I'll Be The One
Chapter 13:
=Normal POV=
[Monday, 12/3/2018-8:00 pm]
[Archipelago; Arc Isle]
[Dragon's Nest Bar]
It had been nice for Hunter to get out of the apartment and be hanging out with Tallon at the bar, which was just down the street from the complex. It was a calm environment to be in with the televisions showing different stations such as the news or sports. There was music playing in the background, and patrons of the bar were just chatting it up with one another. Hunter and Tallon enjoyed two drinks each and both had a light buzz going; they also finished their appetizer sampler, which helped in making sure neither of the two got entirely drunk. The atmosphere was nice, and it let them relax and get to talk more, so far, it's been mostly conversations about their lives growing up, funny moments with friends or family.
"So, wait…How many siblings do you have?" Hunter asked with a smile.
"Too many. There's me; the oldest. And then there is Garet, Daniel, Arianna, Elliot, and Cole," Tallon said again, laughing a bit.
"Wow," Hunter blinked.
"Mom and Dad both came from a family of being the only child, so they wanted a big family," Tallon stated. "I'm the oldest at age twenty-one. Garet is nineteen, Daniel is seventeen. Arianna and Elliot are twins, both fourteen. Cole is the youngest at eleven,"
"I can see that. I'm an only child," Hunter admitted. "My parents wanted more kids, but it didn't work, so just me and they were done,"
"What do you mean it didn't work out?" Tallon inquired.
"Well, my parents are ten years apart in age. They tried to have kids after me, but mom struggled to get pregnant or carry a baby to term; she'd miscarry before three months. And then I think there was one stillbirth at seven months when I was thirteen. After that; they stopped because dad was running for president and got elected when I was fourteen and in the eighth grade. Guess they were happy with their one perfect son. That's why they call me; the one perfect child," Hunter explained.
"I'm sorry about that," Tallon stated sympathetically.
"It's okay," Hunter smiled a little. "I don't mind," he added.
"So, can I ask you something that might be a bit personal?" Tallon wondered.
"Sure," Hunter nodded.
"Are you…Bisexual?" Tallon asked as Hunter blinked a few times.
"Yes, actually. How'd you know?" Hunter responded.
"I just get a feel for it sometimes," Tallon smiled.
"Are you?" Hunter arched a curious brow.
"I am gay," Tallon confessed calmly. "How'd you tell?"
"No straight man asks another man what their sexual orientation is out of the blue over drinks in a bar when it's just them," Hunter stated with a giggle.
"Huh, never been given that reason before and not entirely sure if it's true or not. I just figured it'd be another topic to talk about," Tallon shrugged. "I assume you're comfortable with what you are?"
"Oh, very. I knew I was bi when I was thirteen," Hunter said gently. "My parents and Godfather know, all accepting of it. How about you?"
"No shame. My family knows; they accept and support it," Tallon nodded. "How'd you find out?"
"Bathroom at school; one of the only friends I had was gay and he liked me. He kissed me on a dare, and I started feeling something for him. He confessed his feelings to me, and it took me a little bit to sit with things afterward, but I realized I didn't mind another male liking me and I found him attractive too. We dated for a bit when we were fifteen, maybe a year before mutually agreeing that we were better friends. I learned later it was because he was moving away and didn't want us to suffer a long distance-type thing until time could be found to meet up and see each other," Hunter revealed calmly, taking another drink of his southern comfort and coke.
"Did your parents ask you if you were or did you tell them?" Tallon questioned.
"Little bit of both. I started to tell them, and they asked me right out. I guess they caught my ex and I sharing a kiss goodbye before his parents showed up to get him one of the nights that he came over to hang out," Hunter smiled.
"Are you two still good friends?" Tallon wondered now.
Hunter looked down a bit. "No. I'm sure we would be if he were still alive, though,"
"Oh, my Gods. Hunter, I'm sorry; I-I didn't know he'd passed away," Tallon informed quickly, feeling bad.
"It's okay, Tal," Hunter replied. "I didn't expect you to know," he added gently. "It was a car accident in January 2017; I had been with Cassandra at the time, but when I found out my ex died, it hit me pretty hard,"
"Was Cassandra understanding?" Tallon asked.
"She understood I'd lost a friend, but she didn't know that he and I dated. Cassandra has a problem with homosexuals…So I never told her I was bisexual and had dated another man before her," Hunter smiled a bit. "Odin only knows that we would have fought. What about you? How'd you learn you were gay?" he turned the conversation around now.
"I was sixteen; locker room at school and a bunch of guys always in their underwear, walking around shirtless. Guess it just hit me one time that I was attracted to males over females," Tallon said.
