Unbreakable Love

Ethan and Ethan 2.0

Jayden's POV

I'm currently at my childhood friend's house, Liam. He and I were friends since Elementary School but unfortunately in the fifth grade, he moved to another school due to his dad wanting to live closer to his work. At the time we didn't have phones of our own to communicate, so that was the last time I heard of him. Until today when he came knocking at my house. Apparently, he saw me outside gardening the plants this morning when he was walking his dog. I don't know how he recognized me since so many years have passed, but I'm glad he did. He invited me over to his place to catch up. Although he's my neighbor, it surely doesn't feel like it since this neighborhood is a bit more secure, all the houses are quite isolated from one another.

Liam has long wavy, dirty blonde hair and ocean blue eyes like any other stereotypical white boy you see. He's also pretty slim like I am but a bit taller than me. Since he's been openly Pan for as long as I could remember, he helped me during my process of coming out. Liam always seemed to be so mellow. He never acted all hyper and aggressive like the other kids in our school. He always acted so proper. The way he talked was monotoned, and the way he walked was light and elegant. By elegant, I don't mean feminine, but much rather how a rich boy would walk when they have a lot of pride circulating around them. He would only raise his voice when he was uncontrollably angry. Which was rare. It only happened once or twice, he's good at controlling his emotions inside.

Every kid in our class seemed to be intimidated by him. Either by how he acted so proper or because he was incredibly smart. Heck, even I was a bit intimidated by him. Now obviously he never mistreated or bullied anyone. He may seem like he has a high ego but that's just the way he is. He has proper manners. By the looks of it now, I guess he hasn't changed one bit. His voice is as soothing as I remember.

"By the way. I was gonna ask where you got that 1989 summer collection jacket from. I've been trying to look for it everywhere but I could never find it." Liam asks as he hands me a cold coke bottle. I smile at how specific he was with the jacket I was wearing. Liam was always the fashionable type which is no surprise how he knew all that. He always wore the most formal outfits to school. I'm glad to see after all these years, he's not a complete stranger. Even though he usually always wears casual clothing, he still manages to look good in it.
"You're gonna have to ask Grayson. He knew I wanted one for a long time so he bought it for me, but I'm not sure where he got it." I say. "Who's Grayson?" Liam asked. The smile on my face lowered when I realized he doesn't know who Grayson is. Without hesitation, I say "Oh he's my b-" I pause. Liam can't know that Grayson is my boyfriend. Grayson's not even out yet. It wouldn't be right of me to out him. "he's my friend." I say.

Ever since last night when I got into that argument with Grayson, we haven't talked since, which hurts me. I probably should have minded my own business but I worry that he will get caught if he goes outside like that again.  "Oh, I see. Well ya know... besides your jacket, those are some sick pair of converse, are they custom?" Liam says in awe, staring at my shoes. I shake my head, removing the thought of Grayson from my mind. "Oh yeah, Gray-" I pause. Fuck, I completely forgot Grayson has given me these shoes too. So much for getting him out of my mind. "-Grayson gave me these too." I say with my head lowered down. "Seriously?! For what occasion?" Liam ask. "No, he just- gave it to me as a gift randomly," I say. I see Liam chuckle once in disbelief with a smile on his face. "No way. Do you know how expensive those are?! And he just- gave it to you just because?!? He must be loaded... well you guys do live in that huge mansion so I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Liam laughs. I don't say anything but let out a slightly awkward smile.