I'm Not Gay, I Swear! | McPriceley

Chapter Seventeen

To say Kevin was a wreck was an understatement.

It had been only a few days since Connor had left, and no one had even heard from Kevin. According to his parents, he had locked himself in his room, and only came out for necessities, like dinner. Sometimes when they stood outside his door, they could hear sobbing from inside. But no matter how much they asked to come in, he would just remain silent.

Their friend group was slowly coming apart, as if Kevin and Connor had been the glue to hold them together. Steve had left right away. No one was truly sure where he had gone. But after that, Chris and James had started hanging out less with Arnold and Naba. Slowly, it became only two again.

Arnold and Naba desperately wanted to visit Kevin again, to make sure he was okay. And they wanted to find out more about Connor, too, since he pretty much had disappeared off the face of the earth. Though the latter was almost nearly impossible, since they had no idea where Connor even lived.

But the first part, well, that was easier.

It was just a matter of getting Kevin to actually open up.

So there they were, standing outside the Price Residence, slowly knocking on the door and waiting for an answer. It felt like an eternity before the door was opened, an older lady standing before them.

"Oh! Arnold, I haven't seen you in forever. Come in, dear," she said, stepping aside to let the two in. "And I assume this is your girlfriend?"

"Nabalungi," Naba introduced herself, holding out her hand for Mrs. Price to shake. "Though most people call me Naba."

Before Mrs. Price could respond, though, Arnold interrupted them. "Where's my best friend?"

"Kevin's upstairs in his room. Been like that for days," Mrs. Price sighed. "You can try as much as you'd like to try and get him to open up, but I can't promise anything. He's really been in a downward spiral since that McKinley boy left."

"Connor was a dear friend of ours, and was especially close to Kevin," Naba explained to her.

"I know," she said, a guilty expression on her face. "I was just shocked... I didn't mean for all of this to happen."

"What exactly... did happen?"

"We went out for a soccer game one night," she started to explain. "Kevin had offered to stay home with Connor, so he didn't have to stay alone. Which, now that I look back on, should have been a sure sign. Anyways, once we came back home, we found them on the couch, laying with each other. I-I panicked and yelled at them, which then caused my husband to start shouting at them, too. He... he told Connor that he was fired, and I think it made something break inside him. Before we knew it, Connor was rushing off upstairs, with Kevin following behind him, and when he went to leave, Kevin was a broken mess. I guess... I just didn't realize how much Connor meant to him."

"He meant a lot to all of us. Especially Kevin. Everything is so strange without them both. We just want our friends back," Naba told her.

Mrs. Price nodded, though she didn't break contact with the floor below her. "I understand. You can try talking to Kevin, but I can't assure you anything will happen."

"I'm going to get my best friend back," Arnold said determinedly. "I made a promise to be his best friend forever, and I'm not breaking that."

Mrs. Price smiled softly at him, finally stopping her staring contest with the carpet. "Then you go talk to him."

Arnold and Naba gave her a small nod before carefully making their way up the stairs. They didn't know how Kevin was going to react to them being there. They could only hope for the best.

...

Kevin was laying on his bed, face first into his pillow, when he heard a knock come from his door. Probably just his parents trying to force him to "get better." It was a daily thing that they liked to do. They tried to talk to him through the door, telling him that they knew what he was going through. But the thing was, they knew nothing of what he was going through.

Sure, Kevin had been happy before Connor had entered his life. Quite frankly, he was perfectly content. He had a best friend, a loving family (even if they were strictly religious), and all the coffee that he could ever want.

Then Connor came along. At first, Kevin kind of hated him, he wasn't going to lie. He was always just so cheerful, and treated him way too much like a patient rather than a friend. But once Kevin got to see beyond Connor's exterior, he couldn't possibly see anything wrong with him. He was just... perfect.

So when Connor had returned those feelings that Kevin had felt for so long... well, you couldn't even begin to imagine how ecstatic he was.

But all great things must come to an end, as they always say. Maybe that's why it had to happen. It was just too great.

Kevin held back another sob.

"Kevin, can we please come in?"

That voice. It wasn't either of his parents. Nor his siblings. Was that...

Naba?

Kevin hesitantly raised his head, furrowing his brows at the closed door. "Naba?"

"Yes, and Arnold is here, too."

"Best friend! I just want to make sure you're okay!"

Something warmed inside him to know that his friends had come for him. That they cared about him. Yet he still didn't smile. It felt wrong to smile when the one who made him smile most was gone.

Slowly, Kevin sat up and made his way over to his door. He rested his hand on the doorknob, waiting a few seconds before finally deciding to open it.

...

To say the least, Arnold and Naba didn't even recognize the person before them. His hair wasn't neatly combed. His shirt was only half buttoned. And his eyes were a bloodshot red. Whether it was from the lack of sleep, or increase of crying, they didn't know. For all they knew, it could've been both.

Before Arnold could try to run up and engulf Kevin in a hug, Naba gave Kevin a small smile. "Hey there Kev. How is everything going?"

Kevin laughed. Though it wasn't a normal laugh. It was much more hollow, and was filled with underlying pain. "Oh, everything is just great, y'know? I think that this may be the best week in my entire life! Wake up, remember everything that's happened, cry for another few hours, calm yourself back down enough to try and distract yourself with something else, then end up reminding yourself again and begin the cycle all over again. Doesn't it sound wonderful?"

"Kev-"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be shoving all of this onto you. I appreciate you coming to see me. It's just..." His voice caught in his throat, and he closed his eyes for a few seconds as he tried to recompose himself. "Everything's horrible."

"Would you like a hug, best friend?" Arnold asked, already stretching out his arms.

Surprisingly, Kevin gave him a small nod, allowing himself to let out a small cry. Arnold rushed forward to wrap Kevin in a giant bear hug, soon followed by Naba. And together, the three of them stood there in the doorway, surrounded by one big embrace.