately fail over to the backup cluster without having to restore binary blobs an such. A downside is that you will probably want to run the same version of ceph on both clusters, and if there's a catastrophic data-corrupting bug in the primary cluster, you'll probably also have it in the secondary cluster as well.
Another option could be backing up using restic. If you want to do immutable, you have to use 'rclone serve restic --append-only' on the receiving side. So that means you need a server on the receiving side that mounts a cephfs and runs the receiving end. Immutable s3 buckets would be perfect, but restic doesn't support it and has no intention to [1].
Another great option could be to use Borg backup with append-only mode. I guess it uses the same model as restic, I'd need to add a host, mount a cephfs, and create repos and run 'borge serve --append-only' on that end.
What do you guys do?
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[1] https://github.com/restic/restic/issues/3195

Yes, this is the final straw! I have been stupid for too long and finally have had enough. To top it off my father died and he abused me then went and got some from his favourite brother after negotiating the price coz of his very short performance and ability down south.. didn’t bother to call in the day of the funeral then abused my poor mom who is going through chemo..
He regularly has this MIA episodes where he goes to his parents and manufactures complete lies for them to support his very sad choice in hookers or can girls.. they are not very decent people and have taught and enabled him his whole life.
I could go on but I don’t have a year to horrify you all, and endure the honesty I deserve for being so silly..
I am the perfect partner on everyday and have only ever been loyal and no jokes the ultimate partner.. I struggle with mental health issues and was oppressed and abused for so long at such an unbelievable level I just gave up in a way..,
Something snapped this time when he decided he lived in Malta and not the US elm barking on another hooker holiday, intentionally booking it over my 40th, then abusing and gaslighting me telling me it wa my fault And to lump it or leave..
Forgot to mention to him before he left.. I CHOOSE LEAVING…
As my partner PIED seems to ok t exist for porn and hookers & co workers and vacation randos. He will be pleased on his return from this “cheating” vacation to divorce papers and his stuff already at his parents doorstep. They also enable his cheating as this are the ones that taught him it was normal. Idk I’m still a 10 and he is now an old toothless broke loser… karma js a biyarch ey.. S?

So to begin before i’m attacked for being tone deaf..i have been a huge hozier fan since 2013 and for years have listened to him every day. as someone who is not only on the spectrum, but openly bisexual struggling with topics he so beautifully stands by, i am HERE for his political standpoints. i love that there is an artist who stands with oppressed groups, who idolizes the influence that black people throughout history have had on music, and give them the credit they deserve. i love his stand on abortion, as i live in one of the worst states to be in as a young woman. i love his views on worldly issues that we see every day and have for centuries.
So before anyone attacks me, the KEY reason i love him is his political push on issues we rarely see artists care to speak on. It gives a voice to so many people and groups, that otherwise are forgotten or mistreated.
However this leads me to my rant, in the absolute battle for tickets i finally got them after spending my entire savings and maxing out my credit card. i was so excited to dress up, i had an entire cute little mossy outfit planned. then i saw a bunch of tweets about how annoying hozier fans are for calling him “bog daddy” or “forest god” and that’s racist for missing his political standpoints..and while that’s true and him blowing up on tiktok has completely brought in some awful fans.. am i wrong for thinking both can coexist? especially when he relates mythology and nature to humans urges to be violent and hateful, lustful etc. like i can see him as both, and it can still make as much of a difference. standing up for human rights and societal issues doesn’t mean you have to be completely one thing, and take any fun out of making art. even hozier himself thinks the fae jokes are slightly funny..
so my question is, in the search for outfit inspo, i feel afraid to dress the way i want and have fun with my outfit in fear it will upset people? and is it wrong to see him as both otherworldly and almost god like and finding the fae jokes funny, and also a man who stands for political injustices in his heightened platform? i feel they can both coexist and still matter, but im open to hearing thoughts…