"You ever date anyone?" Hunter inquired.
"Nope," Tallon shook his head. "And…Our friends don't know I'm gay either,"
"Never told them or do they not like that kind of thing?" Hunter wondered.
"Never told them, not sure how they'd take it," Tallon shrugged.
"If they are your true friends; they'll be as supportive and accepting as your family. I haven't said anything because I don't feel I know them well enough to reveal my sexual orientation and it's never come up in conversation like it did tonight with us," Hunter smiled.
"Fair point," Tallon smiled back. "Wanna head back to the apartment and talk more? It's starting to get noisy and busy," he asked.
"Sounds good," Hunter nodded. "I should probably get some homework done too," he laughed a little. Hunter got the sweater on while Tallon took care of the bill; the two finished their drinks quick and left the bar. Hunter put his hood up as they walked down the street together.
. . .
[8:30 pm]
[Dreki Apartments; A10]
There were no problems getting back to the complex and reaching Tallon's room, except for the fact all their friends were there.
"Um?" Tallon asked, making them whip around.
"There you are!" Avery stated first.
"Where have you been?" Drew asked.
"Out with Hunter," Tallon replied calmly.
"That's Hunter?" Roxanne blinked as Hunter took off the glasses and pulled his hood down.
"Why is he wearing your clothes? Where were you two?" Seth asked.
"I snuck him out of the building for some fun," Tallon stated. Silence among the group. "Oh, my Gods…" he sighed and opened the door to his apartment. "Get inside," he told them. The group filed in as Tallon closed the door. Hunter took off the glasses and hoodie, handing them back to Tallon.
"Thanks for the disguise," Hunter said. "I'll give these back in a sec; I just have to change first," he added.
"You're fine; I told you that is stuff that doesn't fit me anymore," Tallon said. "Keep it; looks good one you anyway,"
"Are you sure?" Hunter asked.
"Absolutely," Tallon smiled.
"Well, thanks," Hunter replied, attempting hard not to blush since everyone was in the apartment.
"So…What was all this about?" Trevor wondered now.
"Earlier; the paparazzi followed me to the complex. My guards were trying to keep them back while I got into my place, but I couldn't because Flynn had the door locked from the inside. I panicked and thought this room was a closet or something; turns out I'd completely forgotten it was Tallon's apartment," Hunter began.
"How'd you get in last minute though?" TJ asked.
"My door is broke and doesn't close all the way on its own. Hunter rushed through and closed it once inside; I told him he could hideout here until the situation was under control," Tallon informed.
"And you two going out?" Flynn wondered. "Also, wicked sorry about locking the door, Hunter…"
"It's cool; I was fine," Hunter waved it off.
"Hunter and I got to talking about how he's never been able to go out and have fun without his guards, so I gave him an outfit of mine that doesn't fit, and smuggled him out past his guards while they thought he was still hiding out in my room. We've been down at Dragon's Nest since 5 pm-ish," Tallon smiled. "Had a couple drinks, some snacks,"
"It was getting louder, so we bailed and came back here to chat more," Hunter stated. "And I have to attempt to get some homework done," he added.
"What brings all of you by?" Tallon inquired.
"You weren't answering messages, so we were worried if things were okay," Elijah informed.
"Nah, I'm fine. Hunter challenged me to be able to sneak him out and still have fun without everyone making a big deal over things," Tallon said. "By the way, have I won that?" he chuckled at Hunter.
"I'll let you know when I finish deciding. You said the night wasn't over yet, so let's see what else you got," Hunter grinned.
"You're a pain in my ass," Tallon rolled his eyes.
"I can be if you want me to be," Hunter smirked. "Or I can be a pleasure. The choice is yours, Tal,"
"My Gods! You're a friggin pervert," Tallon remarked.
"Oh, you have no idea," Hunter quirked his brows invitingly.
"Wow," a few of the friends blinked in response.
"Alright, you want a good time?" Tallon asked.
"Oh, baby…Don't tease me…" Hunter shivered playfully.
"LEWD!" the friends gasped.
"Oh, shush," Hunter waved them off.
"What classes do you have tomorrow?" Tallon inquired.
"Advanced System Design from 8 to 11 am; then Advanced Graphics from 2 to 4 pm," Hunter informed. Tallon went to the fridge, opening it up and then standing with his back to Hunter while working at the counter.
"If we stop around 11, will you be fine for class tomorrow?" Tallon asked.
"Stop at 11, bed by 12:30, up for 7 am…Yeah, I'll be okay," Hunter nodded. Tallon turned and brought over clear plastic cup with a drink in it and handed it to Hunter.
