Tyler

As I held his hand, I couldn’t help but feel safe. As if nothing could hurt me, and no one could possibly split our hands. I held Chris’s hand tighter. I could see him smile through the bangs covering my face.

“So, where are we going?” I asked.

“It’s a surprise,” he replied.

And then he started running, pulling me with him. I smiled when we came to an ice cream-candy shop.

Chris opened the door and held it for me. I walked through, blushing, and he followed me in. We walked up to the counter, still holding hands. The girl that worked there looked down at our hands joined together and smiled.

“Hello, what can I get for you guys today?” she said nicely. Chris looked to me and asked what I wanted.

“Um, Vanilla with gummy bears on top,” I said childishly. Chris’s smile seemed to get wider.

“Well, we shall have one of those and a superman ice cream with… cookie dough,” he decided.

The girl scooped our ice cream and added the toppings.

“It’s on me, Ty,” Chris said as he stopped me from paying. I felt my heart speed up when he called me Ty. No one had ever given me a cute nickname before. We sat across from each other and ate our ice cream as “I wouldn’t mind” by He is We, played over the radio.

I hummed along to the song as I ate my ice cream. I looked up to see Chris smiling at me.

“What?” I asked, also smiling.

“Nothing,” he replied. “Wanna go to the park?” he asked.

I nodded my head excitedly. I always loved the park. The swings were my favorite part. It was so peaceful; the way the tree’s moved with the wind and the birds chirped happily all over the place. Just everything about it was wonderful. It was like an escape.

“So eager,” he joked.

The park was five blocks away. When we got there I took off, dragging him, to the swings.

I jumped on a swing and patted the one next to me, signalling for him to sit down. I had never had this much fun in my life, I thought. Who knew skipping school with a random stranger could be this fun?

“We’re friends, right?” I asked after a while.

“Of course,” he replied.

I gave my widest smile. I’d only ever really had one friend. Her name was Ana, but she moved away. We still kept in touch, though. She was the only one who knew I was gay, and she accepted me for who I was and kept my secret. She was the best.

It was a Friday, and school was ending early.

“I should probably start walking home now,” I said sadly, checking the time. I didn’t want the day to end.

“I’ll walk you,” Chris said, taking my hand as we started to walk back in the direction of the school.

I lead him to my house. My hand pulled away from Chris’s as soon as my house was in sight. If my father saw me holding hands with another dude, I don’t know what he would think. I opened the door to my house and stepped inside, holding the door open for Chris.

“Tyler, is that you?” my mom called from the kitchen. She came out with a sandwich on a plate and handed it to me before noticing Chris standing right behind me. “Oh, we have company! What’s your name, young man?” she said.

“Chris,” he replied quietly, seeming shy.

“Well Chris, would you like a sandwich?” my mother asked nicely. Chris nodded his head.

“Yes, please,” he said.

“Okay. I’ll go make you one.” My mother smiled and went back to the kitchen.

“Is dad home yet?” I asked.

“Not yet, but he will be soon,”

Chris followed me up the stairs in my house and into my room.

“Nice, I see we have the same taste in music,” he smirked, looking at my band posters.

“Black Veil Brides is amazing, am I right?” I asked.

“Definitely.” He replied, sitting on my bed. “So, what now?” he asked.

I sat next to him, thinking of what we could do. Then I had an idea. “How about we play some video games?” I asked. He shrugged.

“Sure. By the way, I don’t know what time I should be home, so I should probably call my house.”

My smile fell. “Do you have to leave?” I asked, feeling sad. I didn’t really want him to go.

“Well, I have to go home sometime,” he chuckled. My mom walked in the door carrying another sandwich.

“Here you go, Chris,” she smiled as she handed him the food.

“Hey, mom,” I called just before she left the room. “Is it okay if Chris sleeps over tonight?”

“If it’s okay with his parents, it’s okay with me,” she said, leaving the room.

I turned to Chris.

“Please stay over?”

“Okay. Let me call my mom first,” he grabbed his phone and stepped outside.

After what seemed like forever, he finally came back in the room and said he’d stay. ”

I jumped up and hugged him. I realized the awkwardness of the situation and stepped back.

“So, about those video games…” I said, looking away.

“Which one do you want to play?” I asked, taking some of the video games I owned out. Chris shifted his feet.

“I don’t know. Whatever you want to play is good,” he replied.

We played Super Mario Brother while listen to One Hundred Sleepless Nights by Pierce The Veil, playing on his I-Phone. We had the same taste in music, I smiled at the thought.

“Looks like you boys are having fun,” my dad was standing at the door we hadn’t even heard or seen him. “Chris, is it? I think I remember your parents from the church. How are they doing?”

“They’re doing good, sir,” Chris said, shaking my father’s hand.

“Well, I’ll let you boys get back to playing your game. I’ll come up and tell you when dinner is ready,” he walked out, leaving Chris and I alone again.

We spent the rest of the afternoon watching Youtube funny videos. I was hardly watching; too distracted by Chris laughing. I couldn’t even look at the screen. I was too mesmerized to even care if he thought it was creepy that I kept staring at him.

His features were breath taking; the way his mouth curved into a perfect smile and his eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. Everything seemed so perfect. Even though I had just met him that day, he was the only boy I really had feelings for.

“Are you okay?” he asked looking at me with concern.

Before I could stop myself, I quickly moved my head towards him and connected my lips with his.

*****

How do you think Chris will react? How would you react