Promise. (Manthony)

Twenty-One

     Mitchel steps closer to me. Putting the bag that had food he had made for us down. We decided to go to a park to spend some time together so Mitchel had packed lunch for us that way we wouldn't have to leave early if one or both of us got hungry. 

"I'm sorry." He begins with. "I'm...so fucking sorry." His voice wavers as he apologizes to me. My face softens when I see his sad eyes. Mitchel sighs. Stepping another step closer. Looking down at our shoes. 

"I," Mitchel wipes a tear from his face with the palm of his hand. "I do," He shakes his head. "I do like you." He mutters. My eyes widen into the size of a quarter. 

"I've always had feelings for you. But I could never tell you because I built myself into this fuckboy image after what went down when we broke up. I thought how you saw me would change and we couldn't go back." 

"That's not true." I chime in. "But that's how I felt. You didn't feel good enough for me?" Mitchel waves his hand off at this. "I didn't feel good enough for you. You always dated smart, good looking, innocent people after me. You turned out decent while I became a fucking mess." 

A few more people walk by and give me dirty looks since Mitchel was noticeably crying and I was standing here stupidly like I made him cry. Well, I did I suppose. 

"I do...I do love you. What do I do about this though, Christian? What about my parents? What about our band? You're comfortably out to people and I'm far from it. I meant it when I said I missed you. I meant it when I said I was sorry and I am. I knew deep down I hurt you and continued to do so as time went by but the more time that did go by the harder it became to approach you about the subject." 

He loves me. He still loves me.

 I grab Mitchel by the back of his neck and pull him into me. I could hear his sobs muffled by my shirt and body. I rub his back and rest my head on his. It pained me to see him so upset. I now felt guilty. I was so caught up in how I was feeling I neglected how Mitchel might feel. It was fucked up for me to assume he felt nothing about it at all. He curls his arms up between our bodies as he continues to cry. 

"It's okay." I say soothingly. "It's okay." I repeat. 

After a few more seconds he pulls away. Drying his eyes with his shirt and sniffling. I look at him cautiously. He looked fragile. His eyes were red and puffy. His nose was stuffed up and he looked drained. 

"Let's go home." I grab the bag and search for the keys. Once I found them I swing the bag over my shoulder and wrap my arm around Mitchel's shoulders. Guiding him to his car since I was afraid he'd collapse onto the ground. 

I unlock the car. Putting the stuff we didn't need in the backseat and opening the passenger seat for Mitchel to get in. He didn't bother arguing with me about driving. I close the door once he's in and get in the drivers side. Wasting no time to start the car and leave. 

***

"I wanna go to your room." Mitchel makes his way up the stairs and I follow. No one else was home which I was happy about because the last thing I wanted to do was try to figure out how to explain what was wrong with Mitchel. 

He falls onto my neatly made bed face first. I sit down next to him. I hear rain hit the roof of our house. How cliché of the sky. I get up and open my curtains. Staring up into the sky as the rain falls harder. Weird since it hardly ever rained in L.A. 

"Come here." Mitchel rolls over. Laying down on his back and patting the space next to him. I oblige and lay next to him. 

"What happens now?" He asks. 

"I have no idea." I say truthfully. 

"Gotta give it time. Go on a date maybe?" I smirk at my own suggestion. I never thought I'd hear myself say that again to my best friend. He offers me a small smile. 

"Sure, I'd like that." I nod my head. "Until then," 

I raise an eyebrow at him. Wondering what he was about to say to me. 

"If you don't want to that's fine, but...can we...kiss?" 

"Uh, oh, um, if you want. Yea." 

"We don't have to." Mitchel says hurriedly. 

"We can...but why do you want to so suddenly? Are you sure?" I press. I wanted to make sure he was fully comfortable before doing anything remotely intimate. Even if it was just a kiss. 

"I wanna try. I'm okay with it if you are." I nod my head. Scooting closer to him. Both of us laying down and facing one another. The same way we did when we were kids. 

I hear one of our phones bling but we ignore it. My heart was beating fast from feeling nervous. I rest my hand on his face. Caressing his cheek with my thumb. 

I close my eyes. Slightly moving my head to one side so our lips could connect properly. Our lips graze one another. His warm breath against my face made me shiver. After a second of relishing in this feeling I close the gap between us. Our lips moving together like we'd been doing this since forever. 

I force myself to pull away and look at him. Mitchel still had his eyes closed. I place another soft peck on his lips. His eyes flutter open and a smile takes over both of our faces. My heart was the happiest it had been in a long time. 

I had not expected this day to come to this. I wasn't complaining nor was I upset.I was more confused and happy than anything else. I sit back up. Feeling the weight beside me lighten. I look over and see Mitchel standing. 

"You okay?" I ask concerned. I was so worried he'd back out and hate me forever but he didn't.  

"I wanna go finish the chicken. Come with?" I get up and we walk down the stairs only to be greeted by Clinton and Jesse who had unfortunately found the chicken Mitchel had made us.