Unexpected Love

(Corey's POV)

Lately, I've been going through something that's been confusing and…kind of bothering me. Ever since the encounter with that Newman, Larry, I haven't been the same.

I was walking through Peaceville Park when I saw a familiar head of red hair. Laney. She was sitting on a park bench by herself. I ran up to her, not wanting my best friend to be alone.

"Laney!" I yelled. She didn't turn around. I ran up behind her and put my hand on her shoulder. "Laney?" She finally turned around; or should I say 'he.' I realized I was looking into the eyes of Laney's gender opposite, Larry. I wanted to yank my hand away in disgust, but something kept me from doing so. It was like I was frozen as I looked into his beautiful, emerald eyes. Wait…what?

"Uh, could you get your hand off of me?" He asked awkwardly, his expression slightly annoyed. That's when I ripped my hand away, realizing I had had my hand on his shoulder for a couple minutes.

"S-sorry. I thought you were Laney." He rolled his eyes.

"I know you thought I was Laney when you put your hand on me, but when you saw it was me, why didn't you let go?" He asked, slightly disturbed. I was frozen to the spot. I would actually like to know that, too.

"I…I…uh…" I stuttered, trying to get a half-assed answer out. Larry rolled his eyes again.

"Whatever, Groj-dork. I've got better things to do than talk to you." He got up and started walking away.

"If you have better things to do, then why were you sitting on a bench doing nothing?!" I retorted after him. He didn't speak, but he lifted his hand over his shoulder, giving me the middle finger. "Jerk." I said to myself as I began to walk home.

After that incident, even though he was a jerk, I had become more…interested in him. It's like, whenever I close my eyes, I see him. Whenever I think about him, I feel butterflies. It also feels like…I want to see him again. It's weird. I'm supposed to hate The Newmans! I growled to myself and went upstairs to my room. I plopped down on my bed and looked at my alarm clock. 11:32 PM. I sighed and closed my eyes, not bothering to change or get under the covers. I immediately fell asleep, lost in my own thoughts.

(Larry's POV)

As I sat on the couch watching TV, I thought about the events of a couple days ago at the park. The disgusting vocalist of fromage-band touched me. He touched me! It'll take me weeks to wash that out. Suddenly, I heard my phone buzzing. I looked and saw that it was Carrie calling. I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lar. Just wondering if you were up for hanging out with me and the girls today." I smiled. At least I had something to brighten up my day.

"Sure, Care! I'll be right over."

"Great! See ya in a couple minutes!"

"See ya." I said and hung up. I got up, turned off the TV, and put on my combat boots. I walked out the door and headed to Carrie's house. When I got there, I saw all three of them sitting on the porch steps, looking bored out of their minds. Carrie suddenly perked up upon seeing me.

"Larry!" Carrie exclaimed. The other girls perked up, too. Carrie ran up to me and gave me the tightest bear hug known to man, causing me to blush.

"H-hey, Care." I stuttered. It's hard not to stutter when your being hugged to death by your crush. When she finally let go from her crushing hug, I straightened my back, hoping nothing was broken. "So, what're we gonna do?"

"Ooo, I know! I know!" Konnie said excitedly. "Let's go to Belchie's!" Of all the things we could do, she wanted to go to a fast food place? Typical Konnie.

"Belchie's it is!" Carrie said. We all walked to Belchie's, which wasn't too far away. We could get there five minutes flat. When we reached it, we went inside and ordered our food. When we got what we asked for, we picked a table, sat down, and started chowing down. I started thinking about Corey again. No, don't think about him! Just enjoy the day with your friends. I was in mid-bite when I heard Carrie speak to me.

"What's wrong, Lar?" I turned to her. She had a worried expression. I looked around at the others to see them looking at me the same way.

"What?" I asked, completely confused.

"Your food." She said, motioning to the burger in my hands. "You've barely touched it. You never eat this slowly." I looked around at everyone else's meals. They were all done. I still had half a burger and all my fries. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn't even noticed how slowly I was eating.

