Letters to Rome

(5) Some Guy Named Ray

"Hey, you're the new neighbours, right?" Some dude asked when Rome opened the front door. He had a friendly smile on his face and, already, Rome had a feeling that he'd be seeing this stranger more than once. The guy was holding a tray of cookies in his hands that was covered in plastic wrap and had a post-it stuck onto it which read 'Welcome' in a cursive font. "My name's Ray, I live next door with my grandpa." 

Rome blankly stared at him for a few moments before mentally sighing. "Rome, nice to meet you." 

The corners of Ray's mouth curled as he grinned, revealing his straight and white teeth. "Cool name, I like it." Rome simply nodded before moving aside and letting the neighbour in. "Your place is nice." 

He put down his tray of cookies and looked around, his hands on his hips and a grin plastered onto his face but Rome just watched. Ray was the first person other than his family that Rome had spoken to ever since he'd come to Europe but that didn't mean the latter wanted to continue speaking to him. To Rome, Ray seemed kind of annoying from his overly friendly exterior and the creepy grin that never even faltered. 

While the boy continued gawking stupidly at the home interior, Rome leaned against the wall and crossed his arms, in hopes that Ray would leave soon. But he didn't. 

Ruby and Elijah were going to be coming home soon , after spending tons of time exploring the new area, which meant that this random stranger would most likely be staying for dinner which would be annoying. Rome didn't exactly hate everybody he met but, at the moment, he didn't want to talk to anybody but his sunshine. Which he couldn't do so he didn't talk to anybody at all. 

"Okay, anyway, I don't know if it's obvious but I'm not from here, either. I'm American and my grandpa and I moved here because it was where he and my grandma met. She died last year, though," he explained casually. 

"Oh, I-" 

"You look like a loner. Did you have any friends at your old place?" 

Rome stared at him, annoyance evident in his expression but he didn't want to tell the guy off. He was just starting conversation, he didn't mean any harm. Or, at least, that was what it seemed like. "Actually, I wasn't a loner. I was pretty popular. But I only had one friend."

"Why?" 

"I met him when I was six and there wasn't really anybody else in the world that I liked more than him. And, we stuck together like glue when we were little. We still do. We go everywhere together." He smiled - his first smile in a few days. "I remember that his mom had to pull him away from me once because he didn't want me to leave him." 

The boy nodded. "You two seem cute. Are you dating?"

Shaking his head, he shoved his hands in his pockets and finally locked eye contact with Ray. "No ... but I want to." 

Ray stepped alongside him and leaned against the wall as well, gazing out at the staircase in front of him. "So you like him in that way, huh?" He asked rhetorically. "And I'm guessing you haven't told him how you feel. Why is that?" 

Rome wasn't sure why he was telling all this to a complete stranger but he had a feeling that Ray would be understanding, as well as a good friend. Although, he wasn't too sure if he should follow that feeling but it was too late to regret now. "I don't know ... I think it's because I don't think he likes me back. I mean, he clings to me but that's just because I'm the only friend he has and he doesn't want me to go. A-and ... every time we get really close to each other, it's like I can hear his heart pounding but I don't know if it's just in my head or if it's real." 

"So you're scared," Ray stated. 

"I guess, yeah." 

"But, I mean ... do you even know his sexuality?"