A/N: New chapter (obviously) :) I really struggled with this one, so I hope it's not too bad. The reason for me having so much trouble with it probably had something to do with the fact that I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen in the chapter when I started writing it, lol. I usually have some idea, but I just made this up as I went along.
Friday
I awoke the next morning completely refreshed after a good night's sleep. Dylan was still sleeping peacefully next to me, and I smiled. Careful not to wake him, I slid out of bed and found my discarded pants. As I pulled them on, I heard a groan from behind me, and spun around.
"Do you have to put those on?" Dylan whined.
"I didn't know you were up," I said in surprise, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
"For about a half an hour. I just didn't want to move. I love your bed," he said, stretching.
I arched an eyebrow. "Well, next time my dad visits, you can sleep in it."
"Only if you sleep in it with me," he replied, grinning. "So anyway, about this wearing pants thing…"
"I'm wearing pants, Dylan."
"Fine. Be that way," he said, crossing his arms over his chest and pretending to be hurt. "But you pull off a birthday suit way better." I rolled my eyes.
"What time is it?" Dylan asked, glancing at my clock. The batteries had given out a few days prior, and now it constantly read five after three.
"I don't know. Looks pretty early still," I answered, judging from the pale morning light spilling in from my window.
"Cool. I don't have a class till noon," he said. "Come back down here. We don't have to get up yet," He reached up and pulled me down on top of him. I nestled my head in his chest, and he rested his chin on the top of my head.
"If we stay here I'm going to fall back asleep," I said, my eyes already drifting close.
"So?"
"So nothing. Just saying."
We never got the chance, however. There was a sharp knock at the door, and I felt alarm surge through me.
"Who is it?" I called apprehensively.
"Me," replied Ellie's voice, and I relaxed.
"Just a minute."
I got up off Dylan and tossed his pants to him. "Here, put some pants on." When he was clothed, I pulled open the door.
"Hey, El."
"Hey. I'm leaving in about five minutes, but I wanted to tell you before I left. Jesse and I are going out tonight, and we thought maybe you and Dylan would want to double? We're seeing a movie then getting something to eat. He's picking me up at seven, so if you guys want to come…"
"Yeah, sounds good. I'll ask Dyl," I said.
"Where is Dylan, anyway? His door was open, but he isn't in his room," asked Ellie.
I pushed the door open a little wider so that she could see the bed from the doorway. Dylan held up a hand in greeting, and her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
"Well, that explains why your pants are on backwards," said Ellie, glancing down. I looked down, too, and saw that she was right. Oops.
"I'm going to go, then. I'll see you guys later," she said, heading down the hall as she spoke.
"Bye," I called after her. I shut the door again and quickly fixed my pants, then sat back down on the bed, collapsing sideways on top of my boyfriend.
"So? You want to go?" I asked him, reaching up to twist a blonde curl around my finger.
He shrugged. "Sure, why not? What are we seeing?"
"Knowing the two of them? Some foreign movie with sub-titles."
"Great. Reading a movie. Just what I want to do," grumbled Dylan. I pulled my head up off him suddenly.
"Who said anything about reading?" I asked, trailing a finger suggestively down his arm. Dylan grinned, catching on.
"Back row seats?"
"You bet."
Another heavy rap on the door interrupted us. Figuring it was Ellie coming back to tell me something she had forgot to mention, I got up again and opened the door.
It wasn't Ellie.
Fear-induced adrenaline pumping through my veins, I quickly stepped out into the hall and pulled the door closed behind me. "Dad…uh, hi. Um, what's up?" I stammered.
He gave me a weird look. "What's going on in there?"
"Huh? What do you mean? What's going on where? What?" Well, at least I was able to keep my cool.
"In your room," he answered, throwing me another suspicious glare.
"There's nothing going on in my room," I said. This morning, anyway.
He looked from me to the door behind me and back. "What's with you? Is there something in there you don't want me to see?"
"No. Of course not. Just― it's kind of messy, and, you know…" I trailed off. Suddenly, taking me by surprise, he pushed past me and threw open the door. If it was possible for your heart to beat so violently that you broke a rib, I think I would have accomplished that feat right then. I held my breath and braced myself for the worst.
But it didn't come.
I followed him into my room, and did a quick sweep of it. Dylan had miraculously disappeared. I was too relieved to even be angry with my father for barging into my room in my own house. I bit my lip as my dad's eyes scanned the small space. I saw him arch an eyebrow at the male underwear catalog I had left lying on my desk. I blushed. Well, that wasn't awkward.
"I thought I heard talking," he confessed. "Maybe I'm going senile and hearing things in my old age, eh, Marco?" he joked.
I gave a fake but convincing enough laugh, my heart still beating furiously against my rib cage. "Maybe, Dad. You are getting up there in years," I teased. "Anyway, did you need something?"