"Let's pick up where we left off and continue having some fun then," Tallon said, holding up his cup with the same mix in it. Hunter smiled as they tapped their cups together and took a drink.
"I'm down," Hunter nodded.
"Alright, you know we're fine, so beat it," Tallon told the others.
"What, we can't hang too?" Avery asked.
"We're just sitting around, drinking and talking like we did at the bar. Besides, we were having a private conversation," Tallon said. "We'll all hang at the hideout this weekend or something, but tonight; I promised that I would personally show Hunter a relaxing, fun time, just us," he added.
"Dude, sounds really gay…" TJ stated. Hunter saw Tallon tense a little, worried they weren't going to be as accepting.
"First off; it's wrong to make a statement like that without knowing someone's sexual orientation because you could offend them. As an example; I'm bisexual, so I'm cool with hanging out with just guys, girls, or both. However, I'm open about my sexuality, so it wouldn't offend me. But not knowing what someone is could offend and hurt them because it makes you seem judgmental, unsupportive, and unaccepting of the lifestyle that some choose to live. If any of your friends were bi or gay and hadn't come out yet; you probably just made them feel like you wouldn't accept or support them. Secondly; we, as in Tallon and me, made these plans to hang out before you assumingly got worried and decided to come hound the door about Tallon's whereabouts. If he didn't answer his phone; he's obviously busy. Don't be up his ass," Hunter mentioned.
"Okay, he's got a point," Harper said.
"We did kind of intrude on them," Flynn nodded.
"Uh, yeah, you did…" Tallon rolled his eyes.
"Sorry," the friends said together.
"Alright, shoo. I'll bring him to his apartment later, Flynn," Tallon informed.
"Okay, see ya later," Drew said as they headed out of the apartment, leaving Hunter and Tallon by themselves to relax in the A10 room of Dreki Apartments.
"I'm so sorry they interrupted," Tallon sighed.
"Hey, don't worry about it. At least you know they care if you disappear for a few hours," Hunter smiled as they sat together on the couch next to one another.
"True. I wonder what happens if you disappear," Tallon chuckled.
"My father will declare it an emergency and call in every available resource to find me. We're talking military, island guard, ABI, BAIA, police…" Hunter sat back, taking a drink from his cup as Tallon did the same.
"Well, I guess we'll make sure you don't go missing then," Tallon stated. "Makes sense why he always has tabs on you. One miscommunication and every force on the island will be looking for you when you're probably just sleeping," he informed.
"Gods…That happened once when dad was mayor of Berk…" Hunter sighed.
"Oh, story time, Please, continue?" Tallon urged.
"It's actually happened a few times. Nothing as state of emergency, but many times where there was a miscommunication where my dad has freaked out not knowing where I was and sent the masses to locate me. Most of the time it's because I got home from school, sick, and went right to bed or Cassandra and I were on a date or possibly fucking," Hunter remarked.
"Anyone ever walk in on that event?" Tallon asked.
"Once, but thankfully we were under the covers, so nothing actually seen," Hunter replied.
"Yikes," Tallon cringed.
"Needless to say; I made dad promise to check normal places first. Like…Call me, text me, check my normal rooms and locations, talk to my bodyguards…Knock on my bedroom door first. Needless to say; he agreed because I didn't give him a choice," Hunter responded.
"Seems fair; I'd probably be pretty pissed too," Tallon nodded, as they both took a drink. "So, I feel I have to thank you for what you said earlier to our friends…On TJ's gay comment,"
"I saw you tense up in worry that they might have wondered if you were gay or bisexual. I thought to step in and make a statement about what I am to them, that they shouldn't make claims like that without knowing because it can be hurtful and offensive," Hunter enlightened.
"I still appreciate you saying something. It's not often that I'm speechless with them, but I guess I'm just worried what they'll think. You know? I've known I'm gay since I was sixteen, officially, but I probably started in that area when I was fourteen or fifteen; it took me a bit to settle with the idea and accept it for myself before telling my family," Tallon said.
"Hey, you don't have to explain it to me. I get it; it's not easy to come out of the closet. Family, typically, is always accepting and supportive because that is a forever love. I know there are some families out there who are not that way, but we don't live in that time anymore; where being gay or bisexual is new and…Unnatural. A lot of people are coming around and just see things as it's loving someone else no matter if it's a male and female, or two of the same gender," Hunter explained. "Telling friends is different because, as an example, Cassandra doesn't support or like it, so I never told her about me being bisexual. You worry what they'll do, say, even think,"
"Yeah, that's about how I feel with it," Tallon nodded calmly, taking a drink.
