5. House Guest

Logan

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" my mom calls behind me as I run upstairs, but I don't have the time to stop and explain. Daniel is already on his way over here, and I must hurry and make sure my room is in good shape.

Calling me a messy person would be the understatement of the century. My idea of putting clothes away is to throw them across the room as soon as I take them off.

A bad habit, I know.

I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, so I didn't do many house chores. My mom used to scold me and make me do basic stuff like doing my own laundry and cleaning my room, but she gave up after a while. Because our housekeeper kept coming in and cleaning stuff for me, it's safe to say I'm spoiled.

But today is Wednesday, and our housekeeper does not clean on Wednesdays.

I open my bedroom door and gasp as I see the state my room is in.

Dammit...Daniel will be here any moment now. He will think I'm some kind of a disgusting slob when he sees my room.

Wait a minute, why do I care what Daniel would think about my room?

I guess I care as much as I would care if somebody else saw my room this way, I decided.

I don't know when he is supposed to be here, but I start cleaning right away. I don't even bother to change my clothes first.

"Holy cow! Are you cleaning?"

I snap my head in the direction of my mom's voice. She is standing by my doorway, smirking.

"Yes? What is the big deal?" I say irritably. Leave it to my mom to make a big deal of everything!

"I practically have to beg you to clean your room. But now, here you are, putting your clothes away like a good boy. What's going on here? Did you invite a girl over?" mom asked. Her eyes are shining with curiosity.

I look at her irritably. "Mom, you know I don't swing that way."

"What?"

"I am gay, mom. Did you forget already?"

Mom's eyes turn wide like big green saucers. "That's absolutely unacceptable! Does your father know!?"

"Mom, seriously..."

She burst out laughing at her own joke. Both of my parents think it's hilarious to drive me crazy.

"I am having a boy over. But it's not what you think!" I quickly clarify.

"It's not what I think? Then explain yourself. Who is coming over? A friend of yours?" mom looks at me with narrowed eyes.

"Not exactly a friend either," I act mysteriously.

"I'm confused," mom says.

"Don't worry about it." I am starting to get impatient.

My mother's face turns serious.

"Listen, young man, as long as you live under my roof and you are a minor, I get to know who is coming to my house and spending time with my boy," she growled.

"God, mom. Since when are you so controlling?"

"I am not controlling. I just want to know who my son hangs out with for safety reasons."

"Alright, fine, it's this kid named Daniel in my school. He has some business...I mean, a school project to work on, so I am helping him.

Mom still looks at me suspiciously. "Oh really, how come I never heard about this kid? What kind of school project?"

"We are working on our physics project where we have to make a four-wheeled car out of a wood block and make it drive," I spew out my bullshit, hoping she would buy it.

My mom nods as if the explanation is good enough for her. "Okay, sounds like fun. When is he coming over?"

"He should be here in a few minutes now. Are you done interrogating me?

"For now, I would like to meet this new kid when he gets here. I'll be in my study." With that, mom left the room

God, I really hate living with my parents sometimes, I can't wait to move out, I think to myself.

I hear the doorbell ring, and it makes my heart jump. Daniel is here!

I pray that my mom doesn't catch him before he has the chance to come up to my room. I know my mom will think he is some kind of a thug

when she sees him all tatted up and will probably ask him some weird questions. I want Daniel to be prepared for that.

I let out a sigh of relief as I didn't see my mom anywhere, so it was just me in the living room. Daniel looks at me with an annoyed expression on his face. "I'm here, what now?"

"Come up to my room, and we will talk," I smile slyly.

"Your room?"

"Yes, my room. It's upstairs," I reply.

"Upstairs?"

I narrow my eyes. "Yes, that's what I just said."

"Can't we just stay down here? Daniel stands and looks around. His eyes are wide as if he had never seen a house like this before. "But wow! Your home is massive. I've never seen anything like it."

"Thanks, it's my parent's house, so I can't take credit for it. When I move out, I'll probably get a smaller apartment. I wouldn't want all these spaces if I'm just one person," I ramble on.

Why am I talking so much? Daniel doesn't care where I live when I move out!

