The Gentle Giant and the Melancholy Monster

Chapter 20

Nobody at this party is drunk. There is absolutely no alcohol in this man's house. And it's a stunning one. A large, open kitchen you walk right into, with the living room right over next to it, like Lora's house. He kept it so nice and clean, looking just as it did when I helped him move in. Maybe even better. He definitely kept up with the cleaning of such a large area. It was roomy, but only two stories high. So, basically like Lora's house. But upstairs in our house, the rooms are a guest bedroom, another bathroom, a storage closet, and Lora's room. He had been wondering lately if he wanted to get a roommate, since there was plenty of space for at least two people. He hasn't actually mentioned it since November, when he came over to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.

The white, fluffy carpet was kept clean, as we were all instructed to take off our shoes as we walked in, and place them on a set of storage shelves that stacked up from the ground. In the kitchen, he must have spent the past forty-eight hours preparing the most fancy, delicious looking snacks and appetizer treats I have ever seen. Sweet stuff, spicy stuff, savory stuff. Stuff I can't even recognize. Nothing store bought except for the ingredients that went into every masterpiece. Every dip, every slider. Every candy treat and baked good to every platter of biscuit looking things I had no idea the name of. I was amazed. And, kind of falling even more for him. He was responsible, a talented cook, and of course, I couldn't forget his art.

A massive canvas stretched over the wall of the living room directly behind the couch. It was a beautiful sunset scenery near a pond. It looked like something you would buy from a furniture store that was just printed on a canvas, but no. He made this. He made all of this. A wonderful, stable life for himself. A life I'm sure as I will ever be about anything that I want to be a part of. By next year, which was only four and a half hours away, I need something to change.

This wasn't any huge party like the ones the kids at my school went to, though I actually have been to a couple more of those since that incident back last school year. It was just his sisters, Sebastian's co-workers at the seafood restaurant he works at, and some friends he had made here since he moved. Some he knew from playing basketball with one day at the park. He was walking by, and they invited him to join them. The two guys he first met that day were Percy and Leon. Leon was tall and scrawny, but very good at basketball and skateboarding. Him and Percy were both twenty. They also happen to be cousins. Percy is muscular and has darker hair than Leon. He is a bit shorter, and he is very enthusiastic when it comes to movies, as I am as well. We actually met and discussed our favorite movies a couple months back, when I was with Donna working on a group science project, because he is Donna's older brother.

Two of the girls that were here at the party that worked with Sebastian were seventeen. Nobody from my school, though. They actually went to the school in the next town over. It was great getting to know everyone here, and I was so happy to know that Sebastian wanted me here. He obviously thinks about me, even with this new life he's created for himself. It gives me hope that he sees me as a part of his new life. Now I don't feel as nervous about asking him to be my boyfriend tonight.

I want him to know that this time, I want to fully focus on him. I won't put him on the back burner anymore, or just drift apart from him for months at a time. That's not what a healthy relationship is, and now that I'm healthy mentally, I need to make this happen.

There's typical party music playing over the speaker as some of the people here dance. I sat on the couch right between Chloe and Ana, Sebastian's little sisters, who were now six and seven. The last time they were here, over summer break, I didn't come to see them at all. They really wanted me and Seb to grow closer. They really seemed to like the idea, and caught on quickly to my feelings for him. When I first arrived, about twenty minutes ago, I avoided them as I talked to Sebastian, thanking him for inviting me, and praising him for putting all of this together, with all the food, the music, the decorations. But then they came running through, past the kitchen, into the living room, wanting to dance with some of the older kids, and Sebastian volunteered me to go dance with them, as they didn't know any of his new friends. I had no other choice but to go out there, with my rather masculine outfit, my short shaggy haircut, and flattened chest. I noticed back when I first met them how observant they were. I didn't really know how to feel about telling them about me. Sure, at this young of an age, if I did it right, they could accept people like me if they haven't heard of any before, and they wouldn't turn out to be like the jackasses I used to go to school with. Maybe they won't care. Maybe I'm just overthinking and it shouldn't even be a big deal coming out to little six and seven year old's who hardly ever see me.