Hey guys so when I was beginning to date my gf before we became official (we’ve been dating 3 months), she would occasionally mention stories of her ex. I remember being slightly bothered because I didn’t know yet if she was serious about me and if she was over her ex. I only asked her about it one time when a story made me uncomfortable and she said she’s sorry for sharing too much and that she is definitely over him. She doesn’t bring him up anymore since that and she told me she loves me a week later. If she does bring him up it’s not stories but more about how he was a negative in her life.
She tells me she’s never felt about anyone the way she does for me and talks about our future. I just sometimes get bothered when I remember why did she even bring him up so much? Her actions have definitely shown she loves me but sometimes I can’t help but overthink when she posts me on her spam instagram account that I know her ex follows and I think she must be doing it for his attention. Or when she always says only you make me feel this way and I think she’s comparing us in her head. Do I bring up these feelings?
Td;lr my girlfriend used to bring up her ex a lot in the beginning of our relationship and I still feel confused about it

Hi everyone--
I'm one week post op and already so pleased with my surgery and it's outcome. However, go back to work the Monday after this one--so a little more than two weeks post-op--and I'm desperate for better bras/bralettes. I've mostly been wearing the surgical bra because they're the only ones I have that feel compressive enough and that don't irritate my incisions. I'm concerned about finding something compressive, but also that I can wear under my work wardrobe. Did any of you find yourself in the same boat? Any product recommendations would be much appreciated!

Why does the Golf R get such a huge increase in power compared to our cars. A stage 2 golf with basically just an intake and tube can make 380whp. Our cars only make about 320 if lucky. Are they just that under powered from factory ?

Hello,
A few months ago I upgraded my MOBO+CPU. I went from Z370 + 9900k to Z790 + 13600k. Ever since doing this upgrade, I started running into some strange compatibility issues. For example:

• Audio crackle on my USB headphones. My old headphones worked perfectly fine on the Z370 platform. However on Z790 there is very clear audio crackle in high FPS games. Meaning, sound can be delayed, cut in the middle, stutter, etc. I tried two different headphones and ran into this issue.
• Occasional "USB device not recognized". It will randomly happen to different devices, such as my wireless keyboard, headphones, and controller. I tried using different USB ports on the back of the motherboard and it does not help.
• Every BIOS update can cause a W11 OS brick. If you login using your pin, and your windows is not associated with a Microsoft account or if you have no internet access then you will have no way to login to your old Windows, can only be solved by re-installing.

Very unfortunate experience for me, I bricked my OS the first time doing a BIOS update, and almost bricked it again today but luckily this time I was able to access my Microsoft account and reset my login pin.
It really sucks that I'm being used as a beta tester for such an expensive product. My next motherboard choice will probably not be Gigabyte. Has anyone else ran into these issues?

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We’re looking for players that enjoy playing team hockey, otherwise we’d be playing hut…..
*Definition -team hockey – likes making plays, backchecks, enjoy team wins (not looking at personal stat glorification), doesn’t take themselves to seriously (this should be fun) and need to be able to play at least 1 forward position and 1 defensive position (we rotate in this league so you aren’t stuck to 1 position).
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Let's start: I'm so, so, so fucking tired
I don't know how we all do it, I just don't. You get it, you're the only people on earth who seem to inherently get it and god do I look for other people that get it outside of our groups too
It's so fucking lonely, this isn't it? I live in suburban hell in the middle of nowhere, the people here look at you wrong if your shoulders are showing in the grocery store. The women here are wives of proud boys-adjacent husbands, the culture is repression
So I find myself always torn. I'm at over a year of HRT and it's still not enough for the people I live around. Looking hot but even slightly clockable means I get women that clutch their handbags around me, that I get parents steering their children in the other direction. I am so so gentle and kind, I cannot tell you how much that hurts me, that I want kids of my own and to see other people scared of me walking? It breaks my heart a thousand compounding times in a second
My facial hair doesn't bother me, I like my hair, I like being more masc presenting sometimes, I like myself in a bubble but I don't live in a bubble. I live in a transphobic area in a transphobic world. And it's lead to me to face an impossible choice: be who I don't want to be or take the blows I can't take anymore
I don't want to do makeup every day, or put on concealer every day, I'm happy with my voice. I'm happy with me, and other people are not
I can pass when I put in the effort, but it's not me, it's the version everyone else wants that actually is accepted by other women around me or at least not actively ogled at like a new piece of performance art
What is there, to get past this? I guess I have to become something I'm not. I wouldn't care about my facial hair but for other people's response to me, I wouldn't care about dysphoria if it weren't the visceral reactions I get every day going out with even 20% less effort into my appearance to pass
It just feels impossible. I didn't want this, I don't want to be trans. I don't want to stand out or be some thing to point at except if I look good like a 'passing' woman. I don't want this, and I don't know how to be myself and to be happy
This life is full of so many horrible choices that I'd never make if not for the world around us. I'm so fucking tired