"I think we will have more privacy in my room. My mom walks around here all day like a dictator, so if we stay here, she will ask us a hundred questions." I chuckled.

Daniel still hesitated. What was his deal?

"What's the matter with you? Why are you so hesitant to go to my room?" I ask him.

"I'm not comfortable with being alone with you. It's because..."

My mood turned dark as I realized what was going on. Daniel does not feel comfortable being alone with me because I'm gay. "Do you think just because I am gay, it makes me some kind of a sexual predator? That's typical, Daniel. But don't worry, being gay is not contagious," I try to hide the bitterness in my voice.

Daniel's eyes turn wide. "I didn't mean it like that!"

"Then what do you mean? You clearly don't want to be alone with me because you think I'm going to hit on you or something, right? What do you think will happen? I jump on top of you and grab your bicep and kiss you until you turn gay? Is that how you think gay guys find a boyfriend?"

"That was quite a description. I was not thinking any of that. I just figured that what if your mom thinks we have a thing between us or something? I mean...if I was a girl, she would've thought something was going on too. If you were straight, I mean." Daniel lets out a nervous chuckle.

Oh, is the scary Daniel Ortega actually a shy person? It made me feel giddy for some reason.

I guess I took it the wrong way. Now that he says it like this, it kind of makes a lot of sense. "I guess you're right, but I already told her that we are just schoolmates, so she won't think of much of anything. She might come and meet you to make sure you aren't some criminal or something. So stop being weird, dude," I urge him to go upstairs.

Daniel doesn't argue anymore and follows me. He was already making things awkward even though he had just got here. Maybe inviting him over here was a mistake.

Daniel comes into my room and looks around. "Nice room, it's big."

"Thanks, have a seat anywhere." I motion him to my desk, and I sit on the bed in front of him.

We don't speak for a few moments. I try to gather what I should say, but my mind is blank. So why did I invite him over again?

Ah yes, Francis.

"So tell me why you wouldn't beat up Francis for me? What are you afraid of?"

Daniel's face turns dark. He stares down at his foot, avoiding my eyes. "It's just that...he seems like a nice guy and I don't beat..."

"Francis is not a nice guy!" I roar, making Daniel flinch.

"What's your beef with him anyway?" Daniel looks at me curiously as if he is expecting some dramatic story from me.

"He bullies me, calls me names. Trust me, he deserves to get punched," I grumble.

"Or maybe you deserve it for being an asshole," Daniel snaps at me.

Anger flickers inside me. "Do I? He constantly beats me down for my sexuality. Are you saying I deserve it?"

"Yes. Not because you are gay but because you are the devil in the flesh. Don't you think I know what kind of person you are?" Daniel hisses at me and I give him a puzzled look.

"What are you talking about?" I narrow my eyes.

"You act all nice and friendly, but I know you are just some privileged obnoxious jerk who likes to flaunt his money to show people how important he is."

"Is that what you think of me?" I stand up and walk closer to him.

"Yep."

"What else do you think of me? Tell me because I am interested to see the most hated person in school judging me. That's rich coming from you, you know."

Daniel makes a faint sound. His dark brown eyes looked sad.

Shit...I went too far with my comments.

"S...sorry. I didn't mean that," I say quickly.

"Am I really the most hated person in school?" Daniel asks me. The hostility from earlier is gone from his voice and is replaced with sheer sadness. My heart constricts.

I put both my hands on his shoulders and look down at him. "No, Danny. I told you. Don't listen to me. I am full of shit."

"It's okay, and I get it. I look like a monster, and I act like one too. So, of course, people hate me."

"Stop it. No one hates you."

What is even happening anymore? I am supposed to be giving him a pep talk about how he should be beating Francis to the pulp, but here I am, trying to comfort him?

"Okay, then it's just you who hates me."

"Dammit, Danny! Enough with the self-pity and just focus on the mission!"

"See, you can't even deny it. You must find me-..."

I groan in frustration and grab his face and then...

I am floating in the cloud as my lips touches his. They feel warm and they made my skin tingle. 

Holy shit.

I just kissed Daniel Ortega, the scariest kid in school. I will surely die now.