"It's cool; I get it," Hunter smiled. "Hey, it's entirely your choice when and if you tell them, Tal. But for what it's worth; I accept and support it as someone in the same community. Yeah, that's a good word for it," he added.
"Glad I have one friend in my corner," Tallon laughed a little. "I'll tell them at some point; I don't feel like they'll hate me or whatever…I guess I wonder how they'll react to finding out I've been gay and never said anything when I found out,"
"Well, when did you meet them? Did they know you when you were found out you were gay?" Hunter asked.
"No, I met Avery, Trevor, and Seth at the police academy when we were eighteen and out of high school. But I met Drew and Elijah when all of us got put on the undercover gang objective a year and a half ago. I met Harper, Madison, the twins, and Flynn when the gang thing started too because we all started hanging out and using our skills together to take down the bad guys," Tallon mumbled.
"I know, you told me the night I showed up there unexpectedly. Heck, you've roped me into it now," Hunter chuckled some. "No, I get it, Tal," he said. "But look; you've only actually been friends for almost two years. You're not obligated to tell them every little detail about yourself. Especially if all this started as a mission where you inadvertently ended up as friends,"
"I suppose you're right," Tallon agreed. "You know, it's nice having someone to talk to about all this who understands," he admitted.
"I can agree with that. It sucks to feel like you're on your own with it," Hunter stated. "It's nice to have someone other than family know, and get where you're coming from," Hunter assured. Both took another drink, then laughed together.
"I'll probably tell them soon; they didn't seem to take bad to you being bisexual," Tallon reminded.
"I did that on purpose, to see what they would do for your sake," Hunter confessed gently.
"You told them for me?" Tallon blinked.
"To see how they'd react to the news; seems like they took it well and have only known me a few months. I thought maybe it'd help you see that your friends, a little time as you may have been friends with them, won't care about your orientation. Also, discreetly added that their comments in that form make them seem judgmental, unaccepting, and unsupportive," Hunter smiled.
"I…Did hear you do that," Tallon nodded. "I never heard them respond, though,"
"Give it some time to sit with them. Bet you they've all gotten together at mine and Flynn's place to discuss what I said tonight or hang out since we're not joining them," Hunter assured.
"You know…You're a pretty understanding and cool guy, Hunter," Tallon found a smile.
"I guess that if roles were reversed in certain situations; I'd hope someone was doing the same thing for me," Hunter shrugged. "That's something…" he paused a moment. "My mom always told me; to be kind, understanding, considerate, humble, etc. Do for others what you'd want them to do for you," he added.
"Your mom sounds like an amazing woman, both your parents do," Tallon said. Hunter finished his drink quietly as Tallon could sense the shift in Hunter's moods, and couldn't help but wonder if it was talking about his mom that caused it. "You want another one?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. I'm not worried about my homework since I don't have that class again until Wednesday and can do it tomorrow during lunch or at night," Hunter replied. Tallon smiled as he took Hunter's cup and rose from the couch to get to the kitchen. Tallon was glad to be spending this time with Hunter, and Hunter, felt the same; this was nice for them to be able to hangout and just talk about whatever over a drink or two.
. . .
[11:15 pm]
[Dreki Apartments; A1]
The few extra hours together were fun; Hunter and Tallon just talked about different things, but nothing major in their lives. At the time slowly crept to 11 pm, the boys stopped drinking when they felt themselves slipping into a more uncontrolled drunken state. Tallon provided water and a couple snacks for them to soak up some of the alcohol before it came to now when they stood outside the A1 apartment, which was Flynn and Hunter's place.
"Well, this has been a great night," Hunter told Tallon with a smile.
"Yeah, it has," Tallon replied.
"Seriously, Tal; it's the most fun I've had because it wasn't with one of my parents, my uncle, or my now ex-girlfriend. It was with a friend, something I haven't had in a long time since my ex-boyfriend," Hunter informed. "So thank you," he added. "You won the challenge," he giggled a little.
"A win I'll take with pride. I'm glad I could show you a good time," Tallon said.
"It felt nice to be treated normal for a while," Hunter mentioned.
"Doesn't only have to be tonight, Hunter. You ever get some free time and want to chill; I'm down for another day or night like this. Feel free to accidentally stumble into my apartment anytime to escape paparazzi," Tallon laughed a little.
"I'll bear the thought in mind," Hunter chuckled. "I should get some sleep. Thank you for tonight," he stated.
"You're welcome. Night, Hunter; rest well," Tallon smiled.
"You as well, Tallon. Night," Hunter scanned his card and entered his apartment, closing the door. Tallon headed back down the hall to his own as both of them ended up taking a deep breath and leaning against the inside of their doors and thinking the same thing.
I don't understand why I feel this way around him, but I love it.