Secrets

The Sun Is Jealous

Jasper knocked on the door to Calvin's house, his suitcase behind him and his bag slung over his shoulder. He waited for a mere five seconds before a face greeted his, their eyes squinting like they'd never seen the light of day in their entire fourteen-and-a-half-year life span. Allie brushed her blond hair, the tips of which were dyed purple, hot pink, and salmon, out of her eyes and waved him inside.

"Come on," she said, shutting the door behind him as he pulled his suitcase inside. "Calvin is upstairs moping for some reason. He'll be down once he finds out you're here."

"Okay," Jasper replied, setting his case in the area where all the others had accumulated. "Oh, um, good morning by the way," he said, pushing his glasses up.

She smiled. "Morning," she answered, jumping over the top of the couch and practically crashing into the cushions.

"Allie! How many times do I have to tell you not to do that to the couches? Good lord!" her mother scolded, wiping her hands on her jeans. She saw Jasper and clapped her hands once. "Hey, morning, Jasper. How's your eye?"

Jasper wiped beneath his glasses at where the mark would be, smiling back at her. "It's fine now, thanks."

"Good to hear," she said, turning away into the kitchen. "You should go get Calvin, breakfast is in fifteen."

"Okay," he answered, setting his bag down on the floor and walking upstairs. The stairs creaked beneath his footsteps as he ascended to the second story of their home. He swung himself to the side that he knew Calvin's room was on and pushed his door open slowly. He poked his head into his room and peered inside to find him sitting cross-legged on his bed. "Calvin?"

Calvin lifted his head up from his phone and waved, patting the bed with his other hand. Without hesitating, Jasper walked the short few steps over to the edge of the bed, which was basically beside the door, and crossed his arms. "What're you doing up here, huh?"

"I don't know, honestly," he answered. "Oh wait, I remember, my sister was making me paranoid."

He smiled at him and clicked Calvin's phone off. "About what?"

"My parents."

"Well as long as you don't tell them they shouldn't know," Jasper reasoned, shifting his weight onto one side. Calvin looked over Jasper's shoulder and shut the door with his foot, yanking Jasper into his lap as the doorknob clicked shut. They were left in silence, a silence that quieted even the sounds of their breathing. "It shouldn't be that bad," he said airily.

"You don't know my dad, Jas," Calvin said, "He's crazy about knowing everything about me and my sister. If there is one thing he doesn't know about me, it's the fact that I'm with you, and if there's one thing that he doesn't know about my sister, it's that she's a gay-obsessed, freakish anime dork. He's also adhered to the idea that homosexuals are the most disgusting thing to walk the planet, and if he knew either of those things, he'd hate us immediately, and that's the best that could happen. The worst? I don't know."

Jasper stared at the stark, blue orbs that drifted in the center of the whites of Calvin's eyes, the thin, wispy golden lashes that sat above them. With a tentative hand, he carefully placed it behind Calvin's neck and leaned his forehead against his, keeping the quiet.

"My dad can't know about us, Jas, alright? I know it's not as bad as the school knowing, but...it would ruin my whole life," Calvin whispered.

"I understand, I understand," Jasper said back. He decided to change the subject. "Your mom said breakfast is in fifteen, but now I guess it's ten.

Calvin chuckled. "Always looking positive."

"I wouldn't say that," Jasper objected, "but thanks."