Elliot

Five

It was a rainy morning that day. I was excited, of course, to see him first thing before school. I texted him saying that I'd be waiting at the parking lot. I hope the place would be empty when he arrives. I want to shower my boy with hugs and kisses.

And then I saw his car. He had arrived.

He was still the same Tobias. The same dark hair. The same wicked brown eyes. The same smooth skin. The same handsome smile. I missed seeing all of those.

I ran straight ahead towards him. I might have jumped on him 'cause of excitement, causing for him to almost stumble backwards. I wrapped my arms around him tightly, the same as he did. I kept my word and showered him with kisses all over his face. Yeah, I definitely did miss him so much.

He was laughing. We were both laughing. He was the one to put our lips together for a long sweet kiss. I missed his soft lips. I'm glad I get to touch it with my own once again.

We pulled away. We stared into each other's eyes.

"I missed you," he said.

He missed me. He fucking missed me. It made me smile knowing that I felt just as the same as him. "Yeah, I missed me too." He rolled his eyes. I laughed. I kissed his cheek. "Kidding. Of course, I missed you too, dummy."

"You better."

"Cocky now, aren't ya?"

"I learned from the best."

We kissed once again. Then pulled away when I realized we're out in the open. I looked around immediately. Fuck. How could I have been so careless?

"No one's around. Don't worry," he said.

I sighed. I dropped my head on his shoulders. "I'm sorry." I said.

"No need to be."

"Yes, I need to be."

"Elliot."

"Tobias."

He sighed. He cupped my face with his hands and held it up so I could face him. "You don't have to be sorry, Elliot. There's no need to be."

I dropped my head onto his shoulders again. I was silent. Just resting on his broad shoulders. I wish I could stay in here forever.

"I feel like I'm hiding you in the shadows, Tobias. And I feel stupid to be doing that. I want to be with you and show the world that we're together. That I'm proud to have you by my side." I said. It hurts to be saying these words, knowing that they'd stay as words for a while. "But I couldn't. I don't think I'm ready yet."

He shouldn't be experiencing any of this. He deserved to be happy and be with someone who's proud to be with him. After all the things he'd been through, he at least deserved someone that would make him feel that he's important.

But he is important to me. I am proud to be with him. Proud to whom exactly? To myself? That wasn't enough. I knew that wasn't enough. The world needs to know that Tobias have someone that is proud to be with him.

And I am that someone.

But why am I so stupid to hide him in the shadows? He doesn't deserve to be hidden. He deserved to be shown to the world.

I knew I will, eventually. I knew that one day, I'll be shouting to the world, to the universe even, that I am Elliot and I'm proud to be with Tobias. I'm proud to be with him. Tobias placed a kiss on my forehead. I like it when he does things like that.

"Don't apologize for the things that you're not ready to do." Tobias said. "If you're not ready, then you're not ready. You wouldn't want to take things fast, Elliot. I know how you feel because I've been there. You'll come out when you're ready. And I'm willing to be by your side." He paused. "Always."

"Whenever, whatever?"

He smiled. "Whenever, whatever."