I'm Not Gay, I Swear! | McPriceley

Chapter Twenty

Walking down the sidewalk all by himself, Chris shivered from the cold winds. He hated going anywhere alone, especially in such a cold setting, but James had been busy, and Arnold and Naba had been spending all of their time with Kevin.

After their first meeting with the heartbroken man, they'd immediately made their way back to the diner to let Chris know that Kevin was striving, even if he wasn't exactly at his best. Chris was relieved to find that he was alright, but still wondered about Connor. Surely someone should check up on him. And Chris being his childhood friend, he did know where Connor lived. He was just afraid of what he'd find left of his friend.

So now, Chris was making the journey down to Connor's house, which was a few blocks away from his own home. It was a small little house, with the second story being half the size of the first. The white paint was crisp and pristine, as if it had gotten a fresh coat of paint recently. The flowers that usually bloomed in the window sills were droopy and withered out, covered in a light frost. But all in all, the building looked all the same.

Chris took a deep breath before knocking on the door, waiting approximately five seconds before the door opened. But the person on the other side of the door was neither Connor nor his parents.

"Steve?" Chris asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yep. What do you want, Chris?" Steve said, folding his arms impatiently.

"Oh- uh, I just wanted to talk to Connor. It's been a while and we're all really worried about him."

    "Connor? Yeah, no, sorry. I don't think he really wants to see you. Any of you, actually. I think he might be mad that you guys didn't check on him sooner."

"Well, I couldn't get to see him any sooner, I-"

"Yeah, no, I don't want your excuses. I think it'd just be safer for you to go back home," Steve said, already starting to grab the door.

"But do you think I could just talk to him-"

"Chris. Please, take my advice. No one wants to see him. He doesn't want to see anyone. Just give up your hope and go home."

"But-" Chris' plea was cut off by the door slamming in his face. He blinked, trying to process the conversation he had just had. Connor didn't want to see them? And why was Steve staying with the McKinley's? No one wants to see him. What did Steve mean by that? Was Connor doing worse than what they thought?

All of the questions swarming through Chris' head caused a headache to form, and he closed his eyes for a moment to try and recollect himself. With a sigh, he turned back around and walked back down the sidewalk, the McKinley house getting smaller behind him. Something was up, that was for sure. There was no way that Connor just didn't want to see him.

But maybe Steve had been right. Maybe Connor was angry that they hadn't visited him earlier. But it wasn't Chris's fault that he had been busy. Funerals weren't exactly things that you planned months ahead for. And Chris especially couldn't miss his own sister's.

He mentally shook his head, trying not to let himself cry again by thinking about that specific topic, and instead brought out a bag of Poptarts that he'd stored away in his pocket. Ever since the incident, he'd had a huge obsession with the little pastry. Probably because it had been his sister's favorite, and so whenever he had one, he was reminded of her. It was a strange thing to have to remember his sister by, but it was something at least.

Though James had begun to become a little bit worried about Chris' affiliation with the snack, as he seemed to eat about ten packs a day. And that certainly didn't seem healthy at all. But Chris just assured James that he didn't understand, and continued to eat them anyways.

Chris finally made his way back to the diner, but was surprised to find that Arnold and Naba were inside, accompanied by one other person. Chris just about had a heart attack when he noticed it was Kevin. After not seeing him for so long, it was hard to tell that that was the same guy he had known before. While physically he was still the same, the way he acted told that he was much different than the guy he used to be. No smile was present on his face as he blankly stared down at the table below him. He didn't even have his usual coffee, and instead his hands were just neatly folded on his lap. Chris hadn't even noticed he'd been staring until Kevin finally looked up at him, his face still completely expressionless.

Making his way over to their table, Chris tried for a small smile. "Kevin, it's great to see you out again. Are you, uh, doing any better?"

"If doing better means crying less, then sure. I'm doing better," Kevin said.

"Hey, I'm sure that in time, everything will be alright. I'm sure we'll even get to see Connor again soon."

Kevin flinched at the name, but didn't say anything.

"By the way, did you manage to talk to Connor?" Naba asked.

Chris shook his head. "For some reason, Steve was there. And he told me that Connor apparently didn't want to see any of us."

Kevin seemed to become more interested in that sentence. "Steve was over at Connor's? What was he doing there?"

"I don't know," Chris shrugged. "He just kept telling me that Connor didn't want to see any of us. He also said that 'no one wants to see him.' Whatever that means."

"I want to see him," Kevin said in barely a whisper, though no one directly heard him.

"So you did not get to see Connor at all?" Naba inquired. "How are we supposed to know how he is doing now?"

"I don't know," Chris admitted. "But I will find a way to figure it out. Something tells me that Steve isn't being entirely truthful, and might be hiding something from us."

"But what would he be hiding from us..."

Naba's question repeated through all of their minds as they tried to think of a reason that Steve would be hiding something from them all. It didn't all make sense, but they were all too worried about Connor. They just wanted to know how he was doing, especially being all so alone.

Chris let out a small sigh. "It's getting pretty late. How about we all come back here tomorrow? Then we can try going back over to Connor's. Maybe with all of us there, he'll finally let us in."

"That sounds good," Naba nodded. "We will see you tomorrow, Chris."

Together, Arnold, Naba, and Kevin all walked out of the diner, with the latter looking completely lost, scanning the floor as if there were answers written on it. Chris hated to see the guy look so lost. He hated seeing their entire group of friends collectively falling apart. Not to mention that one had pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth.

Chris just hoped that they would all be able to go back to normal at some point. Though the chances didn't seem super likely.