Afternoon everyone! Its short, but chapter 10 is done! Its a little different from the other chapters so far. I hope you guys like it and I got more ideas last night while I was laying in bed unable to fall asleep. So all the fun things as I continue to write chapter 11. Enjoy!

Chapter 10 – A Father and Son

Kevin opened the door to his house to find his father standing in the living room. "Hey, what's up, Pop?" His father raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

"Don't give me that, kid. When am I going to meet him?" Kevin stared at his father incredulously.

"What are you talking about? We were studying and we both passed out. Lost track of time." Kevin went to walk upstairs but his father's voice stopped him.

"Kevin Thomas Barr Junior, get your ass back in here." Kevin's jaw tightened and he set his stuff down at the base of the stairs. He turned and walked into the living room and stared at his father. "Now listen here, when I ask you a question, I expect an answer, understood?" Kevin nodded slowly. "Alright. Now, when am I going to meet him? And don't give me that crap about studying and falling asleep. People do not study with the lights off when the Sun is down." Kevin blushed and his father nodded. "Uh huh, I thought so. Now spill. What does this boy mean to you, Junior?"

Kevin looked at the ground, anxiously fidgeting with his hands. "I don't know dad. I…" His voice trailed off as he tried to find the words that wouldn't disappoint his father. This man was a single dad with only Kevin for a child. What was he going to say if he found out his only son was gay?

"Do you love the boy?" Kevin's head snapped up to stare at his father in shock. "Listen, Junior…" His father's voice softened. "I don't care about preferences or anything like that. I just ask that you be straight up with me. Hell, let me know when you are going to be late. As long as he's a good kid that can keep my boy out of trouble, what more can I ask for?" Kevin nodded, his eyes watering a bit. "Oh, and as for the 'love' question, you don't need to answer that. I doubt you even know what love feels like yet. Just be careful, understand?"

Kevin nodded in response. "I will be, Pops. Don't worry about it. As for the 'L' word, I don't know. I just know I care about the kid and that I worry about him. I'm just seeing where it goes." His father nodded. "And as for the lights out at his place, we were studying, but something happened that distracted him so we stopped and ended up falling asleep. That wasn't a lie." His father gave him a disbelieving look. "I'm serious! He told me something that I didn't understand and it was upsetting to him."

"What did he say that was so confusing to you, son?" Kevin shook his head.

"It's nothing. It wasn't that it was confusing, exactly. More like, unbelieving. Let's just say, not all parents are as chill about something like this as you are." His father responded with a knowing nod.

"I see. Then next time, just bring him over for dinner. He must get lonely in that kind of environment." Kevin grunted in response.

"Dad… His parents haven't been home since last Christmas. That's when he told them he was gay." His father stared at him, a look of shock plastered on his face. "That's why there are never any cars in the driveway or in the garage. Dad, Edd lives in that house by himself. His parents provide him with money to take care of himself, but he's been living by himself." His father sat down on the couch, dumbfounded. Kevin sighed and walked over and sat next to him. "He's mature enough to handle himself though, so he knows what he's doing."

At that, Kevin's father let a grunt escape his mouth. "He's a child nonetheless, Junior, he shouldn't be living by himself." Kevin sighed and shrugged. "Alright, Junior, go collect him. He'll have dinner with us and stay here tonight. I'd like to speak to him myself, if that is alright." Kevin shook his head.

"I don't know, Pops. That might not be such a good idea. Why don't we just leave him be for tonight? It's been rough enough on him. I promise, I'll let you meet him soon enough, all right?" His father sighed and looked to his son.

"I understand your concern for the boy, Junior, however him living there alone does not sit right with me and I would rather that boy not be left alone like that. So what do you suggest we do about this?" Kevin sighed and looked his father straight into his eyes.

"Dad, let's just leave him for now. He's had a rough night and I'll talk to him tomorrow? He is pretty convinced that he can handle being on his own, and I don't doubt him." Kevin's father began to interrupt but Kevin stopped him. "No, let me finish. I won't let any harm come to him but he likes living by himself. I know he gets lonely, sometimes extremely lonely, but he won't be anymore. He's shy and not used to attention, especially from, well, me, and I doubt he'd be any better with you interrogating him. Let me do this my way."

Kevin's father gave him a long stern look but finally, he sighed heavily and nodded. "I hope you know what you've gotten yourself into, Junior. Just don't let this ruin your academics or your football, got it?"

Kevin nodded in agreement. "Don't worry about that, Pops. Besides, the Dork has been tutoring me, so my academics aren't at risk, ok?" His father nodded and walked over to the kitchen.

"Alright Junior, have it your way. Now let's have dinner and you can fill me in on what else has happened with you and this boy." Kevin sighed heavily and groaned. "Don't give me that. You have barely spoken to me in weeks. So get your ass into that kitchen and let's have dinner." Kevin grunted, smiled, and got up to follow his father into the kitchen to begin the interrogation.