Not counting the first ever World Cup in 1934, and the outliers of the second ever World Cup in 1934 with 10 debutants, and 2006 with 8 debutants (technically, since Serbia and Montenegro qualified but were a part of the former Yugoslavia which did previously qualify), 1938 and 1982 having 5 each, and only 3 World Cups having only a single debutant: 1950, 2014, 2022, every other World Cup has ranged between 2-4 debutants each. (For reference, I'll list them all below.)
As such statistically, we can expect a likelihood that the 2026 World Cup will have at least 2 debutants, especially since the format will be expanding to 48 teams, with 3 additional direct spots for CONCACAF (6 total, albeit 3 hosts so 3 additional this edition), 2 additional for CONMEBOL (6 total), 4 additional for both CAF and AFC (9 and 8 total respectively), 1 total for the first time ever for OFC, and 3 additional for UEFA (16 total). Plus 2 spots from the Intercontinental Playoffs which will now involve 6 teams (previously 4), with 1 from each non-UEFA confederation (a first for CAF), and an additional team from the host confederation (so 2 from CONCACAF for this edition).
Which confederations are likeliest to have debutants? I think the 3 likeliest are CONCACAF, AFC, and UEFA. CONMEBOL only has Venezuela as a World Cup absentee, and unless they start getting good real quick, or co-host the tournament, that's not likely to change. OFC is dominated by New Zealand, so with a dedicated spot now for the region, expect New Zealand to be at nearly every World Cup moving forward, and maybe one of the others 10 will crack through via the IPO some day. CAF has seen only 13 out of its 54 FIFA member nations ever qualify, and of those 10 have qualified 3 or more times, and in an extremely competitive sporting climate, the likelihood of a team breaking through thar is slim. Even with 4 additional spots and an IPO spot, those 9-10 qualifying spots are more likely to go to 9-10 previous participants than to a newcomer. That said, I would place CAF as the 4th likeliest confederation to have a debutant at the 2026 World Cup. With that said, here's my reasoning for the other 3 being the top 3, in no particular order, as well as the top 3 countries from each I think have the best shot at debuting at the 2026 World Cup.
In the history of the World Cup 11 out of the current 35 FIFA member nations have qualified from CONCACAF, and with 3 hosts taking 3 spots, but with 2 IPO spots, there is potential, regardless of probability, that 5 additional CONCACAF nations could qualify, which only increases the chances that at least 1 debutant could herald from this region. 1. Curaçao 🇨🇼 2. Guatemala 🇬🇹 3. Suriname 🇸🇷
AFC has seen 13 FIFA member nations out of a current 47 participate at the tournament. With a very extensive qualifying process this time around, some recently emerging powers in the sport, and the additional spots, more than ever, at least 1 debutant from AFC seems likely. 1. Thailand 🇹🇭 2. Oman 🇴🇲 3. Vietnam 🇻🇳
Through all the political turmoil in Europe, and nation changes and team splittings, renamings and becoming defunct, only 33 FIFA member nations out of the current total of 55 within UEFA have qualified for the World Cup. While that is a lot, UEFA has always had the most slots at any given edition of the tournament, and that remains so for this edition, and with an increase too. As talent development continues to grow in Europe, and as competitiveness grows as well, this also grows the likelihood of a breakout squad from a nation previously not attending. Additionally, since 1934, with only the exceptions of 1978, 1982, and 2022, there has been at least 1 European debutant at every World Cup, so of all the confederations to have one in 2026, UEFA is the likeliest. 1. Finland 🇫🇮 2. North Macedonia 🇲🇰 3. Albania 🇦🇱
With all of that said, let me know in the comments below what you think. How many debutants? Which confederations do you think are likelier to have debutants over others? Which countries do you think are likeliest to be debutants in 2026?
Number of Debutants from the Second World Cup Onward: 1934: 10 1938: 5 1950: 1 1954: 3 1958: 3 1962: 2 1966: 2 1970: 3 1974: 4 1978: 2 1982: 5 1986: 3 1990: 3 1994: 4* 1998: 4 2002: 4 2006: 8* 2010: 2* 2014: 1 2018: 2 2022: 1