"I…uh…was just thinking about something." I said.

"What were you thinking about?" Kim asked.

"Something that happened a couple days ago. You know Corey, right?" They all nodded, and Carrie narrowed her eyes at the mere mention of his name. "Well, he talked to me. He touched me on the shoulder." I know I was probably making a big deal out of nothing, but all of the Groj-bad members were gross. Carrie had an angry look on her face.

"Like, what?!" She half-yelled. Suddenly, the door to Belchie's opened. I didn't really pay it much mind until I saw four people from a particular band walking in and start ordering. Carrie narrowed her eyes as they sat down, shooting them a death glare. "Speak of the devil." She hissed. Suddenly, she got up.

(Corey's POV)

As my band and I were eating our food, a blue-haired girl walked over to our table. Oh, no. She stopped in front of the table and put her hands on her hips in a very snobby way. She looked angry.

"Riffin." She greeted with an unfriendly tone.

"What do you want, Carrie?" I asked, slightly annoyed.

"Like, were you harassing Larry at the park a couple days ago?"

"What? No! I just went up to him because I thought he was Laney." I heard Laney let out an audible sigh. "Then I put my hand on his shoulder to-" Suddenly, she put a hand on the table in a very interrogational way and got in my face, pointing at me.

"Enough said. If I ever hear that you, like, touched one of my band members again, I will end you." She growled. Then, Larry rushed over and grabbed Carrie's hand.

"C'mon, Care." Larry told her. "It's not worth it." She gave me one last hateful look before going back to her seat.

"Jeez. All I did was touch him. They're acting like I tried to kill him!" I told my band. They already knew about everything that had happened. Laney looked at me.

"Maybe you should apologize." She suggested. I almost choked on my food.

"Dude, are you kidding? Carrie will eat me alive if I go near any of them! Plus, why should I apologize?! They're completely overreacting!"

"True," Kin said, "but you can't get through to a Newman. Apologizing would probably be the best option. And who knows, maybe you will come out alive." Well, that sure was helpful. I sighed in defeat.

"Fine, I'll apologize." I muttered. The band nodded as we continued eating our food. The whole time, though, I was looking at Larry a few seats away. I felt the butterflies again. Why did this boy make him feel so giddy? Do I…like Larry? What?! No, Corey! That's crazy! You're not gay! But the evidence was clear as day. I was pulled from my thoughts when I saw the Newmans get up, ready to leave. As they passed by, Carrie sneered at me. I ignored it and stopped Larry while the other Newmans kept walking. "Hey, can you meet me here tomorrow?" I whispered. He gave me a look of disgust.

"What? No!" Ouch. He started to walk away. Without thinking, I grabbed his hand and put on a pleading face.

"Please? We need to talk." I told him. I don't care that he hates me. I just want him to know. He sighed and looked at his friends.

"What time?"

"12 PM?"

"Fine, but make it quick!" He said before running off to catch up to his band. I sighed in relief. Tomorrow. I'll tell him tomorrow. When the band and I finished our food, we got up and left. I walked home and unlocked the door. I went upstairs, took a shower, and then crawled into bed, falling asleep with thoughts of Larry clouding my head.

(Larry's POV)

As I lied on my bed, I looked at my hand. It still tingled from when Corey grabbed it. A small blush spread onto my face. When he touched my hand, it felt warm and made me feel…happy. Like our hands were made to touch. I sighed, trying to push the thoughts out of my head, but it was no use. All I could think about was Corey as I fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, I got up and changed into my usual clothes. I checked the time. 11:49 AM. Wait, what? I slept that long?! I have to go meet Corey! I ran out of my room and down the stairs. I made myself a piece of toast and ate it quickly. Then, I rushed out my door. As I was hurrying down the street, I realized something: Wait…why am I rushing to go see Corey? The loser can wait. I'll get there when I want.

