Little Boy Blue
They were neighbors, that was all he knew about him really. And that he always mowed the grass every week, no sign of his parents. Sometimes when he came home from school and saw the stay at home hives around the block talk, waiting for their kids to get out of school- the rumours really intrigued him.
"Not once, have I ever seen his parents walk out of those doors." the gossiping women exchanged between themselves as they stared towards the pale japanese boy, spindly and pushing a machine twice his weight forward, alabaster skin flushed and sunburnt in some areas. When he turned, curious, he realized his grandmother left two glasses of ice tea out, with ice and all. He hummed in confusion, but when he looked to the boy again, the message couldn't be any clearer. The other woman's words stilled him as he took the glasses in his two hands, shouldering off his school bag on the front porch. "Maybe he doesn't have any."
He strode off to the white short picket fence, not serving its purpose because he could easily hop over it, but it cleared waist height with the blue eyed boy, strangely attractive and paused. He looked at the boy again, clothed in denim shorts and a green tank top, looking like a drenched cat. One look from the blue eyed boy told him that he was unwelcome until he spotted the glass of ice tea in his hand, as the eyes lingered there, and his chest rose and fell faster, the blue eyed boy took the glass out of his outstreched hand without a second thought, gulping it down, all the while glaring at him like he was ragweed that he didn't want in his welly maintained garden.
That was the start of a beautiful friendship.
Ahem. Forget the adjective. That was the start of their friendship.
After he took the intiative from his grandmother, Watanuki (the boy practically spat at him when he was asked, then quickly yelling at him to stop standing in his yard and giving him yellow grass) came over more often, and sometimes when grandmother wasn't home, just walked into his home like it was his own, and would lye on his bed, watching him do homework, or watch him practice archery, even scrutinize and critisize his cooking-just so he could teach him how to cook. Watanuki was actually around his age, and had been living in the subdivision longer than him, but that was all he revealed. Whenever he asked if he could go over to his house, he was blatantly denied. Whenever he asked about family, he would always avoid teh topic and confess that he didn't want to talk about it. What confused him was why they didn't go to the same school and why was Watanuki always around.
As summer rolled around, they would do more together, even opt to take turns adn switch mowing Watanuki's lawn, seeing it was such a hardship for the spindly teen. They would walk into town for ice cream. More cooking lessons. Sit outside and enjoy the weather with his grandmother. Even hosted a festival on behalf of his family for the summer holidays for Tanbata. He invited the boy of course, and he refused. Tired of rejection, he prompted further. 'Why?' he asked furitively. Watanuki looked down, still wearing the green tank top and denim shorts. 'I don't have any yukatas.' he muttered angrily, cheeks pink with embarassment. That night he lent the boy his old baby blue yukata- a gift from his deceased parents. It didn't bother him in the least. It looked better on Watanuki then it did on himself. When he said that, the dramatic boy made a fuss about and to stop acting weird, that it was wrong for a boy to be cute.
Without thinking, he blurted that he was indeed cute, and that it didn't matter anyways because he was gay. They both had stopped to stare at each other, and he hung his head. He hadn't even told his grandmother yet. He waited for Watanuki to start yelling, to leave him. Both things he would usually too. Instead, he had held the seated Doumeki, his head in the lonely boy's arms, and let hismelf be comforted.
For a japanese literature project one night, he had to read a poem and write an analysis and answer some questions. It was the simplest assignment of the whole year and he hadn't been able to do it. It hurt Watanuki.
It was around nine in the evening on a Thursday night, he was still in his uniform typing away at his computer. The room was lit with a pale yellow glow as it always was, and Watanuki was on his back on the bed as usual and beckoned the boy over. Curiously the green clad boy crawled over on his knees to see the words on the screen. "This is one of favorite poems of all time." the boy squinted for a long time, and when looked at expectantly, turned angry. "I can;t even read it!" he laughed and fished his grandmother's bifocals and perched them on the bridge of his nose. The boy blinked at first, and then looked at his face in awe. He coughed as the boy continued his unconcealed gawking, staring at his face in such shock, he coughed and blushed unoticably. "Watanuki, umm, the poem?" the boy seemed to realize he was staring at blushed more obviously, still staring at the screen uncomprehending. He relaized it then.