• 1994 Russia appeared for the first time as a separated nation from the Soviet Union. 2006 as mentioned saw Serbia and Montenegro debut, but they were formerly part of the former Yugoslavia which had previously participated. 2010 saw Slovakia debut even though they were previously part of the former Czechoslovakia which did previously participate. Also Serbia debuted independent of Montenegro.

This shirt is complete garbage! This is a size large with the smallest neckline I've ever seen! Zoom in for a giggle! Only the people with the shrunken heads on Belle Juice can wear this! 🤣🤣🤣 & the material is terrible! It's so stiff & cheap. Ugh!!! Comparing it to the original pic, that yes I saved, it is 100% clear that it's a completely different base shirt used. The necklines are not even close to being the same. Let's see what the merch team says....
For reference, this was from the box set that finally came.... along with the CD being damaged....🤦‍♀️

Hey all, I have a manual and I’ve always hated driving the car with how uncomfortable the OEM shift knob is. Always leaving my palms sore and I would like to replace it. So I have two questions;

1. What process is there to remove the OEM knob? Google has limited results, I only found one forum post someone said it has to be cut off apparently? I’d like to save the shifter column if possible.
   
2. What size shifter do these have? I’m unfamiliar with manual sizes. I’d like to get a ball shift knob but I want to make sure it’ll fit in the shift column.
   

Thanks a ton!

