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January |
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January |
"Well, spill it. My mom’s going to kill me if I’m late for dinner again."
"I’m serious, Kevin."
"So am I." Kevin hopped off the turtle and stood in front of his friend. "Come on, Tatsu, something’s been eating at you all week. Let me in, already."
"I can’t." Tatsu shook his head. "This is something that I have to figure out on my own."
"Why?"
"Because you might not be my friend anymore if I tell you."
"Tatsu, there’s nothing you can say that will stop me from being your friend." Kevin cupped Tatsu’s slender face in his hands and forced his friend to look at him. "Remember what I promised you?"
"You promised that we’d always be friends. Kevin, we were kids when you promised that."
"It doesn’t matter." Kevin looked into those warm brown eyes. "I meant it then and I mean it now."
Tatsu took a deep breath. It was like he was preparing himself for the worst. "I’m gay."
"What?"
"I’m gay… you know attracted to other guys."
"And?"
"And what? That’s it." Tatsu glanced at his friend worriedly. "I thought you’d be freaked out."
"Why? It’s not like that changes who you are." Kevin shrugged. "You’re still Tatsu and you’re still my friend, even if you’re a poof."
"Thanks." Tatsu whapped Kevin on the shoulder. "I think."
"Seriously though, what brought this on?"
"I’ve never been really into girls." Tatsu raked his hand through his hair. "You know that."
"Yeah, but that never bothered you before."
"That was before Alex kissed me..."
Kevin’s eyes widened. "Alex? Wait, gothy ‘I wear lots of eyeliner and hate the world’ Alex?"
"Yeah, he’s my lab partner in chemistry. Anyway, we were working on our mid-term project after school on Monday. H-he asked if you were my boyfriend and when I told him that we were just friends, h-he kissed me." Tatsu smiled. It must have been a fond memory. "I never knew kissing could be like that."
"And that’s what you were afraid to tell me?"
"I wasn’t sure how you’d react."
"Like I said, you’re still my friend. Nothing’s going to change that." Kevin glanced down at his watch and sighed. So much for not being late for dinner. "Come on, we should be getting home. I’m in enough trouble as it is."
Kevin dusted his jeans off and started to head home. He had to figure out something to tell his mom. She was going to kill him for missing dinner, and Kevin wanted his last words to be good ones.
"Wait, there is one more thing." Tatsu grabbed his wrist and gave Kevin a hopeful look.
"Tatsu, seriously, I need to get home."
"But you are home."
The park wavered and Kevin blinked. He was sitting on the couch in his apartment with an older and very sexy Tatsu standing in front of him.
"See."