Frenemies with benefits(boyxboy)

burden

TW: mentions of domestic violence/abuse

Will's POV:

I was worried for Brian. Of course I was. As his very new boyfriend, I wanted to do a good job. Something supportive, after all the support he showed me. After we made up, it felt like I had been sidelined into just a victim in need of his protection. But I knew he was a lot more sad than what he seemed like. His inferiority complex against his brother affected nearly every decision he made. And even though I loved him, I really wished he would start living for himself, instead of trying to impress a mother who was never going to be satisfied. So yeah, I wasn't really a fan of his family, and I hoped he could overcome them.

Brian had politely excused himself, locking himself inside a guest room. Mom was getting increasingly worried for him. I had to reassure her that none of us were mad at her or blamed her for this situation. Yet, she kept mumbling how she should have known it was a bad idea. At least she understood Brian needed some time alone, and kept her distance. I really tried to do so too. But it felt so wrong to not check up on him. I kept bothering him with mindless questions, like if he wanted something to eat, if he had enough clothes, if he wanted to watch something on one of our TVs and such. I knew none of those things mattered to him at the moment, but at least I could distract him from thinking about his shitty family.

I was watching TV with my mom when I heard footsteps coming from the stairs. We both jumped when we saw Brian just standing in front of us. "I'm heading out", he told us and started walking towards the entrance. My mom and I looked at each other. "Wait!", I yelled. I ran after him, grabbing his hand. "Where are you going?", I panted. "I'm gonna talk to Eric", he said, like it was the most normal thing for him to do. "WHAT? Why?", I yelled. "Calm your tits", he rolled his eyes. "He sent me a text and asked to talk. He said he wanted to explain something and make up." I didn't buy it. If he wasn't apologizing to Brian, what was the point?

"I want to come with you", I demanded. "Absolutely not", he said and put on his shoes. "Look, he may have acted like an asshole last night, but he was my best friend long before I had Cole or Aisha or any kind of support. He was a parental figure to me before I had Mrs. Johnson. I'm not going to cut him off because of one small fight. We're both adults, and we're gonna talk it out like adults. I don't need you to protect me", he muttered. I sighted in defeat. "Just call me when you're done, okay? I'll come pick you up. Please?", I begged him. "Okay", Brian smiled. Just before he left, he got on his tip toes and gave me a kiss. "I'm a big boy, okay? Don't worry." And with that, he left.

Brian's POV:

I was hoping for an explanation. No, that was a lie. What I was really hoping for, was an apology. I knew that Eric was capable of it, but it was not something he did a lot. I just needed to find out how to explain to him how he hurt my feelings. He would understand, right?

I was walking down the street when I saw him leaning against a street light."Hey", Eric waved to me. "I was thinking that we could go to that park over there", he pointed a few blocks away. There was a small park with a fountain and some benches. Some kids were playing on a climbing frame, but other than that it seemed pretty peaceful. "Sounds good", I said. Although we could have started talking, our walk remained silent. I was waiting for him to start talking, and it seemed like he was doing the same.

"So", we both said when we finally sat down at one of the benches. "You first", I said. "No, for once, you can go first", he said in a friendly tone. I shook my head. "Thanks, but I really want you to go first", I said. "Alright", he nodded. "First, I want to ask you how you are. You kinda blurted out that you're gay? I didn't know anything about that. You never told me", he said. "That's because you never call me!", I complained. "Alright, alright, that's on me", he agreed. "And I'm assuming that Will is your boyfriend. Your first boyfriend, I hope. I haven't missed out on that much, have I? Last time we spoke, you hated that guy", he said. "Exactly", I nodded. "Imagine how long it's been, and how much has changed in my life, when you only remember him as asshole Will. Also, I kinda just yelled that I'm gay because I was mad and it just came out that way. To be honest, I still like girls, and I might have always liked guys, so I'm not like, 100% gay. I guess you can say I'm bi, if you wanna have a label", I explained.