"Actually, yes. I wanted toast for breakfast, but I can't figure out how to work the toaster," he said, furrowing his brow in obvious puzzlement.
This time I laughed for real, shaking my head. "I'll be there to help in a minute, dad. Just let me grab a shirt and I'll be right down," I promised. He thanked me, then left me alone. Well, not quite alone.
"Dylan, you can come out of the closet now. He's gone," I said. There was a commotion behind the closet door, then Dylan stumbled out.
"You know, I spent half my life in there, I never thought I'd be back in again," he joked. "Look what I found." He held up a stuffed bumblebee he'd found in the closet. I chuckled, immediately recognizing the furry insect. Dylan had gotten it for me once when I was sick.
"I forgot about old Bumbleina," I said. "Do you still have that whale I got you?"
"Marco Jr.? Yeah, I think he's in our closet," said Dylan.
"I forgot you named it that," I giggled.
"What? There's no good names like 'Bumbleina' for a whale," said Dylan defensively. He tossed the bee on my bed and yawned. "Well, I'm going to go take a shower."
"I've got to help my dad learn how to use the toaster, then I'm taking one, too. Alone," I added at the hopeful look Dylan gave me.
"Fine," he said again. "Be that way."
DARCODARCODARCODARCODARCODARCODARCODARCO
As it turned out, Jesse and Ellie hadn't chosen a movie with sub-titles. Actually, I'm not entirely sure what we ended up seeing. It wasn't as though Dylan and I had watched any of it. To our credit, we made it past three whole previews before losing interest.
When the movie was over (which was far too soon for my liking) we all decided to stop by a little café Jesse knew of and grab something to eat. Dylan and I sat across from Ellie and Jesse, pretending to remember the parts of the movie they were discussing. From what they were saying, it actually sounded like it had been pretty good.
"And then that part where the girl just throws the drumstick at that other chick's head― I was nearly in tears!" Jesse exclaimed hysterically, taking a bite out of a fry. Ellie was laughing too, obviously enjoying Jesse's recap of the film.
Dylan gave a forced chuckle. "Yeah, that part was great. The whole movie was great. We should do this again sometime." I nodded in agreement.
"And maybe next time you'll even watch the movie," joked Ellie, and she and Jesse dissolved into another fit of giggles. I wasn't sure exactly what had been in their cups besides soda, but both of them were unaccountably giddy.
"Hey, I'll have you know that we―" I froze mid-sentence, every muscle in my body immediately tensing up. Everyone looked confused for a minute, before an all-too familiar voice greeted us.
"Marco! I didn't know you were going to be here!"
I smiled awkwardly up at my father. What was he doing here? This place was cool. He wasn't supposed to be here."Yeah well, here I am."
My dad's gaze traveled the table we were seated around, then to all our surprise, he slid into the booth next to Dylan, forcing our entire semi-circle of people to rearrange themselves.
"Um, dad…what are you doing here?" I asked.
"I'm getting something to eat," he said slowly. "Isn't that what you do in these places? So what have you all been up to tonight?"
"Just hanging out," I answered before anyone else got the chance to. "Nothing in particular."
"But we did see this awesome movie," interjected Jesse. "Well, we saw this awesome movie…" he gestured to himself and Ellie. "They spent the entire time in the back row making―"
"Fun of the people in the other rows," Ellie interrupted swiftly. Jesse glanced at her, perplexed. Then suddenly his face contorted, and I was fairly certain Ellie had kicked him under the table.
My dad chuckled. "That sound fun. Hey, maybe I could come with you next time? I haven't seen good movie in a while," he suggested.
"Yeah dad, we should definitely do that." Ellie and Jesse exchanged glances, obviously trying not to laugh, while Dylan― the suck up― was smiling at my dad and looking enthusiastic. I tried to grin too, but it came out as more of a grimace.
"Great! Well, I should be getting back. It's almost time for bed," he glanced at his watch. He stood up, freeing a few extra feet of seat and allowing us all to space out a bit from each other. "You kids have fun. And be home by twelve," he added, nodding at me.
"Don't worry, sir. We'll have him home by eleven," promised Dylan. I glared at him. When my dad was safely out of the café and earshot, Dylan, Ellie, and Jesse all burst out laughing.
"Shut up, guys. It's not funny," I snapped, disgruntled. Where did my dad get off giving me a curfew, anyway? I wasn't a child. I didn't even live at home.
"Sure it is. To us," said Jesse, grinning widely.
"You better enjoy yourself, Marco. It's nine o'clock already. It's almost past your bedtime." taunted Ellie.
Dylan managed to fight his laughter under control, and threw an arm around my shoulders. "Aw, leave him alone, you guys. It's not his fault his dad treats him like a kid. I have to admit though, nine o'clock is pretty wild for you, you party animal."
Jesse snorted, and Ellie choked on her soda. I shoved Dylan's arm off of me and leaned back into the booth, sulking, my face burning. Ellie and Jesse were still snickering, but Dylan sobered up and dropped his hand to my knee.
