glasses

Truth

Chapter 9: Truth

Its been a few days, and every time Román was in the playground at break, he could hear people say his name next to the word 'rumor' in their conversations. He had gotten pretty close to Nicolás, and he was sure he had heard the rumor aswell. So he wanted to come clean to him.

The day ended, and he went up to Nico to talk to him.

"Hey Nico?"

Nico turned towards him and smiled.

"Oh hey man! What's up?"

"I was wondering..could we talk at the exit?"

"Sure man! Anything you need."

Román nodded, and after a few minutes they met infront of the school entrance.

"So, what did you wanna talk about?"

Román opened his mouth to speak, but remembered.

"Oh– i forgot my jacket. You don't mind waiting here eh?"

"Don't worry, ill stay"

Román took off to enter the school building. As Nico waited, he saw two guys from their school talk, and after a few minutes they approached him.

"Hey, you're his friend, right?"

Nico perked up, confused at their sudden approach.

"..uhm yeah? What do you guys want?" His tone slightly annoyed. He knew them, but he didn't like them that much.

"Oh so can you tell us if that one rumor is true? You're pretty close with him eh?" A smirk on one of the classmate's face.

"Why should i? Its just a rumor. He's a guy, why would anyone think otherwise?" Nico said, getting even more annoyed at every word they spoke.

"I mean, haven't you seen him? Some of his features..."

"And? You're just delusional. The rumor isn't true."

As Nico kept talking, Román approached them with his jacket in hand.

"Im gonna say it again. He's a guy, and rumors are wrong. I mean– why on god's earth would he be a girl?"

Román overheard the last words that came out of Nicolás' mouth, and immediate stress went flowing through his body. The classmate's looked over at Román, and Nico's gaze followed theirs.

"Oh hey man! We can talk now if you wanna." He put his arm around Román, but Román refused, and just decided to run off.

"Wait–! Román!!"

He ran after him towards one of the nearby parks. Whatever he said must've made him gone.Nico chased after Román, his heart pounding as he struggled to keep up. The park was quiet except for the crunch of their footsteps on the gravel path. Román finally stopped near a bench, his back turned to Nico, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath.

"Román, wait!" Nico shouted, slowing down as he approached. "What just happened? What did I say?"

Román shook his head, refusing to look at him. "You don't get it, do you? You don't understand at all!" His voice cracked.

Nico took a cautious step closer. "Then help me understand. I didn't mean to upset you." He paused, searching for the right words. "You're my friend, Román. I care about you."

Román turned around, his eyes glistening with unshed tears. "You care about me? Is that why you were talking to them about that?! You think I'm a joke, just like they do?"

The realization hit Nico like a brick wall. "Oh my God," he whispered. "Román, I didn't... I wasn't trying to hurt you. I was trying to shut them up."

Román's voice rose, trembling. "By denying the truth about me? By pretending I'm someone I'm not? You think that helps me?"