Mystery of Love

13

He tossed and turned in the single-sized bed. The final week of school had just ended, yet it didn't feel like it. The same tension was there, except this time, the reason wasn't academic related.

Theo couldn't believe what happened earlier that day. He could still feel the butterflies in his stomach despite trying to distract himself from thinking about what happened.

He kept replaying the scene in his head: The light orange evening sky, the way they looked into each other and the subtle hint of affection transmitted.

Any normal person with an average amount of social intelligence could identify that the oncoming relationship between Theo and Kaleb was simply a rebound.

The idea of subconsciously using Kaleb as some form of band-aid to cover up his unhealed wounds however, never crossed Theo's mind.

Perhaps he was so blinded by love because on that night, he decided to text Kaleb:

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟑𝟖)*
Hi

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟑𝟗)*
Can't sleep and thought of u lol

"Maybe it's not a good idea to text him this late at night." Theo groaned as he laid back down.

As he contemplated whether he should delete the texts, his phone received a notification:

*𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟒𝟕)*
LOL same. Can't seem to fall asleep too

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟒𝟕)*
I didn't expect the thing that happened between us today

*𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟒𝟖)*
Same

𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠...
𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨.

"Hmm."

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟒𝟗)*
Honestly, I never thought that you could fall in love...Like u don't seem to be the kind to like someone

*𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟎)*
That's not true because you know I have a crush

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟎)*
Who is it?

*𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟎)*
You know her

Theo smirked at the fact that Kaleb referred to him as a third party, and as a female too.

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟏)*
Yea I guess I do...So are u gay or bi?

He couldn't hold back his curiosity as he typed quickly, eager to find out more.

*𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟐)*
dk what u mean because I'm straight :D

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟐)*
Sure, I can totally see you liking girls

Theo thought he was playing along well.

*𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟐)*
Of course, I have rizz

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟑)*
Sure you do, but too bad u already belong to someone

𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘣 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘺𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.

*𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟓)*
Think we should talk more in real life else it's gonna be awkward when we see each other again

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟓)*
Whyy but I prefer texting coz it's less awkward than in real life

*𝐓𝐨 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟓)*
Anyways goodnight :p

*𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐛 (𝟏𝟐:𝟓𝟔)*
Goodnight

Theo sighed and finally put down his handphone. He stared into nothingness for a brief second before finally going to sleep after a long day...

The next day, he woke up without the help of an alarm. However, it was already afternoon. It was also the start of school holidays.

The feeling dragged on from the previous day like cinammon stuck in one's teeth.

Theo sat himself up in bed. He was feeling good about himself. What was that saying again? That when someone loves you, they even make you love yourself or something.

Right. It was one of those inspirational romantic quotes he chanced upon on Instagram.

Kaleb had a different way of expressing his love language. He was not as open when it came to romance.

Snapping away from his thoughts, he got out of bed and searched the house as he often did in the morning.

"Left me alone at home again." Theo remarked to himself.

He turned his pair of blurry, morning eyes towards the other room, noticing his older brother still asleep as usual.

Considering the peace and privacy he had in that moment, he locked the bedroom door and jerked off in bed.

He closed his eyes and fantasized about Kaleb's body and making out with him.

As he eventually climaxed, he noted that the feeling didn't feel as good as he imagined.

𝘐𝘴 𝘒𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘣 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴? 𝘏𝘢𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 me?

Theo wondered.

He had to admit that the idea of Kaleb obsessing and yearning over him felt good. On the contrary, he also considered the possibility of Kaleb getting grossed out by his nasty habit.

He decided to keep certain things a hidden secret, even to those closest to him.

Wiping off the fluid on his abs with a tissue, he peeked into the other room before scrambling into the bathroom.

Theo flicked the tap and felt the lukewarm liquid pouring over him. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯?

Absolutely nothing. Of course he had homework to complete but he decided to procrastinate it.

Drying himself with a towel, he whipped out his handphone and tapped into Instagram. The stories showed everyone already having fun outside while Theo only woke up moments ago.

He tapped into Kaleb's Instagram profile and noticed that he had an empty feed. Similar to himself, he didn't like posting much about his personal life.

He never realized until that moment that he previously paid so little attention to Kaleb.

It was a shame that he couldn't find a single photo of Kaleb online, because all he wanted in that moment, was to see him.

He was experiencing the beginning stages of love. It begins with the obsession, then developing fantasies about the two of them in his own head. The aspect of a new relationship felt fresh and exciting to Theo.