"Are you illiterate?" it made sense really. The boy turned to him in a fit of madness "No you jerk! I just haven't read in a long time!" he shouldn't push him any further but it was fun to. "You forgot to read overnight?" he asked with a smirk. "Shut up-" he cut Watanuki off, too eager to read it out."Fine, I'm reading it to you."
My child arrived just the other day,
Came into the world in the usual way,
But there were planes to catch, bills to pay,
He learned to walk while I was away.
He was talking before I knew it,
And as he grew, he said,
"I'm going to be like you, Dad,
you know I'm gonna be like you."
And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon, "When you coming home, I don't know when,
We'll get together then, Son,
You know we'll have a good time then."
Son turned ten just the other day,
He said, "Thanks for the ball Dad come on lets play,
Can you teach me to throw?"
I said, "Not today, I've got a lot to do."
He said, "Thats OK" and he walked away
smiling ever bit that said,
"I'm going to be like him, yea,
you know I'm gonna be like him."
And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon,
"When you coming home, I don't know when,
We'll get together then, son,
You know we'll have a good time then."
Came home from college just the other day,
So much like a man that I had to say,
"Son I'm proud of you, will you sit for a while?"
He shook his head and he said with a smile,
"What I really want Dad is to borrow the car keys,
See you later, can I have them please?"
And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon,
"When you coming home, I don't know when,
We'll get together then, Dad,
You know we'll have a good time then."
I have long since retired, now our Son's moved away,
I called him up just the other day,
I said, "I'd like to see you, if you don't mind."
"He said I'd love to Dad if I could find the time.
You see my new job's a hassle, and the kids got the flu,
But it's sure nice talking to you Dad,
I'ts sure nice talking to you."
As I hung up the phone it occurred to me,
My boy was just like me, he'd grown up just like me.
And the cats in the cradle and the silver spoon,
Little boy blue and the man on the moon,
"When you coming home, I don't know when,
We'll get together then, Son,you know we'll have a good time then."
He gauged his friend's expression, only to find it blank. He looked ridicuolus, leaning over him, wearing his grandmother's bifocals. He had the deadest look in his eyes, and remained frozen in spot. He hadn't come over since then.
Later that night, he begged his grandmother to let him buy Watanuki prescription eye glasses.
He was long ago forgiven by Watanuki, but the boy hadn't visited until now. It was summer, way too hot, he left all the windows open and was fanning himself in his room, laying spread eagle on his own bed. Almost too quite to be heard was the open and closing of his door. He looked and saw Watanuki wearing his usual attire, the same clothes since he met him, leaning on his door, hands behind his back and new thick wire rimmed glasses perched on his nose and worn over his eyes. Before he even sat up to ask what Watanuki was doing there, the boy said it himself.
"I want you to have sex with me." he said without shame or pride, I sat up in alarm, wondering if I was hearing right. Light enough that he hadn't even moved his hand at all, he pushed my chest back down onto the bed, climbed into my lap and pulled me in for a kiss.
He woke up to the sound of ambulances, and the tangling of his comforter on his sweaty legs as he pulled it up to hide his naked self as he ran out to see his bawling grandmother. She had her face in her hands and was sobbing loudly, he did a double take as he saw the police file into Watanuki's house. "Shizuka! T-the paramedics said Watanuki-kun commited suicide! How could he? Did something happen-" she looked at him for a moment and he stood there, having no idea what to feel. As sirens went off, he let the public see his crown jewels as he dropped the comforter, arms dangling numb at his sides as his world turned into a viel as he sank to his knees. All of the sudden, all around stank like opium and cherries.
'Do you have a wish?" he looked up to see a beautiful provocative woman, dresses in a revealing crimson kimono, opened and littered with crazy designs that he didn't bother to glance at. He didn;t care that it wa simpossible for him to sudddenly have clothes as he nodded mutely, and his world had transitioned into nothingness.
A world without Watanuki wasn't a world for him.