Warning: previous chapters of this story have been updated with plot and character changes. Even if you've read them before, this chapter may not make sense unless you go back and re-read the last few chapters.
The Exchange Student Homepage
The first day of school arrived quicker than seemed possible. I mean, I couldn’t really complain. In my wildest dreams I had simply hoped that I had become okay friends with Gabriel by the time school started. Instead, we fell asleep in each other’s arms every night. I knew him inside and out and he knew me the same. I felt closer to him than I’d ever felt to anyone. I knew he cared more about me than my own mother.
It was a strange feeling, knowing that someone loves you that deeply. Part of me felt safe and content from it. Part of me was terrified that I’d accidentally do something to betray his love. To say that I felt a bit of pressure on everything going perfectly on the first day of school was an understatement. I had to make sure that I didn’t do anything to embarrass him or, heaven forbid, accidentally out him.
Our alarms had gone off at the same time and we groggily made our way to the bathroom. We showered together as we’d been doing for the past few weeks, but something felt a little different this morning. Gabriel felt a bit distant. Maybe I was just imagining it, but I couldn’t help but feel he was keeping me at arm’s length. Perhaps he was just getting in the mindset so that we didn’t act affectionate at school.
I was starting to get choked up while getting dressed. That was until he came bursting into my room. “Isak, I don’t know what to wear! Help…” His voice was stressed.
“Take a deep breath Gabriel.” I reached out and took his hand. I led him to his room and started going through his clothes. “It’s going to be kind of cool today so why don’t you wear these jeans. You look awesome in them.” I handed them to him. “And let's put you in a short sleeve button up.” I handed him a red polo. He put them on and inspected himself in the mirror. I could tell that he really liked the way he looked because his face instantly relaxed.
“Isak, what would I do without you?” He planted a quick kiss on my cheek.
I hurried back to my room and tossed on the outfit that I had picked out. I sprayed myself with some cologne and we grabbed our backpacks and made our way upstairs. Mrs. Von had prepared a big breakfast. “Can’t have you boys going to school on an empty stomach.”
I think she could tell that there was some tension in the air. I think she could also tell that it was probably because her son was struggling with his coming out journey. She chose not to bring it up and let us eat in silence. Gabriel was clearly as shocked as I was. He clearly appreciated it though because he gave her a kiss on the cheek before we headed out the door.
As we climbed into his car he let out a nervous laugh. “I really wish you hadn’t worn cologne today.”
“Why?”
He glanced at me sheepishly. “It makes me want to wrap myself around you.”
“Well sir, you’ll just have to behave yourself until tonight.” I gave him a devilish grin. I could tell by the look in his eye that he was going to take me up on that offer. The thought of being around him all day long without being able to touch him turned me on. “You’re the bottom tonight.” I caressed his cheek. He blushed. He was adorable when he blushed.
“Okay.” He smiled as he backed out of the driveway.
School was actually great. Mrs. Von had apparently arranged for my locker to be next to Gabriel’s. We had all the same classes except for one. He was taking French as his foreign language, but since I already knew it I was taking Spanish.
Emma was in a couple of our classes with us and she sat between us. I couldn’t tell if she was trying to be the center of our attention, or if she was doing it to help keep us from accidentally being too affectionate with one another at school.
The classwork that we were going to be doing that year seemed really easy compared to what I’d been doing back home so I wasn’t worried at all. As the day wore on, my spirits grew. School was going to be great, I had friends to spend time with, and I was in love with the most amazing guy in the world.
The last period of the day was Calculus. Reese was in the class with us and he sat beside me. I could tell the second he landed in his seat that he had something important to tell me. He looked nervously over my shoulder at Emma and I knew immediately what it had to be about. He motioned me over so that he could whisper something into my ear.
“Look at the pin that’s on Ross’s backpack.” He was so excited that he was practically squirming. Ross was sitting near the front and I leaned into the aisle to get a glimpse of his bag. In the middle of a dozen or so other pins was a rainbow flag pin.
I leaned back over and whispered to him, “Don’t get your hopes up. He might just be an ally.”
“Ally my ass. He wants it.” He didn’t keep his voice as quiet as he should have and Emma clearly heard. She shot me a knowing look. Guess she knew who was trying to get with Ross now. I hoped that it didn’t affect her friendship with Reese.
As the teacher droned on about stuff that I already knew, I began to go over the day. It had gone way better than I had expected. The only thing that was hard was constantly restraining myself from interacting with Gabriel in a suspicious way. A few times when we were standing at our lockers I had wanted to touch him or bump into him affectionately. I had managed to suppress the urges. It was mentally exhausting though. I was terrified I’d accidentally touch his shoulder in a way that would give us away. One thing was certain though, I was going to ravage him tonight.
I envisioned Gabriel limping around school tomorrow trying to explain to people that he’d hurt his back working out. I let out a little snicker. A couple of people turned to look at me. “Bless you…” Emma said. Bless her for covering for me.
“Thanks.” I shot her an appreciative smile. I could tell by the look on her face that she was dying to know what I’d randomly laughed about. Maybe I’d embarrass Gabriel and tell her later tonight.
When the class ended, Reese and Emma followed Gabriel and I back to our lockers. It didn’t seem like anyone was in a rush to leave school. “Okay, spill.” Emma poked me in the ribs.
“Later, I can’t say it here…” I whispered.
“Ooooh.” She looked excited.
Gabriel gave me a playful swat. “It better not be about me.” My silence confirmed it. “I knew that I was going to regret introducing the two of you.” He wrapped an arm around each of us. It was all I could do to play it cool. I elbowed him gently to let him know that he was playing with fire. He can’t just go wrapping his arm around me and expect me NOT to bury my face in him and inhale his scent.
A couple of people I didn’t know greeted Gabriel but kept on walking past. He didn’t bother introducing me to them. I wasn’t sure it was because he didn’t want to draw attention to me or if it was because they weren’t really close friends.
Jake appeared with a small group of people. I recognized one from Gabriel’s Instagram. “Nate!” Gabriel caught him up in a hug. Gabriel turned to me. I was surprised when he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him, giving me a peck on the cheek. “Nate, this is my boyfriend Isak.”
This concludes The Exchange Student. I may someday do a spin-off of it, but I think the story that I originally set out to tell has been completed. I hope everyone enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to starting a new project soon.