Luca's home

3

(Sorry this took so long, i was away for the weekend!)

All Luca could think about was how peaceful the world felt in that moment as he admired every single star in the sky. He wondered if maybe the stars could see him too!

He almost fell asleep until he heard strange noises coming from the base of the tree. The noises grew louder and louder turning into huffs and puffs and then all of the sudden, A familiar face popped up from below the treehouse base.

It was none other than Alberto.

At first Luca was surprised by this, but as Alberto climbed onto the unlevelled wood floor of the treehouse and made his way over to Luca, he felt almost safe by his presence.

"Hi" Alberto said as he tried to catch his breath. He scooted over next to Luca and rested is head on a pillow.

Luca lied down too, head resting on the pillow next to Albertos. "Hi".

"Remember when we used to call these fish?" Alberto giggled and pointed up to the night sky. His eyes glowed with joy almost like he was watching the memory over again.

"Yes, i do" Luca smiled.

"That was pretty stupid!" Alberto added.

"I don't think it was stupid, i think it was cool" Luca turned to him. "I wish they were real fish, that would be so cool. Cooler than hot balls of light!" He added.

This sent Alberto laughing. Albertos laughter caused Luca to laugh, and next thing they knew, they were crying from laughter.

"So, did you miss me?" Alberto started.

"Of course i did! I miss you all the time when I'm gone!" Luca blushed. Alberto blushed too.

"Really? That's nice" Alberto turned to face Luca.

All of the sudden their faces changed. Luca's smile dropped in the silence.

"Alberto?" Luca's tone changed.

"Yeah?"

"What is the secret you and Mr. Marcodalva are hiding?" This question visibly surprised Alberto. He tensed up.

"Uh" Alberto took in a deep breath. "Silencio Bruno" he whispered to himself as he let out his breath.

"I figured out over the year that I don't really like girls the way other guys do" Alberto held his eyes shut. He feared Luca's reaction. Alberto tried to think about how Massimo and everyone else reacted to the news. They were all so nice and told Alberto that he is completely normal, even when he didn't feel normal. He hoped that Luca would be the same.

"What do you mean?" Luca spoke, finally.

"I like guys"

"Alberto," Luca started. He didn't know what to say. He felt the exact same way as Alberto. Surely Alberto would still be his friend if he felt the same way too. Silencio Bruno! He thought.

"I like guys too"

Alberto was very surprised. Instead of saying anything, he just rolled over to look back up at the sky. He started to grin. Luca watched as the grin grew more into a smile, and then a huge smile! He started to laugh a bit. Luca didn't understand why.

"What's so funny?" Luca asked. Alberto couldn't stop laughing.

"What a coincidence! I would have never thought!" Alberto smiled.

"Yeah that is really cool that we are both the same. I haven't told anyone other than Giulia. I wasn't really sure how or when to say anything." Luca smiled too.

"Everyone knows about me around here. They were accepting of me, they will definitely accept you too if you tell anyone." Alberto reassured his friend.

"I sure hope so".

Luca started to feel very tired. He started to yawn and his eyes began to feel heavy. "Goodnight, Alberto"

"Goodnight, Luca".

And the two fell asleep in the treehouse, under the twinkling stars.