A Tale of Wild Roses [ROUGH DRAFT]

Chapter 23

Angel Romero dreaded going back to school after winter break. They were set to return the day after New Year's. It felt too soon. Besides, he didn't want to be subjected to Adrienne's cold stare anytime soon (or at all really). It was New Year's Eve that day, and his family was coming over soon. His little sister Lucia was extremely grumpy, knowing that the dreaded cousins would be there. They were somehow crazier than her, but at least they didn't care to mess with him.

As his aunts and uncles began to arrive, he thought back to Thanksgiving. That was the last time they had all been together. Most of his family resided outside of the small town he lived in and they were constantly busy so seeing them had become reserved for special occasions. He wondered how his family in Spain would be celebrating New Years, and if he had any cousins that were actually old enough to have a serious conversation with.

Angel figured that his mom would call her parents at some point that day, and he'd have to talk to them a bit. He didn't mind, obviously, they were family. It would just be awkward as always, talking to people that he barely knew. There was also the language barrier. His grandparents on his mom's side only spoke Spanish, and he was still learning. There were also differences in the language that depended on location. That made everything ten times more headache inducing.

When he left his room, everyone had arrived. The sun had just about set, the sky painted a vibrant pink. It reminded him of Oliver. They had been dating for a month already. He felt so lucky to be with someone like them. Despite the countless times he'd messed up, Oliver forgave him. Maybe Angel didn't deserve forgiveness, but he didn't have time to dwell on it before his family was bombarding him with questions.

It was always the same stuff. How's school...have you been getting good grades...you got a girlfriend yet? Nothing too noteworthy, except when Uncle Mike asked if he had a girlfriend his mom chimed in. For a moment, he was afraid that Mrs. Romero knew about Oliver. He wasn't ready for that...how would she know? If she did, what would her family think? His dad and his grandpa especially. They'd never been the world's biggest allies, that was for sure.

Then his mom said her name. "I think he actually does. Millie, that's her name. They got back together!" Angel's eyes widened in shock. "What? No, that's not – why would you think that?" His mom looked at him and said, "well you spend so much time with each other I just thought..." What was he supposed to say? He knew he couldn't tell the truth, he would sound crazy.

Angel had never wanted his family to find out for this reason. The only reason why he started fake dating Millie was to keep Adrienne from hitting on her insistently. There was no need to get families involved. He looked around the room, and landed on his dad. He was smiling for once, and he could almost see hope in his eyes. Had his dad wanted him to have a girlfriend? Did he know that Angel wasn't exactly straight somehow? What did it all mean? What was he thinking? Angel had never been good at reading his dad, and it was exceedingly frustrating at that moment.

Something in him wanted to make his dad feel proud. Maybe he could agree with his mom, and pretend like he wasn't dating a boy. It's not like Oliver would know. "Yeah, I guess we're sorta dating." A plethora of questions flew through the room, overwhelming him. Once it cooled down, Angel sighed out of relief.

Twelve AM was slowly creeping up on the clock. It had been an eventful night; his grandparents called and Angel attempted to keep up the conversation with the occasional help from his mom and they had a big dinner in the dining room. Angel passed the time by playing board games with his cousins who were nearly falling asleep out of exhaustion.

Before he knew it, the countdown had started. His family began in unison with the TV. "10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1!"

...

"Happy New Year's!" Oliver watched as his parents jumped around the living room like little kids. They had always been oddly passionate about the holiday, despite the fact that they preferred to celebrate without family or friends around. They preferred a quiet house, and rarely ever invited a lot of people over. It wasn't out of a place of disrespect, more so their preference to stay reserved.

Oliver could relate to the feeling of having a place to take a break from society. Society was exhausting, and it was nice to stay at home and relax over winter break. He checked his phone to find text messages from his boyfriend. It was crazy to think about the fact that he was in his first relationship. As a queer kid, Oliver had always assumed romance wouldn't be an option for him in high school. It almost felt unreal whenever he thought of Angel.

Angle

Happy New Year! =D

Wait that sounded kinda cringy

I'm so sorry 😥

Olive

Noooo it's okay 😭

Happy New Year Angel 🫶🏼

Angle

Now look who's being cringy.

Olive

Asshole 🙄

Angle

🥰🥰🥰

Oliver smiled down at his phone a little too hard. When he looked up his parents were staring at him inquisitively, startling him half to death. "What?" Mr. Adams spoke first, his pointy hat nearly falling off his head when he went to sit down, "Who's got you smiling like that, kiddo?" Oliver's mom sat beside him, her tacky New Years necklace clinking on the necklace his dad gifted her years ago. "Um, just a friend." His mom gave him a doubtful look. "You don't look so...wistful when you talk to most of your friends, Oliver."

Oliver made a mental note to add that to the top ten most embarrassing things his mom has said. "I'm just texting Angel." Their parents raised their eyebrows at the same time. "See, I knew there was something going on there. Keep the door open whenever he comes over from now on..." Mr. Adams said thoughtfully. "Oh my god you guys are so embarrassing. What does it matter anyways? My room's attic, you'd have to come all the way upstairs to check up on us."

"Hmm, maybe he shouldn't be allowed in your room then." Mrs. Adams replied. "What? No...that's not – you're not serious are you?"

"We're just kidding. Seriously, though. Are you and Angel...?" Oliver wasn't about to out Angel. That was the last thing he wanted so he simply said "no, we're just friends." Then his dad asked if he had a crush on him, and ran off to his room before they could mortify him any further. Oliver got a few other texts from Andrew and Millie, which gave him an idea. Before he could back out, he started a group chat with Angel, Andrew, and Millie. He asked Angel to add Hazel since they didn't have her added.

He was thinking about all the friends he had made in PA, and how art class always felt like a safe place because they were all together. He didn't want that feeling to go away despite the fact that their electives would be different when they got back from break.