Tyler

Chris and I had agreed to not get each other anything for Valentine’s Day; we thought it was stupid. So when my parents went out to dinner that day, we were going to watch Batman again, eat ice cream, and pass out on the couch, a few kisses here and there.

The night was going to be perfect and I couldn’t wait until school was over.

Chris and I usually walked together to school. But that day I didn’t see him. On the way to school, I saw Ana walking with Jessie, holding this big stuffed animal and a box of chocolates.

Ana saw me the same time I saw her, so she called me over, so I walked with them.

“Hey Tyler, let’s meet up behind the gym today at break,” Ana said as we got to school, a knowing look in her eye and a smile on her face.

I was confused, but agreed to.

At break, I rounded the gym and saw Chris standing there with a bouquet of roses and a stuffed animal.

“I thought you said we weren’t going to do anything for Valentine’s Day,” I mumbled into his chest as I hugged him.

“I wanted to surprise you,” he whispered. I hugged him harder, my arms tightening around his waist; our bodies closer.

“Well you did.” I said.

Eventually, the bell rang and we had to go classes. Naturally, holding a stuffed animal and such, opened me to interrogation by many people. They wanted to know who the gifts were for, not aware that they were given to me.

As soon as I walked into class, Shane and his little posse surrounded me, all with smirks on their faces. I nodded to Chris, signalling to him to wait for me at our seats. He seemed reluctant, but he eventually left.

“Now what?” I asked them, my words sounding like knives.

Shane laughed.

“He’s trying to act tough. Where’d you get this stuff from, fag? Was it your boyfriend over there? You know, a few months ago, I saw you holding hands in a couple’s skate,”

“You know what, Shane? I am so sick of you holding this over my head. Yes, I’m gay. There’s nothing I can do to change that fact. I know everyone hates me, you’ve made me aware of that since primary school. But you know what? I’m done. I’m done letting you take advantage of me and making me feel like a piece of shit. Because you know what? Knowing you and what you do like I know, I think everyone in this room would agree that it should be you feeling like that, not me.”

As soon as I said that, I felt like a giant weight had been lifted off of my chest. I was done with letting him push me around. When I got to my seat, Chris gave me a look that said he was proud, although I was pretty sure I saw some worry there too. Also, considering I basically just came out to a bunch of bullies, they were probably going to spread it around the school as a fact. The emo kid was gay, I could see it already.

Shane made it obvious he wasn’t done with me. I had just told him off in front of everyone, of course he wasn’t going to let that slip. He walked up to my desk and raised his fist. I could already feel it colliding with my face, as I had so many times before.

This time, however, I didn’t feel a thing when I closed my eyes. I slowly opened them up to see the most surprising thing ever.

Chris was standing up, in front of Shane, holding his fist in his hand. Chris looked straight into Shane’s eyes with a death glare.

“You lay a finger on him again and I’ll blind you,” he said. My mouth dropped open. I didn’t think it was possible for anyone to stand up to Shane. Judging by the look on Shane’s face, it looked like he thought so, too.

Shane pulled his fist back to himself. Chris stood still in front of my desk.

“This isn’t over,” he whispered in a harsh voice and then walked off.

Chris sat back in his seat. I stared at him wide-eyed.

“What?” he asked.

“No one’s ever done that for me before,” I said.

After school, Chris and I went to my house. I had received instructions earlier to get the dinner going, my parents were coming back late.

I had gotten a call from my mother that we only had a limited amount of time before they got back to the house, and to make dinner. Because I was making noodles, with Chris’s help, we were done in record time.

We fooled around a bit, dancing and playing with water balloons, before we finally settled on the couch to watch Batman.

“You’re so adorable,” Chris said. I pouted, giving my adorable look.

“I’m trying to be sexy,” I said jokingly.

“Don’t worry; you’re plenty of that,”

He made my heart flutter. I sat on his lap and watched the rest of the movie. After it ended, Chris grabbed the remote from the couch and turned the TV off.

“Well, are you just going to stay on my lap or are we going to eat?” I put on my thinking face, stroking my imaginary beard, and smiled.

“Mmm…the first one,” I said.

“Okay, then,” he leaned over to me and, with a smile, connected our lips. I smiled, closing my eyes and enjoying how close we were together, how our skin was touching and how his hands were trailing up and down my back. I loved this boy so much.

“What is going on here?!” My father yelled at the top of his lungs as he stood at the door. We hadn’t heard them come drive in, let alone enter. His outraged face was growing redder by the second. Neither Chris nor I could answer his question, so we sat there quietly.

“Do your parents know about this?!” He yelled to Chris. I wanted to say something so badly; tell him to stop yelling at the love of my life because I could tell he was on the edge of breaking down. Of course, I said nothing.

“Yes.” Chris gave his answer quietly, looking down at his shoes. Then, he looked up. “They’re fine with me. They still love me. That’s how you should be to your son right now,” then, he started yelling at my father. “You shouldn’t be yelling at him like he’s a disgrace! He’s not! He’s the most wonderful person in the world and he deserves a father that will love him no matter what!”

My father was silent, but I could see that he was angry.

“Get out of my house. Don’t come back, and if you ever go near my son again, you will regret it,”

This was all my fault. I did this. Chris looked at me, as if waiting for my approval to leave. He wasn’t going to leave me if I told him to stay. I would have told him to stay, but it just would’ve made things worse.

Then, Chris grabbed me by my shoulders and smashed our lips together. My fingers instantly went into his hair, but it wasn’t a long kiss as I would have wanted it to be.

He held me close for a spit second and whispered “I love you”, just before my father ripped us apart and shoved him towards the door. He walked through it, giving me a look of pure love before closing the door.

*****

What do you think will happen next?