"Hey, we were just joking," he said quietly. I shook my head. I knew that. The problem wasn't them, anyway. Sure, they were a little irritating, but that wasn't the real issue.
"Can we go outside for a minute?" I muttered back. He looked a little puzzled, but nodded and slid out of the booth. I followed him, and after a quick explanation to the other two― who were so engrossed with each other I doubted they even cared― we stepped outside the little café into the chilly winter air. I sighed, my breath visibly rising in little puffs in front of me.
"You okay?" Dylan asked softly. "Marco?"
"I don't know."
"What's wrong? Is it the stuff we were saying? Because we were just joking around. We'll stop if you want us to." We began walking along the sidewalk, careful not to stray too far from the café.
"It's not that…it's my dad."
"What about him?"
I stopped walking and turned to Dylan, tears of frustration and hopelessness beginning to well up in the backs of my eyes. This was a lose-lose situation all around.
"The fact that he still doesn't know about us. What Jesse almost said… about us making out in the back row? That could have blown everything right there."
Dylan shrugged. "Ellie stopped him."
"Yeah, this time. But what about next time? Or the time after that? What about how he almost walked in and saw you half-naked in my bed today? That's not exactly how I'd choose to have him to find out."
We stepped out of the middle of the sidewalk as half a dozen or so middle-aged men and women passed by us, taking refuge near the brick side of the building that lined one side of the walkway.
Dylan furrowed his brow, leaning his shoulder against the wall. "I thought you didn't want him to find out at all?"
"I don't. But then I do. I don't know, it doesn't make sense. I just hate those moments where I'm sure he's going to find out, and in the worst way…it feels like I just stop breathing for a second." I sighed, staring off out into the street, where dozens of people living lives undoubtedly several hundred times less complicated than mine went about their business.
"If he does find out," I said slowly. "I want it to be because I tell him to his face, not because of some stupid slip-up. I'm sick of lying, I'm sick of hiding us… and then there are times I'd do anything to keep it all a secret," I gave a humorless smile. "And now I sound insane."
Dylan chuckled. "You don't sound insane, you sound scared. I don't blame you. I would be."
I groaned. "But I want him to know. I'm just waiting, I guess…for the right moment. Is that stupid?"
Dylan considered it. "No. I get that too. But Marco, there's never going to be a perfect moment. You just have to go for whatever moment you have. Trust me, 'when' you tell him isn't going to matter. It's still going to hit him hard."
I nodded slowly, mulling over what he'd just said. "Paige says he's in denial. And she's right. He just doesn't want to accept that this is the way I am. How can I make him accept something if he just flat out doesn't want to?"
"You can't," Dylan said. "All you can do is give him the facts: You're gay. You're dating me. Nothing is going to change the fact that you like guys. After that, it's all up to him. And hey, the worst blow's over with: he already knows you're gay."
I snorted. "Yeah, but he doesn't accept it. And he doesn't get that it's not going to change. He's been trying all week to get me with a girl…Ellie, Paige…"
"Paige?" said Dylan in disbelief, snickering. "So he tried to set up a gay guy with a gay girl? He makes a pretty lousy matchmaker."
I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it as well. "Yeah, gay, lesbian…it doesn't matter to him. Adamo Del Rossi: uniting people from all colors of the rainbow." I was grinning, but my smile faded as I looked at Dylan. My wonderful, amazing boyfriend that I owed so much more than this secret relationship that made it seem as though I were ashamed of him, of us.
"Dyl?" I asked softly. If there had been many people or cars close by, it probably would have been too soft for him to even hear. He looked down at me expectantly, and I simply closed the short distance between us and wrapped my arms around his waist.
"I love you," I whispered into his neck. "You know that, right?"
"Of course. I love you, too," he replied, his arms immediately going around my back. I clung onto him, relishing the comfort he provided and for once ignoring the eyes of the nameless people who's attention we attracted.
"I'll tell him," I promised, releasing Dylan and leaning back to look him in the eye. I was suddenly full of determination, and realized that it was the first time that this actually felt real to me. I'd always known, on some level at least, that it would have to happen eventually. But this was the first time it really registered that 'eventually' might not be so far off. "I will."
I made a vow. I was going to tell my dad about Dylan and I before the week was over. I had two days to confess to him the secret I'd kept from him all these years. I only hoped that my dad and my secret continued to get along as well as they had been this week. Unfortunately, I had a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that this couldn't possibly go well. My plans always did seem to backfire.
…
A/N: 1) I have no idea what Marco's dad's name is really, so he's going to be Adamo in this story, lol.
2) The Marco's dad having trouble with the toaster thing was inspired by my grandpa, who, at seventy years old, finally figured out how to use both the oven and the toaster. Congratulations to him, lol.
3) R&R please :D