I slowed my pace and smirked, but suddenly frowned because I couldn't believe that, for a second, I had forgotten that I hated him. I wonder why. Before I knew it I was standing in front of the fast food place. I opened the door and looked around. I saw him sitting alone with his head down in his arms. I reluctantly walked over.

"Corey." I said, trying to get his attention. His head shot up. His face was red, but I didn't know why. He motioned with his head to the seat across from him. I sat down and listened to him.

"Larry…I don't know, really, how to say this…"

"Well, hurry up. I don't have all day." I rudely interjected. He looked at me, a scared expression on his face. Whoa. I've never seen him look like this before. I immediately felt bad for being rude. What?! No, I shouldn't feel bad! He's my enemy! But…as I looked into his beautiful, sky-blue eyes, I could help but feel empathetic.

"S-sorry." Corey mumbled.

"No!" I accidentally blurted out. "Oh, I mean no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been rude. Please, continue." Now, someone tell me why I'm apologizing to him.

"O-okay." He said softly. He still looked nervous. I, for some reason, felt the need to comfort him, so I got up and went to sit next to him. He looked at me strangely, like what I did was completely unexpected, then he just turned away and continued. "Well, yesterday, I…I found out I was…gay." My eyes widened as I scooched back a little.

"W-why are you telling me?" I asked him. He looked at me through the hair cascading over his face.

"I think you know why…" He said softly, almost in a whisper. I gulped, my face getting hot. H-he likes…me? After the way I've treated him the past couple days? Damn. I guess he took my silence as a sign to continue. "Do you…hate me even more, now?" He asked, lowering his head like a puppy getting scolded.

"Honestly…I don't know." I said softly. "I'm not sure what to think." My gaze lowered to my hands on the table, which were inches from his. I slowly moved my hand over and grabbed his. I felt the tingle again. His head suddenly shot up, and his eyes looked down to our hands.

"Wha…does this mean-" I raised my free hand to silence him.

"I…don't know if I like you, but I don't think I hate you anymore…if that makes sense." His shoulders sank.

"Oh…" He said solemnly. He started to get up. I felt really guilty, now. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings!

"No, Corey! You don't have to go." I said, as he started to walk away.

"No." He said. "I understand." That just made me feel more guilty. I felt so guilty, I did something I never thought I'd do. I grabbed his arm, spun him around, and crashed my lips against his. His eyes widened in surprise, but he slowly fell into it.

(Corey's POV)

I felt my eyes become wide in shock as Larry kissed me, but I soon fell into it. As soon as it had come, it ended. We parted, and Larry looked down in shock, like he couldn't believe what he had just done.

"Larry?" I asked. He looked up at me.

"Oh, s-sorry." He said. Our faces were only inches apart, and were getting ever closer. "I jus-" His words were cut off as our lips met again, this time with force at both ends. I brushed my hand through his spiked hair as the kiss intensified. I put my hands on his shoulders as he put his hands on my waist. He says he doesn't like me, but he was using such passion. I brushed my tongue against his bottom lip, testing the water. Surprisingly, he allowed entry, as I did for him. My face was burning, and I could tell his was, too. After about five minutes, we broke apart, panting.

"Wow…" Was all I could say.

"Wow is right." Larry panted, smiling at me. I smiled back.

"Does this mean…"

"I…I think so." He said, looking like he was thinking about it. "Y-yeah. I think I'd like that." He said sweetly. I squeezed my eyes shut as our foreheads touched. I felt a tear of happiness escape from my eye as we embraced. Then, too soon, we separated. We walked out of Belchie's and into the cool night. Man, we've been here for a while. As we were about to leave, Larry turned towards me and gave me a hug, which I returned. When we let go, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

Today had been great and rather…unexpected. And…I didn't care that he was a boy. I smiled as I walked home. I knew my band would hate me for this, but I'm sure Larry will have a lot of explaining to do, too. After a while, though, I think both bands will get used to it. I smiled as I walked home, glad that today had happened.